Are you a Foodie? Boston's North End Offers Great Italian Dining Options
Having grown up in the Boston area, I spent many summers and school vacations taking visiting friends and relatives ‘into town’ to experience some of the history, culture, sports, and great food Boston offered. It’s a walkable city with lots to offer to virtually every age group and interest.
The North End (Italian-American district) is always a favorite. It’s the oldest neighborhood and one of the safest in the city. Steeped in American history and culinary delights, you’ll want to spend a good part of a day in this neighborhood walking a portion of The Freedom Trail and enjoying some homemade pasta, fresh fish, Italian pastries, and more. If The Freedom Trail isn’t your thing, go for the food. ‘Manjia, Manjia’!
As any Bostonian will tell you, ‘The Nawth End has wicked good food’.
Where’s the Best Place to Eat?
Well, that depends on what you’re looking for.
If the lines at restaurants on Hanover and Salem Streets are too long, head to the side streets where good and less touristy restaurants and cafes are plentiful. (Photo: Edie L. Kramer)
The North End is a mecca for any foodie. It’s an easy walk from Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, Government Center, New England Aquarium, and Boston Garden (or ‘The Gahd’n’ as a local will call it). This is an experience. During the warmer months of 2021 and 2022, restaurants offered outdoor seating (on-street parking spots become patios on Hanover Street and some adjacent streets) as part of a multi-year pilot program. However, in late February 2023, the city of Boston announced a new permanent outdoor dining program allowing restaurants to set up patios on sidewalks or in parking spots for a fee and approved site plan. One exception was the North End, where outdoor dining would be limited to sidewalks only (if they are wide enough), and no public on-street parking spaces would be allowed. The reasons cited were traffic congestion, and both residential and safety concerns due to the neighborhood’s narrow streets and sidewalks, its popularity, and as many as 90 restaurants in a 1/3 of a square mile.
Given this news, from May thru October, always make reservations for lunch or dinner using OpenTable (use ‘north end Boston’ for location) regardless of the day of the week!!
You can get a simple pizza or a gourmet meal. You should make dinner reservations unless you are early (in a queue by 5:30 pm). It’s a very popular place, particularly during the summer months or when the Bruins have a home game. Even in February, on nights that the Bruins play a few blocks away at TD Garden, the North End restaurants are extremely busy.
We experienced the North End on a game night one Saturday in February. Our reservation at BenCotto (great food) was for 6:30 pm. Once seated, an overly-attentive waitress pushed us along in our drink and meal orders. After a round of complimentary after-dinner Limoncello, one of the managers literally reached across the table and grabbed a knife and the Limoncello cups. We had literally just finished the Limoncello. When we left the restaurant less than an hour after arriving, it felt like a feast weekend in the summer, with lines at all the Hanover street restaurants and bakeries. The rushed meal made more sense once we saw the street (we had been seated in their basement room).
These small restaurants must take advantage of game nights during the winter because they can often get an additional round of seating. Do your best to avoid these nights. I wish we had looked at the Bruins’ schedule before making reservations. We would have chosen a restaurant in a different city neighborhood or another restaurant away from Hanover Street, the most popular and busy street in the neighborhood.
Boston is famous for its fresh fish! Try the Linguini alle Vongole. It’s available in many North End restaurants, each with its own version. (Photo: Sydney Schmerzler)
Most weekends from June through August (and one in September) have ‘feasts’ to celebrate a specific saint or martyr. These festivals fill the main streets with music, dancing, street food, and a procession. Most feasts start Thursday night and end Sunday. Definitely make dinner or lunch reservations a few days ahead if the venue is on or within a block of Hanover Street. Head a few blocks from Hanover Street, where the restaurants are still plentiful (and good) if you’re there during a feast and struggle with crowds.
My Top 5 reasonably priced restaurants are:
Vinoteca di Monica—nice atmosphere with more space between tables than many in the North End; try the Crespelle ai Funghi (cheese and mushroom crepes) and the Tortellini di Pollo alla Panna (chicken tortellini with sage cream sauce).
La Famiglia Giorgio’s—extensive menu with big servings; their sauces (particularly the bolognese) are great; order a homemade pasta (worth the additional cost).
Bricco—gourmet menu offers unique and tasty choices; fun cocktails; a bit pricey, but this place is special; try the Zucchini Flowers appetizer and Agnolotti al Plin (beef ravioli with ricotta, spinach, and truffle sauce; lots of options for Angus beef lovers too).
BenCotto—nice atmosphere if you sit upstairs (make a note in your reservations on OpenTable); you’ll get you in and out quickly, which may be a positive or negative (read my comments above); fantastic fig salad, carbonara, and veal dishes plus brick oven pizza so there’s something for everyone; will make adjustments to a meal upon request.
Tony and Elaine’s—where the local young professionals living in the North End go for comfort food; classic Italian-American menu away from the crowds except on Boston Bruins’ game nights; try the Chicken Marsala or Spaghetti and Meatballs.
For those who seek a ‘touch above’ (and are willing to pay for it), you’ll love either of these options:
Mare Oyster Bar—is known for its fine Italian seafood; raw bar and Zuppa di Mare (Fruit of the Sea with lobster, scallops, mussels, and clams) are exceptional; great dish presentation; opens at 4:00 pm for dinner.
Mama Mia—the menu changes daily but does not disappoint; the quiet ambiance is refreshing but unusual in the North End; unique appetizers, pasta, and meat dishes; Osso Bucco (braised veal shank) is a patron favorite; opens at 4:30 or 5:00 pm (day dependent) for dinner.
If you can’t get into any of these restaurants, don’t despair. It was hard to pick the shortlist from the 100+ restaurants located in the North End. You read that right. Over 100. I’ve never had a bad meal in any restaurant in the North End, but some are better than others or are a better value for your dollar.
Dessert is an Experience of Its Own
A small portion of the pastry selection at Modern Pastry. (Photo: Edie L. Kramer)
I strongly recommend having a great meal at a North End restaurant, but save dessert for the pastry and cafes on Hanover and Salem Streets.
This is a gem. You’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time and are in Italy. It has an ornate interior with round marble tables, iron chairs, and impressive espresso machines. It feels like the place hasn’t changed since opening in 1929 as the first Italian café in Boston. While everyone’s in line for Mike’s Pastry, grab a table and enjoy a cappuccino, gelato, or pastry. The pastry and gelato selection is a bit limited (compared to Modern and Mike’s), but this place is the real deal and well-worth experiencing. And their cappuccinos are awesome.
Everyone loves Mike’s. I’ve had friends pick up pastries here before taking a flight to visit friends or family. It’s a Boston classic that’s been around for 80 years. There are several other locations in town today, but the North End location is the original. Lines move pretty quickly. It’s ‘to go’ only (no seating). They have the widest variety of cannoli fillings you’ll ‘evah’ see, offering almost 20 different flavors, including limoncello, peanut butter, pistachio, espresso, chocolate mousse, mint chip, and hazelnut.
Across the street from Mike’s, Modern may not have all the cannoli fillings Mike’s has, but you can ‘create your own’ by choosing from five fillings and five toppings (mix and match). Their chocolates and pastries are very good, and they have tables (but no table service). Their pizzelles are a family favorite (grab a bag for your walk around the city). Modern and Mike’s have been rivals for years. Who’s the best? You decide. It’s a toss-up.
Bova’s has been in the North End for over eighty years. One distinction over the other bakeries is that it is open 24 hours a day, every day. So for all you night owls or those craving a late-night bite, Bova’s is your place. They’re known for their fresh Italian bread. In addition to their baked goods, they have pizza, calzones, and a deli. It’s one street from the other bakeries at the corner of Salem and Prince.
A Little History About the North End of ‘Beantown’
Baked beans and molasses were staples for the Pilgrims and later generations (hence, Boston’s nickname, ‘Beantown’). Many of us that grew up in the area had Boston baked beans and hotdogs every Saturday night for dinner. The beans would soak overnight and then bake for at least 4 hours on Saturday with molasses, salt pork, a finely chopped onion, and a bit of mustard. My dad’s best friend would pick up his crock of beans every Saturday around 5:00 pm because my mom’s beans were the best (his words).
If you take a historical walking tour through the North End, you’ll probably hear about the great molasses flood. On January 15, 1919, a storage tank holding 2.3 million gallons (13,000 short tons) of molasses burst, causing an up to 40-foot wave of sticky syrup to level several blocks of Boston’s North End neighborhood in minutes. Twenty-one people died (many suffocating in the gooey mess), and an additional 150 were injured.
The tank’s concrete slab base remains in place—almost 2 feet below the surface of the baseball diamond at Langone Park. (Photo: Edie L. Kramer)
Boston folklore says that on a hot, muggy day, you may smell the sweetness of molasses in parts of the North End. Instead, I’d suggest you smell the ‘best of the best’ Italian pastries from the bakeries and cafes in this fun-filled, hard-working neighborhood.
The molasses tank was located on Commercial Street near the harbor. The area where much of the flood occurred is now a waterfront park (Langone Park).
If you’ve visited Boston’s North End, what restaurants or cafes would you recommend?
