Boston’s top 30 restaurants are now a three-part video series from The Boston Report, published Oct. 26, 2026, on our YouTube channel. The list runs from Chinatown dumplings to the city’s only Michelin star, and ends with a walk-in oyster bar in the North End. These are our picks, drawing on Eater Boston’s 38 and the Michelin Guide. It is an editorial ranking, not an official one.
Below you’ll find all three videos, the full countdown with each restaurant’s neighborhood, and a one-line note on why it made the cut. If you like food guides, you may also enjoy our best pizza in Boston rundown and our list of the best coffee shops in Boston.
Part 1: Boston Restaurants #30 to #21
Watch Part 1 on YouTube · Part 1 Short
- #30 Taiwan Cafe (Chinatown): a reliable Chinatown staple for Taiwanese dishes and a bit of Sichuan; Eater points to the pan-fried dumplings and the roast beef scallion pancake roll.
- #29 Singh’s Roti Shop (Dorchester): Trinidadian roti on Columbia Road; get the goat roti and doubles, and don’t skip the hot sauce.
- #28 Himalayan Bistro (West Roxbury): one of the first Nepali restaurants in Greater Boston, with vegetable momos and ten kinds of naan.
- #27 Bab Al-Yemen (Kenmore Square): Boston’s first Yemeni restaurant, opened in 2022 in a basement space; order the slow-roasted spiced lamb shank and adeni tea.
- #26 Blue Nile (Jamaica Plain): Ethiopian cooking scooped up with tangy injera; the veggie combo comes with six sides, best with house-made tej honey wine.
- #25 Merengue (Blue Hill Avenue): a Dominican restaurant on Blue Hill Avenue for three decades, with mofongo Eater ranks among the city’s best.
- #24 Suya Joint (Nubian Square): Nigerian chef Cecelia Lizotte’s West African menu; try the egusi stew and spiced suya wings.
- #23 Taquería Jalisco (East Boston): for nearly 25 years locals have packed in for pozole and carnitas tacos.
- #22 Brookline Lunch (Central Square, Cambridge): a Palestinian breakfast and lunch spot where morning meals have been served since 1937; get the baklava pancakes.
- #21 Grill 23 & Bar (Back Bay): an old-school steakhouse Eater calls an unofficial landmark of the city, known for dry-aged steaks.
Part 2: Boston Restaurants #20 to #11
Watch Part 2 on YouTube · Part 2 Short
- #20 Ganko Ittetsu Ramen (Coolidge Corner, Brookline): a tiny shop in an Art Deco arcade where chef Ken Iwaoka serves six ramens with house-made noodles.
- #19 Rubato (Somerville): a modern Hong Kong-style cafe that Bon Appétit named one of the best new restaurants of 2023; get the French toast.
- #18 Lê Madeline (Quincy): a longtime pho shop turned ambitious kitchen; chef Peter Nguyen was Eater Boston’s chef of the year in 2024.
- #17 Sumiao Hunan Kitchen (Kendall Square): hot, spicy and sour Hunan cooking with a 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand; Eater’s must-order is the steamed fish.
- #16 Toro (South End): Michelin-recommended Spanish tapas on Washington Street, with chef Jamie Bissonnette among its driving forces.
- #15 SRV (South End): named for the Serene Republic of Venice, serving Venetian-inspired Italian on Columbus Avenue for more than ten years.
- #14 Comfort Kitchen (Upham’s Corner): a pop-up that went permanent in 2023 and made the New York Times list of 50 best U.S. restaurants that year.
- #13 Mahaniyom (Brookline): a quirky Thai spot with a Michelin Bib Gourmand; its co-owner won Michelin’s Exceptional Cocktails Award.
- #12 Jahunger (Cambridge): Uyghur cooking by chef Subat Dilmurat, with James Beard semifinalist nods in 2024 and 2025; get the hand-pulled noodles.
- #11 Sarma (Winter Hill, Somerville): chef Cassie Piuma’s Eastern Mediterranean small plates; book ahead or line up before 5.
Part 3: The Top 10 Restaurants in Boston
Watch Part 3 on YouTube · Part 3 Short
- #10 Fox & the Knife (South Boston): chef Karen Akunowicz’s Modena-inspired Italian on West Broadway, a Michelin Bib Gourmand; we covered it in our Fox & the Knife profile.
- #9 La Royal (Cambridge): Peruvian food from the team behind Celeste, with punchy ceviches, pisco sours and nods to Chifa cooking.
- #8 Oleana (Inman Square, Cambridge): opened by chef Ana Sortun in 2001 and known for Eastern Mediterranean meze; read our Oleana guide.
- #7 Urban Hearth (Inman Square, Cambridge): chef Erin Miller’s seasonal New England cooking, Michelin-recommended; book the six-seat chef’s counter.
- #6 Giulia (Cambridge): a Mass Ave Italian restaurant Eater calls perpetually booked out, also recommended by Michelin.
- #5 La Padrona (Back Bay): the glitzy Italian room inside Raffles Boston, Eater’s best new restaurant of 2024; order the milk-braised rabbit ragu.
- #4 Mooncusser (Back Bay): a Stuart Street tasting menu that chef Carl Dooley rewrites about every six weeks, at $120 a person.
- #3 Moëca (Cambridge): Giulia’s younger sibling, doing seafood without New England clichés, like buttermilk-fried monkfish.
- #2 Three 1 One (South End): chef Wei Fa Chen’s 18-course omakase in a brownstone, which won Boston’s only Michelin star in 2025.
- #1 Neptune Oyster (North End): a walk-in-only oyster bar at 63 Salem Street; grab a bar seat for ice-cold oysters and clam chowder.
Why Neptune Oyster Is Our Number One
In our opinion, the top spot isn’t the Michelin star. It’s the place that still draws a line out the door with no reservations at all. Eater says Neptune is still topping national best-restaurant lists, and that consistency is why we put it first. Disagree? Tell us your number one in the comments on YouTube.
More Boston Restaurant Videos
Want more? Watch Boston Restaurants With History and our guide to Late-Night Food in Boston, both published Oct. 25, 2026. For a recent seafood pick, see our look at Legal Harborside in the Seaport.
Subscribe to The Boston Report on YouTube for new Boston food, sports and local news videos every week.
Featured image: “Ordering Oysters” via Wikimedia Commons, CC0. Food photo is illustrative.
Sources
- Eater Boston, “The 38 Best Restaurants Around Boston” (updated Oct. 8, 2026)
- MICHELIN Guide: All the Stars and Bib Gourmands in Boston, 2025
- MICHELIN Guide Boston restaurant listings
- Boston.com, Michelin Guide Boston coverage (Nov. 18, 2025)
- Fox & the Knife
- Oleana
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