The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Rubato
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Rank 1. Lê Madeline
Reimagined Vietnamese
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Peter Nguyen
- Eater Chef of the Year · Peter Nguyen
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #23 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 2. Rubato
Hong Kong
- Bon Appétit 2023 · America's Best New Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Laurence Louie
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston
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- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Irish Pub · Best of Boston
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Rank 5. o ya
Sushi
- AAA Four Diamonds
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #8 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 6. 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
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Rank 7. Via Cannuccia
Roman Italian
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #42 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 8. Mamma Maria
Italian
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Rank 9. Greenhills Bakery
Irish Bakery
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Rank 10. Bánh Mì Ba Lẹ
Vietnamese
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 11. Singh's Roti Shop
Traditional Caribbean
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Dorchester Restaurant · Best of Boston
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Rank 14. 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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Rank 15. 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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- James Beard Awards 2025 · Winner · America's Classics: Northeast
- Eater Tourist Trap Restaurants That Are Actually Good in Boston
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Rank 21. Tonino
Italian
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Luke Fetbroth
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #25 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
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- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Cecelia Lizotte
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Roxbury Restaurant · Best of Boston
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Rank 23. Bar Volpe
Southern Italian
Candlelit and convivial, Bar Volpe channels southern Italian cooking through Chef Karen Akunowicz's assured hand: salt cod fritters dusted with za'atar, house-made spaghetti al limone studded with Jonah crab, squid ink casarecce crowned with lobster and chili. The amaro list and cocktail program anchor a neighborhood table where familiar dishes arrive with precision and generosity.
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Rank 24. Le Foyer Bakery
Haitian Bakery
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Rank 25. Ostra
Mediterranean Seafood
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Rank 27. Kaia
Coastal Greek
- Wine Enthusiast 2025 · Top 50 New Restaurants
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best New Restaurant · Best of Boston
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Rank 28. Brassica Kitchen + Cafe
French New American
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #10 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Jamaica Plain Restaurant · Best of Boston
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Jeremy Kean and Philip Kruta
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Rank 29. Deuxave
Modern French
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best French Restaurant · Best of Boston
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Rank 32. 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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Rank 34. 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 37. Zuma
Japanese
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Rank 38. 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 40. Chickadee
Seasonal Mediterranean
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · John daSilva
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · John DaSilva
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · John DaSilva
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Rank 41. Mooo....
Steakhouse
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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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- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in 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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- 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 49. 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 50. 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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- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Dinner and a Show · Best of Boston
- New England 2023 · Best New Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #38 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 53. 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 54. The Haven
Scottish British
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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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Rank 58. Woods Hill Pier 4
New American
Chef Charlie Foster's harbor-side restaurant opens its garage doors to reveal farm-to-table cooking with global swagger—striped bass crudo and smoked ham croquettes among the highlights. The wrap-around patio and Seaport location draw crowds, but the grilled pork and charred broccoli justify the attention.
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Rank 59. UNI
Japanese
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Rank 62. Black Cat at Vee Vee
Seasonal American
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Rank 63. 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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Rank 64. Baleia
Portuguese Seafood
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Rank 66. Jadu
Southeast Asian
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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 74. 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 75. 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 77. 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 79. No Relation
Omakase Sushi
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Rank 81. 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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Rank 82. MIDA
Italian
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Seth Gerber and Douglass Williams
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Douglass Williams
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Douglass Williams
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Rank 83. Blue Nile
Ethiopian
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Rank 85. SRV
Venetian Italian
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Rank 86. Blossom Bar
Chinese/Sichuan
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. East
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. East
- Eater The Best Bars Around Boston
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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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Rank 94. 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 96. 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 Yemeni Restaurant · Best of Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · #33 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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