The March Hit List: Little Donkey, The Koji Club, Ruckus, and More

Little Donkey’s mission to serve global street food has given it a remit for endless experimentation. While certain dishes — we’re looking at you, yuzu cream cheese crab Rangoon and caviar sandwich on a potato roll — have become house classics, a fresh visit will reliably turn up new treats. Lately, that’s meant recent additions like a “birria crunchwrap” made with braised beef cheeks and a “bikini grilled cheese” featuring black truffle, jamón Ibérico, and fontina.

Boston now has its very first sake bar in the form of The Koji Club, which had floated around town as a pop-up before settling down in Brighton. Drop in anytime for a cedar barrel-aged Kojimaya “Untitled” or a sparkling Fukucho “Seaside,” or purchase a ticket for one of their education-driven Sunday tastings. And with sake must come snacks: At The Koji Club that takes the form of Japanese curry empanadas, rice with pickles and umeboshi, or if you’re feeling fancy, caviar service with crème fraiche and potato chips.

Walk-ins only.

After close to two years of closure, Shojo’s ramen-based sibling Ruckus will once again … yes, bring the ruckus. What hasn’t changed is its commitment to handmade noodles and 24-hour ramen broths, which are utilized in such dishes as the pork-and-chicken-based tori miso ramen, or a toro miso supreme topped by four pieces of thick-cut pork belly. Also on deck are handmade pork-and-cabbage Peking ravioli and smashed cucumbers with sesame oil and nori.

Walk-ins only.

Great news for hungry, natural wine-loving night owls: Gray’s Hall is now open through midnight Thursday-Saturday and will keep the kitchen running until 11 p.m. on those same nights. So, the next time a 10:30 p.m. craving for riesling and a pimento cheese-slathered pretzel baguette strikes, we hope you’re at Gray’s.

Union Square’s Vinal Bakery, long adored for its freshly made English muffins and accompanying English muffin sandwiches, has gained a next-door sibling in the form of Vinal General Store. It’s one part corner grocery and one part retro lunch counter — swivel stools and all — where one can stock up on housemade clam dip or sit down for a Live at the Romesco sandwich made with roasted mushrooms, cauliflower, crunchy shallots, arugula, provolone, and romesco sauce.

Walk-ins only.

The news that Jamie Bissonnette and Ken Origner plan to bring a seafood-focused Italian restaurant to Back Bay is as good a hook as any to check in on their original Italian venture. Little Coppa soldiers on at its South End corner, reliably dishing out house classics like spaghetti carbonara topped by Maine uni and ‘nduja pizzas with roasted eggplant and mozzarella.

Reservations available via Resy starting March 1.

Everyone’s favorite ellipsis-having Beacon Hill steakhouse has expanded to the Seaport, taking over the cavernous digs once occupied by Bastille Kitchen. They’ve brought no shortage of wine and steak to their immense new environs, and you can safely bet on encountering New York sirloin au poivre or an 18-ounce dry-aged bone-in rib eye there on your next visit.

For reservations, call the restaurant at 617-670-2515.

Many have mourned the 2018 closing of Erbaluce, a hidden gem of a Northern Italian restaurant tucked away in Bay Village. No, Erbaluce hasn’t returned, but its former chef and owner Charles Draghi is now commanding the kitchen at Alcove, where he’s reintroduced the bygone restaurant’s beloved carbonara. If you’ve come to reacquaint yourself with the pasta, consider matching it to surf clam ceviche and housemade focaccia topped with fresh ricotta.

If we had any complaints about SRV, it would be that we couldn’t enjoy their justly famous pork-and-beef meatballs on every day that ended in “y.” Now we can, as the Venetian bacaro has expanded its hours to seven days a week. Celebrate the occasion on your next visit with farro mafaldine in veal ragu or halibut with squid ink and black garlic.

There aren’t many places where you can find high-quality sushi and backyard barbecue-style burgers under the same roof, but not many places are Shore Leave. The subterranean tropical bar’s newly refreshed menu places an American cheese and Kewpie mayo-topped Dungeon Burger beside Jonah crab California rolls and scallop nigiri with brown butter and Hawaiian salt. Naturally, you can’t leave without springing for a frozen banana daiquiri or the Mangolorian, made by throwing Tequila, mezcal, amontillado sherry, and chile-dusted mango slices in a blender.