Boston, MA, USA

Mooncusser may have started as a fish house, but nowadays, this Bay Village spot has become so much more. Under the direction of Chef Carl Dooley, this restaurant has undergone a culinary makeover, with a new focus on offering four-course tasting menus. The prix fixe selection, which comes with optional wine pairings, changes every month, allowing guests to always discover new plates and fresh perspectives with each visit.Yes, seafood absolutely still plays a role here, but now fish dishes—like barbecue unagi or potato gnocchi with salt cod—share the spotlights with other, internationally inspired stars, such as Sichuan pork sausage consomme and venison with Hungarian dumplings.

Mooncusser

Just north of the city, you’ll find this intimate, plant-packed and rattan-accented oasis serving up refreshing, Vietnamese-inspired cuisine. Chef-owner Rachel Miller is at the helm of this female-forward kitchen in Lynn, which first started as a pop-up venture before becoming a brick-and-mortar establishment in 2019. The menu dazzles with delicate yet decadent dishes that offer playfully unexpected flavor combinations, such as the frothy, vanilla-laced lobster glacé, foie gras with grilled coconut sticky rice and sour cherries, and warm Mediterranean olives tossed in sesame and Asian aromatics. More substantial plates include a rotation of hand-pulled noodles (normally served in some sort of bliss-inducing broth) and fried rice (go with the bone marrow variety for an extra dose of umami). Be on the lookout for indulgent seafood specialties like the Viet Cajun shellfish boil or live sea urchins crammed with glass noodles, tomato water nuoc cham, pickled peppers and charred tomato hollandaise—the latter of which is hidden under a smoke-filled cloche and theatrically revealed tableside. Ask the extremely friendly staff to guide you through their highly curated selection of wines, customize a spritz to your liking or go with an Southeast Asian-influenced cocktail (i.e. its signature saigon cigar club, a blend of bourbon, thai banana and black cardamom).

Nightshade Noodle Bar

As the casual sibling of Ana Sortun’s celebrated Oleana, Sarma is one of the area’s best spots to find big, bold Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors crammed into small bites. All items from chef-owner Cassie Piuma’s prix-fixe culinary experience—from the sesame fried chicken to the merguez pinwheels—are served in a traditional family-style format. Vegetarians can rejoice, as the eatery offers an entire menu of meatless meze. The bar also deserves an applause for its aromatic cocktails featuring ingredients like cardamom, orange blossom and fenugreek.

Sarma

Sarma Restaurant

Have a craving for Italian classics with a modern twist? Look no further than Geppetto in East Cambridge. Tucked within the Cambridge Crossing complex, this restaurant serves up serious Italian flavors in novel formats, thanks to celebrated chef-owner Will Gilson. Make the most of your visit by starting off with one of the eatery’s incredible crudos, like the chili-drizzled tuna topped with fresh slices of pear and lardo (a buttery, melt-in-your mouth Italian salumi that makes each bite absolutely luxurious), before digging into some dishes of house-made pastas. Guests looking to go big can indulge in the larger scale shareable feasts, like the swordfish kebabs, which are lightly smoked for added depth and topped with multi-herbed pesto. The beverages here are just as impressive as the plates; Choose from a deliberately curated wine list that includes lesser-known Italian varietals, or opt for one of the cocktails on tap, including a negroni and the now ubiquitous espresso martini.

Gepetto

Gepetto's Pizzeria

With lines out the door every night, it’s clear that Kava Neo-Taverna is an attraction. As it turns out, the hype is more than warranted. The mezedes revelation from the trio of George Axiotis, Irakli Gogitidze and Shahrokh Reza proves the value of simple, superior ingredients. The owners import most of their fare from the Mediterranean (wines included); simple small plates like horiatiki (the Greek country salad), spanakopita, grilled octopus and souvlaki are executed so sublimely you might have to return a second time to venture onto the entrée side of the menu (although the grilled sea bass and mixed grill are well worth trying during your first visit). Finish off the evening with a glass of retsina and a square of baklava as you gaze at the wall mural of an old Greek fisherman and mentally transport yourself to Santorini.

Kava Neo-Taverna

KAVA neo-taverna

This tiny space in Somerville's Bow Market makes food an experience. The changing Filipino menu is top notch, offering delicacies not often found anywhere else in the city. The ambiance and ritual of a meal here, however, is what puts Tanám over the top. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, this spot hosts a Kamayan-style dinner, a feast for two people where dishes are spread atop banana leaves and eaten with the hands. Bites featured in this seemingly celebratory spread include spicy coconut milk mussels, chicken wings with sticky sweet fish sauce and ginger garlic oil, and perfectly fried, crispy sausage lumpia.

Tanám

New American cuisine and Old World wines intermingle at this intimate Somerville eatery and bar. Located in the center of Davis Square, this cozy little sanctuary is all about thoughtful curation, both in terms of its diverse wine list and the ingredients its kitchen procures from local purveyors. Spoke keeps its short list of modern New England small plates dynamic, regularly swapping out dishes for new ones to reflect the seasons—but no matter what time of year you stop into this spot, you’ll find effortlessly elegant bites to accompany whatever pour you prefer. If our descriptors haven’t tipped you off yet, this place is super small, so reservations are highly recommended.

Spoke Wine Bar

What started as a supper club is now a charmingly tiny restaurant located just a short stroll from Somerville’s Davis Square. As chef-owner Erin Miller puts it, this place strives to be “whimsy and unpretentious”—a feat that it easily accomplishes with its elevated New American fare and casually chic space. Enter this intimate eatery—which immediately feels more like someone’s apartment rather than a restaurant—and you’ll find a weekly menu of hyper-local food prepared with purpose and a keen eye for balance. With a slightly European approach, the kitchen here (which is literally in the dining room) takes its time and places an emphasis on savoring the experience, so don’t expect a mad dash of a meal.

Urban Hearth

Paola Ibarra and Yhadira Guzmán bring the brightness of their beloved Mexico City to Somerville’s Union Square with Barra. This eatery may be small on space, but it’s big on acid and is sure to leave patrons’ taste buds tingling -- whether it’s with its guacamole piled onto freshly fried chicharrón, its cactus salad or its aguachile. Alongside a selection of top-notch tacos and seasonal tamales, diners can sip on flights of the finest mezcal, refreshing pints of michelada and margaritas rimmed with chapulines for a truly Mexican touch.

Boston for Foodies

Bookable Tours and Experiences - Boston, MA, USA

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