Night Shift Brewing Is Opening a Restaurant Inside the Encore Boston Harbor Casino

Welcome to the spring 2021 edition of the Eater Boston restaurant openings roundup; this page is updated occasionally throughout the season, with the most recent updates at the top, highlighting new restaurants that have opened (or have been announced) in the Boston area in recent weeks. (Here’s last season’s archive, including Tiger Sugar, Cicada Coffee Bar, Ghost King Thai, Otto Pizza, and more.)

A number of Boston-area restaurants have resumed dine-in service. Likewise, some new restaurant openings are offering indoor table service right away. However, this should not be taken as endorsement for dining in, as there are still safety concerns: For updated information on coronavirus cases in the state, please visit the Massachusetts COVID-19 website. And for an explanation of the state’s current COVID-19 dining guidelines, go here.

Studies indicate that there is a lower exposure risk when outdoors, but the level of risk involved with patio dining is contingent on restaurants following strict social distancing and other safety guidelines — plus, outdoor dining isn’t an option for many Boston-area restaurants in the dead of winter, or even the beginning of spring. (Outdoor dining has resumed in Boston, for what it’s worth.)

Something missing? Email boston@eater.com. (Looking for info on recent restaurant closures? Find that here.)

BOSTON PROPER

ALLSTON

A Turkish restaurant that recently moved into the space formerly occupied by Whole Heart Provisions is now open. Turkish Lazuri Café’s menu consists of a mix of American diner style breakfast options (pancakes, omelettes, two egg combos, etc.) and more traditional Turkish cuisine, such as menemen (eggs scrambled with peppers, tomatoes, and various spices), akitma (Turkish-style crêpes), stuffed grape leaves, kofte, various kebabs, durum (a Turkish wrap), and more. Turkish Lazuri Café is also offering a special menu for onsite dining for the entire month of Ramadan. Lazuri is open seven days a week for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

BACK BAY

A Washington, DC-based burger chain called the Capital Burger recently opened in the space formerly occupied by Papa Razzi. The Capital Burger is affiliated with the Capital Grille. Expect burgers.

CHARLESTOWN

The team behind Brewer’s Fork (which makes some of the best pizza in the city, and has one of the best beer lists, too) recently opened the restaurant portion of its second business, Dovetail. (Dovetail also functions as a takeout sandwich shop, as well as a sort of package store, offering beer and wine to-go.) The restaurant serves “American-style dishes using local, seasonal ingredients complemented by a wine program showcasing small production wines from around the world, as well as craft beer,” according to the team. Dovetail is only open for dinner at the moment, but will open its patio for brunch and, eventually, lunch in the near future.

CHINATOWN

A Chinatown restaurant known for its Chinese-American fusion food appears to have moved from one space on Hudson Street to another. Wings Kitchen — which formerly operated at 23 Hudson St. — has relocated to the old BLR by Shojo space at 13 Hudson St., and is seeking to purchase the former occupant’s liquor license.

SOUTH BOSTON

It’s been known for some time now that Castle Island Brewing was planning to expand to Southie. Well, now there’s a date attached to the expansion. The brewery — which gets its name from the famous South Boston peninsula — will open its second location in July. There will be one of the area’s very best pale ales (named for the hyper-regional variant of bowling, candlepin), and there will be South Shore-style bar pizza.

WATERFRONT

Summer Shack is expanding beyond its brick and mortar locations and launching a food truck this spring, which will debut on the Rose Kennedy Greenway on April 21, and remain open until December. Expect fried clams, crab cakes, burgers, and more.

CAMBERVILLE

HARVARD SQUARE

Brookline wood-fired pizza darling Stoked Pizza expanded to Cambridge recently. The second shop debuted on April 5, and features wood-fired pizza, to-go beer and wine (at very reasonable prices, it should be noted), and appetizers like Buffalo wings and crispy raviolis. Both locations are open for takeout and delivery only for the time being.

ASSEMBLY ROW

Fancy leaf restaurant Sweetgreen is expanding to Assembly Row. The salad chain already operates more than a dozen locations in Greater Boston. The newest outpost will open sometime this summer, according to a post on Assembly Row’s Facebook page.

FARTHER AFIELD

BROOKLINE

Dolma Mediterranean Cuisine recently opened on Cyprus Street in Brookline. Chef and owner Yesim Otsuz “tested and refined her authentic cooking skills in Antalya province prior to coming to Boston,” according to the restaurant’s website. As such, Dolma’s menu is inspired by Turkish cuisine, and diners can expect to find dishes such as borek (stuffed pastry made with a flaky dough); manti (Turkish dumplings); stuffed artichokes; stuffed peppers; and tutmac, a traditional Turkish soup made with yogurt, lentils, and noodles. Note: All of the meat Dolma uses in its cooking is halal. Dolma is open Wednesday through Monday for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

BURLINGTON

A Mediterranean restaurant called Kabob Grill & Pizzeria recently opened in Burlington. Diners can expect pizza (duh), falafel, shawarma, and other Mediterranean treats.

EVERETT

Beloved local brewery Night Shift will debut a new restaurant on April 15, this time in the Encore Boston Harbor casino in Everett. Night Shift got its start in Everett — one of its most popular beers is named for Santilli Highway, where Nightshift is headquartered — so the coupling makes sense. Night Shift Brewing Kitchen & Tap will feature pub food, small bites, sandwiches, and more. Head to Everett to risk it all ... on a damn fine IPA.

March 29, 2021: The Seaport Gets Exactly What It Doesn’t Need: Another Steakhouse

Eddie Merlot’s/Official Website

BOSTON PROPER

BACK BAY

The Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton is getting another drinking and dining destination. Trifecta will open adjacent to the hotel’s lobby some time in May, and focus on cocktails (with names that pay homage to women from Boston’s high society past, like the legendary art patron Isabella Stewart Gardner and Boston Ballet founder E. Virginia Williams) and high tea.

BRIGHTON

A half century-old New Jersey-based sub shop chain is expanding to Boston. The website for Jersey Mike’s Subs lists the location as “coming soon.” Also in Brighton, a pizzeria called Ziggy’s recently opened in Oak Square, and it has connections to another pizzeria that operated in the neighborhood for 20 years.

JAMAICA PLAIN

A pizzeria with roots in JP is returning home. Pizza Oggi first opened 20 years ago in Hyde Square (near the Haven), before moving and spending time Downtown, and later in Harvard Square. Now, it plans to reopen in its original space on Perkins Street.

SEAPORT

The Seaport just got exactly what it doesn’t need: another steakhouse. Eddie Merlot’s, which is a steakhouse chain based in Indiana, recently opened in the Congress Street space once occupied by La Casa de Pedro.

CAMBERVILLE

DAVIS SQUARE

Somerville is getting a new Indian restaurant called Veggie Indian Palace, though details regarding ownership and location are currently scarce.

INMAN SQUARE

Midwest Grill, which was known for its Brazilian BBQ, is no longer serving Brazilian BBQ — but it is serving Korean BBQ. Ownership changed recently, and so too did the menu.

FARTHER AFIELD

ARLINGTON

A new Mediterranean restaurant called Fattoush is opening in Arlington. Its menu will consist of dishes like hummus, shawarma, rice pilaf, falafel, and kebbe. “We will be serving Mediterranean food, and vegan food. We have amazing recipes, generous portions, fair prices and great customer service,” owner Karam Touma told the Arlington Advocate. “We are a family owned and operated restaurant.”

BROOKLINE VILLAGE

Brookline is getting a new tea shop called the Shared Tea, which will open some time this summer in the space formerly occupied by a women’s clothing shop called Sana Belle.

CHESTNUT HILL

A Mediterranean restaurant with a focus on Greek food and fish plans to open in the Street Chestnut Hill development. Limani, which is a mini-chain based in New York (there are locations in Manhattan and on Long Island), will overlook Hammond Pond, and could open some time this year.

DUXBURY

The Island Creek Oysters team recently bought the Winsor House Inn, which has been operating as a restaurant since the 1930s. “The addition of the Winsor House into the Island Creek family will allow for them to add another aspect to the farm experience they have been creating since 2017, coupling hospitality with educating guests about aquaculture and its role in the future of our coastal communities,” said the Island Creek team in a press release. “The Winsor House will join Island Creek’s Raw Bar, a casual, outdoor oyster experience located on their 11-acre working waterfront farm. Founder of Island Creek Oysters Skip Bennett and President Chris Sherman are grateful for the opportunity to bring a Duxbury institution into their fold.”

NEWTON

It’s fixing to be a busy year for Newton’s dining scene: the suburb is getting a “neighborhood family dining spot” called 57 Lincoln Eatery; an outpost of the French and Asian fusion bakery chain Tous Les Jours; and a ramen shop called Coco Ramen (which is a sibling, and will be a neighbor, to Thai restaurant Coconut Newton).

REVERE

Restaurateur Michael Aldi and chef Greg Reeves will open a new restaurant called Tyde in the Ryder apartment complex (21 Revere Beach Blvd.) on Revere Beach this summer. According to a press release, Tyde’s menu “will focus on locally sourced, high-quality cuts of dry aged beef and fresh-caught seafood, as well as local produce and other premium ingredients.” Tyde will be able to accommodate 120 diners indoors, with room for an additional 100 guests on its patio. Reeves owns Viale in Cambridge, and has worked in the kitchens of celebrated Boston-area restaurants such as B&G Oysters, the Butchershop, Green Street, among others.

SUDBURY

The Farmer’s Daughter, which first opened in Easton almost a decade ago, has expanded, opening a second location in Sudbury.

WALTHAM

Moody Street has a new restaurant. Penang, which first opened in Chinatown, and specializes in Malaysian food, has expanded to Waltham, and is now open inside the former Tiki House space.