Best cocktail Restaurants in Boston : 162 Picks for 2026

Mexican•Boston•$$$$

Chubbs Taco & Tequila Bar

Chubbs sits on Adams Street in Dorchester, which is where you should adjust any expectations about the crowd — this is neighborhood Mexican with a luchador streak, not a downtown scene tax.

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9.6

Based on 1109 reviews

Extra Dirty Cocktail Club

Here's the pitch: a hidden bar inside another hidden bar, tucked behind a heavy curtain in a nondescript North End building, down a carpeted flight of stairs past cherry-red furniture and tassel lamps.

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Steakhouse•Boston•$$$$

Eddie Merlot's

Let's be honest about what Eddie Merlot's is: a chain steakhouse that started in Fort Wayne, Indiana back in 2001 and now parks a 260-seat dining room in the Seaport with floor-to-ceiling windows and a lounge built for closing deals.

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9.4

Based on 2028 reviews

Spanish•Boston•$$

Boqueria Seaport

Boqueria landed in Boston's Seaport as part of a small Barcelona-inspired group that's been doing the tapas-and-wine thing in New York, so there's some institutional knowledge behind the concept.

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9.4

Based on 1672 reviews

American•Somerville•$$

Highland Kitchen

Highland Kitchen has been a fixture of the Somerville dining scene long enough to have developed the kind of reputation that neighbourhood restaurants either earn or quietly lose — and by most accounts, it has held its ground.

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9.4

Based on 1523 reviews

Italian•Cambridge•$$$

Giulia

Giulia has been producing what many consider Cambridge's most serious Italian cooking for over a decade, and the consistency of that reputation is, by most accounts, the point.

Cocktail Bar•Cambridge•$$$

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Season to Taste

Season to Taste has one of the more interesting origin stories in Cambridge dining — it launched in 2016 as The Table at Season to Taste, a prix fixe concept from chef Carl Dooley that picked up Beard recognition and stacked Best of Bost…

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Oak Bistro

Oak Bistro is a smart brunch call in Cambridge when the morning is supposed to feel a little more like an occasion.

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LULU GREEN

What Mary and Nada Lattouf have built at 246 W.

cocktailbrunchdate night

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Lily's Bar - Pizza - Patio

Lily's Bar - Pizza - Patio is doing something that the Financial District sorely needs: making a weekday lunch crowd feel like they're somewhere worth lingering.

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Sushi•Somerville•$$$$

FUKI-Japanese-Cuisine

FUKI Japanese Cuisine occupies a particular niche in the Union Square ecosystem that's harder to pull off than it sounds: sushi that takes the cooking seriously without pricing out the Somerville regulars who actually live here.

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Los Alebrijes Mexican Restaurant

Los Alebrijes stakes a clear identity in East Boston's Sumner Street: this is a Mexican kitchen built around folk-art ambition and genuine co-ownership, not a franchise template.

brunchcocktailhidden gem

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Farmacia

Phillip Rolfe built Farmacia around a premise that's harder to pull off than it sounds: a genuinely intimate cocktail bar — nine seats, full stop — where the drinks are the main event and the room earns its keep.

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Moon Bar

Let's clear one thing up: whatever the listing says, Moon Bar isn't really South End—it's tucked under Mooncusser over on Columbus Ave, closer to the Theater District.

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fine diningcocktailhidden gem

Equal Measure

Let's clear something up: Equal Measure is Eastern Standard's cocktail-forward sibling, tucked into 775 Beacon St in Fenway, and it acts like it.

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Umami Crudo

Umami Crudo arrives as the à la carte cousin to Gary Lei's North Cambridge omakase counter, where eighteen courses run at least $168.

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Regina Pizzeria

Regina Pizzeria's North End location has been operating out of the same brick oven, which makes it less a restaurant than a fixed point in Boston's culinary geography.

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Based on 7209 reviews

Seafood•Boston•$$

Boston Sail Loft

Boston Sail Loft occupies a particular and useful position on the Boston waterfront: a no-reservations harbour-view tavern that has held its prices in check while glossier neighbours have not.

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Based on 6323 reviews

Seafood•Back Bay•$$$

Atlantic Fish Company

Atlantic Fish Company has held its Boylston Street position in Back Bay for long enough that a reputation this consistent is not accidental.

wine barbrunchcocktail

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Based on 4213 reviews

American•Charlestown•$$

Warren Tavern

Warren Tavern suits a night out in Charlestown when you want american that feels grown-up without getting stiff.

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Based on 2620 reviews

Steakhouse•Boston•$$$$

Grill 23 & Bar

Grill 23 & Bar has occupied its Back Bay address long enough to become part of Boston's civic furniture — the high-ceilinged, dark-wood room where the city's deal-making and milestone dinners have reliably landed for decades.

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Based on 2430 reviews

Pizza•South End•$$

Picco

Picco — the Pizza and Ice Cream Company — has built a quiet but durable reputation as the South End's go-to neighborhood anchor, the kind of unpretentious corner room that manages to draw families, couples, and solo diners in equal measu…

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Based on 1524 reviews

Mexican•Boston•$

Cósmica

Cósmica is the kind of mexican room you reach for when the evening is meant to matter a little more.

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Based on 1510 reviews

Photo of Monument Charlestown Restaurant & Tavern

Brunch•Charlestown•$$

Monument Charlestown Restaurant & Tavern

Monument Charlestown Restaurant & Tavern is the kind of brunch room in Charlestown you reach for when the evening is meant to matter a little more.

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Based on 1193 reviews

Fish and Chips•Jamaica Plain•$$

The Haven

New England's only Scottish restaurant lives inside the historic Haffenreffer brewery complex in JP, and owner Jason runs it like a man genuinely proud of the cause.

pubbrunchcocktail

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Based on 1142 reviews

Greek•Boston•$$

Krasi

Krasi opened on Valentine's Day 2020, which tells you two things: bad timing, and a stubborn kind of romance.

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Based on 1137 reviews

Indian•Somerville•$$

Masala Square Indian Kitchen

Masala Square Indian Kitchen suits a night out in Somerville when you want indian that feels grown-up without getting stiff.

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Based on 1030 reviews

Gastropub•Charlestown•$

Tavern at the End of the World

The name isn't a bluff.

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Based on 1004 reviews

Wine Bar•Cambridge•$$$

Puritan & Company

Let's get one thing straight: Puritan & Company calls itself a wine bar, but Will Gilson is running a serious kitchen behind that antique gas stove doubling as a hostess stand.

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Tapas•Jamaica Plain•$$$

Tres Gatos

Tres Gatos is a tapas pick in Jamaica Plain in Boston when you want dinner to feel a little more planned.

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Bar and Grill•Boston•$$

Audubon

Audubon sits at 838 Beacon St in the thick of the Fenway-Kenmore corridor, and it wears that location without apology.

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Rose - International Tapas & Bar

Rose - International Tapas & Bar doesn't ease you in gently.

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Ssaanjh Indian

Ssaanjh occupies the old O'Leary's Irish pub footprint beside the St.

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Pintxo Pincho Tapas Bar

Let's get the geography straight first: Pintxo Pincho is in Woburn, not Boston proper — 385 Main Street, a suburb most Bostonians drive through on the way to somewhere else.

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Coffee Shop•Boston•$$

Tradesman Coffee Shop & Pizza Bar

Tradesman sits at 50 Hood Park Drive in Charlestown's Hood Park development — a corporate-campus-adjacent address that could easily trap a restaurant into bland café mediocrity.

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Breakfast•Charlestown•$$

Waverly Kitchen & Bar Charlestown

Waverly Kitchen & Bar arrived in Charlestown not as a brunch afterthought but as a deliberate act of neighborhood revival — an homage to the old Waverly Hotel, one of Charlestown's grandest lodgings in the late 1800s, now reimagined as a…

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Gufo

Gufo arrived in East Cambridge in 2023 with a clear thesis: Italian food as a genuine neighborhood anchor, not a destination restaurant performing for out-of-towners.

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Crystal Spoons

Crystal Spoons arrived on the South End–Roxbury border at 1950 Washington Street carrying a specific thesis: that Mughlai cooking — the imperial, cream-enriched, slow-cooked tradition that defined northern Indian court cuisine — has a pl…

American•Jamaica Plain•$$

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American•Charlestown•$$

Dovetail Restaurant

Charlestown has a way of feeling both frozen in time and quietly ahead of the curve — cobblestone streets, the shadow of the Bunker Hill Monument, and a neighborhood that's been gentrifying slowly enough that the good spots still feel ea…

wine barbistrococktail

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Vee Vee

Vee Vee has been a Jamaica Plain institution, when Dan and Kristen Valachovic opened what is essentially a 35-seat neighborhood living room off Centre Street — unhurried, art-lined, and deliberately unpretentious.

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Merai

Merai is a thai pick in Boston when you want dinner to feel a little more planned.

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Mexican•Back Bay•$$$$

Sabina Mezcaleria

Sabina Mezcaleria is a mexican pick in Back Bay in Boston when you want dinner to feel a little more planned.

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nine

nine is the kind of cocktail bar room you reach for when the evening is meant to matter a little more.

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The Friendly Toast

The Friendly Toast suits a night out when you want brunch that feels grown-up without getting stiff.

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Based on 5498 reviews

Italian•South End•$$

Maggiano's Little Italy

Let's clear the air first: the brief says South End, but Maggiano's actually sits at 4 Columbus Ave in Park Square, a comfortable stumble from the Theater District.

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Based on 4916 reviews

Spanish•South End•$$

Barcelona Wine Bar

There's a marble horseshoe bar at the center of Barcelona's South End room, and if you know what's good for you, that's where you sit.

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Based on 3256 reviews

fine diningwine barbrunch

Steakhouse•Back Bay•$$$

Abe & Louie's

Abe & Louie's is a steakhouse pick in Back Bay in Boston when you want dinner to feel a little more planned.

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Based on 2931 reviews

Sports Bar•Boston•$$

Bleacher Bar

Bleacher Bar suits a night out when you want sports bar that feels grown-up without getting stiff.

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Based on 2063 reviews

American•Back Bay•$$

Parish Cafe & Bar

Parish Cafe & Bar suits a night out in Back Bay when you want american that feels grown-up without getting stiff.

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Based on 1972 reviews

late nightcocktaildate night

Lounge Bar•North End•$$

Wicked Craft Co.

In a neighborhood where saying "pasta" is practically a religion, Wicked Craft Co.

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Based on 1581 reviews

French•Back Bay•$$

Rochambeau

Rochambeau is a french pick in Back Bay in Boston when you want dinner to feel a little more planned.

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Based on 1458 reviews

Cocktail Bar•Boston•$$

F1 Arcade Boston

F1 Arcade Boston is a cocktail bar pick in Boston when you want dinner to feel a little more planned.

cocktailpubbrunch

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Based on 1431 reviews

Burgers•Back Bay•$$

The Capital Burger

The Capital Burger is the kind of burgers room in Back Bay you reach for when the evening is meant to matter a little more.

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Based on 1397 reviews

wine barfine diningcocktail

Vegan•Back Bay•$$

Seasons 52

Seasons 52 is a vegan pick in Back Bay in Boston when you want dinner to feel a little more planned.

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Based on 1394 reviews

German•Somerville•$$

BRONWYN Restaurant

BRONWYN Restaurant is the kind of german room in Somerville you reach for when the evening is meant to matter a little more.

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Based on 1251 reviews

Italian•Boston•$$

Fox & The Knife

Fox & The Knife is a italian restaurant in Boston that is worth opening when you want a clearer read on the menu and the room.

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Based on 1216 reviews

Cocktail Bar•North End•$$

Parla

Parla is the kind of cocktail bar room in North End you reach for when the evening is meant to matter a little more.

cocktailbrunchdate night

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Based on 1140 reviews

Irish Pub•Jamaica Plain•$

Galway House

Galway House suits a night out in Jamaica Plain when you want irish pub that feels grown-up without getting stiff.

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Based on 1111 reviews

Seafood•Boston•$$$

Select Oyster Bar

Select Oyster Bar is the kind of seafood room you reach for when the evening is meant to matter a little more.

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Based on 1010 reviews

Bar and Grill•Back Bay•$

The Avenue Bar Allston

The Avenue Bar Allston is a bar and grill pick in Back Bay in Boston when you want dinner to feel a little more planned.

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Italian•Back Bay•$$$$

Deuxave

Deuxave suits a night out in Back Bay when you want italian that feels grown-up without getting stiff.

Cocktail Bar•Somerville•$$

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Saloon

Saloon suits a night out in Somerville when you want cocktail bar that feels grown-up without getting stiff.

cocktaillate nightdate night

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Fuji at Ink Block

Fuji at Ink Block suits a night out when you want sushi that feels grown-up without getting stiff.

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Premiere on Broadway

Premiere on Broadway is a brunch pick in Somerville in Boston when you want dinner to feel a little more planned.

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Thonglor

Thonglor is the kind of thai room in Allston you reach for when the evening is meant to matter a little more.

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Troquet on South

Troquet on South is the kind of american room you reach for when the evening is meant to matter a little more.

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Wine Bar•Somerville•$$$

Spoke Wine Bar

Spoke Wine Bar is a wine bar pick in Somerville in Boston when you want dinner to feel a little more planned.

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Cocktail Bar•Boston•$$

OFFSUIT

OFFSUIT is a cocktail bar pick in Boston when you want dinner to feel a little more planned.

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Sullivan's Public House

Sullivan's Public House is a pub pick in Boston when you want dinner to feel a little more planned.

pubcocktailhidden gem

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Steakhouse•Boston•$$$$

Vermilion

Vermilion suits a night out when you want steakhouse that feels grown-up without getting stiff.

Japanese Izakaya•South End•$$

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Zaku Izakaya

Zaku Izakaya suits a night out in South End when you want japanese izakaya that feels grown-up without getting stiff.

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Temple Records

Temple Records suits a night out when you want cocktail bar that feels grown-up without getting stiff.

wine barcocktailhidden gem

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The Block at Woods Hill - Seaport

The Block at Woods Hill - Seaport is a wine bar restaurant in Boston that is worth opening when you want a clearer read on the menu and the room.

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Cheers

Look, you already know why you're going.

pubcocktail

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Based on 9886 reviews

American•Boston•$$

Bostonia Public House

Bostonia Public House is a strong brunch move in Boston when you want the meal to feel worth leaving the house for.

brunchcocktail

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Based on 3836 reviews

Burgers•Boston•$

Tasty Burger

Tasty Burger is a sensible burgers call in Boston when you want something that usually lands well.

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Based on 3725 reviews

American•South End•$$

Beehive Restaurant

The Beehive occupies a basement space in Boston's South End with the kind of deliberate atmosphere that most restaurants attempt and few actually achieve: properly dim lighting, live jazz on a regular schedule, and a room designed to ext…

brunchlate nightcocktail

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Based on 3430 reviews

Photo of Buttermilk & Bourbon - Back Bay

American•Back Bay•$$$

Buttermilk & Bourbon - Back Bay

Buttermilk & Bourbon doesn't position itself as Back Bay's most experimental room, and that restraint is the whole argument.

cocktailbrunchdate night

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Based on 2936 reviews

Food Court•Boston•$$

Time Out Market Boston

Time Out Market Boston is a sensible food court call in Boston when you want something that usually lands well.

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Based on 2592 reviews

Spanish•Boston•$$$

Toro

Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette's South End tapas bar has been one of Boston's most talked-about rooms since it opened, and the conversation hasn't cooled.

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Based on 2444 reviews

American•Cambridge•$$$

Alden & Harlow

Alden & Harlow is the kind of american room in Cambridge you reach for when the evening is meant to matter a little more.

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Based on 2424 reviews

Pizza•Cambridge•$$

Area Four

Area Four arrived in Kendall Square with a specific point of view: naturally leavened dough, a wood-fired oven, and an in-house bakery operating not as a side project but as the structural argument for everything else on the menu.

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Based on 2382 reviews

Cocktail Bar•Cambridge•$$

Little Donkey

Little Donkey is a sensible cocktail bar call in Cambridge in Boston when you want something that usually lands well.

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Based on 2143 reviews

Italian•North End•$$$

Bricco

Bricco is the kind of italian room in North End you reach for when the evening is meant to matter a little more.

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Based on 1900 reviews

American•Cambridge•$$

The Tip Tap Room

The Tip Tap Room is a sensible american call in Cambridge in Boston when you want something that usually lands well.

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Based on 1737 reviews

American•Cambridge•$$

Cambridge Common Restaurant

Cambridge Common Restaurant is an easy american option in Cambridge in Boston to suggest without needing a long explanation.

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Based on 1585 reviews

Photo of Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse

Steakhouse•Boston•$$$

Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse

Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse is the kind of steakhouse room you reach for when the evening is meant to matter a little more.

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Based on 1530 reviews

Italian•Back Bay•$$

Piattini

Piattini is a italian restaurant in Back Bay in Boston that is worth opening when you want a clearer read on the menu and the room.

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Based on 1404 reviews

Seafood•South End•$$

Bootleg Special Kitchen & Bar

Bootleg Special Kitchen & Bar is a smart brunch call in South End when the morning is supposed to feel a little more like an occasion.

brunchlate nightcocktail

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Based on 1357 reviews

Peruvian•Somerville•$$

Machu Picchu Boston

Machu Picchu Boston is a strong brunch move in Somerville in Boston when you want the meal to feel worth leaving the house for.

brunchcocktail

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Based on 1253 reviews

Italian•North End•$$$

Lucca Restaurant

Lucca Restaurant is a italian pick in North End in Boston when you want dinner to feel a little more planned.

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Based on 1230 reviews

French•Back Bay•$$$

Bistro du Midi

Bistro du Midi suits a night out in Back Bay when you want french that feels grown-up without getting stiff.

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Based on 1217 reviews

Wine Bar•Somerville•$$

Foundry On Elm

Foundry On Elm is a sensible wine bar call in Somerville in Boston when you want something that usually lands well.

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Based on 1173 reviews

Seafood•Cambridge•$$$

Waypoint

Waypoint suits a night out in Cambridge when you want seafood that feels grown-up without getting stiff.

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Based on 1128 reviews