clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile
A hand holds up a meaty, stacked burger against a black and gold background.
The signature burger at D.W. French in Fenway.
Kan Photography/D.W. French

The Hottest New Restaurants in Boston Right Now

New restaurants to try in and around Boston, including a French brasserie in Fenway and a Japanese soba shop in Chinatown

View as Map
The signature burger at D.W. French in Fenway.
| Kan Photography/D.W. French

More often than not, friends, family, and readers of Eater have a single burning question: Where should I eat right now? The Eater Boston Heatmap, updated monthly, is where restaurant obsessives can find what's new and exciting around the city. (Looking for a drink? Check out the Eater Boston Cocktail Heatmap.)

New to the map in the November 2023 update: The Eastern Standard revival is underway, Japanese soba shop Somenya debuts in Chinatown, a hit tasting menu in Back Bay goes casual at Moon Bar, and D.W. French, a French brasserie from chef Douglass Williams, lands in Fenway.

For all the latest Boston dining intel, subscribe to Eater Boston's newsletter.

Read More
Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

The Eaves

Copy Link

What’re you bound to hear when eavesdropping at Eaves, which officially debuted in Somerville’s Bow Market early September? Rave reviews about the soul-warming congee with micro shrimp. Or the cozy vermicelli soup with fish broth that’s topped with crispy fish and herbs. And don’t forget the grilled duck. While the small plates at this Vietnam-meets-New-England restaurant helmed by chef Vincenzo Le and Duong Huynh (of Cicada Coffee Bar) change on a whim, what’s constant are flavors you’ll want to blab about.

An overhead shot of a bowl of white porridge topped with brown micro shrimp and green garnishes.
A congee made with micro shrimp and a bluefish broth at the Eaves.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

This new Italian steakhouse is the place to be, judging by the nightly crowd of diners at Prima, on the edge of City Square Park in Charlestown. The restaurant is a stylish, ambitious affair that ups the ante for a group best known for reliable neighborhood spots in Charlestown (Waverly, Monument) and South Boston (Lincoln, Capo). Sample the mozzarella bar, slurp some spicy pici pasta, and don’t skip the seafood mains, including hake wrapped in parchment paper and baked with shrimp, clams, and a bright citrus salad.

A wood-paneled host stand, the wood-accented bar on the left, and small booths with low-hanging lamplight on the right.
Prima’s main dining room.
Assembly Design Studio

If you’re looking for a more casual Italian experience, head to Gufo, a new cafe and restaurant from the talented team behind pasta hot spot SRV in the South End and charcuterie expert the Salty Pig in between the South End and Back Bay. Start off the meal with an artful selection of snacks — don’t miss the eggplant caponata with whipped ricotta — and then round out each order with other subtly experimental dishes like a broccoli Caesar and a pizza topped with mozzarella, fennel sausage, kale, and calabrian chilis.

A collection of small plates on a wooden tray, with a side of focaccia and assorted drinks.
Snacks to start the meal at Gufo.
Brian Samuels/Gufo

Jiang Nan Boston

Copy Link

Elegant Chinese restaurant Jiang Nan is a popular stop in NYC, with a few locations there, but this is its first appearance in Boston — and there are lines out the door at dinnertime. There’s a bounty of fish on the menu and the steamed lotus root stuffed with sticky rice and stir-fried pig kidneys are solid bets, but everyone is buzzing about the restaurant’s succulent roast duck. Order it “two ways” to get the meat and skin wrapped into steaming pancakes, and the bones, too, in a brothy soup with tofu and cabbage or in a crispy salt-and-pepper seasoning.

A platter of sliced roast duck with golden serving tongs plus side cups of julienned vegetables and dipping sauces, and a bamboo holder with thin pancake wrappers inside.
Crispy roast duck and accoutrements at Jiang Nan.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

Grace By Nia

Copy Link

A highly anticipated opening this spring, Grace by Nia is among a handful of local restaurants shaking up the Seaport’s chain-heavy scene. Nia Grace of well-loved, jazzy Boston hangout Darryl’s, is behind the glittery Seaport space, along with nightlife heavyweight Big Night. Sip on a smoky cocktail, dig into a Southern-inflected menu — including a fried green tomato salad that tastes like a deconstructed mozzarella stick, and molasses-braised oxtail and coconut grits — and sit back and relax with nightly live music acts.

A stack of fried tomato slices layered with mozzarella and surrounded with a circle of balsamic glaze in a white bowl.
Fried green tomatoes.
Big Night/Grace by Nia

Zhi Wei Cafe

Copy Link

Zhi Wei Cafe, a chic new Chinese restaurant, landed in downtown Boston’s Leather District in July. The whole menu is worth a try, including the fast-selling soup dumplings; but no matter what, be sure to order the restaurant’s signature Lanzhou beef noodle soup. Owner Jin Tan is obsessive about quality control in the dish, and it shows: The housemade al dente noodles are tender yet snappy, and the rich, meaty broth is a luxurious treat.

An overhead shot of a deep bowl with intricate blue patterns filled with broth, noodles, and beef, with a sleeve of chopsticks off to the side.
The Lanzhou beef noodle soup.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

Somenya

Copy Link

Hearty bowls of buckwheat noodles are drawing diners in at Japanese soba shop Somenya, one of Chinatown’s newest restaurant players. The noodles are served either in a hot broth or chilled with decadent seafood toppings, including ikura (salmon) caviar and uni. The comforting bowls are an excellent way to ease into Boston’s long, dark winter months.

Moon Bar

Copy Link

Under chef Carl Dooley, Mooncusser has quickly established itself as one of the city’s go-to spots for an inventive tasting menu that is worth the splurge. At Moon Bar, a more casual weeknight hangout located below the second-floor fine dining spot, Dooley hands the reins to chef Nelson Whittingham to oversee a menu that preserves the spirit of Mooncusser without the white tablecloths. Don’t miss the sweet potato samosas dipped in tamarind chutney and the red snapper and crab stew, and pair it all with a couple of cocktails from Uni alum Jake Smith, who is leading the bar program.

With a name that means “love” in Portuguese, it’s no surprise that there’s lots to love at Amar, the modern Portuguese restaurant by Michelin-starred chef (and recent Boston transplant) George Mendes. And, given the nearly booked-solid reservations for the next month or so, it seems like the city has a new culinary crush. Here, seafood-heavy fare celebrates and reinvents classic Portuguese dishes, like bacalhau à Gomes de Sá, with a zing from dehydrated black olives. Unexpected, though, are sublime desserts, like brûléed lime and vanilla-scented rice pudding. The made-to-order pão de ló sponge cake with smoked cinnamon ice cream is enough to write love sonnets to.

A rectangular cube of milk bread topped with uni, shiso, and little edible flowers.
Toasted milk bread topped with uni at Amar.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

Eastern Standard Kitchen and Drinks

Copy Link

Boston was hit hard by the loss of industry favorite Eastern Standard during the pandemic. The subsequent comeback story is particularly sweet: Restaurateur Garrett Harker and his team of hospitality all-stars re-opened the brasserie in October at the Bower complex in Fenway, resuscitating the restaurant legend with dishes like the steak frites, the roasted half-chicken, and the baked rigatoni. Have room for more? Check out the seafood-focused restaurant All That Fish + Oyster and the cocktail bar Equal Measure, the team’s other just-opened ventures within the Bower.

D.W. French

Copy Link

You may be most familiar with chef Douglass Williams as the force behind Mida, Boston’s excellent Italian restaurant dishing out cheesy focaccia, pizza, and plates of creamy gnocchi cacio e pepe at locations in the South End, Newton, and East Boston. At D.W. French, the chef has built an ode to French food and culture, nodding to a core part of his culinary training. The Fenway brasserie is a glamorous stop for garlicky escargot, beef bourguignon sandwiches, steak and tuna tartare, and regional cheese and charcuterie boards.

311 Omakase

Copy Link

You probably need an excuse for a a splurge-y night out. Luckily, the 18-course chef-curated meals at this new beauty in a South End brownstone lean on the luxe side. While the menu changes often, expect treasures like salmon roe and amberjack fish tucked into a mochi rice cracker shell, plus Hokkaido hairy crab served with uni and caviar, and a palate cleanser of miso soup with a rich anchovy broth. And the 411 on 311: The restaurant offers two services for ten people every night, excluding Tuesdays. And hey, at $230 per person, it’s still cheaper than a flight to Japan, where co-owners Carrie Ko and chef Wei Fa Chen source most of their seafood.

A closeup shot of a floral-shaped cracker filled with orange salmon row, topped with flowers.
An appetizer at 311 Omakase, featuring a mochi rice cracker filled with salmon roe and amberjack fish.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

Nubian Markets

Copy Link

What would a restaurant, butchery, and grocery store look like if it was built by the community, for the community, in Roxbury’s historic Nubian Square? That was the precedent behind Nubian Markets, which traces the intersecting African and Muslim diasporas by way of a fast-casual menu that includes a chickpea peanut stew with coconut ginger rice and pickled plantains, and one impressive burger. Shop the grocery aisles while you wait for your food and check out products from local Black and brown purveyors, including spice blends from Hapi African Gourmet and hot sauce from Hillside Harvest.

A sandwich with a fritter and bright purple cabbage shavings stuffed into a pita pocket.
A black-eyed pea fritter with mustard onions, ginger yam puree, and red cabbage. 
Drew Katz/Nubian Markets

The Eaves

What’re you bound to hear when eavesdropping at Eaves, which officially debuted in Somerville’s Bow Market early September? Rave reviews about the soul-warming congee with micro shrimp. Or the cozy vermicelli soup with fish broth that’s topped with crispy fish and herbs. And don’t forget the grilled duck. While the small plates at this Vietnam-meets-New-England restaurant helmed by chef Vincenzo Le and Duong Huynh (of Cicada Coffee Bar) change on a whim, what’s constant are flavors you’ll want to blab about.

An overhead shot of a bowl of white porridge topped with brown micro shrimp and green garnishes.
A congee made with micro shrimp and a bluefish broth at the Eaves.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

Prima

This new Italian steakhouse is the place to be, judging by the nightly crowd of diners at Prima, on the edge of City Square Park in Charlestown. The restaurant is a stylish, ambitious affair that ups the ante for a group best known for reliable neighborhood spots in Charlestown (Waverly, Monument) and South Boston (Lincoln, Capo). Sample the mozzarella bar, slurp some spicy pici pasta, and don’t skip the seafood mains, including hake wrapped in parchment paper and baked with shrimp, clams, and a bright citrus salad.

A wood-paneled host stand, the wood-accented bar on the left, and small booths with low-hanging lamplight on the right.
Prima’s main dining room.
Assembly Design Studio

Gufo

If you’re looking for a more casual Italian experience, head to Gufo, a new cafe and restaurant from the talented team behind pasta hot spot SRV in the South End and charcuterie expert the Salty Pig in between the South End and Back Bay. Start off the meal with an artful selection of snacks — don’t miss the eggplant caponata with whipped ricotta — and then round out each order with other subtly experimental dishes like a broccoli Caesar and a pizza topped with mozzarella, fennel sausage, kale, and calabrian chilis.

A collection of small plates on a wooden tray, with a side of focaccia and assorted drinks.
Snacks to start the meal at Gufo.
Brian Samuels/Gufo

Jiang Nan Boston

Elegant Chinese restaurant Jiang Nan is a popular stop in NYC, with a few locations there, but this is its first appearance in Boston — and there are lines out the door at dinnertime. There’s a bounty of fish on the menu and the steamed lotus root stuffed with sticky rice and stir-fried pig kidneys are solid bets, but everyone is buzzing about the restaurant’s succulent roast duck. Order it “two ways” to get the meat and skin wrapped into steaming pancakes, and the bones, too, in a brothy soup with tofu and cabbage or in a crispy salt-and-pepper seasoning.

A platter of sliced roast duck with golden serving tongs plus side cups of julienned vegetables and dipping sauces, and a bamboo holder with thin pancake wrappers inside.
Crispy roast duck and accoutrements at Jiang Nan.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

Grace By Nia

A highly anticipated opening this spring, Grace by Nia is among a handful of local restaurants shaking up the Seaport’s chain-heavy scene. Nia Grace of well-loved, jazzy Boston hangout Darryl’s, is behind the glittery Seaport space, along with nightlife heavyweight Big Night. Sip on a smoky cocktail, dig into a Southern-inflected menu — including a fried green tomato salad that tastes like a deconstructed mozzarella stick, and molasses-braised oxtail and coconut grits — and sit back and relax with nightly live music acts.

A stack of fried tomato slices layered with mozzarella and surrounded with a circle of balsamic glaze in a white bowl.
Fried green tomatoes.
Big Night/Grace by Nia

Zhi Wei Cafe

Zhi Wei Cafe, a chic new Chinese restaurant, landed in downtown Boston’s Leather District in July. The whole menu is worth a try, including the fast-selling soup dumplings; but no matter what, be sure to order the restaurant’s signature Lanzhou beef noodle soup. Owner Jin Tan is obsessive about quality control in the dish, and it shows: The housemade al dente noodles are tender yet snappy, and the rich, meaty broth is a luxurious treat.

An overhead shot of a deep bowl with intricate blue patterns filled with broth, noodles, and beef, with a sleeve of chopsticks off to the side.
The Lanzhou beef noodle soup.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

Somenya

Hearty bowls of buckwheat noodles are drawing diners in at Japanese soba shop Somenya, one of Chinatown’s newest restaurant players. The noodles are served either in a hot broth or chilled with decadent seafood toppings, including ikura (salmon) caviar and uni. The comforting bowls are an excellent way to ease into Boston’s long, dark winter months.

Moon Bar

Under chef Carl Dooley, Mooncusser has quickly established itself as one of the city’s go-to spots for an inventive tasting menu that is worth the splurge. At Moon Bar, a more casual weeknight hangout located below the second-floor fine dining spot, Dooley hands the reins to chef Nelson Whittingham to oversee a menu that preserves the spirit of Mooncusser without the white tablecloths. Don’t miss the sweet potato samosas dipped in tamarind chutney and the red snapper and crab stew, and pair it all with a couple of cocktails from Uni alum Jake Smith, who is leading the bar program.

Amar

With a name that means “love” in Portuguese, it’s no surprise that there’s lots to love at Amar, the modern Portuguese restaurant by Michelin-starred chef (and recent Boston transplant) George Mendes. And, given the nearly booked-solid reservations for the next month or so, it seems like the city has a new culinary crush. Here, seafood-heavy fare celebrates and reinvents classic Portuguese dishes, like bacalhau à Gomes de Sá, with a zing from dehydrated black olives. Unexpected, though, are sublime desserts, like brûléed lime and vanilla-scented rice pudding. The made-to-order pão de ló sponge cake with smoked cinnamon ice cream is enough to write love sonnets to.

A rectangular cube of milk bread topped with uni, shiso, and little edible flowers.
Toasted milk bread topped with uni at Amar.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

Eastern Standard Kitchen and Drinks

Boston was hit hard by the loss of industry favorite Eastern Standard during the pandemic. The subsequent comeback story is particularly sweet: Restaurateur Garrett Harker and his team of hospitality all-stars re-opened the brasserie in October at the Bower complex in Fenway, resuscitating the restaurant legend with dishes like the steak frites, the roasted half-chicken, and the baked rigatoni. Have room for more? Check out the seafood-focused restaurant All That Fish + Oyster and the cocktail bar Equal Measure, the team’s other just-opened ventures within the Bower.

D.W. French

You may be most familiar with chef Douglass Williams as the force behind Mida, Boston’s excellent Italian restaurant dishing out cheesy focaccia, pizza, and plates of creamy gnocchi cacio e pepe at locations in the South End, Newton, and East Boston. At D.W. French, the chef has built an ode to French food and culture, nodding to a core part of his culinary training. The Fenway brasserie is a glamorous stop for garlicky escargot, beef bourguignon sandwiches, steak and tuna tartare, and regional cheese and charcuterie boards.

311 Omakase

You probably need an excuse for a a splurge-y night out. Luckily, the 18-course chef-curated meals at this new beauty in a South End brownstone lean on the luxe side. While the menu changes often, expect treasures like salmon roe and amberjack fish tucked into a mochi rice cracker shell, plus Hokkaido hairy crab served with uni and caviar, and a palate cleanser of miso soup with a rich anchovy broth. And the 411 on 311: The restaurant offers two services for ten people every night, excluding Tuesdays. And hey, at $230 per person, it’s still cheaper than a flight to Japan, where co-owners Carrie Ko and chef Wei Fa Chen source most of their seafood.

A closeup shot of a floral-shaped cracker filled with orange salmon row, topped with flowers.
An appetizer at 311 Omakase, featuring a mochi rice cracker filled with salmon roe and amberjack fish.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

Nubian Markets

What would a restaurant, butchery, and grocery store look like if it was built by the community, for the community, in Roxbury’s historic Nubian Square? That was the precedent behind Nubian Markets, which traces the intersecting African and Muslim diasporas by way of a fast-casual menu that includes a chickpea peanut stew with coconut ginger rice and pickled plantains, and one impressive burger. Shop the grocery aisles while you wait for your food and check out products from local Black and brown purveyors, including spice blends from Hapi African Gourmet and hot sauce from Hillside Harvest.

A sandwich with a fritter and bright purple cabbage shavings stuffed into a pita pocket.
A black-eyed pea fritter with mustard onions, ginger yam puree, and red cabbage. 
Drew Katz/Nubian Markets

Related Maps