Great restaurants in boston

Posted: 02/09/2007--25/11/2008 || Rate this Article: 3 || Views|| Sign In || Register ||Hello Guest

Boston has developed a thriving restaurant scene, with longtime favorites holding their own among a group of hip young upstarts. If you are searching for an upscale dining experience with an emphasis on local New England ingredients, youll find a variety of cuisine and styles to choose from.

As one of the oldest and most established players in the Boston foodie scene, Hamersleys Bistro has been delighting local diners for sixteen years. By combining traditional French country bistro cooking with local seasonal ingredients, chef Gordon Hamersley continues to draw an affluent following of both loyal locals and special occasion diners. The atmosphere is unique, drawing upon its rural European inspiration with French tapestries and rough ceiling beams while also featuring one of Bostons first open kitchens. The restaurant offers seasonal outdoor dining, taking advantage of its prime location on Tremont Street, at the base of Bostons trendy South End neighborhood. House specialties feature the combination of local seafood with traditional French ingredients such as cured foie gras and endive.

Considered the pinnacle of special occasion dining, LEspalier has been voted the most romantic restaurant by Boston Magazine for the past four years. This classic French restaurant is such a popular marriage proposal spot that its staff specializes in offering advice as to how to present the engagement ring. Located in a romantic townhouse in Bostons chic Back Bay, LEspalier serves rich, traditional French cuisine in formal, wood paneled surroundings. The menu changes frequently based on seasonal ingredients, but patrons trust the chef so much that its degustation, or tasting menus, are very popular.

A Boston classic that has been recently renovated and reopened, Aujourdhui in the Four Seasons Hotel has been a mainstay of Bostons old money power crowd. As one of only two Massachusetts restaurants to hold a AAA Five-Diamond designation, Aujourdhuis beautiful views of Bostons famed Public Garden are matched by the elaborate and adventurous dishes created by its new chef. The restaurant is still decorated in a traditional Proven?al style, but its new cuisine of modern French and Japanese fusion combined with traditional New England seafood is winning new patrons.

Olives, in City Square in Charlestown, is not only a popular local mainstay but also serves as the springboard for the career of local celebrity chef Todd English. Englishs very popular original restaurant has since spawned six branches from New York to Tokyo, as well as a mini-empire of other restaurants, television and publishing ventures. The original Olives is a perennial favorite, with its Mediterranean inspired menu featuring hand-crafted pasta and wood-grilled meat served in abundant portions. Olives atmosphere is lively and jovial, with its spirited open kitchen, large communal tables and popular bar scene.

As a relative newcomer, Clio, in the Eliot Hotel on Commonwealth Avenue, has been wining national praises. Located in the space formerly occupied by a local favorite hangout called the Eliot Lounge, Clio has been serving up chic French designer cuisine in very upscale surroundings. Celebrity chef Ken Oringer is credited with creating a menu worthy of a high-end food magazine, featuring small, expertly presented portions of unusual combinations such as sauted halibut with a citrus-ginger broth. Clio also features a separate sashimi bar called Uni, showcasing rare fish from around the world.

For authentic Tuscan cuisine in a unique atmosphere, Teatro has quickly gained prominence within Bostons Theater District. Located in a former synagogue, this deep hall dining room is modeled after a local Italian trattoria, but maintains a hip, trendier edge. Attracting both local neighborhood patrons and a visiting theater crowd, Teatro features traditional Northern Italian cuisine at its heartiest, from rigatoni bolognese to a pork shank braised in Marsala wine and served with bitter greens.

Radius made a splash onto the local dining scene a few years ago and has consistently maintained its stature as the premier power dining venue in the downtown Financial District. With its cool, sleek minimalist decor and vibrant lounge scene for Bostons young elite, Radius is frequented for the atmosphere as much as for the food. However, its modern French menu has been praised by the local media for its inventive take on New England standards, as evidenced by its dish of black cod served with sweet peas, wild mushrooms, bacon and carrot-curry vinaigrette.

One of the most recent additions to the Boston dining scene comes from the chef and restauranteur team that built Radius. Great Bay, in the Hotel Commonwealth in Kenmore Square, features both local seafood and rare worldly imports in a trendy, marine-inspired atmosphere. Featuring a large raw bar, Great Bay is definitely for the seafood lover and those looking to try New Englands most popular native delicacies served in a unique way, such as their cornmeal-crusted local Duxbury oyster appetizer.