Zagat’s Top-Rated Boston Restaurants
Posted:
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Whether you’re looking to explore the best new restaurants in your neighborhood or rediscover a classic favorite, Zagat is out with its latest Boston Restaurants results, serving up something for every palate. Based on the combined feedback of nearly 5,000 local diners, new ratings and reviews for more than 850 restaurants in Boston are available today on Zagat.com and via Google Search and Maps.
Boston’s No. 1 pick for both Food and Decor go to L’Espalier, Back Bay’s “elegant”, French “grande dame”. Taking top honors for Service is Barbara Lynch’s “fabulous” French-Italian Menton, thanks to an “impeccable” team that “accommodates individual preferences”, and snagging the top spot for Most Popular is the “classic” steakhouse Abe and Louie’s, serving up “tender and flavorful” “Flintstone-sized” cuts.
While a meal at several of the city’s best restaurants may be reserved for special occasions (or tax return season), Zagat’s list of “Best Cheap Eats” offers places with high food scores (read: insanely delicious bites) with a cost estimate of $25 or less. The top places are:
1. Za
2. Flatbread Company
3. Flour Bakery
4. Petsi Pies
5. Regina Pizzeria
And several top cheap eats by neighborhood include:
Allston/Brighton: Roxy's Gourmet Grilled Cheese
Back Bay: Flour Bakery
Downtown Boston: Sam LaGrassa's
Near Fenway: Pho Basil
Near Harvard Square: Pinocchio's Pizza & Subs
According to this year’s results, interesting, boundary-pushing restaurants like Japanese Yume Wo Katare, serving “comforting” bowls of “incredibly rich broth” and “tasty” noodles, and hotspots like Alden & Harlow, where “adventurous eaters” descend upon the “inventive” eats and “creative drinks” are popping up all over the city. Somerville has proven to be particularly buzzy this past year with top-rated restaurants including:
1. Sarma Restaurant
2. Journeyman
3. Bergamot
4. Union Square Donuts
5. CasaB
According to the recent Zagat National Dining Trends survey, Boston diners eat out 4.1 times per week for a combined lunch and dinner, less than the 4.5/week national average. The average spend per person for dinner out is $42.24 which is above the national average of $39.40. Once the meal ends, diners leave a reported 19.6% gratuity (vs. 19.3% nationally).
Locals say their favorite cuisine is Italian -- followed by French, Seafood, American, and Japanese. This year’s Top Italian spot in Boston is Il Capriccio, followed by Giulia, Sorellina, La Campania and Rino’s Place.
A whopping 81% of Zagat’s avid Boston diners say they have sent a dish back to the kitchen. 82% admit to having eavesdropped on a conversation at the next table and 46% of diners say they have stiffed a server on the tip for bad service. 25% feel it’s rude and inappropriate for children to use tablets/phones at the table while 14% say it’s perfectly acceptable.
For more information, snack on the full list of Boston's 50 best restaurants here.
Posted by: Tiffany Herklots, Zagat
Boston’s No. 1 pick for both Food and Decor go to L’Espalier, Back Bay’s “elegant”, French “grande dame”. Taking top honors for Service is Barbara Lynch’s “fabulous” French-Italian Menton, thanks to an “impeccable” team that “accommodates individual preferences”, and snagging the top spot for Most Popular is the “classic” steakhouse Abe and Louie’s, serving up “tender and flavorful” “Flintstone-sized” cuts.
While a meal at several of the city’s best restaurants may be reserved for special occasions (or tax return season), Zagat’s list of “Best Cheap Eats” offers places with high food scores (read: insanely delicious bites) with a cost estimate of $25 or less. The top places are:
1. Za
2. Flatbread Company
3. Flour Bakery
4. Petsi Pies
5. Regina Pizzeria
And several top cheap eats by neighborhood include:
Allston/Brighton: Roxy's Gourmet Grilled Cheese
Back Bay: Flour Bakery
Downtown Boston: Sam LaGrassa's
Near Fenway: Pho Basil
Near Harvard Square: Pinocchio's Pizza & Subs
According to this year’s results, interesting, boundary-pushing restaurants like Japanese Yume Wo Katare, serving “comforting” bowls of “incredibly rich broth” and “tasty” noodles, and hotspots like Alden & Harlow, where “adventurous eaters” descend upon the “inventive” eats and “creative drinks” are popping up all over the city. Somerville has proven to be particularly buzzy this past year with top-rated restaurants including:
1. Sarma Restaurant
2. Journeyman
3. Bergamot
4. Union Square Donuts
5. CasaB
According to the recent Zagat National Dining Trends survey, Boston diners eat out 4.1 times per week for a combined lunch and dinner, less than the 4.5/week national average. The average spend per person for dinner out is $42.24 which is above the national average of $39.40. Once the meal ends, diners leave a reported 19.6% gratuity (vs. 19.3% nationally).
Locals say their favorite cuisine is Italian -- followed by French, Seafood, American, and Japanese. This year’s Top Italian spot in Boston is Il Capriccio, followed by Giulia, Sorellina, La Campania and Rino’s Place.
A whopping 81% of Zagat’s avid Boston diners say they have sent a dish back to the kitchen. 82% admit to having eavesdropped on a conversation at the next table and 46% of diners say they have stiffed a server on the tip for bad service. 25% feel it’s rude and inappropriate for children to use tablets/phones at the table while 14% say it’s perfectly acceptable.
For more information, snack on the full list of Boston's 50 best restaurants here.
Posted by: Tiffany Herklots, Zagat
