The September Hit List: Gufo, La Royal, Barlette, and More

The Coda Restaurant Group, whom you might recall as the fine folks behind SRV and The Salty Pig, have staked their claim north of the Charles with the opening of Gufo in East Cambridge. Like its sibling establishments, Gufo will champion housemade pastas, including a mortadella cappelletti with corn, pistachio, and Parmesan, and squid ink bucatini with ‘nduja butter and baby clams. Non-noodle offerings include shareable plates such as snap pea Caesar with anchovies or an entire roasted black bass, plus pizzas topped by merguez sausage and rapini or bacon and fontina cheese.

311 — not to be confused with the city’s constituency call line — is a 10-seat, counter-service omakase restaurant that quietly opened within a South End Victorian brownstone. Those that partake in either of its two daily seatings will enjoy an intimate, 18-course meal served on antique Japanese pottery and prepared by a chef who earned his stripes working at the three-Michelin starred New York Japanese restaurant Masa.

 Text 781-831-0311 for reservations.

Some things are worth waiting for. La Royal’s lunch service, launched only 18 months after the Peruvian restaurant opened in Cambridge, is one of them. It’s better late than never, as the opportunity affords hearty baguette sandwiches stuffed with stir-fried steak or breaded smelts and accompanied by thick-sliced yucca fries. Also, in the offering is an alpaca, lamb, and beef patty burger topped by Guatemalan cheese and served on a brioche bun.

Brookline’s dinner party-focused Italian restaurant Cobble stands out as one of the few BYOB establishments in the Boston area. Now, the owners have further solidified their bring-it-from-home credentials with the opening of Barlette, a 14-seat, reservation-only bar next door that just happens to be … BYOB. How that works: you supply the hooch, and Barlette furnishes the glassware, ice, snacks, and housemade mixers to turn it into a bona fide cocktail party.

Much-mourned South End Italian standby Stella has found a second lease on life as a 15-seater in Newton. The new Stella, which comes from original chef and owner Evan Deluty, trades only in breakfast and lunch, with an emphasis on takeout-friendly dishes like chicken Parm subs, salt cod cakes, and its reputation-making Bolognese.

Walk-ins only.

Whenever Boston tires of new locations of The Smoke Shop BBQ, it’ll tell us. Until then, chef Andy Husbands’s growing empire of slow-cooked meats will continue marching through its neighborhoods, with the latest flag planted in East Boston. This newest location has all the St. Louis-style pork ribs, fried chicken baskets, and burnt-end barbecue plates that made the local chain a hit in the first place, with the bonus addition of Boston Harbor views.

North End kingmaker Frank DePasquale has added another jewel to his crown with the opening of Umbria in the North End, which skirts the neighborhood’s red sauce reputation for an emphasis on steak. More specifically, 55-day dry-aged bone-in sirloins, Japanese A5 wagyu, and serves-two tomahawk rib eyes. All of which might be accompanied by Maine lobster tacos, pan-seared meatballs in truffle aioli, or a shellfish tower packing 18 oysters, chilled lobster, and Alaskan king crab.

Call 617-865-1265 for reservations.

The long-running partnership between hole-in-the-wall cocktail lounge backbar and its neighbor Field & Vine has again yielded fruit. Or in this case, meat. You see, every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the former will be serving a burger prepared in the latter’s kitchen and made with local beef, pickles, onions, beer cheese sauce, and a housemade sesame seed bun.

The sun may be setting on summer, but the season lives on — for now — via SRV’s current menu. Packing such seasonal delights as stone fruits in smoked vegetable broth with stracciatella and lardo, ricotta-stuffed pansotti with sea beans and mint, or lobster risotto with saffron and garlic, we dare say that the Venetian bacaro has outdone itself. And that’s even before takings survey of its current spritz scene, which includes the Little Angel made with vodka, yuzu sorbet, thyme, and prosecco.

For many, 52 Beach Street will always be Gourmet Dumpling House. And while it’s difficult to move on, the soup dumpling-shaped hole it left in many hearts after its June 2022 closure may be filled by the arrival of Nan Xiang Express. An offshoot of the Michelin-recommended Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, it serves the chain’s signature Shanghai-style pork soup dumplings, alongside chicken soup dumplings, beef fried udon noodles, and beef-stuffed scallion pancakes in a casual, counter service setup.

Walk-ins only.