Mooncusser Tops Boston Magazine’s 2026 Top 50, Unseating Sarma

Photo: Daderot, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (file photo). Fayette Street in Bay Village, the neighborhood near Mooncusser; the photo does not show the restaurant.

Mooncusser, chef Carl Dooley’s seafood tasting-menu restaurant at 304 Stuart St., is now ranked the No. 1 restaurant in Greater Boston. Boston magazine put it at the top of its 2026 Top 50 Restaurants list, released Oct. 27, 2026. Mooncusser climbed from No. 3 last year and passed Somerville‘s Sarma, the 2025 winner, which slipped to No. 2.

The ranking arrives just ahead of the magazine’s Taste event on Wednesday, Nov. 4, which gives the list a public stage this week. It also caps a strong year for Mooncusser, which won Best Tasting Menu in the magazine’s Best of Boston 2026 awards in July.

Why Mooncusser Took the Top Spot

In the magazine’s announcement, Mooncusser earned the No. 1 spot for Dooley’s “genre-defying cooking and global flavors applied to local seafood.” That description matches how other critics describe the place. The Michelin Guide lists Mooncusser as a contemporary restaurant with its top price symbol. It says the kitchen has no single cuisine, with influences that range “from the Mediterranean to Asia,” and it points to dishes such as Spanish mackerel crudo and glazed local cod with mango pickle.

The format is part of the appeal. The Infatuation reported in January that the tasting menu runs four courses with two choices per course, plus small bites at the start and finish. It also said the menu is rewritten roughly every six weeks. That means a table of two can try most of the menu by ordering different dishes, and regulars have a reason to come back each season.

The fall menu on the restaurant’s website shows that range. It opens with bluefin tuna tartare with apple, ginger and seaweed. Next come choices such as hiramasa crudo with matsutake mushroom, butternut squash soup with Maine lobster and guajillo chili, and a local halibut stew with chanterelles and fennel salsa verde. Venison loin with local carrots and casareep is the main meat option. Dessert is a Manjari chocolate cremeux or a cider-poached pear.

What It Costs and When to Go

Mooncusser serves dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. and is closed Sunday and Monday, according to its website. The restaurant’s autumn menu page, which took effect Oct. 13, lists the tasting menu at $135 per person and a wine pairing at $75. That is up from the $125 price The Infatuation reported in January, so check the price when you book, because menus change often.

For a more casual meal, Time Out notes that Moon Bar on the ground floor serves Dooley’s cooking à la carte with seasonal cocktails, while the tasting menu is served in the dining room upstairs. The restaurant validates parking at the 10 St. James Garage across the street: $15 for up to three hours with a stamped ticket. The nearest MBTA stop is Arlington on the Green Line.

The Rest of Boston Magazine’s Top Five

The magazine’s top five reads like a tour of the Boston dining scene at its best:

• 1. Mooncusser: seafood-focused tasting menu in Bay Village.
• 2. Sarma: Cassie Piuma’s Middle Eastern meze spot in Somerville, last year’s No. 1. Our guide to Sarma’s meze menu covers what to order there.
• 3. 311 Omakase: chef-owner Wei Fa Chen’s 18-course omakase, which the magazine calls Boston’s first Michelin-starred restaurant.
• 4. Field & Vine: seasonal, farm-to-table cooking.
• 5. Bar Vlaha: regional Greek and Vlach cooking.

According to the magazine, Italian food and seafood are still the region’s strengths, while Korean cooking, farm-to-table menus, chef’s counters and tasting menus are gaining ground. To qualify, a restaurant must serve full-service dinner and have been open at least a year. A separate Top 10 New Restaurants list is led by Fallow Kin and also includes Aatma at Widowmaker, Dalia, Uptown Social, Willie’s and Zebra Room. We’ve covered two of those newcomers: Dalia in South Boston and the soul food at Uptown Social in the South End.

Taste 2026: Where to Try the List This Week

The Taste event, now in its 16th year, runs Wednesday, Nov. 4, at the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter, 100 W. Second St. in South Boston. VIP hour starts at 5:30 p.m., general admission at 6:30 p.m., and the night ends at 9 p.m. Tickets cost $109 to $151 and include unlimited bites and up to three drink tickets, according to Boston Globe Media. The announced lineup includes Aatma at Widowmaker, Bar Vlaha, Dalia, Jahunger, Kaia, Mahaniyom and Neptune Oyster.

Sources

• Boston Globe Media: Boston magazine unveils 2026 Top 50 Restaurants (Oct. 27, 2026)
• Boston magazine: Best of Boston 2026 restaurants
• Mooncusser: Hours, location and menu
• Michelin Guide: Mooncusser
• The Infatuation: Mooncusser review (Jan. 20, 2026)
• Time Out Boston: Mooncusser

Additional sources

• Mooncusser: Official website
• Wikimedia Commons: Fayette Street, Bay Village (photo source, CC0)
• City of Boston: Bay Village neighborhood