The Best Places in Boston
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Rank 188. Jadu
Vietnamese
A rosemary-honey cortado tells you everything about what kind of coffee shop this is. Jadu is a Jamaica Plain cafe pulling Counter Culture espresso alongside masala chai sourced from Boston's own Madhrasi Chai, with seasonal drinks that lean into unexpected flavor combinations. Pastries come from a nearby nut-free bakery, and there's a breakfast and lunch menu to keep you longer than you planned.
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Rank 188. Madhouse Cafe
Coffee
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My Girl is a glamorous cocktail bar tucked beneath Yvonne's, with gold leaf, rosy marble, and passion fruit martinis that clearly expect you to dress for them. The Sox hat stays home. Reservations help at prime time, though the place hits its stride after 10, when Boston finally decides to stay up late and live music takes over Thursday through Saturday. The Infatuation put it on its list of the best bars in the city.
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- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Bars In Boston
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Rank 188. Ogawa Coffee
Japanese Coffee Shop
A Kyoto-born coffee roaster with a downtown Boston outpost, Ogawa treats the morning latte as a quiet art project, right down to the foam. It's a coffee shop in the composed, Japanese sense: calm, precise, and a little more interesting than you expected. The house blend skews rich and fruity, the hojicha latte earthy and caramel-edged, and seasonal drinks like a smoked maple latte suggest the menu takes itself just seriously enough.
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The name is short for Serene Republic of Venice, which tells you exactly how seriously the team takes the concept. This South End cicchetti bar and trattoria runs a Venetian Italian menu that shifts with the seasons without abandoning the dishes regulars would notice missing. The room skews sophisticated, the kind of place where the staff actually remembers you by the second visit and seems to mean it.
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This is a tiny sushi counter downstairs from a Japanese listening bar, where the walls come with a vinyl collection and the rules come with a certain hush. It's the kind of room where nobody talks over the record, and the tuna rolls are taken seriously by people in dark jackets who have strong feelings about turntables. It's small, so plan on cozy, not spread-out. The Infatuation has it on their Best Bars In Boston list.
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Bars In Boston
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Rank 188. Taiwan Cafe
Taiwanese
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Rank 188. Taquería Jalisco
Taqueria
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Rank 188. The Druid
Irish Pub
The Druid is an Irish pub in Inman Square, the kind where the bartender's accent comes standard and the Guinness gets poured with the patience of someone who has seen impatient people. Live music turns up often, and it sometimes becomes an impromptu session of fiddles and bodhrán drums in which several generations of strangers simply know the same songs. Expect pub prices, wool sweaters, and a table you will not want to leave.
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Bars In Boston
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Rank 188. The Haven
Scottish British
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Trina's is a pinup-flavored Somerville dive where the corners are dark, the beer runs from local IPAs to buckets of High Life Ponies, and the staff has been pouring so long they're basically load-bearing. Bartenders from other bars turn up for the Monday industry brunch, which is the closest thing to a seal of approval a bar can get. There's mac and cheese with a buttery Ritz crust and a mango margarita with a BBQ-spiced rim.
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Bars In Boston
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Non-Seafood Tower · Best of Boston
- The Infatuation The Best Bars In Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Non-Seafood Tower · Best of Boston
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Rank 188. Yego Coffee
Rwandan African Coffee Shop
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- Yankee Magazine Yankee Magazine: Ice Cream Shop of the Year · Yankee Food Awards
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- Eater Eater: Best Pop-Up
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Rank 224. Bay Sweets Market
Middle Eastern
The bakery tucked into the basement of this West Roxbury Middle Eastern grocery has been an old-school institution for Lebanese-style sweets, pies, and breads. Baklava, za'atar manakish, and spinach pies come out daily, and you can pair a pita sandwich with hummus or baba ganoush while stocking up on groceries and house-made kibbeh. The kind of market where the list of things to grab keeps growing the longer you browse.
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Rank 224. Boston Sail Loft
New England
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Rank 224. Bova's Bakery
Italian Bakery
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Rank 224. Clear Flour Bread
German Bakery
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.
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Rank 224. Le Foyer Bakery
Haitian Bakery
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Rank 224. Rosenfeld’s Bagels
Bakery
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Rank 224. Salt patisserie
French-Brazilian
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Rank 224. Third Cliff Bakery
French Bakery
A sun-filled corner bakery in Jamaica Plain where the croissant menu changes often enough to keep regulars guessing. Third Cliff built its following at a farmers market cart before settling into its permanent spot, and the French pastry classics get unexpected company here, kimchi cheddar croissants alongside vegan cardamom morning buns. The espresso is taken seriously. Neighborhood coffee shop energy, pastry-destination ambitions.
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- Boston Magazine #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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- Bon Appétit Bon Appétit: America's Best New Restaurants
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Yahya Noor
- Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Yahya Noor
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #47 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Tico Huynh
- Boston Magazine #47 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Tico Huynh
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- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
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Rank 243. Vida Cantina
Modern Mexican
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- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · David Vargas
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · David Vargas
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · David Vargas
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · David Vargas
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Rank 245. Grace by Nia
Soul Food
The broad blue doors open onto a jazz-age fantasia: gold-accented walls, live music, and soul food in a Seaport dining room that feels like a speakeasy that upgraded its permits. Restaurateur Nia Grace runs this dinner-and-show spot, where oxtail and grits share the menu with easy cocktails and the band is not background noise. Boston Magazine named it one of the city's top fifty restaurants, and gave it Best Dinner and a Show.
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- Yankee Magazine Yankee Magazine: Best New Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #38 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Dinner and a Show · Best of Boston
- Yankee Magazine Best New Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine #38 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Dinner and a Show · Best of Boston
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Rank 245. MIDA
Italian
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- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Douglass Williams
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Northeast · Douglass Williams
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Yemeni Restaurant · Best of Boston
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #33 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Yemeni Restaurant · Best of Boston
- Boston Magazine #33 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best New Bar · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Brunch · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best New Bakery-Cafe · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #45 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Back Bay Restaurant · Best of Boston
- Boston Magazine #45 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Back Bay Restaurant · Best of Boston
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- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2022 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Chris Viaud
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Rank 253. Mistral
Mediterranean
Duck on white tablecloths, no apology. Mistral is a full-service French-Mediterranean restaurant in the South End that has been around forever and still packs the room with business-casual regulars alongside tourist groups, both of whom tend to end up with the signature grilled thin-crust pizza in front of them regardless of what they planned to order. The bread is warm and crusty, the service is attentive, and the portions are substantial enough to quiet anyone who finds elegance unsatisfying.
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #40 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #30 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Allston/Brighton Restaurant · Best of Boston
- Boston Magazine #30 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Allston/Brighton Restaurant · Best of Boston
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Rank 253. No Relation
Sushi
Nine seats, seventeen courses, and Johnny Cash on the speakers: No Relation is a sushi omakase tucked inside the South End's tropical bar Shore Leave, which you pass through to get here. The team behind it takes the fish seriously, mapping each source on the wall, while keeping the room loose enough that smiling-cat sake cups feel completely right. A caviar supplement exists for those who want to go further.
The awards
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #20 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 253. Puritan & Company
New American
Parker House rolls with cultured butter arrive at the table early, which tells you something about where this New American restaurant's priorities lie. Will Gilson's Inman Square spot reworks New England staples with local ingredients and the occasional global detour, the kind of cooking that makes baked scrod feel like it had a bad publicist. Comfortable and neighborhood-rooted, it draws regulars who treat the bread course with appropriate seriousness.
The awards
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #37 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #35 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #35 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Seafood · Best of Boston
- Boston Magazine #35 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Seafood · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #35 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 253. Saigon Babylon
Modern Vietnamese
Five floors above Central Square, this modern Vietnamese restaurant rewards the climb with vintage furniture the team refurbished themselves and a room that feels like someone's very stylish living room went rogue. The cooking runs to turmeric rice with squab and lemongrass carpaccio, and the cocktail list has a gin drink with salted lime and tingly pepper that earns its place on the bill.
The awards
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #34 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Vietnamese Restaurant · Best of Boston
- Boston Magazine #34 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Vietnamese Restaurant · Best of Boston
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Michael Schlow, the chef behind the late Radius and Via Matta, runs this polished seafood restaurant inside Encore Boston Harbor. The move is the deluxe seafood tower, which arrives before a menu of composed, elegant entrées. Make time for Old Wives' Tale, the nautical speakeasy tucked inside, where cocktails come dressed in mermaid sculptures and scattered seashells, as if the bartender and a prop department struck a deal.
The awards
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #50 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 253. Table
Italian
A server once warned a full room of strangers, "It's a marathon, not a sprint," and they were not wrong. This tiny North End prix-fixe seats guests at two long communal tables for six courses of Italian comfort, the kind that leans into abundance rather than elegance. Staff T-shirts reading "Come hungry, be friendly" set the tone before the focaccia even lands.
The awards
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #49 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Sandwich · Best of Boston
- Boston Magazine #49 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
- Boston Magazine 2025 · Best Sandwich · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: #29 · Top 50 Restaurants in Boston
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Rank 267. Abuela’s Table
Oaxacan
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Mexican Restaurant · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Casual Sushi · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Chinese Takeout · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Chocolate · Best of Boston
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Rank 267. Citrus & Salt
Mexican
Chef Jason Santos runs this Mexican-inspired brunch spot in the Seaport, where the mimosas arrive with a swirl of soft-serve sorbet and the street corn gets a dusting of Flamin' Hot Cheetos. The room is draped in pink flowers, which is either a design choice or an elaborate content strategy, and probably both. Come with a group, order widely from the tapas-style menu, and accept that your phone will not stay in your pocket.
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Girls' Night Out · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Listening Lounge · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Bagel · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Fried Chicken · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Korean Restaurant · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Hot Chocolate · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Hot Chocolate · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Hot Chocolate · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Clam Chowder · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Clam Chowder · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Clam Chowder · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Clam Chowder · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Clam Chowder · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Clam Chowder · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Clam Chowder · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Clam Chowder · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Clam Chowder · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Clam Chowder · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Cookie · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Cookie · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Vegan Restaurant · Best of Boston
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- Boston Magazine Boston Magazine: 2025 · Best Vegan Restaurant · Best of Boston
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