Traveler’s Guide: How to Have a Wonderful Boston Dining Experience

Boston has some amazing options when it comes to dining. Here’s a handy travel guide to help you have a wonderful Boston dining experience.

Flying to Boston soon and need some tips on good eats?

Boston is a great culinary location, full of must-try dishes native to the city. The city is synonymous with lobster, chowder, oysters, fresh seafood, and so much more.

If you don’t know where to go to have an amazing Boston dining experience during your travels, use this as a starting point to find a variety of amazing restaurants in the city.

Eat Like a Local

This is something everyone hears when they’re traveling: “Eat like a local.” That means, first of all: no chain restaurants! There is no need to eat at a Red Lobster when you’re in Boston.

Avoiding the tourist traps where food can be high priced and low quality can be tough, especially if you don’t know any better. How do tourists know where to go to get great food when there are so many incredible options?

Using lists (like this one), restaurant rating sites and apps are one way to eat like a local. Also, check out our article 6 Historic Boston Landmarks You Must See for in between meals.

Fine Dining

If you love fine dining, Boston is an excellent city to experience some amazing cuisine. If you don’t mind spending on a great meal, there are a lot of options for fine dining across plenty of different cuisines. The places listed here are all critically acclaimed restaurants.

Ready to get into one of these amazing restaurants but your travel itinerary is booked solid? Perhaps having a personal VIP concierge to do those things is something to look into?

O Ya

O Ya is an authentic Japanese restaurant that the Zagat guide calls “utterly amazing.” The menu boasts sushi, sashimi, nigiri, and Japanese “small plates”—and it’s so good that when you Google “best sushi in Boston” O Ya comes up.

There’s a huge sake collection (you can buy a $1,000 bottle, if that’s what you’re into), and dining selections are wide and varying too. You can order your food a la carte, or you can order multiple course experiences—prices start at $185 per person.

A 20% tip is mandatory at O Ya. If you’re wondering if it’s worth it, the answer is simple: oh, yeah.

Where you can find them: 9 East Street
Price range: $$$$/$$$$

Meritage

Meritage is more than a restaurant, it’s also a wine bar. The menu is designed specifically to pair well with wines that are kept in-house. The views from this elegant restaurant are amazing, and sure to set the mood for an amazing night of immersion into the Boston food scene.

Meritage’s menu is small but diverse, and you can rest assured that every single item on the item is done well.

Where you can find them: 70 Rowes Wharf
Price range: $$$$/$$$$

Neptune Oyster

Neptune Oyster is—you guessed it—a beautiful oyster bar. Enjoy cooked or raw fresh oysters, daily specials, and chowder made fresh to order. The restaurant has been lauded many times over.

The menu features fixed-price items as well as market priced oysters (and Neptune Oyster is surprisingly reasonably priced with fixed-price items hovering in the $25-30 range).

Where you can find them: 63 Salem Street, #1
Price range: $$$/$$$$

Blu

Blu is a fourth-floor restaurant featuring amazing city views. Enjoy the Boston city-scape from the beautiful dining room or bar. They have a lunch and dinner menu, both of which have vegan-friendly selections.

Not in the mood for a meatless meal? That’s fine, too. Add proteins to any salad for an additional charge. Entree items range from vegan to seafood, to steak and chicken. There is truly something for everyone here.

Where you can find them: 4 Avery Street
Price range: $$$/$$$$

Menton

Menton is unique because the menu changes seasonally. An ever-changing menu might mean that return visits won’t feature the amazing meal you had last time, but you can be guaranteed that everything you’re being served is fresh and at its peak.

You can order beautifully plated and paired entrees, or feel free to order a la carte. Menton offers a true fine dining experience; starting with an upscale menu and serving beautifully plated meals.

Where you can find them: 354 Congress Street
Price range: $$$$/$$$$

Family Friendly

Bringing the whole family on your Boston trip? Need to find great food in an environment the kids can also enjoy? Look no further. Boston’s diverse culinary scene has something for everyone. Check out these family-friendly restaurants.

Luce

Family friendly doesn’t have to mean you’re stuck eating in a place with chicken tenders on the menu, and Luce proves that. Luce is a family-owned restaurant serving up Italian fare featuring New England must-haves (read: fresh New England seafood).

The menu boasts salads, pizza, pasta, and grill items. Good food for the whole fam.

Where you can find them: 1 Shepard Street
Price range: $$$/$$$$

The Barking Crab

No reservation needed for this no-frills family restaurant. Enjoy authentic Bostonian seafood in a laid-back casual atmosphere. Picnic table seating allows large groups to gather ’round and enjoy one another while feasting on buckets of crab. Grab a cocktail while you’re at it.

Where you can find them: 88 Sleeper Street
Price range: $$$/$$$$

Full Moon

The owners of Full Moon have stood by their mission of serving amazing food in a family friendly space since they opened in 1997.

The restaurant not only has an amazing menu with inexpensive selections for both parents and kids, but also has a play space so that you can sit back and enjoy a cocktail.

Does it get much better?

Where you can find them: 344 Huron Avenue
Price range: $$/$$$$

The Independent

Karaoke, kids specials, and a brunch menu featuring poutine and a fried chicken sandwich—that’s what you’ll find at The Independent.

The space is a great gathering spot for families and for groups looking for a great brunch spot. The Independent was remodeled back in October 2017, and management invites guests to come eat, drink, and hang out.

Where you can find them: 75 Union Square
Price range: $$/$$$$

Cheap Eats

Good food doesn’t have to mean high prices. You can find amazing food in Boston without breaking the bank. One of the plus sides to these inexpensive dining options is that many times they’re “hidden gems” that tourists don’t think of visiting. Well, think again.

Here are some hot tips for great food with a price tag to match.

Saus Boston

Hand-cut fries. Poutine. Sandwiches.

Saus serves good food but it leans on its amazing collection of condiments. Their website says they pride themselves on being “a place for locals,” so you know this is a good place to get a bite. It doesn’t hurt that it won’t bite into your wallet.

Where you can find them: 33 Union Street
Price range: $/$$$$

The Pour House

The Pour House is serving up big portions at small prices. This is a great place to sit down and enjoy the atmosphere—and two pounds of wings for $8. We should also mention that they’re open ’til 2 am.

Oh, and clam chowder. Of course.

Where you can find them: 907 Boylston Street
Price range: $/$$$$

Piperi Mediterranean Grill

This assembly-line restaurant is super dressed-down, but the food is worth it. Fresh food that you can take away or eat-in, that has never been frozen and has been selected because simply put, it’s the best of the best.

Check them out for a weekday lunch—they’re closed on weekends.

Where you can find them: 1 Beacon Street
Price range: $/$$$$

Pho 2000 Boston

Pho isn’t a food you can only find in Boston. As a matter of fact, the Vietnamese food scene is exploding all over the U.S. That said, this is still an amazing place to sit down for a cheap, authentic meal in Boston.

Where you can find them: 198 Adams Street
Price range: $/$$$$

Pauli’s

You are sure to find something you like on this huge menu! The only thing bigger than the menu here is the lobster rolls (market price). You should not visit Boston without getting a lobster roll, and Pauli’s is sure to satisfy.

Where you can find them: 65 Salem Street
Price range: $/$$$$

Get Ready for an Amazing Boston Dining Experience

There are so many options for you, your spouse, lover, or family to enjoy while you’re in Boston! There is no reason why not to book your trip now. Make your reservations for those fine dining spots, and get ready to experience Boston’s culture one plate at a time. Try our Chauffeur Service Boston to get you around in ease and style. And if you prefer to get to and from Boston in a private jet, we have you covered also.

Need someone to feed and walk Fido while you’re away? Check out our lifestyle management services here.

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