Restaurants
Due to its shared cultural roots with greater New England, clean
briny flavours from the sea dominate Boston's regional cuisine,
along with a large emphasis on rum, salt and dairy products.
Ideal for a takeaway lunch by the harbour or a quick bite to
eat, Faneuil Hall still comes out tops with a fantastic
cross-section of the city's cosmopolitan cuisine and manages to be
a wonderful tourist attraction simultaneously.
The North End is a firm favourite with locals and features
wonderfully intimate cafés, bakeries and eateries with
enough gastronomic treats to get just about everybody's mouth
watering, while the South End boasts some of the most elegant
restaurants in Boston's dining scene.
Most restaurants in the North End don't accept reservations, and a
few accept credit cards, but dining here is well worth the wait.
Those hoping to eat dinner in Boston's South End are strongly
advised to make a booking.
An unpretentious Italian restaurant with hard working staff and
authentic Italian cuisine, Pomodoro is one of those neighbourhood
restaurants that is frequented by locals and foreigners who keep
coming back for more. Situated in the North End, Pomodoro serves a
wide range of Italian cuisine from traditional linguine marinara
with lots of garlic and fresh herbs to roasted duck with mushroom
ragu. The affordable prices and quality of food make up for the
simple décor, with most patrons being mesmerised by the
activity and aroma escaping from the open kitchen and the food on
their plate. Reservations recommended. Open Tuesday to Sunday for
lunch and dinner.
Address: 319 Hanover Street
Telephone: (617) 367 4348
The Capital Grille |
$$$$$ | American |
The succulent and large proportioned steaks, served in style at
The Capital Grille in historic Back Bay, send carnivores into
raptures, particularly the enormous 24-ounce (680g) dry-aged
porterhouse that is the restaurant's speciality. Steaks are hand
cut and perfectly seasoned before being grilled and served along
with a choice of more than 300 wines. Seafood entrées are
also on offer, and the desserts include a tempting homemade
cheesecake. The décor is sophisticated and clubby. Open for
dinner daily.
Address: 359 Newbury Street
Telephone: (617) 262 8900
Meritage |
$$$$$ | Modern Eclectic |
The restaurant in the Boston Harbor Hotel on Rowes Wharf offers
not only the city's finest waterfront view but also some of its
finest dining, enhanced with traditional plush décor, dark
panelling setting off sparkling crystal. Chef Daniel Bruce offers a
seasonally changing menu, passionately geared to his insistence on
the freshest and best quality ingredients. He even takes trips to
pick his own wild mushrooms for his speciality mushroom and polenta
dish. Seafood highlights usually top the menu. A jacket is required
and reservations are recommended. Dinner Tuesday to Saturday, and
brunch on Sundays.
Address: Boston Harbor Hotel, 70 Rowes Wharf, Waterfront
Telephone: (617) 439 3995
Hamersley’s Bistro |
$$$$$ | International |
One of Boston's great chefs presides over his own bar,
café and dining room in a baseball cap, turning out his now
famed signature dishes, many lavished with garlic. The menu changes
seasonally. Spring, for example, could feature seared tuna with
Portobello mushrooms, and Arugula and orange-sesame dressing, or
veal cutlet stuffed with proscuitto, and fontina with sherry and
creamed spinach. The atmosphere is relaxed, but the food is
serious. Open for dinner daily. Reservations recommended.
Address: 553 Tremont Street
Telephone: (617) 423 2700
This popular restaurant in the Seaport Hotel in Boston's
historic Waterfront district puts a spin on regional American fare
with a seasonally changing menu, renowned particularly for its
fresh seafood specialities, chicken and beef entrées, and
locally crafted cheeses. Aura is casually elegant and offers an
outdoor section. Reservations are recommended. Open for breakfast
and lunch daily, and dinner Monday to Saturday.
Address: Seaport Hotel, 1 Seaport Lane
Telephone: (617) 385 4300
China Pearl |
$$$$$ | Chinese |
The jewel of Boston's Chinatown district is the China Pearl,
renowned among locals and visitors alike. The extensive dinner menu
is rather daunting, but each dish, from General Gau's Chicken to
Lobster Chinese style, is equally delicious. The restaurant's Dim
Sum menu (a variety of savoury snacks made of minced meat wrapped
in dough, shium mai or thin wonton and cooked in various ways) is
award winning and much sought after. Open daily for breakfast,
lunch and dinner.
Address: 9 Tyler Street, Chinatown
Telephone: (617) 426 4338
Durgin Park |
$$$$$ | American |
'Your father and grandfather probably dined with us' says the
advertising slogan for this Faneuil Hall market restaurant, which
has been feeding the hearty appetites of locals for well over a
century. Today the restaurant is a tourist attraction simply
because the cuisine it serves is still authentic old style New
England. The food is unpretentious, honest and good, including
favourites like clam chowder, fish chowder, fish cakes and beans,
chicken pot pie, prime rib, roast turkey, cornbread, Indian pudding
and apple pie. Open daily for lunch and dinner.
Address: 340 Faneuil Hall Market Place
E-mail: seanadpark30@aol.com
Telephone: (617) 227 2038
Sorelle Bakery and Café |
$$$$$ |
An attractive modern eatery that is an ideal morning coffee stop
and trendy lunch venue, the Sorelle Bakery and Café is
renowned for its variety of freshly baked goods ranging from
blueberry muffins and brownies to sandwiches with Swiss cheese,
sliced pork, ham and pickles pressed between French bread. With a
myriad of different lunchtime sandwiches and wraps to choose from
as well as a variety of refreshing beers and crisp wines, the
Sorelle Bakery and Café is friendly and understated and
focussed on food. Bring your laptop along for the wireless
Internet. Open daily for breakfast, lunch and an early evening
snack.
Address: 100 City Square
Telephone: (617) 242 5980
Barking Crab |
$$$$$ | Fish |
It's just a shabby little shack with a deck overlooking Boston
Harbour, but it is renowned for serving the best clam chowder in
town, not to mention other seafood delights, and even roasted
chestnuts in winter. It is a little raucous at the best of times
out on the deck, and the indoor dining room is little quieter and
extremely casual. Live bands entertain while customers crack and
peel shrimp and crab claws and slurp pitchers of beer. Fried clams,
shrimp, scallops, oysters, calamari, lobster, fish and of course
crab are available in a variety of guises, from battered to
steamed. Open daily for lunch and dinner.
Address: Fort Point Landing, 88 Sleeper Street
Telephone: (617) 426 2722
Silvertone Bar and Grill |
$$$$$ | American |
The trendy subterranean lounge of the Silvertone has a retro
vibe where the food is as comforting as the prices. The menu offers
solid meals with a few fancy touches, like meatloaf and mashed
potatoes, tasty macaroni and cheese, spicy Caesar salad and
marinated steak tips. Cool cocktails, like the signature
raspberry-infused vodka martini, and a varied wine list complete
the picture, offered with friendly service. Open for dinner Monday
to Saturday, and lunch on weekdays.
Address: 69 Bromfield Street
Telephone: (617) 338 7887
