Diners' Choice: Best Overall restaurants in Boston

OpenTable

Updated June 05, 2025

Looking for the best overall restaurants in Boston? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Piccolo Nido

5.0

5 (323)

$31 to $50

Italian

North End

About the restaurant

Piccolo Nido in Boston is an Italian restaurant with a family atmosphere, owned and operated by chef Pino Irano from Napoli. Piccolo Nido’s dinner menu includes a daily soup option, as well as classic antipasto and pasta dishes. Enjoy an espresso or cappuccino with dessert, and enjoy getting to know Pino when he steps out of the kitchen to greet the patrons.

Entrees at Piccolo Nido include favorites such as spaghetti and gnocchi, but also has options for lovers of true Italian flavors, such as veal and trout. The fresh catch of the day is also available for the freshest seafood around, and diners can also enjoy tiramisu or a dessert of the day.

Top review

ChrisVIP

Dined on May 31, 2025

We have been going to the North End for many years and now have a new favorite. From the minute you walk in, you feel like you are family. Food was excellent and a great evening.

Moonshine 152

5.0

5 (1863)

$30 and under

American

South Boston

About the restaurant

A modern -American, neighborhood bistro restaurant in Southie (South Boston) by Chef-owner Asia Mei (as seen on Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay & Phantom Gourmet). With a globally-inspired, comfort food meets street food menu, Chef Asia puts her unique spin on both East & West Coast style cooking, striving to match the beautiful restaurant’s aesthetic, contributing to numerous glowing re-reviews, accolades & praise. Her "Best of Boston" Buttermilk Fried Chicken Wings, her award-winning Burgers & Vegetarian Burgers, Street Tacos & weekly changing specials are only some of the reasons she was awarded the 2023 Best of Boston Neighborhood Restaurant in South Boston.

Moonshine 152 is located at 152 Dorchester Avenue, on the corner of Dorchester Avenue & West 4th Street in South Boston. We are one block from the Broadway Red Line train station, with bus connections local bus connections. We are a short walk from the South End & Ink Block neighborhoods as well as The Seaport & Downtown Boston.

Top review

Joseph

Dined 5 days ago

Asia and her staff are experts on delivering amazing food paired with a great vibe. I took a large group of out of towners there, and she knocked their socks off. I will be back as often as possible.

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Popular dish

Butterscotch Pudding

Popular dish

Jalapeno Crab Rangoons

Fresh Boston

5.0

5 (6)

$30 and under

American

South Boston

About the restaurant

If you have to cancel, please give us as much advance notice as possible. We have a 10 minute grace period. Please call us if you are running late. Thank you!

Brunch: Saturday + Sunday 10:30a - 3:00p. We also serve our full lunch menu during Brunch

We are all about the good vibes here at Fresh Boston, drawing from our original location on Nantucket! We have a full bar, full liquor store, & full dine-in area as well as "grab & go". Our unique concept has everything you need with a vibe

>We are open Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays)
> Brunch Saturday + Sunday 10:30a-3p (we also serve our full lunch menu during brunch)
>Our Liquor Store is fully stocked with spirits, beer, seltzers & over 225 facings of wine.
>Catering & Private Events freshboston.com/catering

Top review

MaggieVIP

Dined on Apr 30, 2025

Fresh has the best sandwiches, staff, and vibes in all of South Boston. I love this place!

Fuji at WoC

4.9

4.9 (33)

$30 and under

Japanese

Quincy

About the restaurant

Fuji at WoC is the flagship location of JP Fuji Group, located in Quincy, Massachusetts.

This location is unique because in an exclusively enclosed section of the restaurant is the Private Chefs Kitchen. Here, guests can enjoy Omakase—a Japanese phrase that means ‘I’ll leave it up to you.'

The full menu offers sushi dishes, wok-tossed entrees, lunch specials and a full bar list.

The Fuji at WoC chefs can also create custom menus of sushi, appetizers and wok-tossed dishes for catered events.

Top review

ReneeVIP

Dined on Jun 3, 2025

Always great food! Go for lunch, the bento box is delicious!

Willow & Ivy on Exeter

4.8

4.8 (34)

$31 to $50

American

Back Bay

About the restaurant

Welcome to Willow & Ivy, a neighborhood eatery located in Boston’s vibrant Back Bay. Our newly renovated space is full of energy, enhanced by lush greenery and beautiful vaulted windows that fill the room with warm, natural light. Whether you enter from charming Exeter Street or through The Lenox lobby, you will be greeted by our smiling staff and the enticing aromas of our locally curated menu. Your table is all set—sit back and enjoy.

Top review

Germaine

Dined on Jun 5, 2025

Great food, wonderful ambience and exceptional service!

Mooo SEAPORT

4.9

4.9 (1032)

$50 and over

Steakhouse

South Boston

About the restaurant

Welcome to Mooo Seaport, part of the Mooo... brand from the Columbus Hospitality Group. Located in the vibrant Fort Point neighborhood on Melcher Street, Mooo Seaport offers an exceptional private dining experience for groups of all sizes. Our three private dining rooms, The Hearth, The Study, and The Library, can accommodate groups of 10-70 guests for seated events and receptions up to 100 guests. With flexible spaces that can cater to both intimate gatherings and larger events, Mooo Seaport is the perfect choice for corporate events, social occasions, and everything in between.

Top review

Cindy

Dined 6 days ago

Loved the food, ambiance and our server Ashley! Had such a great birthday celebration. Food was excellent along with delicious drinks!

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Popular dish

Prime Ribeye

Popular dish

Valrhona Chocolate Cake

Popular dish

American Wagyu Filet Mignon

dbar

4.9

4.9 (1479)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Dorchester

About the restaurant

dbar is a full service restaurant that seamlessly transforms into a nightclub and lounge as the night goes on. Formally an old school Irish pub filled with mahogany charm, dbar has been renovated into a hip chic hot spot. With warm glowing candles & long leather banquettes, dbar offers a casual and comfortable atmosphere that attracts clientele from Dorchester and surrounding areas. The unique and classy menu inspired by Executive Chef Christopher Coombs changes with the seasons and features the finest and freshest available ingredients throughout the New England area. Most of the menu takes a French twist, but also contains an assortment of comfort foods (such as our famous Veal & Pancetta Bolognaise) and old favorites (like our simple yet delicious Giannone Chicken Under a Brick.)

Top review

ElizabethVIP

Dined on Apr 5, 2025

Always wonderful. One of our neighborhood places!

Molinari's

4.9

4.9 (551)

$30 and under

Italian

Dorchester

About the restaurant

“I wanted to do a place with good Italian comfort food. The simplicity of it, the freshness of it, the quality of ingredients that you get to work with.” They specialize in that quintessential Italian comfort food – pizza. “I think it’s great that the city of Boston is turning around and starting to become known for pizza like the other big cities in the country,” he said. “It is such a simple food but it all comes down to the quality of ingredients.” It’s all done out of an open kitchen where the star of the show is Molinari’s wood burning oven.

Top review

JaneVIP

Dined 7 days ago

Excellent Italian food, inviting aromas as you walk in the door. Good service.

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4.9

4.9 (510)

$30 and under

American

West Cambridge

About the restaurant

Tucked in a converted greenhouse, Daedalus is a casual restaurant that serves New American cuisine and drinks in spacious surrounds. The restaurant's menu changes to reflect the season. Diners rave about the crab cake sandwich, the buffalo tenders and the Daedalus burger.

A neighborhood favorite, Daedalus boasts a roof deck that delivers a lovely view of Harvard square. It also hosts two bars (one located on each floor)

Top review

JoanneVIP

Dined on May 31, 2025

This is a gem in Cambridge. We had a relaxing low key dinner that was delicious. The waiter and Host were warm and attentive. Recommend it highly.

Fuji at Kendall

5.0

5 (6)

$30 and under

Japanese

Cambridge

About the restaurant

Fuji at Kendall opened it's doors in December 2011 adding to Cambridge's rich culinary mix in Kendall Square.

The sushi served here is as sophisticated as the restaurant's upscale decor. Every item on the menu is carefully selected and hand-made with the freshest and finest ingredients to bring out the delicate flavors of Japanese cuisine. If sushi isn't your thing, come to enjoy a variety of explosive wok-tossed dishes, noodles and agemono entrees!

Top review

Jake

Dined on May 24, 2025

My go-to for quality sushi while in Kendall area. Staff and management are nice and the sushi chefs are skilled.

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