New On Resy: Boston’s Newest Restaurant Openings

A North End sister of Cambridge’s Umami Omakase, Umami Crudo delivers the same fresh, artfully prepared seafood dishes, with the option to experience them in an omakase-style meal or à la carte. If you’re going the latter route, that means you can order as many poke spareribs, Hokkaido scallop nigiri, and lobster tempura rolls as your heart desires.   

Even by South End standards, Perch is cozy: the space features just eight seats around an open kitchen so diners have a front row view of the action. On Fridays and Saturdays, that takes the form of a monthly changing five-course dinner made from seasonal ingredients, while Wednesdays are witness to Perch’s “3-2-1 @102”, which provides three small plates and a glass of wine for just $40 (tickets for both weekly event series can be booked exclusively on Resy). 

The triumphant return of ‘90s North End favorite Sage in a smaller setting, Little Sage brings back the magic under original chef Tony Susi. Housemade pastas and rustic, oven-roasted dishes remain the order of the day — think spicy squid chitarra and baked fazzoletti with short ribs and fontina.  

Zurito has absorbed its next-door neighbor and transformed it into this more casual sibling establishment named for chef Jamie Bissonnette’s beloved French bulldog. Thin-crust, wood-fired pizzas and housemade pastas influenced by Basque and Korean cuisine are the order of the day, manifesting in dishes like rigatoni amatriciana with gochujang and pepperoni alla vodka pies.  

Lanner Noodles, originally of Cambridge, has touched down in the Seaport with a second location serving … noodles. But that word barely does justice to the variety of piping-hot bowls flying out of its kitchen, often made with hand-pulled noodles and served in aromatic broths made from braised beef, lamb shank, and more. Contrary to the name, there are in fact non-noodle offerings, including barbecue lamb skewers and a spicy chicken and potato stew.  

Mestizo’s mission is to bring the flavors of Oaxaca to Cambridge, which it does with a menu of classic plates including mole, carne asada, and tetelas stuffed with chorizo and Oaxacan cheese. All of its corn tortillas are made in-house, and the salsa is prepared tableside from fresh ingredients including roasted tomatoes, green tomatillos and garlic.  

There aren’t many places where you can sit down for dinner and expect hamachi sashimi, rigatoni Bolognese, and a 14oz ribeye in peppercorn brandy sauce on your table. But the newly opened Back Bay location of Canadian chain Cactus Club Café is one of them. Add all of the above to a sprawling, high-ceiling dining room with a wrap-around bar, slightly trippy flowing wood décor and modern art, and we’ll admit that the Canadians are onto something.  

The “Smoot” — a cheeky measurement standard created by M.I.T. students in 1958 by measuring how many lengths of classmate Oliver Smoot spanned the Harvard Bridge (length = 364.4 Smoots) — is also the namesake of this all-day restaurant, café and bar from the team behind Naco Taco. Come for smoked bluefish bagels and cortados in the morning, beef brisket melts in the afternoon and chicken Milanese and an espresso martini by night.