The 12 Best Places in Brookline
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The best places in Brookline, according to the experts: James Beard Awards, Eater, and Spirited Awards have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Merai comes out on top.
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Mahaniyom and Blossom Bar hold the next two places. Boston Magazine shows up on more of this list than any other guide, with Eater close behind.
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Rank 1. Merai
Modern Thai Cocktail Bar
The awards
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2025 · Nominee · Best New Bar
- Eater Eater: Best New Bar
- Spirited Awards Spirited Awards: 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Best New Bar
- Eater Best New Bar
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East
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Rank 2. Mahaniyom
Thai
A two-dozen-seat Thai tapas room in Brookline Village where the menu reads like a love letter to northern Bangkok filtered through a genuinely curious kitchen. Small plates and creative cocktails share equal billing, the Michelin Bib Gourmand crowd sitting close enough to see what everyone else ordered. The New York Times and Boston Magazine have both circled it, which tracks for a spot this compact running this confidently.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- The New York Times The New York Times: The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #13 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
- Boston Magazine #13 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 3. Blossom Bar
Cocktail Sichuan
Sichuan Garden fed Brookline Village for two decades before the family's son, a bartender with a James Beard-nominated bar pedigree, took over the front of house and made it a cocktail bar. The drinks lean tropical, lots of rum and agave, threaded through with Sichuan flavors that have no business working this well together. The Spirited Awards named the bar team a Regional Top 10 Honoree, which tracks.
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Bars In Boston
- Eater Eater: The Best Bars Around Boston
- Eater Eater: The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston
- The Infatuation The Best Bars In Boston
- Eater The Best Bars Around Boston
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 4. Bar Vlaha
Greek
No octopus, no branzino, no horiatiki. Bar Vlaha is a Greek restaurant that tells a narrower story: the Vlachs, mountain shepherds from northern Greece who foraged forests and fished freshwater streams rather than the Aegean. The menu follows that logic, so beef cheeks braise with prunes in clay pots and the tzatziki gets a drizzle of honey. The New York Times named it among Boston's 25 best restaurants right now, which feels about right for a room this specific.
The awards
- New England New England: Best New Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #4 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- The New York Times The New York Times: The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
- New England Best New Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine #4 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
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Rank 5. Painted Burro
Mexican Cocktail Bar
The awards
- AAA AAA: Approved
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The awards
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Rank 6. Cutty's
American
The broccoli rabe sandwich with tomato jam and melted provolone on a griddled sesame torta is the kind of thing that makes you question every sandwich you've ever eaten. This Brookline sandwich shop runs on the conviction that bread choice is not a casual decision, and the team's fine-dining background shows in every layered, deliberately toasted result. The New York Times put it on their Boston list, which feels about right.
The awards
- The New York Times The New York Times: The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
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The awards
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The shop occupies a small residential corner in Brookline with room for maybe three customers inside, which explains the line of thirty-plus people stretching down the sidewalk on a Tuesday morning. This old-school neighborhood bakery turns out French and Italian classics alongside German specialties like soft pretzels and Vollkornbrot. A next-door coffee counter now handles grab-and-go for anyone with a low tolerance for waiting in the cold.
The awards
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The awards
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Korean Restaurant · Best of Boston
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The awards
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Hot Chocolate · Best of Boston
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The awards
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Indian Restaurant · Best of Boston