Reviewer: Foodnut.com |
Last Update: 7/20/2017
Travelling? Here is a Foodie research into Boston.. A list at the bottom shows other restaurants we would try next.
Here is a compilation of more casual restaurants, seafood shacks, and snack places we visited during our Summer 2017 trip. Our goal was to find good eats at reasonable prices, primarily restaurants where locals go. We have no interest sampling cuisine that is done better at home in the San Francisco Bay Area. This is challenging on at this expensive New England town, full of pricey tourist traps.
Our Trip includes visits to suburbs of Boston.
Read our Highly recommended or High end Boston restaurant recommendations
Boston Casual Mini Restaurant Reviews (Alphabetical)
June 2017
Daily Catch
441 Harvard St
Brookline, MA 02446
A popular regional Sicilian Style Seafood & Pasta restaurant with 3 locations in the Boston Area. Seems to always have a line, even at the Brookline location after 630pm or so. Food is very good although service with just 1 server was bare bones.
Food Picks:
Half Dozen Littlenecks ($11) were priced right and very fresh. Simple lemon and cocktail sauce sides.
Fish and Chips ($18.50) had 2 large pieces with quality fish and some average fries.
White Clam Linguine ($21) was made with eggless dried imported pasta, chopped cherrystone clams, and comes served in a pan. Nicely done with strong clam flavor. Not very creamy.
Just OK:
None
Pans:
Sauteed Spinach ($7.50) had too much olive oil.
Overall – Very Good
Food – Very Good
Decor – Good
Service – Good
Value – Excellent
Would we come back – Yes
June 2017
Steamers
311 Watertown St
Route 16
Newton, MA 02458
A local small seafood market and restaurant in Newton, MA.
Picks:
Lobster Roll with Fries ($17.99) was pretty huge with a ton of meat. Nice bun that was more thick than most. Good fries. Not cheap but worthwhile if you are nearby.
Overall – Very Good
Food – Very Good
Decor – Good
Service – Good
Value – Excellent
Would we come back – Maybe
June 2017
North End Fish Market
99 Salem St
Boston, MA 02113
857-362-7477
A small family run to go spot in the touristy North End recommended by a local. Focused on Japanese sushi, sashimi to go.
Picks:
Lobster Roll with Fries ($14.99) was not big but came on a nice classic roll. We had it with no added mayo, many restaurants have it pre-made with lots of mayo. Good fresh lobster and the best roll we had so far.
Overall – Very Good
Food – Very Good
Decor – Good
Service – Very Good
Value – Excellent
Would we come back – Maybe
June 2017
Sun Kong
275 Eastern Ave
Malden, MA 02148
781-388-9900
A friend living in Boston suggested this place for dim sum. It is supposed to be one of the best Chinese Cantonese restaurants around the greater Boston Area. Nice chairs with chair back covers. Food proved to be solid, but definitely not up to the level of the best places in San Francisco. (This is a B vs an A) Prices are very good here. Requisite Chinese restaurant fish tanks up front. Very busy during peak weekend lunch times, so plan accordingly. Dim Sum runs from 9am to 3pm daily.
When in Downtown Boston, try Hei La Moon for dim sum.
Food Picks:
Shrimp Dumpling or Har Gow ($3.45) – 4 small dumplings with chopped up shrimp. Expected more, given seafood in this area. Decent at least. Fish eggs topped them. You can ask them to make these without em.
Sesame Balls ($2.90) – 3 extra large ones. Pretty good and not overwhelmingly sweet with its filling.
BBQ Pork Steamed Bao ($3.85) were about average. Medium Size. Filling Flavor was not particular good. Outside texture was fine.
OK:
Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll ($3.85) – OK but not a lot of shrimp or flavor.
Pans:
None
Overall – Very Good
Food – Very Good
Decor – Very Good
Service – Good
Value – Very Good
Would we come back – Maybe
June 2017
Shanghai Fresh
735 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-868-8877
A friend living in Boston suggested this place for Shanghai Chinese Food. Beware that parking in this area is pretty tough, take the T. Again the quality is not up to the better places in San Francisco like Little Shanghai in San Mateo, but this is Massachusetts! Go if you miss this type of food or if you do not know better.
Food Picks:
Rice Cakes with Pork ($9.50) were one of the better dishes of the night. Tender cakes.
Wintermelon Soup ($9.50) was too salty but otherwise had tender melon and lots of bamboo shoots. Are Californians just too sensitive?
Sizzling Pepper Beef ($12.95) was good but not really sizzling. Good flavor but not a large quantity.
8 Treasure Rice ($8.95) wasn’t steamed long enough and had a plastic shard in it! Flavors were still decent. They did not even say sorry.
OK:
Pea Pod Stems ($13.95) were under cooked but served the purpose of giving us some fiber.
Scallion Pancakes ($5.25) looked very pale but tasted better than that.
Pans:
None
Overall – Good
Food – Good
Decor – Very Good
Service – Good
Value – Good
Would we come back – No
==========================================================
Future visits
Brunch
Mistral (Rez) French $$$$ – Back Bay
The Paramount – $$ – Beacon Hill
Cafe Luna – $$ – Cambridge – Kendall Sq/MIT
French
La Voile – $$$ Back Bay or Brookline
Seafood
* Daily Catch – $$ – North End, South Boston, Brookline – Line – No rez – 11am-10pm
Pauli’s – $$ – North End – Next to Neptune – Lobster roll 8am – 9pm
North End Fish market – $$ – North End – Lobster roll to go
Atlantic Fish Company – Prudential area
Rod Dee – Porter Square
Spanish Tapas
Toro
Barcelona
Japanese
Shiki rolls, noodles – $$ – Brookline
Oiishi sushi – udon – $$$ – Chestnut Hill, South End
Santouka Ramen – Harvard square
Ittoku – $$ – Near Brookline
Korean
Seoul Soulongtang – Korean BBQ – Near Brookline
Myung Dong 1st Ave – Allston – Drinking – Casseroles – Just ok Binh
Chinese
Q Restaurant (hotpot) – Chinatown
** Sun Kong (Dim Sum) – Malden – 20 min North
* Peach Farm (Cantonese) – Chinatown, No dim sum
Jade garden (Cantonese) – Chinatown
Chung Shin Yuan (Weekend Taiwan style Brunch) Taiwanese – Newton –
Shanghai Fresh – Cambridge –
Shanghai Gate – Near Brookline
Clay Pot Cafe (clay pot rice) – Chinatown
Gene’s Chinese Flatbread Cafe (xian food) – Boston, Woburn
Taiwan Cafe – Chinatown
Burger
Mr. Bartly’s Burger – Harvard Sq
The Gallow – South End
Tasty Burger – Fenway, Harvard Sq, Back Bay
Craigie on Main – Cambridge $$$$
Townsman’s – Chinatown
Wild Willy’s – Watertown
Lee’s Burger Place – Newton
===========================================================
Enough about us!
What do you recommend? Do leave a comment below..
Restaurant Map:
1 Comment
Michael Greenberg
October 10, 2017 at 9:34 pmI would go so far to say that eating any Asian food in the Boston area is a mistake. Lived there for 11 years and there is not one Asian restaurant I would recommend. I do not know if you can even find a Japanese owned Japanese restaurant unless you go to Framingham, and that one is not even that good. Thai is ubiquitous but of the way to sweet no subtlety variety. Chinese is just awful all around. Seafood, some French places are good. Italian is mostly Italian American red sauce stuff but there are a few exceptions. However those exceptions suffer from a lack of consistency. Persian and Mediterranean near Watertown is a good bet (second largest Armenian community behind Glendale, CA). Ana Soturn’s places are all good. Barbecue is a Boston speciality that is greasy but is done better than out here in NorCal..