Where to eat around Boston this spring

Boston Globe

26-03-2025

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464 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge,
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Gary's Pizza
All roads eventually lead to pizza. Open all the Mistrals, Ostras, and Sorellinas you like; one day Roman-style pies will sound their siren song. Which is to say, Columbus Hospitality Group is launching its latest, Gary's Pizza, in the next couple of weeks. The takeout-only South End shop will offer slices and pies, sandwiches and salads, and desserts. (Who the heck is Gary, you ask? It happens to be the middle name of both owners chef Jamie Mammano and Paul Roiff.) Roman-style pizza is baked in rectangular trays and traditionally sold 'al taglio,' by the cut — street food eaten on the go. According to Gary's, it has thick, airy crust that's crisp on the outside with a soft, chewy interior. Expect a polished pizza joint vibe, with black-and-white tile floors, and food made by chefs from the restaurant group's fine-dining concepts. And there's more pizza-from-chefs coming soon: FiDO Pizza, from the group behind Bar Mezzana, Black Lamb, and others, will open at the Allston Labworks campus this summer.
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1744 Washington St., South End, Boston,
The interior at Jadu in Jamaica Plain. Currently a cafe by day, it will soon also be a wine bar at night.
J-M Leach
Jadu
In December, Jadu opened in Jamaica Plain, enriching Centre Street's cafe culture. (The name means 'magic' in Hindi.) Currently Jadu serves a breakfast-into-lunch menu of baked goods, Turkish-style eggs, peanut-ginger chicken and black rice, Maggi instant noodles with tofu, and more. The daytime coffee shop will soon also be a nighttime wine bar. Owner Maya Mukhopadhaya, who started Jadu as a wine-focused pop-up in 2023, is aiming for a mid-May launch. To complement the wine, there will be snacks and small plates: crudo dishes, pork and nduja meatballs, miso butter mushrooms on toast, a mortadella sandwich, and other tasty morsels.
767 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, Boston,
Jamaica Mi Hungry got its start as a food truck. Now it's a restaurant in Jamaica Plain, with a new location opening downtown.
Bonnie Rosenbaum of CommonWealth Kitchen
Jamaica Mi Hungry
For downtown office workers, it's always worth celebrating the opening of a new restaurant that might mix up the lunchtime routine. When that restaurant is another branch of Jamaica Plain's Jamaica Mi Hungry, it's particularly exciting. Chef Ernie Campbell started the venture as a food truck; his veggie patties, curry goat, and fiery jerk pork shoulder will invigorate even the sloggiest workday. Opening soon.
289 Devonshire St., Boston,
Little Sage chef Tony Susi is known for his pasta dishes.
Little Sage
Little Sage
If you've been eating at Boston restaurants for a while, you likely remember Sage, a North End hot spot that later relocated to the South End. Chef Tony Susi was the man behind the menu. He began working there as executive chef with owner Jennifer Matarazzo, then purchased it from her in 1999. After cooking at places including Bar Enza, Capo, and Geppetto, Susi is reunited with Matarazzo in the North End. Little Sage, a salute to their former restaurant, opened in March. (It replaced Matarazzo's Locale, but you can still get that restaurant's pizza to go.) Susi is particularly known for his pasta dishes, and a few favorites from the Sage era — gnocchi, fazzoletti — return. Look for new favorites, too, along with hamachi crudo, lamb skewers, clams with lemon and garlic butter, and brick oven chicken with crushed potatoes. Meanwhile, at Bar Enza, legendary chef Lydia Shire (Scampo) has taken the reins.
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352 Hanover St., North End, Boston, 617-742-9600,
McCarthy's and Toad
The Boston area loves an Irish pub with food, pints, and live music — especially one from Tommy McCarthy and Louise Costello, owners of the Burren in Somerville and the Bebop in Back Bay. In the former Christopher's space in Porter Square, and opening any minute now, is McCarthy's — along with longtime music venue Toad next door. Expect Irish pub classics, meatless options, and, the website promises, 'the greatest craic in town.'
1920 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge,
Chicken karaage at Mimi's Chūka Diner.
Mimi's Chūka Diner
The groovy scene at Somerville innovation hub Somernova now has a new dining option. Mimi's Chūka Diner, born out of a pandemic pop-up, is open inside the Aeronaut brewery and taproom. It joins Venezuelan concept Carolicious and Somerville Chocolate. You'll be greeted by daruma dolls and a super-buff lucky cat at the entrance to the diner-inspired space. Mimi's specializes in chūka ryori, Chinese dishes prepared in a Japanese style. The menu includes fried pork gyoza with vinegary dipping sauce; chicken karaage, fried nuggets over rice with Kewpie mayo, shredded cabbage, and lemon; yakisoba-esque charred garlic noodles with mushrooms and pickled ginger; and a Japanese take on mapo tofu that's less spicy, more sweet. To drink, you'll find lychee shochu coolers, mix-and-match highballs, sake, and more.
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14 Tyler St., Suite 102, Somerville, 617-996-6062,
A gochujang sticky bun from Nine Winters Bakery.
Mim on Roseway Photography
Nine Winters Bakery
Pastry fans may have tasted Nine Winters' Korean-American baked goods at Bow Market or popping up at Honeycomb Creamery. Its new location on Concord Avenue in Cambridge will open in early spring; its purple sign just appeared like a crocus. Owner
292 Concord Ave., Cambridge,
Soul & Spice
When its Blue Hill Avenue location closed, Poppa B's left a gap in Boston's soul food scene. Now, miraculously, it's back, as Poppa B's BBQ Soul. It's partnered with West African concept RedRed Kitchen as Soul & Spice. They share the Nubian Square space that was formerly Soleil, in the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building. Where else can you get fall-off-the-bone ribs, BBQ chicken, and fried catfish will all the sides
plus
jollof rice at the same location? Sunday lunch is a warm neighborhood scene, with everyone running into friends and catching up.
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2306 Washington St., Nubian Square, Roxbury,
A spread of dishes at Tall Order includes pickled mushrooms, grilled broccoli, steak frites, and grilled pork blade steak with stewed peppers and pommes purée.
Will Faraci
Tall Order
Long the Thirsty Scholar, this space is now Tall Order, a worthy successor for neighborhood watering hole. Combine the cocktail acumen of Joe Cammarata and Daren Swisher (Backbar, Daiquiris and Daisies, Hojoko) with a menu from chef Juan Pedrosa (Bar Salida, the Glenville Stops, Yvonne's) and you've got a highly visitable hangout. Tall Order feels like a dive bar but functions like a restaurant — or several restaurants in one. At the bar, some people drink inventive cocktails and snack on pickled mushrooms, candied Japanese peanuts, and caramelized onion dip, while others tuck into steak frites or cod with saffron rice and preserved lemon butter while sipping a nice glass of wine. Other menu highlights: a karaage chicken sandwich with miso honey mustard, pasta with sugo and roasted mushrooms, and a grilled pork blade steak with stewed peppers, pommes puree, and a sauce made from sweet sherry. The Tall Order cocktail is a potion of rum, madeira, pineapple skin, clarified coconut milk, lime, and more, dangerously drinkable; the Lima Choke Hold somehow makes pisco, Cynar, Riesling, and gochujang work together in one drink. There are low-alcohol options, too, like the sherry and vermouth-based Little Panda and the lightly spicy Chill Out, made with poblano chile liqueur. And about half the customers seem to have a Guinness in hand.
70 Beacon St., Somerville,
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