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Five Thai dishes sit on a wooden table in front of a brick wall. There’s a curry, a pomelo salad with shrimp, a large pile of pork ribs, and more. — A spread from Mahaniyom in Brookline

Where to Find Great Small Plates in Boston

From tapas to meze to izakaya fare, Greater Boston is packed with restaurants offering excellent shareable menus

by Karen Wilber Feb 17, 2021, 1:04pm EST

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A spread from Mahaniyom in Brookline

| Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

by Karen Wilber Feb 17, 2021, 1:04pm EST

From meze to dim sum to tapas and more, small, shareable plates are prevalent in the cuisines of many cultures. Boston’s dining scene is full of great small plates, which offer the fun of sharing alongside the opportunity to try multiple dishes. Swing through Porter Square for Japanese izakaya fare, the South End for Spanish tapas, Brookline for Thai small plates, and so much more.

Here are 18 restaurants in Greater Boston offering great small plates.

Please note that a number of Boston-area restaurants have resumed dine-in service, and the level of service offered is indicated on each map point. 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 area, please visit the Massachusetts coronavirus website.

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.

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Sarma

Small plates are the perfect vehicle for the inventive menu at this beloved meze-focused Somerville restaurant. Where else can you find miso mushroom avgolemono or smoked trout taramasalata in one place? The menu changes often, so be sure to check the restaurant’s website for updates.

Sarma is open for indoor dining (make reservations, which are required, here) and takeout.

Open in Google Maps

249 Pearl St, Somerville, MA 02145

Visit Website

Overhead view of a wooden table full of breakfast takeout items: two pastries sit on a blue-and-white octopus plate, a paper cup holds a thick hot chocolate, and more

Also featured in:

Ittoku

Ittoku is an izakaya, a casual type of Japanese bar offering snacks and alcoholic drinks. The menu has well over 100 dishes to try, and includes helpful pictures of a majority of them. To start, take a look at the appetizer and robata (short for robatayaki, which is a method of cooking over hot charcoal) sections. The various chicken yakitori skewers — thigh, heart, skin, etc. — are excellent. In the hot plate section, try the omusoba, which includes yakisoba noodles wrapped in an egg omelette, topped with Kewpie mayo and okonomiyaki sauce, which is sweet and savory. Ittoku’s bar menu offers cocktails like a mango-yuzu-peach gimlet, as well as a variety of beer, wine, and sake.

Ittoku is open for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

Open in Google Maps

1815 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140

Visit Website

Omusoba and takoyaki from Ittoku

Also featured in:

Baraka Cuisine

Baraka Cuisine’s menu is influenced by French and North African cuisines. Their mezes offer a variety of hot and cold small plates with bold flavors. Don’t miss the Tunisian lamb merguez — it’s pleasantly spicy, and is served with a side of za’atar bread.

Baraka Cuisine is open for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

Open in Google Maps

1728 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138

Visit Website

Assorted dishes from Baraka Cuisine

Casa B Tapas and Cocktail & Rum Bar

Casa B’s menu is influenced by the cuisines of a variety of countries, including Colombia, Puerto Rico, and Spain. (The restaurant describes its food as “Spanish inspired Caribbean Tapas.”) You absolutely can’t go wrong with its take on carne mechada, a Puerto Rican pot roast served with yucca gnocchi in a brown butter and sage sauce.

Casa B is open for takeout and delivery.

Open in Google Maps

253 Washington St, Somerville, MA 02143

Visit Website

Also featured in:

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Moona

This Eater Boston reader favorite offers a great selection of meze, and diners will be amazed by what the restaurant’s cooks can do with feta — especially the feta fritters with orange blossom honey, and the lamb burgers, which are topped with whipped feta.

Moona is open for indoor dining and outdoor dining (heated, tented — reserve here), takeout, and delivery.

243 Hampshire St, Cambridge, MA 02139

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Buttermilk & Bourbon

Chef Jason Santos’ Buttermilk & Bourbon is doing a take on Southern small plates. Think honey-glazed biscuits served with sweet, smoked cinnamon butter and a savory pimento cheese spread, or brisket boudin croquettes.

Buttermilk & Bourbon is open for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

160 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02116

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Hei La Moon Restaurant

Dim sum is a small plate lover’s weekend dream. Try one of everything you can get your hands on, but especially: pan-fried turnip cakes, shrimp cheung foon, and pork shiu mai.

Hei La Moon is open for indoor dining and takeout.

Open in Google Maps

88 Beach St, Boston, MA 02111

Visit Website

Hei La Moon food

The Glenville Stops

This Allston spot takes bar bites to the next level. The sweet potato parmesan fritters are super crispy, but also melt in your mouth, and are topped with a bright saffron aioli. The wild mushroom pasta is a must as well.

The Glenville Stops is open for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

87 Glenville Ave, Boston, MA 02134

Visit Website

Sweet potato parmesan fritters from Glenville Stops

Also featured in:

Peka Restaurant

Peka opened in the former Green Briar space in Brighton in September 2020. This Latin American tapas and arepas restaurant features a menu inspired by the cuisines of Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Cuba, and others. Try the “Cooti’s Camorones al Ajillo” — shrimp sautéed with garlic, wine, cilantro, and olive oil. It’s a garlic lover’s dream.

Peka is open for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

Open in Google Maps

304 Washington St, Brighton, MA 02135

Visit Website

Shrimp sauteed with garlic, puff pastry wrapped queso blanco, and more from Peka

Bootleg Special

While Bootleg Special is best known for its seafood boils, don’t skip its small plates. The “Ribs on Coke” are perfectly tender with a sticky, sweet sauce made with cherry flavored Coca-Cola, and the garlic noodles are a generous portion and perfect for sharing alongside a seafood boil.

Bootleg Special is open for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

Open in Google Maps

400 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Taberna de Haro

This Brookline restaurant has been open for more than two decades, and is a staple in the Greater Boston tapas scene. The wine list is extensive and excellent, and the patio is perfect (when weather permits).

Taberna de Haro is open for takeout and delivery.

999 Beacon St, Brookline, MA 02446

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Barcelona Wine Bar

Sure, it’s a chain, but it’s also good. As the name might suggest, Barcelona Wine Bar focusses on classic Spanish tapas, such as patatas bravas, jamón serrano, and boquerones. The brunch menu contains a number of can’t-miss gems as well, such as gambas (shrimp) and grits, olive oil pancakes, and serrano benedict. Bread is served on the side to soak up all the various juices, oils, and sauces.

Barcelona is open for indoor dining and takeout.

525 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Gantetsu-Ya

Takoyaki (fried octopus balls) is the star at this Ganko Ittetsu Ramen sibling (and neighbor). Gantetsu-Ya’s menu is brief and brilliant: takoyaki, gyoza, and kara-age (Japanese fried chicken).

Gantetsu-Ya is open for takeout.

Open in Google Maps

318 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02446

Visit Website

MIDA

While MIDA is not chiefly a small plates restaurant, its “Mangia Monday” menu is the perfect way to sample many of Chef Douglass Williams’ pasta masterpieces. Its sharing option for two allows diners to order up to five types of pasta, alongside salad and bread. Be sure to order the gnocchi cacio e pepe, which is a must eat in Boston’s Italian cuisine scene.

MIDA is open for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

782 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Orinoco: A Latin Kitchen

It’s lucky that Orinoco offers small plates, because you will want to try everything on the menu. The empanadas verde at this Venezuelan restaurant are a dream for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike, filled with gooey Manchego cheese, earthy forest mushrooms, and sweet piquillo peppers. While Orinoco has temporarily closed two of their locations, its South End location remains open.

The South End location is open for takeout and delivery.

Open in Google Maps

477 Shawmut Ave, Boston, MA 02118

Visit Website

An arepa and empanadas from Orinoco

Mahaniyom

This Thai tapas bar offers variety beyond pad thai and tom yum (although pad thai and tom yum are each excellent, of course). Try the yum ngoh, a dish that combines crispy fried shallots, garlic, and shrimp with juicy rambutan, which is a South East Asian fruit similar to lychee.

Mahaniyom is open for indoor dining, and takeout and delivery via its website.

Open in Google Maps

236 Washington St, Brookline, MA 02445

Visit Website

Five Thai dishes sit on a wooden table in front of a brick wall. There’s a curry, a pomelo salad with shrimp, a large pile of pork ribs, and more.

Also featured in:

Tres Gatos

Tres Gatos expands the spirit of small plates and sharing beyond its food: Currently, diners can order take out or delivery with a side of books or records to add to the experience.

Tres Gatos is open for indoor dining (reserve here), takeout, and local delivery.

470 Centre St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Brassica Kitchen + Cafe

Diners can choose their own small plates adventure at Brassica, or they can opt into the “Ride for 2” menu, which is a sort of chef’s tasting menu of five to six dishes plus dessert. (Add a wine pairing for an additional $40.) The B.K. Brussels are compulsory — there is heavenly caramelization at play, along with a melody of maple, lemon, and miso.

Brassica is open for indoor dining (reserve here), takeout, and delivery.

3710 Washington St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Visit Website

Assortment of shared dishes from Brassica Kitchen + Cafe

Also featured in:

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Sarma

249 Pearl St, Somerville, MA 02145

Small plates are the perfect vehicle for the inventive menu at this beloved meze-focused Somerville restaurant. Where else can you find miso mushroom avgolemono or smoked trout taramasalata in one place? The menu changes often, so be sure to check the restaurant’s website for updates.

Sarma is open for indoor dining (make reservations, which are required, here) and takeout.

Open in Google Maps

249 Pearl St, Somerville, MA 02145

Visit Website

Overhead view of a wooden table full of breakfast takeout items: two pastries sit on a blue-and-white octopus plate, a paper cup holds a thick hot chocolate, and more

Ittoku

1815 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140

Ittoku is an izakaya, a casual type of Japanese bar offering snacks and alcoholic drinks. The menu has well over 100 dishes to try, and includes helpful pictures of a majority of them. To start, take a look at the appetizer and robata (short for robatayaki, which is a method of cooking over hot charcoal) sections. The various chicken yakitori skewers — thigh, heart, skin, etc. — are excellent. In the hot plate section, try the omusoba, which includes yakisoba noodles wrapped in an egg omelette, topped with Kewpie mayo and okonomiyaki sauce, which is sweet and savory. Ittoku’s bar menu offers cocktails like a mango-yuzu-peach gimlet, as well as a variety of beer, wine, and sake.

Ittoku is open for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

Open in Google Maps

1815 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140

Visit Website

Omusoba and takoyaki from Ittoku

Baraka Cuisine

1728 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138

Baraka Cuisine’s menu is influenced by French and North African cuisines. Their mezes offer a variety of hot and cold small plates with bold flavors. Don’t miss the Tunisian lamb merguez — it’s pleasantly spicy, and is served with a side of za’atar bread.

Baraka Cuisine is open for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

Open in Google Maps

1728 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138

Visit Website

Assorted dishes from Baraka Cuisine

Casa B Tapas and Cocktail & Rum Bar

253 Washington St, Somerville, MA 02143

Casa B’s menu is influenced by the cuisines of a variety of countries, including Colombia, Puerto Rico, and Spain. (The restaurant describes its food as “Spanish inspired Caribbean Tapas.”) You absolutely can’t go wrong with its take on carne mechada, a Puerto Rican pot roast served with yucca gnocchi in a brown butter and sage sauce.

Casa B is open for takeout and delivery.

Open in Google Maps

253 Washington St, Somerville, MA 02143

Visit Website

Moona

243 Hampshire St, Cambridge, MA 02139

This Eater Boston reader favorite offers a great selection of meze, and diners will be amazed by what the restaurant’s cooks can do with feta — especially the feta fritters with orange blossom honey, and the lamb burgers, which are topped with whipped feta.

Moona is open for indoor dining and outdoor dining (heated, tented — reserve here), takeout, and delivery.

243 Hampshire St, Cambridge, MA 02139

Visit Website

Buttermilk & Bourbon

160 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02116

Chef Jason Santos’ Buttermilk & Bourbon is doing a take on Southern small plates. Think honey-glazed biscuits served with sweet, smoked cinnamon butter and a savory pimento cheese spread, or brisket boudin croquettes.

Buttermilk & Bourbon is open for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

160 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02116

Visit Website

Hei La Moon Restaurant

88 Beach St, Boston, MA 02111

Dim sum is a small plate lover’s weekend dream. Try one of everything you can get your hands on, but especially: pan-fried turnip cakes, shrimp cheung foon, and pork shiu mai.

Hei La Moon is open for indoor dining and takeout.

Open in Google Maps

88 Beach St, Boston, MA 02111

Visit Website

Hei La Moon food

The Glenville Stops

87 Glenville Ave, Boston, MA 02134

This Allston spot takes bar bites to the next level. The sweet potato parmesan fritters are super crispy, but also melt in your mouth, and are topped with a bright saffron aioli. The wild mushroom pasta is a must as well.

The Glenville Stops is open for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

87 Glenville Ave, Boston, MA 02134

Visit Website

Sweet potato parmesan fritters from Glenville Stops

Peka Restaurant

304 Washington St, Brighton, MA 02135

Peka opened in the former Green Briar space in Brighton in September 2020. This Latin American tapas and arepas restaurant features a menu inspired by the cuisines of Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Cuba, and others. Try the “Cooti’s Camorones al Ajillo” — shrimp sautéed with garlic, wine, cilantro, and olive oil. It’s a garlic lover’s dream.

Peka is open for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

Open in Google Maps

304 Washington St, Brighton, MA 02135

Visit Website

Shrimp sauteed with garlic, puff pastry wrapped queso blanco, and more from Peka

Bootleg Special

400 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116

While Bootleg Special is best known for its seafood boils, don’t skip its small plates. The “Ribs on Coke” are perfectly tender with a sticky, sweet sauce made with cherry flavored Coca-Cola, and the garlic noodles are a generous portion and perfect for sharing alongside a seafood boil.

Bootleg Special is open for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

Open in Google Maps

400 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116

Visit Website

Taberna de Haro

999 Beacon St, Brookline, MA 02446

This Brookline restaurant has been open for more than two decades, and is a staple in the Greater Boston tapas scene. The wine list is extensive and excellent, and the patio is perfect (when weather permits).

Taberna de Haro is open for takeout and delivery.

999 Beacon St, Brookline, MA 02446

Visit Website

Barcelona Wine Bar

525 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116

Sure, it’s a chain, but it’s also good. As the name might suggest, Barcelona Wine Bar focusses on classic Spanish tapas, such as patatas bravas, jamón serrano, and boquerones. The brunch menu contains a number of can’t-miss gems as well, such as gambas (shrimp) and grits, olive oil pancakes, and serrano benedict. Bread is served on the side to soak up all the various juices, oils, and sauces.

Barcelona is open for indoor dining and takeout.

525 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116

Visit Website

Gantetsu-Ya

318 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02446

Takoyaki (fried octopus balls) is the star at this Ganko Ittetsu Ramen sibling (and neighbor). Gantetsu-Ya’s menu is brief and brilliant: takoyaki, gyoza, and kara-age (Japanese fried chicken).

Gantetsu-Ya is open for takeout.

Open in Google Maps

318 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02446

Visit Website

MIDA

782 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118

While MIDA is not chiefly a small plates restaurant, its “Mangia Monday” menu is the perfect way to sample many of Chef Douglass Williams’ pasta masterpieces. Its sharing option for two allows diners to order up to five types of pasta, alongside salad and bread. Be sure to order the gnocchi cacio e pepe, which is a must eat in Boston’s Italian cuisine scene.

MIDA is open for indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.

782 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118

Visit Website

Orinoco: A Latin Kitchen

477 Shawmut Ave, Boston, MA 02118

It’s lucky that Orinoco offers small plates, because you will want to try everything on the menu. The empanadas verde at this Venezuelan restaurant are a dream for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike, filled with gooey Manchego cheese, earthy forest mushrooms, and sweet piquillo peppers. While Orinoco has temporarily closed two of their locations, its South End location remains open.

The South End location is open for takeout and delivery.

Open in Google Maps

477 Shawmut Ave, Boston, MA 02118

Visit Website

An arepa and empanadas from Orinoco

Related Maps

Mahaniyom

236 Washington St, Brookline, MA 02445

This Thai tapas bar offers variety beyond pad thai and tom yum (although pad thai and tom yum are each excellent, of course). Try the yum ngoh, a dish that combines crispy fried shallots, garlic, and shrimp with juicy rambutan, which is a South East Asian fruit similar to lychee.

Mahaniyom is open for indoor dining, and takeout and delivery via its website.

Open in Google Maps

236 Washington St, Brookline, MA 02445

Visit Website

Five Thai dishes sit on a wooden table in front of a brick wall. There’s a curry, a pomelo salad with shrimp, a large pile of pork ribs, and more.

Tres Gatos

470 Centre St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Tres Gatos expands the spirit of small plates and sharing beyond its food: Currently, diners can order take out or delivery with a side of books or records to add to the experience.

Tres Gatos is open for indoor dining (reserve here), takeout, and local delivery.

470 Centre St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Visit Website

Brassica Kitchen + Cafe

3710 Washington St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Diners can choose their own small plates adventure at Brassica, or they can opt into the “Ride for 2” menu, which is a sort of chef’s tasting menu of five to six dishes plus dessert. (Add a wine pairing for an additional $40.) The B.K. Brussels are compulsory — there is heavenly caramelization at play, along with a melody of maple, lemon, and miso.

Brassica is open for indoor dining (reserve here), takeout, and delivery.

3710 Washington St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Visit Website

Assortment of shared dishes from Brassica Kitchen + Cafe

Related Maps