Explore Boston

Built in the spirit of rebellion, Boston is accustomed to marching to the beat of our own drum. In that spirit, our city is full of some of the most innovative makers and purveyors in the country, giving you access to wonderfully unique dining and shopping experiences you won’t have outside the historic borders of Beantown. Check out our favorite spots below.

As you plan future trips, please double check with the featured businesses' websites as, given safety measures in place and state regulations, hours and operations may be affected.

Eat

Drink

Explore

Eat

Restaurants

Cósmica

  • Address: 40 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116
  • Cósmica is a South End neighborhood spot serving Cal-Mex specialties, tacos, snacks and vacation cocktails that soothe the senses. Grab some friends and dive in...the water is warm, the mood is good.

Pier 6 Charlestown

  • Address: 1 8th Street, Boston, MA 02129
  • A Boston waterfront restaurant destination with panoramic views of the city skyline and harbor. Our menu highlights many exciting flavors in some of our most classic New England dishes with a focus on fresh seafood and local ingredients.

Strega North End

  • Address: 379 Hanover Street, Boston, MA 02113
  • Strega is famous for its dramatic decor, celebrity clientele, unmatched hospitality, and most of all, the unforgettable Italian cuisine. It's also notorious for being one of the most difficult restaurants in Boston in which to get a seat, and has been hailed as having "Boston's Most Coveted Table Reservation".

Buttermilk & Bourbon in Back Bay

  • Address: 160 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02116
  • Nationally recognized chef Jason Santos' Buttermilk and Bourbon delivers Southern hospitality to guests in the heart of the Back Bay. Drawing on the South's trademark charm, the restaurant offers a vibrant, cozy atmosphere with an innovative American menu featuring Southern-influences. Santos, who currently owns and operates Boston's Abby Lane and Back Bay Harry's, channels his love of New Orleans and all things Southern to transport guests to the Bayou by way of Buttermilk & Bourbon

Parish Café

  • Address: 361 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116
  • The Parish Cafe opened in November 1992. Its concept is simple, but fabulous! Owner Gordon Wilcox approached Boston's famous chefs and asked them each to create a sandwich for the Parish Cafe menu. Each sandwich is named for the chef and the restaurant they are from. Since the menu items are created by other chefs their standards are extremely high, which shows through in their enormous following.

Citizen Public House

  • Address: 1310 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215
  • The Citizen Public House is a modern neighborhood tavern located behind Fenway Park. Their menu is a fresh twist on Tavern Cuisine. The bar program features craft cocktails, world-class wines, and a selection of more than 325 whiskeys, including hand-selected single barrels crafted just for Citizen.

Committee

  • Address: 50 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA 02210
  • The desire for fresh food and great company always calls for a meeting – and Committee provides the perfect spot. Inspired by the modern day "cuzeri" found throughout Greece, Committee is the kind of vibrant, welcoming pace where the conversation flows, the shareable plates delight and satisfy, and the creative cocktails keep the mood light and fun. Step in and kick back in a gathering place that brings a new spark – and the true taste of Greece – to the Boston waterfront.

Bostonia Public House

  • Address: 131 State Street, Boston, MA 02109
  • Bostonia Public House is an elegant renewal of a classic meeting place that celebrates the history, traditions and people of Boston. The food and beverage offerings are intended to be approachable and stylish. Imaginative and locally inspired menus, diverse wine by the glass offerings, and elegant live entertainment combine to promote a vibrant social scene.

Casa B

  • Address: 253 Washington Street, Somerville, MA 02143
  • Casa B Tapas and Cocktail & Rum Bar is a modern interpretation of the traditional Spanish tasca, located in Union Square, Somerville, Massachusetts. Their tapas restaurant and cocktail & rum bar, embraces the romance, warmth and spice of Latin America. It has strong culinary roots in the Spanish Caribbean cuisines of the Island of Puerto Rico and Colombia's Atlantic Coast, drawing further inspiration from many other Latin American countries and Spain. Casa B features a contemporary split level atmosphere where the stylish and warm dining room, with an open kitchen concept and green wall, is located in the lower level and the bar is prominent on the ground floor. They feature Spanish inspired Caribbean Tapas, a large selection of sipping rums, creative craft cocktails, unique, quality and fun wines and sherries from Spain and South America and a good selection of imported and local craft beer.

Beehive

  • Address: 541 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02116
  • Hailed as a must see Boston venue by Travel & Leisure, Zagat, and The New York Times, The Beehive is a wildly popular Bohemian eatery and bar located in The Boston Center for the Arts complex in Boston's South End. Amongst the backdrop of an eclectic, funky, yet elegant art space, you can enjoy delicious food, sumptuous cocktails, and world-class live music every day of the week.

A&B Burgers

  • Address: 115 Beverly Street, Boston, MA 02114
  • A&B Burgers proudly serves all-natural, 7oz. patties from Pinelands Farms in Maine. All burgers are served with sea salt fries, sweet potato fries, or onion rings.
  • Premium 7X Beef Wagyu patties are available for a supplemental charge of $5. 7X Farms produces a breed of Japanese Wagyu cattle bred over the past 150 years to produce intense fleck marbling, juiciness, and tenderness. The farm uses all-natural feeding systems, with natural grass, grains and spring water. The cattle are allowed to grow at their own pace without the aid of hormones or antibiotics and roam freely through the meadows and forest.

Toni & Elaine's

  • Address: 111 N Washington Street, Boston, MA 02114
  • Home of the best Italian food in the North End of Boston. They're a casual, throwback red sauce joint. Winner of North End’s best meatball. All homemade pasta.

The Friendly Toast 

  • Address: 35 Stanhope St, Boston, MA 02116
  • Hip retro-kitsch diner & bar dishing up hearty breakfasts, comfort classics & soda-fountain treats. 

Drink

Bars

Oak Long Bar + Kitchen

  • Address: 138 St. James Avenue, Boston, MA 02116
  • OAK Long Bar + Kitchen, a stunning Boston restaurant in the heart of Back Bay. Sip a hand crafted cocktail. Sample a farm to table American menu featuring local ingredients and purveyors. Savor the dramatic results of an extensive restoration and each thoughtfully curated detail. With simple elegance complemented by contemporary spirit and style, their downtown Boston restaurant was designed to inspire.

Alcove

  • Address: 50 Lovejoy Wharf, Boston, MA 02114
  • At Alcove, they believe that the most memorable days and nights are spent with friends, surrounded by great food and drink. That's why they created a warm neighborhood restaurant that serves as host to date nights, pre-game meet ups, business lunches and convivial dinner parties. Just as they hope you'll surrounded yourself with friend and family when dinning at Alcove, they've done the same with their menu, finding inspiration from the purveyors they personally know and the ingredients that tell a story.

Haley Henry

  • Address: 45 Province St, Boston, MA 02108
  • Haley Henry is a wine bar in the heart of Downtown Crossing. Established in 2016, it is a magical place, where laughs are had, plans are made and neighbors come together to toast one another's health. It is meant to educate, to inspire & to introduce new wines and experiences to whomever walks through the door. So...What are you waiting for?

Tiki Rock

  • Address: 2 Broad St, Boston, MA 02109
  • Tasteful island décor adorn the walls at Tiki Rock, and the kitchen serves Polynesian-inspired food like sushi, crab Rangoon and barbecue skewers, with classic and proprietary tiki cocktails made with fresh juices, homemade syrups and eccentric garnishes.

Black Rose

  • Address: 160 State St, Boston, MA 02109
  • For the past 40 years, The Black Rose has been Boston's premier Irish pub and restaurant. Located in the heart of Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall and steps from the city's celebrated waterfront, The Black Rose has been serving up perfect pints of Guinness and traditional Irish fare 365 days a year since 1976. It's a beloved Boston institution, prompting the Boston Globe to call it "The Fenway Park of Irish pubs".

Coffee Shops

Kohi Coffee

  • Address: The Revolution Hotel Lobby 40 Berkeley St, Boston, MA 02116
  • Located in Boston's historic South End, out café at The Revolution Hotel features a walk-up window for that quick pick-me-up; or step inside the lobby of the beautiful new hotel and let out baristas work that Kohi magic, bringing you right back to those summers in Provincetown!

 

EXPLORE

Museums and Activities

Museum of Fine Arts

  • Address: 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
  • The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is the 17th largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains more than 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas.

John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum & Library

  • Address: Columbia Point, Boston, MA 02125
  • The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States.

New England Holocaust Memorial

  • Address: 98 Union St., Boston, MA 02129
  • The New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston, Massachusetts is dedicated to the Jewish people who were murdered by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

  • Address: 306 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210
  • Floating history museum with live reenactments, multimedia exhibits & a tearoom.

Isabella Stewart Garden Museum

  • Address: 25 Evans Way, Boston, MA 02115
  • The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts.

Urban AdvenTours

  • Address: 103 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA 02110
  • Urban AdvenTours is Boston's finest cycling outfitter, offering bike tours, rentals, and a full-service bike shop. Their tours and rentals are great for the whole family, or for expert cyclists alike. Ride with them, and get ready for a fun exploration of the city and beyond! Don't just take our word for it, check out their awesome online reviews. Once you’re ready for a Boston adventure tour you won't forget, simply reserve an Urban AdvenTours experience with them and see for yourself how they've earned their outstanding reputation.

Castle Island

  • Castle Island is a peninsula in South Boston on the shore of Boston Harbor. In 1928, Castle Island was connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land and is thus no longer an island.

Noddle's Island

  • East Boston was for more than two centuries known as Noddle's Island, named after William Noddle, who was likely sent out by Sir William Brereton, and settled here in 1629.

Harbor Walk

  • Boston Harborwalk is a public walkway that follows the edge of piers, wharves, beaches, and shoreline around Boston Harbor. When fully completed it will extend a distance of 47 miles from East Boston to the Neponset River.

Middlesex Fells Reservation

  • Middlesex Fells Reservation, often referred to simply as the Fells, is a public recreation area covering more than 2,200 acres in Malden, Medford, Melrose, Stoneham, and Winchester, Massachusetts.

Shops

Sault

  • Address: 577 Tremont Street, Moston, MA 02118
  • Hip boutique offering classic & vintage apparel, accessories, grooming products & gifts for men.

Olives and Grace

  • Address: 623 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02118
  • Olives & Grace was founded in 2021 by Sofi Madison, as a way to introduce emerging food and gift makers to the community. The shop has since become a retail resource for those looking to discover well made, beautifully designed fits, made with integrity and style.

Copley Place

  • Address: 100 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02116
  • Copley Place is an upscale enclosed shopping mall in the Back Bay section of Boston, Massachusetts, as part of a larger complex that includes four office towers, two hotels, and an underground parking garage. As of May 2020, the mall is anchored by department store Neiman Marcus.

Gifted

  • Address: 2 Dartmouth Street, Boston, MA 02116
  • Gifted is an independent, woman-owned gift boutique in Boston's beautiful South End. We feature works by more than 75 U.S. artists/makers, as well as beautiful items from around the world. We offer the area’s largest selection of greeting cards – printed in the USA!

Health and Safety

If you are having a medical emergency, please dial 911 immediately.

CVS Pharmacy

  • Address: 285 Columbus Avenue, Boston, MA 02116
  • A full service pharmacy and convenience store.

Tufts Medical Center

  • Address: 860 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111
  • Make an appointment online or walk-in.