RESTAURANTS

Restaurants

Due to its shared cultural roots with greater New England, clean briny flavours from the sea dominate Boston's regional cuisine, along with a large emphasis on rum, salt and dairy products.

Ideal for a takeaway lunch by the harbour or a quick bite to eat, Faneuil Hall still comes out tops with a fantastic cross-section of the city's cosmopolitan cuisine and manages to be a wonderful tourist attraction simultaneously.

The North End is a firm favourite with locals and features wonderfully intimate cafés, bakeries and eateries with enough gastronomic treats to get just about everybody's mouth watering, while the South End boasts some of the most elegant restaurants in Boston's dining scene.


Most restaurants in the North End don't accept reservations, and a few accept credit cards, but dining here is well worth the wait. Those hoping to eat dinner in Boston's South End are strongly advised to make a booking.

Pomodoro

$$$$$ | Italian

An tiny unpretentious Italian restaurant with hard working staff and authentic Italian cuisine, Pomodoro is one of those neighbourhood restaurants that is frequented by locals and foreigners who keep coming back for more. Situated in the Northend, Pomodoro serves a wide range of Italian cuisine from traditional linguine marinara with lots of garlic and fresh herbs to seafood wonders like tiger shrimp. The affordable prices and quality of food make up for the simple décor, with most patrons being mesmerised by the activity and aroma escaping from the open kitchen and the food on their plate. Reservation recommended. Open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner.

Address: 319 Hanover Street; Telephone: (617) 367 4348

The Capital Grille

$$$$$ | American

The succulent and large proportioned steaks, served in style at The Capital Grille, send carnivores into raptures, particularly the enormous 24-ounce (680g) dry-aged porterhouse that is the restaurant's speciality. Steaks are hand cut and perfectly seasoned before being grilled and served along a choice of more than 350 bottle wine list. Seafood entrées are also on offer, and the desserts include a tempting homemade cheesecake. The décor is sophisticated and clubby. Open for dinner daily.

Address: 359 Newbury Street; Telephone: (617) 262 8900

Max and Dylans

$$$$$ | American

This new hip low lit and sharp angled venue is half bar and half restaurant perfect for casual dining or big gatherings of friends. The food is unpretentiously delicious with an array of meals that mom used to make, only better. Mac & cheese and meatloaf take centre stage alongside other deceptively simple dishes that will have even food snobs sneaking in bites.

Address: 15 west street, Downtown; Telephone: (617) 423 3600

Hamersley's Bistro

$$$$$ | International

One of Boston's great chefs presides over his own bar, café and dining room in a baseball cap, turning out his now famed signature dishes. The menu changes seasonally an this spring, for example, features spicy halibut and clam roast with bacon braised greens, white beans and black trumpet mushrooms. The atmosphere is relaxed, but the food is serious. Open for dinner daily. Reservations recommended.

Address: 553 Tremont Street; Telephone: (617) 423 2700

Pho 'n Rice

$$$$$ | Asian

The Boston area's eclectic heritage is best appreciated through its foods and nowhere better than at Pho 'n Rice. For the uninformed pho is deceptively simple traditional Vietnamese soup consisting of light but strong broth and noodles with pieces of meat and vegetable that continue to cook in the bowl. Pho 'n Rice has added great variations to the traditional meal along with some Thai style dishes that promise to be both light on the wallet and waistline.

Address: 289 Beacon Street, Somerville; Telephone: 617 864 8888

China Pearl

$$$$$ | Chinese

The jewel of Boston's Chinatown district is the China Pearl, renowned with both locals and visitors. The extensive dinner menu is rather daunting, but each dish, from General Gau's Chicken to Lobster Chinese style, is equally delicious. The restaurant's Dim Sum menu (a variety of savoury snacks made of minced meat wrapped in dough, shium mai or thin wonton and cooked in various ways) is award winning and much sought after. Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Address: 9 Tyler Street, Chinatown; Telephone: (617) 426 4338

Durgin Park

$$$$$ | American

'Your father and grandfather probably dined with us' says the advertising slogan for this Faneuil Hall market restaurant, which has been feeding the hearty appetites of locals for well over a century. Today the restaurant is a tourist attraction simply because the cuisine it serves is still authentic old style New England. The food is unpretentious, honest and good, including favourites like clam chowder, fish chowder, fish cakes and beans, chicken pot pie, prime rib, roast turkey, cornbread, Indian pudding and apple pie. Open daily for lunch and dinner.

Address: 340 Faneuil Hall Market Place; E-mail: seanadpark30@aol.com; Telephone: (617) 227 2038

Speed's Famous Hot Dog Wagon

$$$$$ | American

This completely local haunt would be a shame to turn nose at as one should never underestimate the pure pleasure of an American hot dog from a hot dog stand. This particular unassuming stand sets the bar for all others and is consistently listed as the best in the country. These behemoth dogs undergo an intricate cooking and marinating process only taste buds can understand.

Address: 54 Newmarket Sq. Roxebury; Telephone: (617) 839 0102

Barking Crab

$$$$$ | Fish

It's just a shabby little shack with a deck overlooking Boston Harbour, but it is renowned for serving the best clam chowder in town, not to mention other seafood delights, and even roasted chestnuts in winter. It is a little raucous at the best of times out on the deck, and the indoor dining room is little quieter and extremely casual. Live bands entertain while customers crack and peel shrimp and crab claws and slurp pitchers of beer. Fried clams, shrimp, scallops, oysters, calamari, lobster, fish and of course crab are available in a variety of guises, from battered to steamed. Open daily for lunch and dinner.

Address: Fort Point Landing, 88 Sleeper Street; Telephone: (617) 426 2722

Silvertone Bar and Grill

$$$$$ | American

The trendy subterranean lounge of the Silvertone has a retro vibe where the food is as comforting as the prices. The menu offers solid meals with a few fancy touches, like meatloaf and mashed potatoes, tasty macaroni and cheese, spicy Caesar salad and marinated steak tips. Cool cocktails, like the signature raspberry-infused vodka martini, and a varied wine list complete the picture, offered with friendly service. Open for dinner Monday to Saturday, and lunch on weekdays.

Address: 69 Bromfield Street; Telephone: (617) 338 7887