Here are the five best new restaurants in Boston in 2024 that will wow diners with their flavorful menus, innovative cocktails, and tailored ambiance offering an elevated and memorable experience.
Photo Credit: Brian Samuels
La Padrona at Raffles Boston
Now Open
La Padrona at Raffles Boston offers a taste of Italy with a menu led by James Beard award-winning chef Jody Adams. Diners ascend a travertine stone staircase to the second-level main dining area boasting a 360-degree central bar with a Calcutta viola marble countertop and expansive views of Back Bay. The dining room evokes Italy’s Neorealist Period with rich drapery, deep-toned wood floors, merlot walls, and diamond-tufted Hollywood booths.
Photo Credit: Brian Samuels
Guests can enjoy a curated wine list from Italy and start with cacio e pepe focaccia or traditional Tuscan flatbread. Pasta lovers can savor the housemade pasta options, including fazzoletti with milk-braised rabbit and/or lobster and uni risotto. For mains, dive into the paccheri and clams dish with Barnstable little gem clams and/or indulge in the herb marinated Cornish hen and/or slow-roasted porchetta. End on a decadent sweet note with the brioche gelato sandwich with toasted lemon-glazed brioche buns, pistachio, strawberry mascarpone, and brown butter ginger.
Shared bites at The Lounge include cheese and fennel breadsticks with fried olives and/or the Florentine Cannoli with almond lace, whipped ricotta, and orange. The cocktail menu features a dedicated Negroni menu and signature drinks such as the ‘Clemenza Cooler’ with Cazadores reposado, cucumbers, kleos mastiha, cardamaro, lime, and habanero and the signature ‘La Padrona Martini’ with Bombay Sapphire, Martini & Rossi Riserva Ambrato Vermouth, and St. Germain. Variations of the Negroni include the ‘Smoky Negroni’ and ‘White Negroni.’
40 Trinity Pl, 02116
Photo Credit: Brian Samuels
Seamark Seafood & Cocktails at Encore Boston Harbor
Now Open
Seamark Seafood & Cocktails at Encore Boston Harbor led by James Beard award-winning Chef Michael Schlow showcases a nautical-designed space offering a pier-to-plate concept with the freshest cold-water fish, lobster, and shellfish available.
Enjoy a variety of seafood dishes, including lobster frites, spicy seafood stew with shrimp, scallops, and clams, housemade spaghetti with lobster, Õra King salmon with French lentils and smoked bacon, and spicy crab fried rice. Don’t forget dessert! Share the ‘Seamark Sundae’ featuring vanilla bean, dark chocolate, and espresso ice creams, dark chocolate toffee, milk chocolate peanuts, Amarena cherries, dulce caramel, dark chocolate sauce, and whipped cream.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Seamark Seafood & Cocktails at Encore Boston Harbor
Seamark’s cocktail program is inspired by the lore and legend of New England’s seafaring history. Get into the maritime spirit and try the ‘Admiral’s Dram,’ Seamark’s interpretation of a Grog made with a secret blend of rums and spices with the addition of Rooibos tea. Grog was historically a drink made of rum and water with lime and sugar often added and rationed to British sailors on long journeys. If you’re an oyster lover, opt for the Seamark Martini’ concocted with Gray Whale Gin, Ostreida Vodka distilled with oysters, M&R Ambrato Vermouth, Manzanilla-style sherry, and saline. Cocktail lovers will also love discovering the speakeasy, Old Wives’ Tale tucked behind the rear wall of Seamark. This hidden gem pays homage to the mystique of the sea with a vintage map mural and maritime antiques and offers flavor-packed craft cocktails and fresh seafood bites.
For brunch offerings, enjoy crave-worthy shareables, including the ‘Bag-a-Donuts’ with warm, housemade cinnamon bomboloni and Nutella dipping sauce. Indulge in a ‘Brunch Tower’ with smoked salmon, whitefish salad, smoked trout roe, bagels, tomato, onion, cucumber, and cream cheese while you sip on brunch-style cocktails such as the ‘Hello Sunshine,’ an enhanced mimosa with Italicus Bergamot Liqueur, Mionetto Prosecco, fresh orange juice, and strawberry purée.
1 Broadway, Everett, MA 02149
Photo Credit: Courtesy of InterContinental Boston
Matria, Bar Fellini, and The Loyall Counting Room at InterContinental Boston
Opening June 25th
InterContinental Boston is debuting three new culinary concepts, including a speakeasy, The Loyall Counting Room, an Italian steakhouse, Matria and Bar Fellini, all opening on June 25th. The expansive Italian steakhouse, Matria will offer a sleek, elevated atmosphere complete with a European-style outdoor patio with picturesque views of Fort Point Channel. Executive Chef Didier Montarou and Chef de Cuisine Jeffrey Bianchi will lead Matria and Bar Fellini with a menu featuring northern Italian dishes inspired by the Piedmont region.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of InterContinental BostonMatria’s lunch menu includes slow-cooked veal, fresh seafood tagliatelle with clams and mussels, burrata tostadas, eggplant Milanese, and Tiramisu with whipped mascarpone served with lady finger cookies. For dinner, start with Hamachi crudo with blood orange and/or crispy artichokes, then choose between Matria’s signature Piedmont specialty steaks, pan-seared whole branzino, or homemade pasta such as the Agnolotti Del Plin with veal, English peas, brown butter, and hazelnut jus reduction. Finish your culinary journey with a traditional Panna Cotta with Nutella, hazelnut, vanilla, and chocolate biscotti. Pair all your dishes with curated Italian wines from Matria’s exclusive and extensive wine program.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of InterContinental Boston
With a nod to a 1960s Italian aesthetic, Bar Fellini offers a sophisticated cocktail bar and lounge with a focus on signature Italian cordials with fresh ingredients mixed with premier spirits. Snack on olives and zucchini fries, while you sip on refreshing cocktails such as the ‘Voice and Moon’ with rhubarb, strawberry gin, Aperol, amaro, and fresh squeezed lemon juice and/or the ‘Ginger and Fred Spritz’ infused with housemade basilcello, elderflower, ginger kombucha, prosecco, and soda water.
Sneak away to The Loyall Counting Room, a secret wood-clad hideaway paying homage to Boston’s rich history of rebels. This space accommodating up to 25 guests is a modern-day tribute to the hidden counting rooms and water holes of the time with an exclusive cocktail menu featuring one-of-a-kind elixirs, with ingredients like Applejack, rum, and Fino sherry.
510 Atlantic Street, 02210
Photo Credit: Samantha Barracca PhotographyFolio
Opening June 25, 2024
Folio, a European-style bistro, is set to open at the Boston Athenaeum, one of the country’s oldest independent libraries founded in 1807 and located in Beacon Hill. Boston Athenaeum holds a circulating collection with more than half a million books, from works published in the 1800s to the latest bestsellers. Special collections include active research holdings of 100,000 rare books, maps, and manuscripts, and 100,000 works of art, from paintings and sculptures to prints and photographs.
Photo Credit: Samantha Barracca PhotographyManaged by the Catered Affair, Folio will offer elevated cuisine blending French and Mediterranean flavors where guests can enjoy made-to-order shareable plates, new and old-world wines, and craft cocktails, including a Boston Athenaeum branded signature cocktail, ‘Athena’s Ambrosia.’
Photo Credit: Samantha Barracca Photography
Steps from the Boston Common, Freedom Trail, Massachusetts Statehouse, and downtown Boston, Folio adds a passion for culinary excellence and impeccable service to complement Athenaeum’s love for literature, history, art, and social connection. Boston Athenaeum also serves as a museum and cultural center providing year-round opportunities for social connections in Boston through book clubs, author talks, concerts, exhibitions, and more.
14A Beacon Street, 02108
Mr. H
Opening Spring 2024
The Coje Management Group behind popular destinations, including Yvonne’s, Mariel, Coquette, Caveau, Ruka, and Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bars, is introducing Mr. H, a new dining destination in the Seaport District offering views of the scenic Boston waterfront. Mr. H will offer diners a contemporary Chinese dining experience, blending traditional Chinese and Taiwanese cuisine with a sophisticated atmosphere reminiscent of a Shanghainese cocktail lounge.
225 Northern Ave, 02210
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Bosse
Honorable Mention
Bosse
Opening Fall 2024
A major pickleball facility with 21 courts is opening at Natick Mall, spearheaded by former tennis pro D.J. Bosse. This venture features a collaboration with Boston’s renowned chef and restaurateur, Chris Coombs of Deuxave and Boston Chops) who plans to introduce four diverse dining concepts within the facility, including a rustic Italian restaurant, an all-day café, a sports bar and lounge with new American fare, and an exclusive ‘courtside culinary experience.’
1245 Worcester St. (Natick Mall), Natick, MA 01760
