Want to check out all the newest Boston-area restaurants? This map chronicles everything that opened (or reopened) in and around Boston between December 21, 2016 and March 19, 2017.
Over the course of the season, there were more than 70 openings around Boston proper, Cambridge (particularly Central Square), Somerville, and beyond. Quincy, in particular, was busy with three winter openings right in Quincy Center (Fuji at West of Center, Pho Pasteur, and Zef Cicchetti & Raw Bar). Melrose also saw a couple openings in the winter — T'ahpas 529 and My Diner (which relocated from South Boston) — as did Maynard (Brook Kitchen & Tap and Battle Road Brew House).
Within Boston, the openings were scattered around geographically — one each in Fort Point, Allston, the Leather District, Chinatown, the South End, Jamaica Plain, and Charlestown; a couple in Dorchester; three each in South Boston and around Kenmore/Fenway; four each downtown and in the Seaport District; and six in Back Bay.
This new crop of openings represents numerous cuisines, including Italian, Vietnamese, French, Spanish, Cape Verdean, Hawaiian (so much poke), and more. Many of the new restaurants are fast-casual establishments, including Saloniki, Manoa Poke Shop, Oat Shop, Aceituna Grill, Chilacates, Tikkaway Grill, and By Chloe.
It was a popular season for expansions of existing local restaurant groups, either with new concepts or new locations of an existing concept. The Highland Kitchen team took over and reopened the shuttered East Coast Grill; Alba added a neighbor and sibling called Zef Cicchetti & Raw Bar; Saloniki hopped across the river from Boston to Cambridge with a second location; the owner of Nijiya and Hoshi-ya opened New Sushi, Inc.; Aceituna Grill expanded from Kendall to the Seaport; Al's Cafe expanded from downtown Boston to Cambridge's Technology Square; Loui Loui expanded from Stoneham (and Fort Lee, NJ) to Allston; the Yoki team in Medford opened a fast-casual version, Yoki Express, in the Seaport District; three new B.Good locations opened in former Boloco spaces; Molly Moo's Ice Cream & Cafe now has a coffee shop sibling, Molly's Farmhouse Coffee; Stone L'Oven Pizza Co. opened a third location; Somerville's Painted Burro spawned a little sibling in Brookline, Burro Bar; the Roxy's Grilled Cheese and Area Four teams collaborated to create Roxy's Central / A4cade; the Catalyst Restaurant team opened Catalyst Cafe nearby; Golden Garden expanded from Belmont to Malden; Chilacates expanded from one part of Jamaica Plain to another; the Bambolina team opened Kokeshi; the team behind Vejigantes, Merengue, and Doña Habana opened La Fábrica Central; Jason Santos (Back Bay Harry's, Abby Lane) opened Buttermilk & Bourbon; Amelia's Trattoria got a new sibling, Sulmona; and there were two Vietnamese restaurant expansions between Quincy and Boston — Pho Countryside expanded from Quincy to Kenmore Square, and Pho Pasteur expanded from Chinatown to Quincy.
Meanwhile, 11 out-of-state chains expanded to the Boston area this season: Austin's Verts Mediterranean Grill, which opened its second Boston location, this one in Back Bay; Philadelphia's City Tap House, now open in Fort Point; Philly Pretzel Company, with its first Massachusetts location now open in Revere; By Chloe, now open in the Seaport District; Tilted Kilt, a "breastaurant" that invaded Fenway; Caffe Nero, a European coffee chain that has been opening up a ton of Boston-area locations, most recently in Brookline's Washington Square; Florida-based Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza, which now has five Massachusetts locations; Ruth's Chris Steak House, now open in Waltham; New York City's Juicy Spot Cafe, now open in Boston's Chinatown; The Simple Greek, a fast-casual Mediterranean chain that originally started outside of Pittsburgh; and Biryani Pot, a Hyderabadi chain based in Texas that now has a Framingham location.
Connecticut's Love Art Sushi, Connecticut's Tikkaway Grill, and New Hampshire's Fat Biscuit both expanded here as well, but the Boston-area openings are only the second locations for each company.
A few restaurants popped up from first-time owners, too, including Manoa Poke Shop, Pagu, Publico Street Bistro & Garden, and Bistro Duet.
Something missing? Hit up the Eater Boston tipline. This map was originally published January 12, 2017 and updated throughout winter 2017; the date of most recent update appears above. Note that restaurants are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked.
Read More