The Resy Hit List: Where In Boston You’ll Want to Eat Right Now
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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
- Sweet Little Liars: Spoke Wine Bar in Davis Square is now a big sister, with its sibling establishment Liars open just down the road in West Somerville. This time, the emphasis is on creatively imagined cocktails, like the Come Clean with rye, Serbian orange wine, brown butter, sherry, and tamarind. As for what else is New on Resy, see here.
- Tricks and Treats: You may still be working on that costume, but you know where to wear it. Ahead of All Hallows Eve The Koji Club is holding a sake and Halloween candy tasting on Sunday, Oct. 11; tickets here. And on the night itself, Clink is hosting a dinner — and the $60 spend also gives diners access to its annual “Sinners & Saints” party immediately afterward; tickets here.
- Classes in Session: The Block is hosting classes on the basics of fermentation with “Real Food Fermentation” author Alex Lewin; for the Oct. 3 installation on kimchi and dilly beans, grab tickets here; for the Oct. 24 lesson on lemons, daikon, and seasonal vegetables, tickets here. Meanwhile, Marzae Cellar + Provisions is holding an Amaro Making 101 class on Oct. 21; tickets here.
- La Dolce Vita: It’s getting really Italian around here — and there are no complaints. Tonno Wakefield is hosting not one, but two Tucci in Italy wine dinners inspired by the actor’s culinary travels along the boot; for the Oct. 1 edition, find tickets here; for the Oct. 22 edition, get tickets here.
New to the Hit List (Oct. 2026)
Marzae Cellar + Provisions, Novo Lantern, Sarva, West on Centre.
1. Sarma Winter Hill
There’s something to be said — nay, 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. 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.
2. Novo Lantern South End Boston
A little corner of the South End now has roughly 1000% more handmade dumplings (we checked the math), thanks to the presence of newcomer Novo Lantern. Aside from its reputation-making soup dumpling — which you can watch being freshly made on a flour-coated wooden slab in the back of the dining room — the restaurant also offers Chinese classics like beef with longhorn pepper, mapo tofu, and Peking duck.
3. Nightshade Noodle Bar Lynn
With a Michelin recommendation now under its belt, Nightshade Noodle Bar continues to cook up an innovative blend of French and Vietnamese flavors through a variety of tasting menu options. They range from a seven-course “Prelude” that lasts up to 90 minutes to a showstopping, 30-courser dubbed “The Ultimate” that runs over three hours. Between the extremes is its 14-course “NNB Signature Tasting,” which may include everything from grilled coconut sticky rice pops to confit garlic noodles with crab cakes.
4. Bey South End
Among the South End’s hottest current reservations, Bey is a shoebox-sized space on Shawmut Avenue that takes its name from Beirut and serves a modern interpretation of Lebanese cuisine. Said food comes in the form of cold mezze like whipped labneh with za’atar chips, hot mezze including pan-fried halloumi with orange blossom honey, and larger plates like beef kabab or a whole grilled branzino.
5. Marzae Cellar + Provisions Boston
The only winery in the state of Massachusetts focused on would-be natural wine has set up shop in Boston Public Market, where they’ll be pouring out not only their vino but also cocktails, beer, and spirits from local makers, plus non-alcoholic fermented beverages. Accompanying all that liquid will be build-your-own charcuterie boards and small plates like lasagna or a local foie gras hot dog.
6. The Daily Catch – Waterfront North End
Situated at the tip of the North End — and critically, in sight of the water — The Daily Catch sources fresh hauls from the Boston Fish Pier and converts them into simple, family-style Sicilian specialties served straight out of the pan. Favorites from its 50-year history include calamari meatballs with whipped ricotta, serves-two lobster fra diavolo, and monkfish Marsala.
7. Mesob Restaurant South End
If you’re not yet familiar with the bounties of Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine, you’re about to get a hands-on experience of them (in more ways than one) at relative South End newcomer Mesob. Situated on Washington Avenue and dialed into authentic flavors, it offers the likes of gored gored (raw beef mixed with spiced butter and chile powder) and berbere-spiced chicken stew, all of which can be scooped up with spongy, sour injera.
8. Louis Corner Boston
Louis Corner — which now has a full liquor license — continues to delight its little corner of the South End, with its upscale takes on American comfort classics like bechamel-enhanced mac ‘n’ cheese and a smash burger finished with spicy mayo and caramelized onions. And the newly enhanced cocktail menu now features the likes of Expedition 552, made with bourbon, amontillado sherry, and crème de banana.
9. West on Centre West Roxbury
West on Centre has a decidedly “Cheers” vibe as a neighborhood gathering spot, a reputation they’ve earned with tavern favorites like barbecue tenderloin steak tips, hot honey wings and beer-battered fish and chips. And that doesn’t even get into the pizza offerings, which come topped with the likes of braised chipotle chicken or pepperoni and hot honey.
10. LoLa 42 Seaport
Like its sibling establishment, Nantucket’s LoLa 41 — which now has outposts in tony vacation spots across the country, — LoLa 42 finds culinary inspiration in the countries that sit on the 41st parallel. What this means in edible terms is plates of lobster fried rice, cavatelli Bolognese, and a robust sushi program. Making the potential choices even more difficult to choose between is the existence of their namesake burger, which is slathered with foie gras sauce and served on an English muffin.
11. Picco South End
One of the South End’s best-kept secrets, Picco keeps regulars (particularly families) coming back for cold-fermented, perfectly charred sourdough pizzas crowned with bountiful pepperoni slices or made up as house specialties like the Alsatian (bacon, Gruyere, shallots, and crème fraiche). Just leave some room for the other side of its name (it stands for “Pizza and Ice Cream Company”) with homemade flavors like miso blueberry and chocolate malt, which can be taken home by the pint.
12. Matria Downtown
If “Northern Italian Steakhouse, but on Boston’s waterfront” sounds appealing, you may want to consider Matria. Perched in the Intercontinental Hotel, it features a harbor-facing patio warmed by fire pits, which is as good a place as any to enjoy a freezer-cold martini and a bagna cauda-coated prime tenderloin with truffled polenta and pancetta brussels sprouts on the side.
13. Little Sage North End
Before its closure in 2009, Sage was a North End mainstay beloved for its housemade pastas. Now it’s back in a slightly smaller, 50-seat dining room as Little Sage, under the auspices of original chef Tony Susi. What hasn’t changed is the emphasis on scratch-made pasta like ricotta gnocchi with Maine lobster and brick oven-baked entrees including head-on Argentinian shrimp in an artichoke puttanesca.
14. Viale Central Square
Since 2014, Viale has quietly served its stretch of Mass Ave. with handmade pastas like tagliatelle verde with heirloom tomato pomodoro and saffron lumachel in a seafood broth with clams and mussels. They also have one of the best dollar oyster deals going, with buck-a-shuck taking place from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 4 to 7 p.m. Fridays.
15. Extra Dirty Cocktail Club North End
A 20-seat lounge hidden behind a curtain at The Red Fox, Extra Dirty Cocktail Club is the mixology equivalent of a tasting menu. After buying tickets on Tock, guests are treated to progressive courses of cocktails paired to small bites and curated around a particular theme, for instance, agave spirits and Mexican citrus fruits.
16. Kahaani South Boston
The old Worden Hall space on West Broadway has been transformed into Kahaani, a new gastropub with bold Indian flavors and flower-festooned walls. Specializing in Hyderabadi cooking, which incorporates Turkish and Arabic flavors, signature dishes here include slow-cooked chicken biryani and Haleem meat stew.
17. Umami Crudo Boston
Cambridge’s Umami Omakase has touched down in Boston proper with a sister restaurant, Umami Crudo. While the former — as the name would imply — is omakase only, Umami Crudo delivers an a la carte experience utilizing the same top-shelf seafood, resulting in dishes like oyster sashimi with a grapefruit granita, toro caviar rolls, and lobster somen.
18. Willie’s Beacon Hill
Jamie Bissonnette’s latest ventures (see Somaek, Temple Records, etc.) have a funny way of expanding into adjacent spaces. Now the same has happened with Zurito, whose next-door neighbor — formerly a pizzeria — is now Willie’s, intimately sized and new but with a similar continuity: chewy, thin-crust pizzas and housemade pastas with influences from Spain or Asia. Witness, for instance, the P.C.T. pie, essentially a large-scale pan con tomate; or spaghetti carbonara made with yuzu kosho and Parmesan dashima. Quintessentia Bissonnette, and we’re here for it.
19. Sarva Back Bay
A beautiful brownstone on the corner of Newbury and Gloucester Street is home to Sarva, where dedication to regional Indian cuisine manifests in classics like butter chicken, tikka masala, and tandoor chicken, in addition to Indo-Chinese specialties like gobi Manchurian. Also on deck are cocktails like the Tamarind Trail made with tamarind, gin, lime, and mint.
20. Avra Boston Back Bay
To step inside Avra Boston is to be instantly transported to some sun-kissed seaside town on the Aegean coast. It’s a feat the upscale chain accomplishes with white-washed walls, indoor olive trees, and most importantly, a menu stocked with whole-grilled fish flown in fresh from the Mediterranean. Go all out with an entire, de-boned branzino ladled in lemon sauce, plus grilled Portuguese sardines, and Maine lobster pasta to fill in any gaps.
