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A small red clay pot filled with shrimp and a garlicky broth.
Gambas al ajillo from Estragon.
Wendy Maeda/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

12 Solid Bets for Boston’s Restaurant Week

Where to score a great meal during the city’s biannual dining-out event

by Nathan Tavares and Erika Adams Updated
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Gambas al ajillo from Estragon.
| Wendy Maeda/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
by Nathan Tavares and Erika Adams Updated

Boston’s official restaurant week — otherwise known as Dine Out Boston — runs for two weeks, actually, and is a good time to get out and explore a few places beyond your regular neighborhood haunts. The current restaurant week runs until August 19, and includes about 150 restaurants offering multi-course meals for lunch and dinner that are each under $50 per person. We’ve rounded up 12 solid bets for summer 2023’s restaurant week below. Want more choices? Find the full list of participating restaurants here.

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Oliveira's Steak House

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Brazilian steakhouse Oliveira’s is already a good bang for your buck — the regular all-you-can-eat dinner menu is $45 — but their restaurant week deal lessens the price a bit and still grants access to a parade of juicy, grilled meats carved tableside. For the duration of Dine Out Boston, the spot has a restaurant week deal where lunch is $32 and dinner is $46. The special pricing is available on every day except Saturday, and only for dinner on Sunday.

120 Washington St, Somerville, MA 02143
(617) 764-0455
(617) 764-0455

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Harvest

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Harvest is a nearly 50-year-old Cambridge legend that was evangelizing farm-to-table dining long before it was cool. Haven’t been yet? Now’s the time to go. The restaurant has a three-course dinner for $46 that includes a melon and cucumber salad, plus a fennel-brined pork chop. Available every day except Saturday.

44 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 868-2255
(617) 868-2255

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Bambara Cambridge

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Head to this restaurant within the swanky Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge to dine inside or out on the patio. The Dine Out Boston dinner menu (served daily except for Saturday) sets you back $46, and includes pesto arancini and warm hummus appetizers, plus entrees of grilled salmon and house-made fettucini, with a strawberry frozen yogurt for dessert.

25 Edwin H Land Blvd, Cambridge, MA 02141
(617) 868-4444
(617) 868-4444

Tresca

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Go to North End mainstay Tresca to sample the restaurant’s crispy orbs of arancini and bolognese packed with ground sirloin, sausage, and pancetta for dinner ($46). Top it off with tiramisu or flourless chocolate cake. The restaurant week menu is available every day except Saturday.

233 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113
(617) 742-8240
(617) 742-8240

Scampo

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Scampo is one of local chef legend Lydia Shire’s career-highlight restaurants. The special restaurant week menu is only available for lunch ($32) from Thursday through Saturday, but it’s still worth carving out the time to try a chilled corn cappuccino with fresh Jonah crab, grilled swordfish, and Shire’s signature tiramisu.

215 Charles St, Boston, MA 02114
(617) 536-2100
(617) 536-2100
Scampo Restaurant at the Liberty Hotel. Thursday, September 04, 2008.
Scampo at the Liberty Hotel.
Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images

Boston Chops Downtown

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Boston Chops Downtown, the younger sibling to the South End steakhouse, returned in November 2022. Now’s your chance to head over to both locations for three-course meals from Sunday through Friday for $46. Find local oysters with classic accompaniments, a cast-iron seared 8-ounce New York strip steak, and sticky toffee pudding (plus sides of pork belly mac and cheese for an additional fee) among the generous offerings.

52 Temple Pl, Boston, MA 02111
(617) 580-3580
(617) 580-3580

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The Banks Fish House

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Head into this Back Bay beauty for daily lunches and dinner (excluding Saturday) at $32 and $46 per person, respectively. A grilled chicken and grain salad with a Calabrian chili vinaigrette is a lighter option for lunch, while a chicken sausage dish with sweet corn succotash and black garlic chicken jus is a heartier option for dinner. Both menus end with options of New York-style cheese or crème brûlée with summer citrus and whipped cream.

406 Stuart St, Boston, MA 02116
(617) 399-0015
(617) 399-0015

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Atlántico

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Atlántico is chef Michael Serpa’s ode to the coastal seafood of Spain and Portugal. At dinner ($46), try plump Bang’s Island mussels in a carrot-almond romesco and crispy salt cod croquettes dipped in squid ink aioli. There’s a $32 lunch menu as well. Available every day except Saturday. (The lunch menu is also not available on Sunday due to brunch service.)

600 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118
(857) 233-2898
(857) 233-2898
A big cast iron pan of paella with small white share plates spread around it.
Paella at Atlántico.
Atlántico

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Estragon

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A favorite among the public and industry insiders alike, Spanish restaurant Estragon consistently puts up one of the best tapas menus in the city. The four-course, $41 dinner includes classic Spanish picks like tortilla espanola and gambas al ajillo, or garlicky sauteed shrimp.

700 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118
(617) 266-0443
(617) 266-0443

Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ

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Grab a group and head to Gyu-Kaku for some tabletop grilling at this Japanese barbecue chain. For lunch ($32) or dinner ($46), choose from a range of appetizers, ready-to-barbecue meats, and refreshing desserts like green tea ice cream. The special menus are available at all four locations in Dorchester, Brookline, Burlington, and Cambridge.

23 District Ave, Dorchester, MA 02125
(857) 309-3812
(857) 309-3812

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Shanti Restaurant

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Find a generous five-course meal for $46 at popular Indian spot Shanti, where picks include the street snack pani puri, chicken momos, and lamb vindaloo. Shanti has multiple locations around town, but only the Dorchester restaurant is participating in Dine Out Boston. Not available on Sundays.

1111 Dorchester Ave, Dorchester, MA 02125
(617) 929-3900
(617) 929-3900

Dbar

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This Dorchester favorite restaurant and lounge-y hangout spot offers a special three-course dinner Tuesday through Sunday for $41. Find chilled summer gazpacho, grilled hangar steak, and malted chocolate mousse with raspberry coulis and fresh berries among the contemporary American fare.

1236 Dorchester Ave, Dorchester, MA 02125
(617) 265-4490
(617) 265-4490

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Oliveira's Steak House

120 Washington St, Somerville, MA 02143

Brazilian steakhouse Oliveira’s is already a good bang for your buck — the regular all-you-can-eat dinner menu is $45 — but their restaurant week deal lessens the price a bit and still grants access to a parade of juicy, grilled meats carved tableside. For the duration of Dine Out Boston, the spot has a restaurant week deal where lunch is $32 and dinner is $46. The special pricing is available on every day except Saturday, and only for dinner on Sunday.

120 Washington St, Somerville, MA 02143
(617) 764-0455
(617) 764-0455

Harvest

44 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Harvest is a nearly 50-year-old Cambridge legend that was evangelizing farm-to-table dining long before it was cool. Haven’t been yet? Now’s the time to go. The restaurant has a three-course dinner for $46 that includes a melon and cucumber salad, plus a fennel-brined pork chop. Available every day except Saturday.

44 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 868-2255
(617) 868-2255

Bambara Cambridge

25 Edwin H Land Blvd, Cambridge, MA 02141

Head to this restaurant within the swanky Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge to dine inside or out on the patio. The Dine Out Boston dinner menu (served daily except for Saturday) sets you back $46, and includes pesto arancini and warm hummus appetizers, plus entrees of grilled salmon and house-made fettucini, with a strawberry frozen yogurt for dessert.

25 Edwin H Land Blvd, Cambridge, MA 02141
(617) 868-4444
(617) 868-4444

Tresca

233 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113

Go to North End mainstay Tresca to sample the restaurant’s crispy orbs of arancini and bolognese packed with ground sirloin, sausage, and pancetta for dinner ($46). Top it off with tiramisu or flourless chocolate cake. The restaurant week menu is available every day except Saturday.

233 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113
(617) 742-8240
(617) 742-8240

Scampo

215 Charles St, Boston, MA 02114

Scampo is one of local chef legend Lydia Shire’s career-highlight restaurants. The special restaurant week menu is only available for lunch ($32) from Thursday through Saturday, but it’s still worth carving out the time to try a chilled corn cappuccino with fresh Jonah crab, grilled swordfish, and Shire’s signature tiramisu.

215 Charles St, Boston, MA 02114
(617) 536-2100
(617) 536-2100
Scampo Restaurant at the Liberty Hotel. Thursday, September 04, 2008.
Scampo at the Liberty Hotel.
Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images

Boston Chops Downtown

52 Temple Pl, Boston, MA 02111

Boston Chops Downtown, the younger sibling to the South End steakhouse, returned in November 2022. Now’s your chance to head over to both locations for three-course meals from Sunday through Friday for $46. Find local oysters with classic accompaniments, a cast-iron seared 8-ounce New York strip steak, and sticky toffee pudding (plus sides of pork belly mac and cheese for an additional fee) among the generous offerings.

52 Temple Pl, Boston, MA 02111
(617) 580-3580
(617) 580-3580

The Banks Fish House

406 Stuart St, Boston, MA 02116

Head into this Back Bay beauty for daily lunches and dinner (excluding Saturday) at $32 and $46 per person, respectively. A grilled chicken and grain salad with a Calabrian chili vinaigrette is a lighter option for lunch, while a chicken sausage dish with sweet corn succotash and black garlic chicken jus is a heartier option for dinner. Both menus end with options of New York-style cheese or crème brûlée with summer citrus and whipped cream.

406 Stuart St, Boston, MA 02116
(617) 399-0015
(617) 399-0015

Atlántico

600 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118

Atlántico is chef Michael Serpa’s ode to the coastal seafood of Spain and Portugal. At dinner ($46), try plump Bang’s Island mussels in a carrot-almond romesco and crispy salt cod croquettes dipped in squid ink aioli. There’s a $32 lunch menu as well. Available every day except Saturday. (The lunch menu is also not available on Sunday due to brunch service.)

600 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118
(857) 233-2898
(857) 233-2898
A big cast iron pan of paella with small white share plates spread around it.
Paella at Atlántico.
Atlántico

Estragon

700 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118

A favorite among the public and industry insiders alike, Spanish restaurant Estragon consistently puts up one of the best tapas menus in the city. The four-course, $41 dinner includes classic Spanish picks like tortilla espanola and gambas al ajillo, or garlicky sauteed shrimp.

700 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118
(617) 266-0443
(617) 266-0443

Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ

23 District Ave, Dorchester, MA 02125

Grab a group and head to Gyu-Kaku for some tabletop grilling at this Japanese barbecue chain. For lunch ($32) or dinner ($46), choose from a range of appetizers, ready-to-barbecue meats, and refreshing desserts like green tea ice cream. The special menus are available at all four locations in Dorchester, Brookline, Burlington, and Cambridge.

23 District Ave, Dorchester, MA 02125
(857) 309-3812
(857) 309-3812

Shanti Restaurant

1111 Dorchester Ave, Dorchester, MA 02125

Find a generous five-course meal for $46 at popular Indian spot Shanti, where picks include the street snack pani puri, chicken momos, and lamb vindaloo. Shanti has multiple locations around town, but only the Dorchester restaurant is participating in Dine Out Boston. Not available on Sundays.

1111 Dorchester Ave, Dorchester, MA 02125
(617) 929-3900
(617) 929-3900

Dbar

1236 Dorchester Ave, Dorchester, MA 02125

This Dorchester favorite restaurant and lounge-y hangout spot offers a special three-course dinner Tuesday through Sunday for $41. Find chilled summer gazpacho, grilled hangar steak, and malted chocolate mousse with raspberry coulis and fresh berries among the contemporary American fare.

1236 Dorchester Ave, Dorchester, MA 02125
(617) 265-4490
(617) 265-4490

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