The Resy Hit List: Where In Boston You’ll Want to Eat Right Now

There’s something to be said — actually, a lot to be said — about the sort of restaurant in an otherwise sleepy neighborhood that still books up weeks in advance, more than 10 years after opening. Sarma is that. You could chalk up its sticking power to its bevy of awards, but that would shortchange the constant creativity of chef Cassie Piuma, whose Turkish meyhane concept still resonates a decade in. It has become a laboratory for Mediterranean flavors, pumping out playful mezze like lentil nachos, brussels sprouts bravas and harissa barbecue duck, while still keeping diners on their toes for whenever the Turkish fried chicken — which can only be ordered direct from the tray — comes out of the kitchen.

What if we told you that the owners behind Field & Vine took their restaurant’s fresh, in-season ethos and applied it to a wood-fired pizzeria? Well, we’d be telling you about June Bug, which has set up shop directly across from the team’s first restaurant. The vibes may be similar, with a vegetable-forward menu that offers dishes like roasted maitake mushrooms with egg-yolk jam, but the change is one of Boston’s most compelling pizza offerings of late — with naturally leavened pies topped by ‘nduja and majorjam, or clams, cabbage, and vermouth cream.

As it enters its fourth year of business, Contessa remains a hot ticket — one of the hottest in town. Which is why it’s a smart idea to take care of the usual post-holiday lull to try and snap up a table for two (or more) and either get reacquainted with, or finally experience, all the rigatoni carbonara and veal Milanese-related hubbub, of the sort that made Major Food Group restaurants like Carbone into modern dining legends. Even if you don’t have dinner on the mind, its glitzy bar helmed by bow tie-clad staff remains the chicest spot in town for a Negroni, rooftop views included.

Few would have imagined that Celeste, which opened with a veritable broom closet of a dining room in Union Square in 2018, would have seeded a mini empire of Peruvian fare. But that it has, having spawned sister establishments in Cambridge (La Royal) and Vermont (Esmerelda). It’s best to start with their original Somerville establishment, which delivers Peruvian cooking at its simple best: acidic seafood ceviche served up in miniature goblets, creamy potato terrines, a whole branzino grilled between plantain leaves. It’s also become an ideal entry point to the world of Chifa, the Peruvian-Chinese fusion cuisine, through such dishes as lomo saltado.

Saltie Girl began as a restaurant-within-a-restaurant, taking over an underutilized room within owner Kathy Sidell’s MET Back Bay in 2016. The timing was impeccable: Saltie Girl made a focus out of tinned fish, well ahead of its time. Gradually, the restaurant has expanded to take over the entire townhouse that once housed MET. And its blend of tinned fish restaurant, raw bar and New England seafood shack still feels unique — perhaps thanks to house signatures like a decadent fried lobster and waffles. The main dining room is closed for renovations until mid-February, but the original, smaller space is open for walk-ins.

“Asian-ish” flavors abound at Joanne Chang’s longstanding South End restaurant, whose small plates incorporate the culinary traditions of Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, China and beyond. The charm rests not only in its airy diner-like space, but also to an openness to accommodating allergies and dietary restrictions that goes above and beyond. The entire menu, from Mama Chang’s pork and chive dumplings to the wok-roasted lemongrass mussels, is carefully coded to alert diners to vegan or vegetarian status and the presence of any potential allergens. And distinct gluten-free, shellfish-free or nut-free menus are available.

We might be biased, but we’d like to think that you can never have too many restaurants focused on New England seafood. Particularly Seaport newcomer Hook + Line, which not only serves up thoughtful takes on classic Yankee fare (baked scallops with lemon butter and breadcrumbs, fried Ipswich clams, etc.) but also tackles more global flavors with a whole roasted branzino accompanied by Calabrian chili crisp or tiger prawns flavored by tasso ham and XO sauce.

Call 617-860-6003 for reservations.

SRV — as in “Serene Republic of Venice” has brought the cooking of the City of Canals to Columbus Avenue. The emphasis is cicchetti, bite-sized morsels you might enjoy in a Venetian wine bar, or bacaro. Within SRV’s brick-walled dining room, dinner might start with a Venetian Spritz or the vermouth of the day, followed by such cicchetti as its baccala mantecato — salt cod spread on a piece of black bread with herbs — or the evergreen pork-and-beef meatballs. Dinners gradually progress to small or main-sized plates; don’t miss the seasonally changing risotto.

Ken Oringer’s Toro arguably introduced tapas to Boston — and supercharged the South End’s nascent dining scene — when it opened on an otherwise snoozy stretch of Washington Street in 2005. Ever since, Toro has been anything but quiet, with small crowds packing around the Barcelona-style restaurant’s entrance. While the menu rotates regularly, a number of house signatures have emerged: most notably, its ultra-saucy patatas bravas (which can be fortified with sausage crumbles), the Valencian-style paella and a decadent uni bocadillo that spreads fresh uni, miso butter and pickled mustard seeds between two slices of well-toasted bread.

The phoenix of Boston’s restaurant scene. Its first iteration opened on Commonwealth Ave in 2005, combining French-American bistro fare with a serious bar program just as the cocktail revival was kicking off nationwide. Its doors closed in 2020, seemingly for good, but it re-emerged in 2023 in a new space steps away from its original digs. This cavernous second home isn’t a copy-and-paste of the original, so much as a contemporary framing of the bistro aesthetic. The menu doesn’t seek to be cutting edge — but is deeply satisfying, and ES old-heads will recognize favorites like roasted bone marrow and baked rigatoni with lamb sausage in a creamy pink sauce. Don’t sleep on the daily specials, either.

For reservations, call 617-530-1590.

The arrival of pizza-focused sibling June Bug (see above) is a good reason to check back into Field & Vine. Given its emphasis on local, seasonal ingredients, the menu is rarely static, currently with dishes like steak tartare with nuoc cham aioli, smoked beets with raspberry vinaigrette and almond coffee cream, and a grilled swordfish swimming in guajillo broth with hominy. If that sort of tweaking of what otherwise might go under the category of “New American” feels especially novel, well, that’s why F&V’s customers are a loyal bunch.

The historic Rosebud diner, which has existed in one iteration or another in Davis Square since 1941, has been reinvented again. Its latest form is a merger of classic diner fare and modern Indian cuisine, which in practical terms makes it the sort of place where lunch can be a butter chicken pot pie, tandoori steak frites, or a simple bacon cheeseburger. We like that kind of place.

If you’ve spent any time at bars around Boston in the last 10 years, chances are that Seth Freidus has made you a drink. And now you can belly up for a cocktail at Seth’s own bar in Charlestown. Each drink on the solo venture’s opening menu is a riff on a single, seasonal ingredient, such as the “Carrot” that blends blanco Tequila with curry-roasted coconuts and Thai coconut milk, or an equally ambitious “Squash” that balances rum, sherry, and Irish whiskey with smoked spelt grains and acorn squash.

 Call 617-712-7700 for reservations.

State Park just marked its 10^th anniversary… although to be honest, it looks a lot older, as much of its furnishings were salvaged from a legendary Somerville bar that shuttered back in 2012. A decade on, it doesn’t feel like a stretch to say that State Park has developed into something of a legend itself, with lively live music and DJ nights, a pool table that’s seldom out of use and house classics like the chicken katsu sandwich and a stiff gibson with house-pickled onions. Rock on, State Park.

A testament to “if you build it, they will come,” Yume Ga Arukara opened in 2016 at the end of a cramped row of Asian food stalls improbably located within a Lesley University building. No matter, the bare-bones noodle counter was soon attracting long lunch queues, a phenomenon that has yet to slow. The explanation can be found in its simple, signature offering: a bowl of freshly made udon, the noodles at once pillowy and elastic, served cold in a slightly sweet, scant broth and topped by thinly sliced beef. The formula hasn’t changed much — you can also order the dish hot, as well as a hot or cold udon with chicken broth — and the business has since opened a second location in the Seaport.

Walk-ins only.

Natural wine? Tinned fish? We know they’re hot — and in Boston. haley.henry figured that out early on. The cozy wine bar, ensconced in a DTX space little bigger than a pack of sardines, found its sweet spot in pours of off-the-beaten track natural wines paired to tins of octopus or a varied selection of cheeses and charcuterie. Bigger appetites can still be sated by a tight menu of fare pumped out of the pint-sized kitchen, including braised short rib in a celeriac puree or cheeky, always-changing hot dog specials. Quirky rosé blends and chilled reds are poured with a minimal amount of pretension — and a dose of background on every bottle, should you ask for it.

Even if its name weren’t literally in lights outside the building, the arrival of NYC import Blue Ribbon Brasserie in Fenway would be big news. The formula that made it a Manhattan hit — a blending of bistro classics and craveable late-night fare — pertains to its Boston home, where you’re just as likely to start an evening with foie gras terrine or a New York strip, or end one with fried chicken and collard greens or a double-patty smashburger.

Call 617-634-0404 for reservations.

Despite its central setting smack between Back Bay and the South End, The Salty Pig qualifies as a sleeper. This more casual sibling — and predecessor — to SRV takes similar pride in its scratch-made pastas, but it amends those freshly formed bucatini or rigatoni with wood-fired pizza pies and plates laden high with housemade charcuterie (don’t miss the rillettes) and cheese. Its laidback dining room grows even more lax in the afternoon, when a lunch service peppered with the likes of Italian grinders and meatball sandwiches takes over.

It only took 393 years from its founding, but Boston finally has a mezcaleria. Sabina Mezcaleria — which as you may have already guessed, is a bar focused on Tequila’s smoky cousin — has hung its shingle on Newbury Street. Inside its industrial-yet-cozy space, you’ll encounter a robust list of mezcals and Tequilas by the glass, plus cocktails like the Dos Con Panocha mixed with mezcal, panocha syrup, chile liqueur, mint and chocolate bitters. Meanwhile, the edible side of the ledger promises tapas like a smoked fish quesadilla with Oaxacan cheese or corn tamales with queso fresco and black truffle cream.

Call 857-449-6023 for reservations.

If there’s one thing you must know about the tiny, perpetually in-demand taverna at the intersection of Shawmut and Union Park, it’s this: The restaurant only takes reservations a day in advance, starting at 10 a.m. the morning prior. Now that you’ve set your alarm, we can fill you in on what’s made Kava such a hot ticket. There’s the matter of its undeniable good looks, including a cozy dining room drenched in sunlight during the day. But most of the credit goes to the menu, which is rustic, simple and sized to share, with dishes like keftedes (lamb meatballs) bouyiourdi (baked feta with tomatoes) and grilled octopus among the perpetual favorites.