The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Backbar
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- Boston Magazine 2025 · #9 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
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- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 4. Sarma
Eastern Mediterranean
- USA Today 2026 · Restaurants of the Year
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Chef · Cassie Piuma
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #1 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Classy Steak Tips · Best of Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #41 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 8. Rebel Rebel
Natural Wine Bar
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
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Rank 9. Oleana
Turkish Middle Eastern
Wood-paneled rooms and hanging blue-glass amulets set a protective, chalet-like warmth at this Cambridge stalwart devoted to Turkish and Eastern Mediterranean cooking. The small-plates menu—vegetables, fish, meat—yields ricotta dumplings and quail kebab with pistachio that justify the perpetual crowds.
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Rank 14. Pammy's
Mediterranean
Chris and Pam Willis's kitchen in a salvaged-wood dining room turns out Mediterranean cooking with real precision—bacalao enriched with mascarpone and studded with boquerones and sour cherries, squid ink gnocchi as light as air. A prix-fixe format built for flexibility and a neighborhood warmth that never feels forced.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #17 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 15. Cicada Coffee Bar
Vietnamese Coffee
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Vinh Le
- Eater The Best Coffee Shops Around Boston
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 16. Sumiao Hunan Kitchen
Hunan Chinese
Sumiao Chen abandoned science to open this bright Kendall Square kitchen devoted to Hunan's fiery, funky cooking, where even obligatory dishes like General Tso's chicken receive house-made sauce. The stir-fried rice noodles—egg, chives, pickled green beans—and Grandma's five-spice pork with firm tofu announce a chef thinking beyond the expected.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Chinese Restaurant · Best of Boston
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
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- New England 2025 · Best New Value Meal · Yankee Food Awards
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Reason to Stay In and Eat · Best of Boston
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- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Monica Glass
- Eater Best New Bakery
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Gluten-Free Shop · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Vietnamese Restaurant · Best of Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #34 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 27. Pagu
Asian
Tracy Chang's Spanish-Asian hybrid cooking pairs bold flavors with quality ingredients—patatas bravas with mojo verde alongside crab laksa with ramen. A Cambridge stalwart since 2017 that moves beyond dining with cooking classes and community dinners.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Tracy Chang
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 30. Giulia
Italian
The room hums with the controlled chaos of a place that knows what it does well: pasta, nine varieties of it, rotating daily. Fusilli arrives bright with tomato and zucchini; pappardelle ribbons carry braised wild boar with the weight of patient cooking. An all-Italian wine list anchors the experience. Counter seats along the bar stay open for walk-ins brave enough to take their chances.
- New England 2024 · Pastry Chef of the Year · Yankee Food Awards · Renae Connolly
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
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Rank 31. Moëca
Seafood
The room hums with the ease of people who know they're in good hands—soft light, attentive servers, the kind of composure that signals a place confident in what it does. Seafood leads here, from tamarind-lacquered monkfish to lobster spaghetti, sourced with care and seasoned for the world.
- Bon Appétit 2023 · America's Best New Restaurants
- New England 2024 · Pastry Chef of the Year · Yankee Food Awards · Renae Connolly
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 32. Rare Steakhouse
Steakhouse
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Rank 35. Bagelsaurus
Bakery
- Bon Appétit The Very Best Bagels in the US (Yes, Outside New York)
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
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Rank 36. Wusong Tiki Bar
New England/Chinese
- USA Today 2025 · Restaurants of the Year
- Eater The Best Bars Around Boston
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 40. Union Oyster House
Seafood
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · World's Best Landmark Restaurant
- Eater Tourist Trap Restaurants That Are Actually Good in Boston
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Winner · North America's Best Landmark Restaurant
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Rank 43. Deuxave
Modern French
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best French Restaurant · Best of Boston
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- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
- Bon Appétit 2018 · #8 · America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 45. Jahunger
Uyghur Noodles
Uyghur cooking from Xinjiang arrives in Cambridge with hand-pulled noodles that are chewy and substantial, their strands slick with chili oil and Sichuan pepper. Family-run and unadorned, the place offers dumplings and homemade yogurt alongside lamb dishes that carry both Chinese and Arabic spice.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Subat Dilmurat
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #43 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 46. Mooo....
Steakhouse
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Rank 48. Ostra
Mediterranean Seafood
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- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service · Nader Asgari-Tari
- Wine Enthusiast 2025 · Top 50 New Restaurants
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Empire Builder · Best of Boston
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- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Patricia Estorino
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Cuban Restaurant · Best of Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #46 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #16 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 54. Talulla
Italian
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Best Chef: Northeast · Conor Dennehy
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Conor Dennehy
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Rank 55. Urban Hearth
New American
A spare dining room with a four-seat bar frames Chef Erin Miller's seasonal cooking, which draws from New England farms and foraged finds—heirloom tomatoes with whipped goat cheese and black sesame crisps, fazzoletti pasta ribboned with saffron and ricotta. The kitchen's restraint and precision suggest a chef more interested in the integrity of her ingredients than in spectacle.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Best Chef: Northeast · Erin Miller
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Locavore Restaurant · Best of Boston
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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- 50 Best 2026 · #86 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service · Oscar Simoza
- Eater The Best Bars Around Boston
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Rank 57. La Padrona
Italian
Inside Raffles Boston, a two-story Italian restaurant gleams with gold accents and grand windows; the kitchen answers the opulence with housemade pastas and scallops finished in saffron butter, while an astute cocktail program and wine list ensure the glamour extends to the glass.
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Amarilys Colon
- Eater Best New Restaurant
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Rank 58. Zuma
Japanese
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Rank 59. Neptune Oyster
Seafood
A shucker in a blue apron works the window of this North End seafront, oysters gleaming on crushed ice behind dark glass. Inside, mosaic tile and red leather frame a narrow room where the day's bivalves arrive on handwritten cards, accompanied by a briny fritto misto on local brioche and wines trawled from European coastal vineyards. The place runs tight and cheerful, all casual precision.
- The Infatuation Infatuation’s Highest-Rated Restaurants In America
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Classy Lobster Roll · Best of Boston
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 60. The Koji Club
Sake Cocktail Bar
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service · Alyssa Mikiko DiPasquale
- Esquire 2023 · The Best Bars in America
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service · Alyssa Mikiko DiPasquale
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Rank 61. UNI
Japanese
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Rank 62. Somaek
Korean
In a spare room steps from Boston Common, Chef Bissonnette's kitchen honors his mother-in-law's recipes through jogae jeon—clam pancakes with chive salad—and a doenjang jjigae whose soybean broth quietly settles around pork belly and soft tofu. The cocktail list, anchored by the house somaek of soju and beer, suggests a place that knows its tradition and moves within it with ease.
- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Empire Builder · Best of Boston
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Rank 63. Toro
Spanish
A South End fixture that has thrived for two decades on the simple formula of spirited service and shareable Spanish fare. Crispy bacalao croquetas and roasted bone marrow with oxtail anchor a menu best approached with friends and a glass of manzanilla, while the all-Spanish wine list and capable cocktails keep pace with the convivial, unhurried mood.
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
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- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Steakhouse · Best of Boston
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #31 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 65. Mooncusser
Contemporary
Arched windows frame Columbus Avenue in this Back Bay dining room where Chef Carl Dooley's tasting menu swings freely between Mediterranean and Asian inspirations, often turning to seafood—Spanish mackerel with huacatay salsa, glazed cod brightened by mango pickle and papadam. The wine list is thoughtfully assembled and fairly priced, the service unhurried, the mood decidedly unpretentious.
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Tasting Menu · Best of Boston
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #3 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 66. Wa Shin
Sushi
Inside a Back Bay residential tower, Chef Sky Zheng works the hinoki counter at this polished omakase room, where Japanese imports are dressed with minimal seasoning and precise garnish—torched madai with citrus, needlefish adorned with shiso. The edomae approach is understated, letting high quality fish speak for itself across three nightly seatings.
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Classy Sushi · Best of Boston
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #26 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 67. Krasi
Greek
- Wine Enthusiast 2024 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Best Chef: Northeast · Valentine Howell
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #18 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Private Dining Room · Best of Boston
- New England 2023 · Best New Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #39 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 69. Merai
Thai
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Best New Bar
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East
- Eater Best New Bar
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Rank 70. Equal Measure
Global
- Esquire 2024 · The Best Bars in America
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Top 10 Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best New Bar
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- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Day-to-Night Spot · Best of Boston
- Eater The Best Coffee Shops Around Boston
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Rank 72. Lenox Sophia
Contemporary
Chef Shi Mei cooks with refined casualness in a postage-stamp dining room, serving seasonally shifting tasting menus that ignore regional boundaries. The intimacy is genuine—no servers fussing, no flash—just a chef who talks to you while you share wine and discover parsnip panna cotta.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Shi Mei
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #12 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 74. Select Oyster Bar
Seafood
In a Back Bay rowhouse, Chef Michael Sherpa's oyster bar centers on an L-shaped pewter counter where Maine uni toast and daily crudo speak to serious seafood sourcing. The Casco Bay halibut, dressed with pickled onion and almond, arrives as a small argument for why you came here instead of somewhere easier.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Michael Serpa
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 76. La Royal
Peruvian
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- Esquire 2023 · Pisco Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #24 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 77. Mahaniyom
Thai
Two childhood friends from north of Bangkok run this tight Brookline room where Thai small plates arrive with surprising ambition. A pomelo salad brightens with grilled tiger prawns and toasted coconut; a house-made red curry cradles crabmeat and rice vermicelli in coconut richness. The cocktails—try the Thai tea–infused Sazerac—match the kitchen's unafraid creativity.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Thai Restaurant · Best of Boston
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
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Rank 80. Asta
Contemporary
Chef Alex Crabb's decade-long tenure in a spare Back Bay room—exposed brick, gold ceiling, counter seating—yields a tasting menu that shifts weekly, sometimes conceptually over coherently, but always delivered by an engaged kitchen. Herb-crusted fish, dry-aged duck, chawanmushi threaded with truffle: the ideas come fast and handwritten, a restless intelligence at work.
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Rank 81. 311 Omakase
Japanese
Chef Wei Fa Chen's intimate counter in a South End rowhouse pairs pristine imported fish with a refined mise-en-scène of Kyoto ceramics and custom tatami. Cooked preparations of grouper or amadai precede the nigiri, each course deliberate and understated.
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Rank 82. Saltie Girl
Seafood
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Caviar Service · Best of Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #44 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Yemeni Restaurant · Best of Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #33 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Seafood · Best of Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #35 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 85. Kaia
Coastal Greek
- Wine Enthusiast 2025 · Top 50 New Restaurants
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best New Restaurant · Best of Boston
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Rank 87. Blossom Bar
Chinese/Sichuan
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. East
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. East
- Eater The Best Bars Around Boston
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Rank 88. Table
Italian
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Sandwich · Best of Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #49 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 90. Mamma Maria
Italian
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- Boston Magazine 2025 · #45 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Back Bay Restaurant · Best of Boston
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- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- Eater The Best Bars Around Boston
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- Wine Enthusiast 2023 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- The New York Times 2022 · The Restaurant List
- Bon Appétit 2022 · America's Best New Restaurants
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- Boston Magazine 2025 · #30 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Allston/Brighton Restaurant · Best of Boston
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- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #35 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 98. Fox & The Knife
Italian
A South Boston trattoria where Chef Karen Akunowicz's Italian-inflected pasta program anchors a lively dining room that feels equally welcoming to families and couples. Warm focaccia stuffed with taleggio and braised beef agnolotti del plin with roasted carrot butter land with equal conviction. The place has the generosity of spirit—and the long bar—of a restaurant that knows what it's doing.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston
- Eater 2019 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 100. Comfort Kitchen
African/Global
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
- The New York Times 2023 · The Restaurant List
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Sāsha Coleman