The Top 10 New Restaurants in Greater Boston

Alongside this year’s Top 50 Restaurants list, we’re also excited to highlight 10 must-try new spots defining the future of Boston’s food scene. (See also: Our “beyond the 50” collections of favorites—five delectable Boston-area bakeries and cafés; five can’t-miss Boston brunches; five favorite restaurants in the suburbs of Boston; and five road trip-worthy restaurants beyond Boston.) 

1. Kaia

Consider this Greek food for people who think they’ve outgrown Greek food. Bring your most adventurous friends to this Aegean-inspired masterclass from the team behind mega-hits Bar Vlaha and Krasi, where nothing is quite as it seems. The dish simply called “lamb,” for instance, arrives as a deconstructed gyro, with pickled vegetables and crispy lamb neck sitting alongside dollops of sauces, while “gifts of the sea” is three mini, rotating seafood offerings perched prettily on ice. The beach-resort-chic setting seals the deal on this culinary escape.

South End | Greek | Read more | Watch more | Reservations

2. The Block at Woods Hill

The Block at Woods Hill takes everything great about its Seaport sibling, Woods Hill Pier 4, and makes it more relaxed, more fun, and much more…duck rillettes. This handsome wine bar and market serves rustic-feeling food derived from owner Kristin Canty’s own farm, making for an incomparable evening of grazing. Start with that next-level charcuterie, move on to inventive small bites like lobster and ’nduja pierogi, then share a pedigreed short-rib steak, pork chop, or tuna rib-eye to finish.

Seaport | Farm-to-Table | Read more | Watch more | Reservations

3. Zurito

Turns out Boston didn’t need another tapas bar—it needed its first real pintxos spot. Thanks to Zurito, we’re finally getting a taste of these drinking-friendly Basque snacks through an array of two-bite creations perfect for sampling. Chef and co-owner Jamie Bissonnette’s bold flavors mirror the restaurant’s fire-engine-red entrance, eye-catching among Beacon Hill’s brownstones. Every dish pairs beautifully with sangria, vermut, and cocktails like a brown butter, rum, and cardamom combo that’s among our favorite sips of the year.

Beacon Hill | Basque | Read more | Watch more | Reservations

4. Thaiger Den

This upscale north-of-Boston newcomer (sibling to the equally impressive Phat Thaiger) delivers refined Thai in big-cat-decorated digs, with tons of Wagyu. The kitchen relishes showcasing ancient dishes—like cubes of watermelon “crowned” with charcoal-grilled tuna and crispy shallots, dating to the 14th-century Ayutthaya Kingdom. But the team keep things cutting-edge, too: See the 18-hour sous vide beef tongue and smoke guns for dramatic presentation.

Malden | Thai | Read more | Reservations

5. Standard Italian

Boston’s restaurant scene has a new rule: Whatever the Eastern Standard team opens, you go. Garrett Harker and co.’s latest hit shines with house-made pastas and stuzzichini, little Italian snacks, just a short jaunt from Fenway Park. Culinary director Brian Rae throws in a few curveballs to impress diners, including hearty porchetta, bathed in pork jus and served with crispy fingerling potatoes. Pair it with one of eight martini variations by drink legend Jackson Cannon, who won’t skimp on the blue-cheese-stuffed olives.

Fenway/Kenmore | Italian | Read more | Watch more | Reservations

6. Darling

The cocktails at this dimly lit hideaway are designed to make an impression—then disappear forever. That ephemerality is exactly the point, though here’s hoping the dessert-y HK French Toast—with cognac, peanut butter, and condensed milk—sticks around a bit longer. This is more bar than restaurant, but you could happily make a meal out of the dim-sum-inspired dishes from Shōjō alum Mark O’Leary, including his suan la chow show, a spicy wonton homage to Mary Chung, the previous restaurant in this space.

Cambridge | Cocktail Bar | Read more | Watch more | Reservations

7. Willow & Ivy

Willow & Ivy proves that “hotel restaurant” is the farthest thing from a dirty phrase. This Lenox Hotel gem doesn’t hold back on flavors: a cilantro margarita packs a spicy punch, and tender pork belly gets enhanced with a bold citrus-soy glaze. The menu skips around the globe but comes back home to New England with a nostalgic raspberry lime rickey—in crème brûlée form. The beautifully designed space shows the same level of care as the food, with its painted floral mural and other details that feel garden-dreamy.

Back Bay | Modern New England | Read more | Watch more | Reservations

8. Yoshida

When a new omakase spot opens with prosciutto on the menu, we pay attention. Yoshida is off to a strong start, bringing diners from creative appetizers to simple sushi perfection—and that prosciutto may be the only one we’ve seen on an omakase menu, perched atop red shrimp and shiso tempura next to cubed Asian pear. The showmanship of those first dishes is balanced by restraint in the nigiri section. Most pieces arrive brushed only with nikiri, the perfect chance to taste the difference between chu-toro (medium fatty tuna) and otoro (fatty tuna) sans distraction

Back Bay | Sushi | Read more | Reservations

9. Bubble Bath Back Bay

Making it through any Monday deserves champagne—preferably with the best view in town. Tiffani Faison’s sky-high champagne bar, an extension of Bubble Bath at High Street Place, delivers exactly that from its penthouse perch atop the CitizenM hotel. Whether you’re sprawled on the patio or cozied up inside by the huge windows, the pink-hued den of joy offers the ideal excuse to pop some bubbly for any milestone. Complete with caviar carts and fancy little sandwiches, it’s the elevated celebration space we need right now.

Back Bay | Wine Bar | Read more | Watch more | Reservations (for groups of 6+ only)

10. Little Sage

The 1990s are back in a big way at this revival of the North End favorite Sage, and we’re not complaining. The hideaway is a stunner in any season: Late summer brings burrata topped with grilled peach mostarda and sweet-corn tortelli with cherry tomatoes; come winter, brick-oven entrées such as baked fazzoletti pasta with short rib or Giannone chicken with brown butter and sage take center stage. Picture snow falling on Hanover Street from your table by the front windows, a well-crafted espresso martini in hand—a quintessential North End experience that transcends decades.

North End | Italian | Read more | Reservations

First published in the print edition of Boston magazine’s November 2025 issue as part of the Top 50 Restaurants package.