The 10 best restaurants in Boston’s Back Bay
Back Bay runs from the Public Garden west to Massachusetts Avenue, and many of the city’s best-known dining rooms are inside those blocks. This list covers ten restaurants on or near Newbury Street, Boylston Street, Copley Square and Commonwealth Avenue, all inside the Boston neighborhood. It is written for residents planning a dinner out and for visitors staying near Copley who want a table within walking distance.
The list favors restaurants with a long local record or steady notice from the local press, and it mixes seafood, steak, Italian, French, Greek and Japanese-influenced cooking. Prices run high here. Small plates at the Greek wine bar start at $8, while tasting menus at two entries cost $175 and $195 per person.
How we chose
The ten are in alphabetical order, not ranked. Each is inside Back Bay, was confirmed open in November 2026 through the restaurant’s own website, and publishes a current menu or current hours. Selection leaned on longevity, coverage in local outlets and recognition the restaurants can document. Locally owned groups were preferred. Two entries belong to larger restaurant companies, and the copy says which. Menu prices were read from each restaurant’s posted menu in November 2026.
Hours and prices below come from each business and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.
Atlantic Fish Company
Seafood has been the business at 761 Boylston Street since 1978, by the restaurant’s own account. Atlantic Fish Company opens for lunch and dinner seven days a week and adds a weekend brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., when the menu includes a baked halibut shakshuka and a Land & Sea Burger. The restaurant is part of the Tavistock Restaurant Collection, not an independent. Reservations go through OpenTable or by phone at 617-267-4000, and group and semi-private dining can be arranged. Book ahead for Thanksgiving, when the restaurant takes holiday reservations.
Hours: Monday to Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Address: 761 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116
Why they made the list
- The restaurant dates its start on Boylston Street to 1978.
- Lunch service runs every day of the week, starting at 11:30 a.m. on weekdays.
- Weekend brunch is served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
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Contessa
Contessa sits on the top floor of The Newbury Boston hotel at 3 Newbury Street, with windows facing the Public Garden. The Northern Italian restaurant opened in 2021 and is run by Major Food Group, a national operator. The kitchen is open from breakfast through dinner, so a table here can mean eggs at 7 a.m. or bistecca Fiorentina at 9 p.m. Dishes the restaurant names as classics include Piemontese carpaccio, ricotta gnudi and tortellini en brodo. The bar pours cocktails until midnight early in the week and until 1 a.m. from Thursday to Saturday. Reserve well ahead for dinner.
Hours: Breakfast Monday to Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Lunch Monday to Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Brunch Saturday, Sunday and Monday holidays, 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner Sunday to Wednesday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Thursday to Saturday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Address: 3 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116
Why they made the list
- The rooftop dining room looks over Back Bay and the Boston Public Garden.
- The restaurant reports a wine inventory of 6,000 bottles, centered on Italian and French producers.
- Breakfast, lunch, weekend brunch and dinner are all served in the same room.
- Designer Ken Fulk did the interior, according to the restaurant.
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Deuxave
Restaurateur Brian Piccini founded Deuxave in 2010 at the corner of Commonwealth and Massachusetts avenues, the two streets behind the name. Executive chef Ryan Zichella cooks modern French food with American ingredients. A five-course seasonal tasting menu costs $175 per person and requires the whole table to take part, with a wine pairing at $99. Ordering a la carte, the spiced Rohan duck breast is $59 and the crispy-skinned Giannone chicken is $43. The restaurant describes the French onion soup as a nine-hour preparation. A 3% kitchen appreciation charge is added to food and can be removed on request.
Hours: Dinner Sunday to Thursday, 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The bar closes one hour after dinner service.
Address: 371 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, at Massachusetts Avenue (Back Bay)
Why they made the list
- Deuxave has been open at the same corner since 2010.
- The tasting menu changes with the season and comes with standard, luxury and non-alcoholic pairings.
- Main courses on the November 2026 menu ranged from $40 for squash ravioli to $76 for a New York strip.
Grill 23 & Bar
Founder Ken Himmel opened Grill 23 & Bar in 1983 in the old Salada Tea Building, and Himmel Hospitality Group still runs the steakhouse as an independent. Brandt Beef, a family-owned California ranch, has been the main steak supplier for more than two decades, the menu says. The 100 Day Aged Prime Ribeye is 18 ounces and $98, the 10-ounce filet mignon is $84, and steak frites with bearnaise is $48. Save room for the coconut cake, which the pastry kitchen counts among the house signatures. Dinner is the only regular service, though the restaurant adds lunch on select December dates.
Hours: Monday to Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Address: 161 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116
Why they made the list
- The restaurant describes itself as independent since 1983.
- The wine program lists more than 2,600 selections, according to the restaurant.
- Executive chef Ryan Marcoux joined Himmel Hospitality Group in 2020.
- A second floor holds private dining rooms, and the bar was rebuilt in March 2014.
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Krasi
Krasi calls itself a wine bar first, and the list is entirely Greek. The Gloucester Street restaurant, part of Xenia Greek Hospitality, pairs that list with regional meze: tiropita rolls with honey butter for $12, tzatziki mixed at the table for $18, and cured meats from the Cyclades, Attica and Corfu at $10 to $18 a plate. Larger plates include giouvetsi, a braised lamb shoulder with orzo, at $36, and a whole sea bass wrapped in grape leaves at $52. On Wednesdays the wine team leads guests through a themed selection of Greek bottles. Weekend brunch runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Hours: Dinner daily, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Brunch Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch Friday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Address: 48 Gloucester Street, Boston, MA 02115
Why they made the list
- Every wine on the list comes from Greece.
- Culinary director Brendan Pelley and executive chef Jerry Pabla lead the kitchen.
- Dinner is served seven nights a week until 11 p.m.
- Cheeses carry protected origin labels from Naxos, Metsovo, Lemnos and Trikala.
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La Padrona
Chef Jody Adams, a two-time James Beard Award winner, is a co-founder of La Padrona, the Italian restaurant from A Street Hospitality at 38 Trinity Place. Boston.com reported the opening at the Raffles hotel in May 2024, and the restaurant says the Michelin Guide recommended the dining room in 2025. Executive chef Amarilys Colon runs the kitchen day to day. Start with the Ligurian cheese bread, $26, then move to tagliatelle Emilia-Romagna with 12-year balsamico, $34, or the duck ragu cannelloni for two at $68. Gluten-free pasta is available. Tables are booked through Resy.
Hours: Dinner Sunday to Wednesday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Thursday to Saturday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. The bar and lounge stay open one hour later.
Address: 38 Trinity Place, Boston, MA 02116
Why they made the list
- A Street Hospitality is a Boston restaurant group that also runs Porto in Back Bay.
- Main courses on the November 2026 menu ran from $41 for eggplant Milanese to $72 for beef tenderloin.
- The bar and lounge are open until midnight from Thursday to Saturday.
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Saltie Girl
Tinned seafood gets a whole menu page at Saltie Girl, the seafood restaurant at 279 Dartmouth Street. Tins of sardines, hake and other fish from Portugal, Spain and Maine arrive with flavored salts, butter, pickled piparra peppers, piquillo jam and French bread. The rest of the menu covers a raw bar, crudo, smoked fish with bagels and a New England lobster roll served warm or cold at market price. Fried lobster and waffles with spicy maple syrup is $36, and the clam chowder is $14. The kitchen sends dishes out as they are ready and declines modifications, so read the menu closely before ordering.
Hours: Monday to Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Weekend brunch, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Address: 279 Dartmouth Street, Boston, MA 02116
Why they made the list
- The tin list runs to dozens of imported and domestic tins.
- Service runs straight through from 11 a.m. every day, with no break between lunch and dinner.
- Three sizes of seafood tower are sold at market price.
- The Saltie Girl Burger, topped with fried lobster and avocado, is $26.
Select Oyster Bar
Michael Serpa opened Select Oyster Bar in April 2015 on the parlor floor of a townhouse at 50 Gloucester Street. The raw bar pours local oysters, and the kitchen follows with crudo, ceviche, Spanish octopus and whole roasted fish, cooked simply. Seafood towers run from just over $100 to $325. A 20% pre-tax gratuity is added to every check and goes to the front-of-house staff, a policy printed on the menu. Reservations are taken through OpenTable, but the restaurant holds space for walk-ins and seats complete parties only. The full menu is available from 11:30 a.m., so lunch is an easier time to get in.
Hours: Daily from 11:30 a.m. Closes at 9:30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Address: 50 Gloucester Street, Boston, MA 02115
Why they made the list
- Serpa Hospitality Group, the chef’s own company, runs the restaurant.
- The restaurant lists Boston magazine honors for best new restaurant in 2015 and best seafood restaurant in 2019.
- Lunch and dinner use the same menu every day of the week.
- Private events are booked for groups of 15 to 75.
Sorellina
Across Copley Square from the Boston Public Library, Sorellina has served modern Italian food at 1 Huntington Avenue since January 2006. Chef and owner Jamie Mammano’s Columbus Hospitality Group runs the restaurant, with Marga Raffucci as executive chef. Most pastas come in two sizes, $24 or $47: tagliatelle with Bolognese, honeynut squash tortellini, and maccheroncelli with beef meatballs in Montepulciano sauce. The potato gnocchi with Maine lobster is $46, and the bone-in veal Milanese is $75. Dress is smart casual to business, and jackets are not required. The restaurant recommends reservations on weekends and during symphony and theater season.
Hours: Dinner Monday to Thursday, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. (last reservation 9 p.m.). Sunday, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The bar opens at 5 p.m. daily.
Address: 1 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02116
Why they made the list
- The restaurant has been open on Copley Square for 20 years.
- The bar opens half an hour before the dining room and stays open until 10 p.m. on weeknights.
- Second courses on the November 2026 menu ran from $39 for game hen to $86 for a 14-ounce prime ribeye.
Uni
Inside the Eliot Hotel at 370A Commonwealth Avenue, Uni is chef and owner Ken Oringer’s restaurant for sashimi, nigiri, makimono and small plates drawn from global street food. David Bazirgan is the executive chef. A daily tasting menu costs $195 per person, with an optional $85 beverage pairing, and an a la carte menu is offered every night alongside a sake list. For a table that wants to share, the kitchen will build a family-style chef’s menu and recommends at least $150 per person. There is no dress code and no valet. The restaurant points drivers to garages at 425 Newbury Street and 50 Dalton Street.
Hours: Sunday to Thursday, 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Address: 370A Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 (The Eliot Hotel, Back Bay)
Why they made the list
- Uni serves dinner seven nights a week.
- A weeknight prix fixe menu is served in the lounge.
- Online reservation requests cover parties of one to eight and are final only after the staff confirms them.
- Tables are held for 15 minutes, and cancellations are requested 24 hours ahead.
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