clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile
A white clam pizza with a blistered, thin crust.
The clam pie at Mida East Boston.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

The Hottest New Restaurants in Boston, September 2023

New restaurants to try in and around Boston, including a stunning waterfront newcomer in East Boston

View as Map
The clam pie at Mida East Boston.
| Erika Adams/Eater Boston

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 September 2023 update: Mida East Boston, a stunning waterfront outpost of chef Douglass Williams’ popular Italian restaurant.

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

Read More
If you buy something or book a reservation from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy.

Lehrhaus

Copy Link

Is it a cocktail bar? Is it a restaurant? Is it a lounge? Is it a library? Lehrhaus is all of those things. The kosher tavern and house of learning is a place meant “to encounter what it means to be in a Jewish space,” as co-founder and rabbi Charlie Schwartz puts it. The menu — designed like a page out of the Talmud, supplying lots of context around ingredients — highlights the many foodways of the Jewish diaspora, from fish and chips and its Portuguese Sephardic Jewish history to a savory rendition of the Ashkenazi Jewish noodle dish kugel that takes its cues from culinary historian Michael Twitty’s latest cookbook. Keep an eye on upcoming events at the tavern here.

A high-ceilinged space with bookshelves, big, puffy couches and chairs and sun streaming in through large front windows.
Inside Lehrhaus.
Lehrhaus Staff/Lehrhaus

Is this the restaurant of the summer in Boston? The nightly crowd of diners at Prima, an Italian steakhouse on the edge of City Square Park in Charlestown, might be ready to throw down on that debate. 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 and don’t skip the seafood mains, including the fish en papillote, 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 snap pea Caesar and a pizza topped with merguez, a smoky, subtly spicy North African lamb sausage.

A close-up shot of a salad in a white plate.
Gufo’s snap pea Caesar.
Brian Samuels/Gufo

Mida East Boston

Copy Link

Need a waterfront vacation, like, tonight? Drop what you’re doing and make a reservation at Mida’s stunning new location overlooking the harbor in East Boston. The outdoor patio during golden hour cannot be beat. On the menu, all the hits are here — the rock shrimp carbonara, the smoked short rib lasagna — but don’t miss the excellent New Haven-style clam pie, developed exclusively for the East Boston outpost. The restaurant is located on the ground floor of a luxury condo development, but, true to chef Douglass Williams’s ethos, it feels warm and welcoming to all.

A sunny, high-ceilinged dining room with light wood tables and chairs in the breezy interior.
Inside Mida East Boston.
Mida

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 dish 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 swanky 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

Marseille

Copy Link

Marseille is the latest opening from the popular French restaurant group behind the South End’s Petit Robert Bistro and Batifol in Kendall Square. As the name implies, this spot takes its cues from southern France and, more broadly, the Mediterranean coastline. Head out to the large outdoor patio, order a glass of wine, and feast on oysters, grilled octopus, and a rich bouillabaisse brimming with scallops and meaty shrimp.

Roasted chicken with a dark skin and a green dill garnish sits in a white plate with fingerling potatoes cut lengthwise and roasted on the side.
Looking for something other than seafood? Try the roasted half chicken, served with tender confited potatoes.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

Bar Vlaha

Copy Link

Grab a group and head to Bar Vlaha, where a lesser-known side of Greece takes center stage. The restaurant draws its inspiration from the Vlachs, nomadic shepherds that are native to northern and central Greece. Dig into creamy Greek cheeses, wood-fired savory pies, spit-roasted meats, and a plate of crispy fried oyster mushrooms that might be the best funghi preparation in the city right now.

An oval dish with slices of a feta-topped pie set on a white marble counter.
The alevropita, a savory feta-topped pie.
Malakhai Pearson/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

Via Cannuccia

Copy Link

Chef Stefano Quaresima dug into his childhood to dream up Via Cannuccia, a cheerful little Italian restaurant that opened this spring on Dorchester Avenue. The name itself is the title of the street that Quaresima grew up on in Anzio, a small seaside city just outside of Rome. The food is a blend of hometown favorites — the humble, homey crostata should not be missed — and more innovative dishes, like an eggplant parmigiana wrapped in rice paper to crisp up the edges.

An eggplant filling covered in red sauce, garnished in a green herby sauce and a basil leaf, and set on a white plate with sauce splattered artfully around the dish.
The crispy eggplant parmigiana.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

Lehrhaus

Is it a cocktail bar? Is it a restaurant? Is it a lounge? Is it a library? Lehrhaus is all of those things. The kosher tavern and house of learning is a place meant “to encounter what it means to be in a Jewish space,” as co-founder and rabbi Charlie Schwartz puts it. The menu — designed like a page out of the Talmud, supplying lots of context around ingredients — highlights the many foodways of the Jewish diaspora, from fish and chips and its Portuguese Sephardic Jewish history to a savory rendition of the Ashkenazi Jewish noodle dish kugel that takes its cues from culinary historian Michael Twitty’s latest cookbook. Keep an eye on upcoming events at the tavern here.

A high-ceilinged space with bookshelves, big, puffy couches and chairs and sun streaming in through large front windows.
Inside Lehrhaus.
Lehrhaus Staff/Lehrhaus

Prima

Is this the restaurant of the summer in Boston? The nightly crowd of diners at Prima, an Italian steakhouse on the edge of City Square Park in Charlestown, might be ready to throw down on that debate. 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 and don’t skip the seafood mains, including the fish en papillote, 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 snap pea Caesar and a pizza topped with merguez, a smoky, subtly spicy North African lamb sausage.

A close-up shot of a salad in a white plate.
Gufo’s snap pea Caesar.
Brian Samuels/Gufo

Mida East Boston

Need a waterfront vacation, like, tonight? Drop what you’re doing and make a reservation at Mida’s stunning new location overlooking the harbor in East Boston. The outdoor patio during golden hour cannot be beat. On the menu, all the hits are here — the rock shrimp carbonara, the smoked short rib lasagna — but don’t miss the excellent New Haven-style clam pie, developed exclusively for the East Boston outpost. The restaurant is located on the ground floor of a luxury condo development, but, true to chef Douglass Williams’s ethos, it feels warm and welcoming to all.

A sunny, high-ceilinged dining room with light wood tables and chairs in the breezy interior.
Inside Mida East Boston.
Mida

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 dish 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 swanky 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

Marseille

Marseille is the latest opening from the popular French restaurant group behind the South End’s Petit Robert Bistro and Batifol in Kendall Square. As the name implies, this spot takes its cues from southern France and, more broadly, the Mediterranean coastline. Head out to the large outdoor patio, order a glass of wine, and feast on oysters, grilled octopus, and a rich bouillabaisse brimming with scallops and meaty shrimp.

Roasted chicken with a dark skin and a green dill garnish sits in a white plate with fingerling potatoes cut lengthwise and roasted on the side.
Looking for something other than seafood? Try the roasted half chicken, served with tender confited potatoes.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

Bar Vlaha

Grab a group and head to Bar Vlaha, where a lesser-known side of Greece takes center stage. The restaurant draws its inspiration from the Vlachs, nomadic shepherds that are native to northern and central Greece. Dig into creamy Greek cheeses, wood-fired savory pies, spit-roasted meats, and a plate of crispy fried oyster mushrooms that might be the best funghi preparation in the city right now.

An oval dish with slices of a feta-topped pie set on a white marble counter.
The alevropita, a savory feta-topped pie.
Malakhai Pearson/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

Via Cannuccia

Chef Stefano Quaresima dug into his childhood to dream up Via Cannuccia, a cheerful little Italian restaurant that opened this spring on Dorchester Avenue. The name itself is the title of the street that Quaresima grew up on in Anzio, a small seaside city just outside of Rome. The food is a blend of hometown favorites — the humble, homey crostata should not be missed — and more innovative dishes, like an eggplant parmigiana wrapped in rice paper to crisp up the edges.

An eggplant filling covered in red sauce, garnished in a green herby sauce and a basil leaf, and set on a white plate with sauce splattered artfully around the dish.
The crispy eggplant parmigiana.
Erika Adams/Eater Boston

Related Maps