The Resy Hit List: Where In Boston You’ll Want to Eat in February 2025
There’s no question we hear more often: Where should I go eat? And while we at Resy know it’s an honor to be the friend who everyone asks for restaurant advice, we also know it’s a complicated task. That’s where the Resy Hit List comes in.
Consider it your essential resource for dining in Boston: a monthly-updated guide to the restaurants that you won’t want to miss — tonight or any night.
Four Things In Boston Not to Miss This Month
- V-Day, All the Ways: Trying to keep it chill? Consider spending the 14th at State Park, whose Lady & The Tramp Dinner sees the quasi-dive transformed with checkered tablecloths, candlelight and a three-course meal that naturally involves spaghetti and meatballs; tickets here. Found the one? Splurge at SRV, with a special V-Day edition of its Arsenale menu; tickets here. Love one another, but not animal products? Then earmark the happenings at Lulu Green, whose plant-based four-course includes carrot miso Bolognese and eggplant steak; tickets here. And of course, always keep an eye on our Date Night recommendations for more inspiration.
- Don’t Stop Believin’: On February 15, nathálie Wine Bar is holding a very timely “stoplight party” — i.e., dress in colors corresponding to traffic lights to signal your romantic availability — as part of the L-Club, its monthly LGBTQ+ dance party. Tickets here.
- Burnin’ For You: On February 4, Citizen Public House & Oyster Bar will again commemorate Scotland’s greatest poet with another installment of its Burns Night HOGgis Pig Roast & Whiskey Dinner. Aside from poetry reading and bagpiping, there’ll be scotch-tasting, a whisky-soaked oyster luge and perhaps most importantly, an entire roasted pig with traditional Scottish sides. Tickets here, and you can always keep up with more to do on our Resy Events page.
- Roe-ing Machine: Talk about ending the month on a high note. On Feb. 25, Tonno Gloucester will be the scene of a four-course caviar dinner with California Royal White Sturgeon paired to plates including spaghetti carbonara with cured quail eggs and seared scallops with white asparagus purée. Tickets here.
New to the Hit List (Feb. 2025)
Amar, BELL86, Qué Mas.
1. Tonino Jamaica Plain
Since quietly opening in the fall of 2022, Tonino has built itself into that rarest of restaurant birds: the sort of establishment people come back to again and again, ever the more for being in sedate Jamaica Plain. Chalk it up to chef and owner Luke Fetbroth’s tight menu of trattoria greatest hits, from white pizzas to homemade rigatoni amatriciana, chitarra with clams and breadcrumbs, and small plates like mortadella with pecorino and pickles. It’s all complemented by an equally curated set of Italian wines available by the glass or bottle … and the surprising addition of a sake list. In other words, it delivers an awful lot of what people crave.
2. Zurito Beacon Hill
Nevermind that Jamie Bissonnette already had a threepeat, with Somaek, Temple Records, and Sushi @ Temple Records earlier this year. Turns out Bissonnette and his partners at BCB3 Hospitality had one more up their sleeve, in the Charles Street space that was Bin Enoteca 26. Basque-style pintxos are the mission here, with bites of garlic-buttered sea urchin toast or miniature jamón Ibérico croissants giving way to such small plates as squid ink risotto. All of which sets the stage for large-format finishers, including a 32-ounce ribeye with French fries and … kimchi. Why not? An expectedly Spanish-heavy wine list is rounded out by a roster of low-ABV cocktails that complement the restaurant’s snacky ethos.
3. Baleia South End
For years, the Coda Restaurant Group played in the Italian sandbox, whether wood-fired pies and housemade pastas at The Salty Pig or Venetian-style small plates via SRV, and most recently the restaurant-cum-café Gufo. But the group’s latest venture eschews the boot in favor of flavors from another peninsular nation, Portugal. Baleia bets big on Portuguese seafood with oysters spiced by piri piri, steamed baby clams in Vinho Verde, and an entire roasted fish with ham and anchovy xo. Landlubbers can be contented by a lamb shank served with spicy pickles or a sucking pig complete with crispy ears, and its quick popularity affirms that the shift in peninsulas was a smart bet.
4. Kaia South End
Every concept from Xenia Greek Hospitality has (as the name implies) been Greek — but that’s where the similarities end. Its most recent opening, Kaia, is a portal to the Aegean plopped down in the South End. Its light woods, tile floors, and tall windows recall a Greek island getaway, while the seafood-forward menu split between meze (think cod cheeks with smoked avgolemono or pan-seared rice rolls with squid) and whole fish provide a lighter — if still indulgent — approach to Hellenic cooking.
5. Sarma Winter Hill
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. Yes, the bevy of awards has helped, but that would shortchange the constant creativity of chef Cassie Piuma, whose Turkish meyhane concept still resonates a decade in. Piuma has maintained her Somerville spot as 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.
6. La Padrona Boston
Jody Adams has added another jewel to her Italian restaurant crown with the opening of La Padrona inside the Raffles Hotel. In an opulent, bi-level space that features a bar on each floor, patrons will have their pick of regional specialties from across the boot, including spring vegetable fritto misto with lobster bottarga, lobster and uni risotto with chive blossoms, and a 36-ounce, dry-aged bistecca alla Fiorentina accompanied by bone marrow and grilled focaccia. Meanwhile, the cocktail program affords drinks like the excellently named Sophia Loren On the Beach made with rum, Batavia arrack, falernum, and vanilla, plus an entire martini-centric menu that includes an espresso martini infused with Parmesan.
7. Mimi’s Chūka Diner South End
Mimi’s, which serves the sort of fare you’d find at a Chinese-style “Chūka” diner in Japan, began as a pop-up before finding — and then losing — its onetime digs at Central Square’s now closed Artifact Cider. Well, now Mimi’s is back with a counter-service space of its own in Somerville with lemon pepper wings, dashi-brined karaage and mapo tofu aplenty.
Walk-ins only. Find more info here.
8. Headroom Hi-Fi Lounge Fort Point
Located on the second floor of Trillium Brewing Company – Fort Point location, Headroom is further evidence that the listening bar trend is here to stay. Within its retro-themed environs, you’ll discover stacks of vinyl, DJ sets, and a menu split between shareable plates including apple cider barbecue pork croquettes or oyster mushroom risotto, and a cocktail list that makes liberal use of Trillium’s own distilled spirits.
9. BELL86 Brookline
Coolige Corner newcomer BELL86 — self-described as “the first Korean tapas restaurant in New England” — makes good on that promise with shareable portions of braised short ribs, fried pork belly over scallion salad, and potato-battered shrimp. All served in an intimately sized dining room with the sort of reserved lighting best described as “date night.”
10. Oleana Cambridge
Yes, Sarma remains one of the most-coveted reservations in the city. But that shouldn’t overshadow its older sibling restaurant, which Ana Sortun first opened in 2001. The culinary focus is similarly centered on Turkey but in more traditional form, with dishes like squash-stuffed manouri dumplings, Vermont quail kebabs, and a za’atar-spiced lemon chicken with cheese pancakes taking center stage. And though not quite Turkish in origin, the house iteration of Baked Alaska has deservedly entered the Boston dessert canon.
11. Loyall Counting Room Downtown
The vibes are ye-olde at this new semi-speakeasy at the InterContinental Boston inspired by the city’s revolutionary past. How this manifests as a cocktail bar in 2024 is through a drink list heavy on Colonial-era spirits and ingredients, including rum, sherry, Cognac, and applejack (one potent example: the Gaspee Affair made with bourbon, rum, Cognac, banana, cacao, lemon oleo saccharum, walnut Demerara, and barrel-aged whiskey bitters). Oh, and meat pies. One mustn’t forget about the meat pies, Mrs. Lovett.
12. Deuxave Back Bay
Perched at the intersection of Commonwealth and Massachusetts Avenue — with panoramic views of some of the most impressive architecture the city has to offer — Deuxave would be a hot reservation even if the fare were subpar. But this is a Chris Coombs restaurant, and its decadent take on modern French cooking cuts no corners. To wit: a nine-hour, slow-cooked French onion soup with bone marrow croutons, spiced Long Island duck breast — and if not quite French — a tagliatelle Bolognese that’s widely lauded as one of the city’s best.
13. Qué Mas Beverly
Qué Mas — roughly translated as “what else?” — is a fitting moniker for this modern pan-Latin spot in Beverly, which serves as a culinary tour of Central and South America. Stops include sweet corn arepas with burrata and sundried tomato pesto, swordfish al pastor with grits and pineapple salsa, and a braised lamb ossobuco served in grilled banana leaves. Fun fact: chef Alex Pineda is the son of legendary Boston-area chef Lydia Shire, and came up working at Scampo.
14. Contessa Boston Back Bay
In Boston, Contessa has quite nearly cornered the market on seeing-and-being-seen. But as glamorous as this rooftop jewel box of a restaurant — and many of its patrons — might be, you’re coming here for more than views, since Major Food Group (think New York’s Carbone) doesn’t miss a beat on memorable dishes. Specifically, spicy lobster capellini, eye-popping 40-ounce bisteccas, and some of the best-made Negronis on this side of the Atlantic.
15. Amar Back Bay
Perched high up in the Raffles Hotel, Amar is where chef George Mendes — you may have heard of him — hangs his hat in Boston. Not content to merely coast on 17th floor views and an elegant, sun-drenched dining room, he’s wisely provisioned the modern Portuguese restaurant with Hokkaido sea urchin toast, quail in smoked paprika with Burgundy truffles, and a serves-two Mozambique-style fisherman’s stew studded with diver scallops, shrimp, lobster, and more. Baked-to-order Portuguese sponge cake and cinnamon-spiced egg custard tarts reward those who somehow manage to save a little room for dessert.
16. LoLa 42 Seaport
No ferry is required to visit LoLa 42, the Seaport outpost of the beloved Nantucket institution LoLa 41. Like its ACK equivalent, the menu has a hyper-specific focus on cuisines that fall along the 42nd parallel. Fortunately, that makes for fare like beef bulgogi bao buns, spicy scallop sushi rolls, and cavatelli Bolognese. Always of interest is the Lola Burger, made with red onion compote and foie gras sauce and served on an English muffin.
17. Shy Bird – South Boston South Boston
Bird is most certainly the word at Shy Bird South Boston, the sprawling second location of the chicken-centric restaurant whose choice Southie real estate includes a generous patio. As the name implies, it’s chicken (almost) all the way down, whether that namesake poultry is served in the form of half or whole rotisserie birds with French fries and sauces including chipotle barbecue and pecorino ranch, or its cleverly branded “SB Dunks” (read: chicken nuggets for adults). Adding to the fun is a cocktail menu marked by the likes of coconut fat-washed espresso martinis and banana margaritas.
18. The Wig Shop Downtown Crossing
Yes, Temple Street’s witnessed a major glow-up of late, aided by the triple-barreled openings of Somaek, Temple Records, and Sushi @ Temple Records. But it could be argued that its heightened status was truly incepted with the opening of The Wig Shop (itself an offshoot of JM Curley) which turned a former honest-to-goodness wig shop into a decidedly sexy cocktail lounge with deep velvet booths and lacy curtains. The aesthetic is boosted by a tight menu of irreverent, retro-inspired drinks like the Bi-Curious George with rums, banana cream, and nutmeg, or a Pony Star Martini served with a miniature High Life on the side.
19. Desnuda Cocina & Bar South End
Once it was Tremont 647. Then it was the short-lived Whaling in Oklahoma. Then it was… nothing, for a long time. But one of the South End’s most eligible corner spaces has been reborn as Desnuda, a new concept from the folks behind KAVA Neo-Taverna, Ilona, and Gigi. This latest venture’s a bi-level affair split between a swanky upstairs dining room specializing in Asian and Latin cuisine (think: baos and ceviche), and a seriously vibey downstairs listening bar equipped with a custom sound system, vinyl and cocktails.
20. Taco Azul Beacon Hill
Photo courtesy of Taco Azul
What’s so blue about Taco Azul? The Beacon Hill newcomer makes its own tortillas daily from blue corn (and then piles them with slow-roasted beef birria, beer-battered Alaskan cod or grilled skirt steak), and maintains a cocktail program heavy on blue agave: think of a house margarita available by the pitcher, or a smoky pineapple marg made from mezcal and pineapple juice. Also in the offering: guacamole, which remains green, but we’ll give Taco Azul a pass.
Photo courtesy of Taco Azul
