The 10 best restaurants in Boston’s North End
The North End’s restaurants cluster on a few blocks around Hanover Street and Salem Street, most of them Italian and many of them small. This list covers ten places inside the neighborhood, from a cash-only lunch counter to a white-tablecloth dining room on North Square, for visitors and for people who live elsewhere in Boston and want to know where a table is worth the wait.
The list favors independent, long-running restaurants with a clear specialty: seafood pasta, brick-oven pizza, a raw bar. Published prices run from $21 for a half order of squid-ink pasta to $50 for lobster ravioli and $67 for a single lobster fra diavolo. Several of these restaurants take cash only or do not take reservations, and each entry says so where the restaurant publishes the policy.
How we chose
This list is alphabetical, not ranked. Every restaurant is inside the North End and was confirmed open in November 2026 through the restaurant’s own website or recent local coverage. Selection rested on years in business, a menu with a defined specialty, and repeated mentions in independent local guides, including Boston magazine’s North End guide updated in May 2026 and Time Out Boston’s neighborhood list. No single site’s star rating decided a place.
Hours and prices below come from each business and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.
Antico Forno
Antico Forno has been on Salem Street since 1996, by the restaurant’s own account, and the name translates to “the old oven.” That oven is the point: the kitchen sends out wood-fired pizzas and oven-baked pastas alongside seafood and standard Italian entrees. The restaurant describes the business as family owned. Lunch starts at 11:30 a.m. every day, which makes Antico Forno a practical choice before the dinner lines form elsewhere on the block. Tables can be booked through the restaurant’s website or through Yelp, and booking ahead is the safer plan on weekends.
Hours: Monday to Thursday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Address: 93 Salem Street, Boston, MA 02113
Why they made the list
- The restaurant dates the business to 1996, putting three decades on Salem Street behind the kitchen.
- Pizzas and baked pastas come out of a wood-fired oven.
- The dining room is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.
See the full directory listing
Carmelina’s
Opened in 2012 on Hanover Street, Carmelina’s cooks Sicilian-leaning Italian food from an open kitchen under executive chef Damien DiPaola, who adapted family recipes for the menu. The lobster ravioli is $50 and the restaurant calls the dish a top seller; the Sunday Macaroni, served daily, is $40, and the bolognese is $28. Reservations are taken online only, through Yelp, in blocks of an hour and a half for parties of up to six. A table is released to the waitlist after ten minutes, so arrive on time. The restaurant does not take phone reservations or takeout orders.
Hours: Daily, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Address: 307 Hanover Street, Boston, MA 02113
Why they made the list
- Boston magazine included Carmelina’s in a North End restaurant guide updated in May 2026.
- The menu posts prices plainly, from a $29 chicken parm to a $38 frutti di mare.
- A voluntary 3 percent kitchen appreciation fee is added to dine-in bills, according to the restaurant’s website.
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The Daily Catch
Eighteen seats face an open kitchen at The Daily Catch, where one cook and one server run the room. Paul Freddura opened the Hanover Street storefront in 1973, according to the restaurant, and the family still serves pasta in the pan it was cooked in. Order the fried calamari ($22.50) and the black pasta, made with squid ink, at $21 for a half portion or $29.50 for a full one. Lobster fra diavolo is $67 for one and $95 for two. The North End location is walk-in only and takes cash or gift cards, so stop at an ATM first.
Hours: Daily, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Address: 323 Hanover Street, Boston, MA 02113
Why they made the list
- The restaurant has been at the same Hanover Street address for more than 50 years, by the family’s account.
- Calamari appears as meatballs, stuffed, in salad and over linguine.
- Seating is first come, first served, with no reservations at this location.
- Time Out Boston placed The Daily Catch first in a 2024 list of North End restaurants.
Galleria Umberto
Lunch is the whole business at Galleria Umberto, a counter-service spot on Hanover Street that sells square Sicilian pizza slices, arancini filled with ground beef, peas and mozzarella, and panzarotti, which are fried potato croquettes. Umberto Deuterio founded the place in 1974 and his sons Paul and Ralph run the counter now. The James Beard Foundation named Galleria Umberto an America’s Classic in 2018. Payment is cash only, there is no website, and the doors close when the food sells out, usually by mid-afternoon according to Boston magazine. Go before noon for the full selection.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 289 Hanover Street, Boston, MA 02113
Why they made the list
- Galleria Umberto holds a 2018 America’s Classics award from the James Beard Foundation.
- The same family has run the counter since 1974.
- The short menu centers on three items: Sicilian slices, arancini and panzarotti.
Giacomo’s
A line on the Hanover Street sidewalk is the usual sign that Giacomo’s is open. The restaurant has been at number 355 since 1985, takes walk-ins only and accepts cash only, with an ATM on site. Pasta is made in house, and the menu pairs seafood with a choice of sauces, including the Giacomo and Fracomo sauces that the restaurant says were invented in the kitchen. Zuppa di pesce, the seafood stew meant for sharing, was listed at $94 for two or more by Boston magazine in May 2026. Parties of ten or more can call ahead; everyone else should arrive early.
Hours: Sunday to Thursday, noon to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, noon to 10:30 p.m.
Address: 355 Hanover Street, Boston, MA 02113
Why they made the list
- Giacomo’s has four decades on Hanover Street, dating to 1985.
- The no-reservations policy means any party under ten has the same chance at a table.
- Boston magazine’s May 2026 guide describes the prices as friendly to a budget.
Mamma Maria
Mamma Maria is the formal option on this list: white tablecloths, private dining rooms and floor-to-ceiling windows looking from North Square toward downtown. The menu changes with the seasons, leaning on northern Italian and mountain dishes in fall and winter and on southern Italian seafood and produce in summer. Boston magazine singles out the beef carpaccio and the pappardelle with rabbit ragu. Reservations are booked online through SevenRooms. Private rooms are available, including one that seats four, according to Boston magazine. Ask about that room when booking a small celebration, and reserve well ahead for weekend dinners.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 3 North Square, Boston, MA 02113
Why they made the list
- The restaurant lists a 2022 AAA Four Diamond Award on the website.
- Both Boston magazine (May 2026) and Time Out Boston (July 2024) include Mamma Maria in North End guides.
- The kitchen builds the menu around New England ingredients, according to the restaurant.
See the full directory listing
Neptune Oyster
No reservations, walk-ins only: Neptune Oyster states the policy on the home page, and the wait for the narrow Salem Street room is part of the visit. Staff take a cell number and call when a seat opens, according to Boston magazine. The Maine lobster roll comes hot with butter or cold with mayo on a toasted brioche roll with fries, at market price. The Neptune johnnycake with smoked bluefish and sturgeon caviar is $21, and North End cioppino is $38. The raw bar stays open half an hour after the kitchen closes. Leave a number and walk the neighborhood instead of standing in the doorway.
Hours: Monday to Friday, opens 11 a.m., kitchen closes 9:30 p.m. and raw bar 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, opens 11 a.m., kitchen closes 10:30 p.m. and raw bar 11 p.m.
Address: 63 Salem Street, Boston, MA 02113
Why they made the list
- Neptune Oyster kept a place in The New York Times guide to Boston restaurants in 2026, as reported by Boston.com on September 30, 2026.
- Time Out Boston dates the restaurant’s opening to 2004.
- The lobster roll is sold both ways, hot buttered and cold with mayonnaise.
- Seafood on the menu is named by source, such as Georges Bank scallops at $41.
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Prezza
Prezza is on Fleet Street, off Hanover Street, and has been there for about 25 years, by Boston magazine’s count. Owner Anthony Caturano’s menu runs to house-made pasta, seafood and steaks, with wood-grilled meats noted by Time Out Boston. The raviolo di uovo is the dish local guides mention most. The wine list ran 27 pages when Boston magazine counted in May 2026. Dinner only, starting at 4 p.m. Book through Resy or by phone, and plan on a slower, longer meal than most North End rooms allow.
Hours: Sunday to Wednesday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Address: 24 Fleet Street, Boston, MA 02113
Why they made the list
- Anthony Caturano has owned the restaurant since he was 25, according to the Prezza website.
- Prezza is open for dinner seven nights a week.
- Reservations are available through Resy or by phone at 617-227-1577.
Regina Pizzeria
Pizza has come out of the brick oven on Thacher Street since 1926, and the Polcari family has run Regina Pizzeria for more than three generations, according to the company. Boston magazine’s May 2026 North End guide calls the pizzeria the oldest brick-oven pizza restaurant in Boston. The Giambotta is the pie Time Out Boston recommends ordering. The company now has other locations around the region, but the Thacher Street original is the one on this list. Hours for the original were not available from the company at the time of writing, so call first.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 11 1/2 Thacher Street, North End, Boston
Why they made the list
- Regina Pizzeria marked 100 years in the North End in 2026, based on the company’s 1926 founding date.
- Pies are baked in a brick oven.
- Both Boston magazine and Time Out Boston include the Thacher Street pizzeria in North End guides.
Tresca
Tresca is co-owned by executive chef Richard Ansara and Ray Bourque, the former Bruins defenseman, and the menu nods to both. The Ray Bourque Special is a veal chop parmesan with a side of pasta bolognese; Anna Maria’s stuffed meatballs combine ground veal and sirloin with fresh mozzarella in tomato basil sauce. Black truffle ricotta gnocchi with wild mushroom ragu rounds out the dishes the restaurant names. Reservations are made by phone at 617-742-8240, and changes inside six hours of the booking can bring a $50 per person no-show fee. Outdoor tables cannot be reserved and go first come, first served.
Hours: Opens at 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and at 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The restaurant does not post closing times, so check before a late dinner.
Address: 233 Hanover Street, Boston, MA 02113
Why they made the list
- Private and semi-private rooms hold groups of 2 to 75, according to the restaurant.
- Chef Richard Ansara’s earlier kitchens include The Palm, according to the restaurant’s website.
- Co-owner Ray Bourque played 21 seasons for the Boston Bruins.
See the full directory listing
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