21 restaurants in Boston, editor-picked for sunday dinner. Where to eat a sit-down dinner on sunday. All restaurants in Boston.
Neptune Oyster ★ 4.9
north-end · 63 Salem St, Boston, MA 02113
Hours: Mon-Fri 11:30-21:30, Sat-Sun 11:30-22:30
Neptune Oyster on Salem Street has run the city's defining raw bar in Boston since 2004. 42 seats, no reservations, Gulf of Maine lobster roll on a buttered.
Tip: Put your name on the iPad at 16:30, walk to a bar, and return when they text. The 20:00 wait can run 90 minutes.
Oleana ★ 4.8
cambridge · 134 Hampshire St, Cambridge, MA 02139
Hours: Mon-Thu 17:30-22:00, Fri-Sat 17:30-22:30, Sun 17:30-22:00
Ana Sortun's Inman Square room has run an Eastern Mediterranean kitchen in Cambridge since 2001. Turkish, Syrian and Lebanese plates from Siena Farms produce.
Tip: The garden patio in summer is one of Cambridge's best outdoor seats. Books out three weeks ahead in season.
Sarma ★ 4.8
somerville · 249 Pearl St, Somerville, MA 02145
Hours: Mon-Thu 17:00-00:00, Fri-Sat 17:00-01:00, Sun 17:00-00:00
Cassie Piuma and Ana Sortun's meze room on Pearl Street in Somerville has run Turkish-style small plates since 2013. Kitchen leans eastern mediterranean.
Tip: Order the chef's choice tasting; the kitchen will send the best of the night unprompted.
UNI ★ 4.7
back-bay · 370A Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215
Hours: Sat 17:30-22:00, Sun 17:30-21:30
Ken Oringer's UNI inside the Eliot Hotel on Commonwealth Avenue has run the city's contemporary izakaya programme in Boston since 2002, expanded 2016.
Tip: Late-night ramen menu kicks in at 22:00; the room is at its best after the dinner rush clears.
Mamma Maria ★ 4.6
north-end · 3 North Square, Boston, MA 02113
Hours: Mon-Thu 17:00-21:15, Fri-Sun 16:30-21:30
Mamma Maria on North Square is the North End's fine-dining anchor in Boston, in a five-room brick townhouse since 1973. Kitchen leans italian.
Tip: Book the upstairs Library room for a quiet conversation. The Sunday family menu at 17:00 is the easy walk-in seat.
Coppa ★ 4.6
south-end · 253 Shawmut Ave, Boston, MA 02118
Hours: Mon-Sat 17:00-22:00, Sun 11:00-21:00
Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette's Italian enoteca on Shawmut Avenue runs house-made charcuterie and Roman pastas in Boston's South End since 2009.
Tip: The marble counter is the better solo seat. Walk in at 17:00 for the easy table.
Row 34 ★ 4.6
seaport-fort-point · 383 Congress St, Boston, MA 02210
Hours: Mon-Sat 11:30-22:00, Sun 11:30-21:00
Row 34 on Congress Street has run the Fort Point oyster room in Boston since 2013. Located in Seaport Fort Point. Priced at $$$. Kitchen leans seafood.
Tip: The bar runs the same menu without the reservation lead time, and Tuesday nights are the easy walk-in seat at the counter.
Carmelina's ★ 4.5
north-end · 307 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113
Hours: Daily 12:00-22:00
Damien DiPaola named Carmelina's after his mother and runs it on Hanover Street as a regional Italian kitchen in Boston since 2012. Located in North End.
Tip: Reservations open four weeks ahead on OpenTable. The bar is the easier walk-in seat at 17:30 weekdays.
Krasi ★ 4.5
back-bay · 48 Gloucester St, Boston, MA 02115
Hours: Mon-Fri 17:00-23:00, Sat 10:00-15:00, Sat 17:00-23:00, Sun 10:00-15:00, Sun 17:00-23:00
Demetri Tsolakis's Krasi on Gloucester Street has poured the country's largest all-Greek wine list in Boston's Back Bay since 2020. Priced at $$$.
Tip: Reservations open four weeks out on OpenTable. The bar serves the full menu for solo diners.
Toro ★ 4.5
south-end · 1704 Washington St, Boston, MA 02118
Hours: Mon 12:00-15:00, Mon 17:00-22:00, Tue 12:00-15:00, Tue 17:00-22:00, Wed 12:00-15:00, Wed 17:00-22:00, Thu 12:00-15:00, Thu 17:00-22:00, Fri 12:00-15:00, Fri 17:00-23:00, Sat 16:00-23:00, Sun 10:30-14:30, Sun 17:00-22:00
Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette's Spanish tapas room on Washington Street has run the South End's small-plate template in Boston since 2005.
Tip: Walk-in only for dinner. Get to the bar at 17:00 to skip the 90-minute wait that builds by 19:00.
Mooo Beacon Hill ★ 4.5
beacon-hill · 15 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02108
Hours: Mon-Thu 11:00-21:00, Fri-Sat 11:00-21:30, Sun 11:00-20:30
Jamie Mammano's modern steakhouse inside the XV Beacon Hotel has anchored Beacon Hill in Boston since 2007. Priced at $$$$. At 15 Beacon St.
Tip: Lunch is the under-the-radar seat. Pre-theatre menu at 17:30 prices the steak below the dinner card.
The Helmand ★ 4.5
cambridge · 143 1st Street, Cambridge, MA 02142
Hours: Sun-Thu 17:00-22:00, Fri-Sat 17:00-23:00
The Helmand in East Cambridge has run an Afghan kitchen near the Cambridgeside Galleria since 1989. At 143 1st Street. Reservations advised.
Tip: Reservations easy on weekdays. The kabuli pulao is the under-ordered dish; ask for it.
Tres Gatos ★ 4.5
jamaica-plain · 470 Centre St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Hours: Daily 17:00-22:00
Tres Gatos on Centre Street is Jamaica Plain's tapas-bar-and-book-shop in Boston since 2011. Order the the chicken croquetas and a glass of manzanilla sherry.
Tip: Weekend brunch on Saturday and Sunday is the best-kept secret. The book shop and record stall open at 17:00.
Saltie Girl ★ 4.4
back-bay · 279 Dartmouth St, Boston, MA 02116
Hours: Mon-Wed 11:00-22:00, Thu-Sat 11:00-23:00, Sun 11:00-22:00
Kathy Sidell's Back Bay seafood room on Dartmouth Street has run the tinned-fish-and-crudo agenda in Boston since 2016. At 279 Dartmouth St.
Tip: The window counter is the easier walk-in seat at 17:30. Brunch books two weeks out on weekends.
Eastern Standard ★ 4.4
kenmore-fenway · 771 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02215
Hours: Mon-Thu 11:30-22:00, Fri 11:30-23:00, Sat 11:00-23:00, Sun 11:00-20:00
Garrett Harker's Eastern Standard reopened in the Bower complex on Beacon Street in 2023, recovering the Kenmore Square brasserie template Boston lost.
Tip: Pre-Sox-game dinner books out by 17:30. Late-night service runs to midnight on weekends.
Myers + Chang ★ 4.4
south-end · 1145 Washington St, Boston, MA 02118
Hours: Mon-Wed 16:00-21:00, Thu-Sat 11:30-22:00, Sun 11:30-21:00
Joanne Chang and Christopher Myers run Myers and Chang on Washington Street as a pan-Asian diner in Boston's South End since 2007. Priced at $$.
Tip: Cheap Date Mondays runs a fixed $50 menu for two. The bar pours an excellent gin cocktail list.
Giacomo's Ristorante ★ 4.3
north-end · 355 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113
Hours: Mon-Thu 16:30-22:00, Fri-Sat 16:30-22:30, Sun 16:30-22:00
Giacomo's on Hanover Street has run a no-reservations Italian-American room in Boston's North End since 1985. Priced at $$. At 355 Hanover St.
Tip: Arrive by 17:30 to skip the longest wait. Cash only, BYOB welcomed from the wine shops on Salem Street.
Regina Pizzeria ★ 4.3
north-end · 11 1/2 Thacher St, Boston, MA 02113
Hours: Mon-Sat 11:00-22:00, Sun 11:00-21:00
Regina Pizzeria on Thacher Street has fired thin-crust pies in Boston's North End since 1926. The original location is the one that matters, brick oven.
Tip: Walk-ins only at the North End original. Lunch at 11:00 is the easy seat; dinner waits run 60 minutes weekends.
Yvonne's ★ 4.3
beacon-hill · 2 Winter Place, Boston, MA 02108
Hours: Sun-Thu 17:00-23:00, Fri-Sat 16:00-23:00
Yvonne's reopened the historic Locke-Ober space on Winter Place in Downtown Boston in 2015 as a modern supper club. Located in Beacon Hill. Priced at $$$.
Tip: Find the unmarked door inside the Yvonne's hair salon entrance. The library room is the quiet seat.
Union Oyster House ★ 4.2
north-end · 41 Union St, Boston, MA 02108
Hours: Mon-Thu 11:00-21:00, Fri-Sat 11:00-22:00, Sun 11:00-21:00
Union Oyster House on Union Street has shucked oysters in Boston since 1826, the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the United States.
Tip: Skip the dining-room tables and sit at the historic raw bar. The bar is the original 1826 plank.
Legal Sea Foods Long Wharf ★ 4.0
north-end · 255 State St, Boston, MA 02109
Hours: Mon-Thu 11:00-22:00, Fri-Sat 11:00-23:00, Sun 11:00-22:00
Legal Sea Foods on Long Wharf, near the New England Aquarium in Boston, has anchored the chain's flagship since 1968. Kitchen leans seafood.
Tip: Lunch with a harbor-side window is the best seat. The raw bar runs daily until 22:00.