Diners' Choice: Neighborhood gem restaurants in Greater Boston

OpenTable

Updated June 05, 2025

Looking for the best restaurants that are the best neighborhood gems in Greater 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!

G Bar & Kitchen

5.0

5 (200)

$31 to $50

American

Swampscott

About the restaurant

G Bar & Kitchen in Swampscott provides a beautiful interior with dark, rich wood flooring, bright red chairs situated along the bar, and pale colored chairs, tables and booths along the opposite walls. Big windows let in plenty of sunshine to help increase the brightness and inviting atmosphere of the interior whereas friendly staff members make you feel like an honored guest at G Bar & Kitchen. Upon first glance at the menu, you will notice plenty of delicious options like the shrimp chow fun and gnocchi. You also have stuffed acorn squash, lamb rack, duck, haddock, veal chop and a N.Y strip to name a few. There is an option for just about every flavor preference so you are sure to leave feeling satisfied and yearning to come back for more when you visit G Bar & Kitchen.

Top review

Steven

Dined 2 days ago

Great food and service. Will be going back soon, real soon!

Piccolo Nido

5.0

5 (324)

$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

Stacy

Dined on Jun 18, 2025

A hidden gem in the North End. Hospitality can’t be beat. You will feel like family before you leave. The red sauce is perfect!!!

Trattoria Pulcinella

4.9

4.9 (631)

$30 and under

Italian

Cambridge

About the restaurant

Trattoria Pulcinella is a nice family run business; we offer a lot of specials from our native homeland of Naples, Italy.

Top review

Sarah

Dined on May 15, 2025

This is my favorite restaurant. Always a great meal and friendly faces.

Agoro's Pizza Bar & Grill

4.9

4.9 (12)

$31 to $50

Farm-to-table

Somerset

About the restaurant

This family-owned restaurant on County Street in Somerset, MA has been dishing out Greek style pan pizza, mouth-watering burgers and authentic pasta since 1984. Agoro’s atmosphere is family-friendly, casual and comfortable. They offer a full bar, extensive menu, al fresco dining, delivery, carry out and have free Wi- Fi and several flat screen HD TV’s for you to watch your favorite sporting events. Agoro’s brand new private function room is perfect for your next business or social event. Their friendly staff always serves everything with a smile and they never forget that each person has a choice in where to dine. So come and visit Agoro’s Pizza Bar and Grill. Here, you're family! You can call 508.730.2356 during business hours Wednesday through Sunday to place your take-out order. Agoro's is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays

Top review

Alex

Dined on Jun 6, 2025

Delicious food and excellent service! The price is also affordable. From the appetizers to the desserts, everything was made perfectly. A must-try!

Via Cannuccia

4.9

4.9 (525)

$30 and under

Italian

Dorchester

About the restaurant

Home Made Italian Deliciousness – Trattoria & Bakery

⏳ Table Time Limits:
🍽 Parties of 1-2: 1 hour 30 minutes
🍽 Parties of 3-5: 2 hours
🍽 Parties of 6+: 2 hours 30 minutes

We reserve tables as well as bar seats

----------------------

For parties of 8 or more, we kindly ask that you email us in advance at viacannuccia@gmail.com so we can discuss the best dining options for your group. To ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience, we prefer that large parties choose one of the following:

✅ A family-style dinner, with curated options starting at $75 pp for dinner and $60 for brunch (not including tax or gratuity)
✅ Pre-ordering ahead of time based on our menu
✅ Placing the entire order at once upon arrival so the server can go over specials and ensure a seamless dining experience

These options allow us to provide the best service and ensure your meal is as enjoyable as possible. Thank you for your cooperation, and we can’t wait to welcome you soon!

Warm Regards,
Via Cannuccia

Top review

MichelleVIP

Dined 5 days ago

It is the best Italian food in the city of Boston.

Sam's Kitchen

4.9

4.9 (135)

$30 and under

Italian

Woburn

About the restaurant

Sam’s Kitchen a long desired dream is now put into motion. With a prodigy in the kitchen, only special homemade quality foods are to be delivered. With Italian cuisine experience since 1988, head chef Samuel Azevedo promises to provide nothing but the best tasting food whether it be a take-out, sit-in or catering order. Be the judge and make your way down to Sam’s Kitchen!

Top review

Anne

Dined on Jun 19, 2025

This is my second time eating at Sam’s Kitchen. I had out-of-town family visiting so I took them to Sam’s Kitchen for dinner. Sam’s Kitchen’s staff are always pleasant, welcoming and attentive. The food is delicious and in generous portion. I had the $35 Taste Trio which came with a Caesar Salad, Chicken Marsala and Tiramisu and it was scrumptious. My other family members had Frutti Di Mare and Caesar Salad with Salmon - their plates were completely wiped cleaned!!! I would definitely come again and tried other dishes on the menu.

Vinny's Ristorante

4.8

4.8 (747)

$30 and under

Italian

Somerville

About the restaurant

Located in the heart of Somerville, Vinny’s serves the best in Sicilian-style cooking, made only with the finest ingredients. Our Dinner and Lunch entrees are superb! Along with a wide choice of Wines, Vinny’s has a full bar as well as the best desserts this side of the North End. Our premium deli sandwiches are available all day, as well as Meals To Go, subs and catering. Come on down and enjoy your next meal here at Vinny’s.

Top review

RickVIP

Dined on Jun 20, 2025

We arrived earlier than normal. The restaurant was sparsely populated. The calamari salad was delicious as always. My wife had the swordfish and I had the haddock stir fry. Both were delicious.

The Chateau - Waltham

4.8

4.8 (424)

$30 and under

Italian

Waltham

About the restaurant

The Chateau in Waltham serves diners classic Italian cuisine in a casual and friendly setting. The restaurant has an extensive menu that offers dishes to please meat-eaters as well as vegetarians. Appetizers include items such as toasted ravioli, meatballs and ricotta and fried or Rhode Island style calamari. Diners can also choose to start their meal with one of The Chateau’s many salad or soup options, such as the chopped salad or homemade minestrone.

Dinner options at The Chateau include sandwiches such as chicken parmigiana, eggplant parmigiana or grilled Italian sausage, or pasta dishes such as spaghetti, penne and angel hair. Each pasta dish is served with your choice of tomato sauce, marinara or garlic and oil.

Top review

charlie

Dined on Jun 15, 2025

excellent portions and tasty food excellent service

BLEND

4.8

4.8 (97)

$30 and under

Gastro Pub

Dorchester

About the restaurant

Blend is a gastro pub that combines the aspects of great food, music, lights and entertainment all into one. Blend "blends" up that neighborhood gastro pub feel where everyone is welcome. Gay owned and Operated, come check us out!

DRAG BRUNCHES ARE 1ST AND 3RD SUNDAYS UNLESS OTHERWISE POSTED
instagram handle : blendboston

Please note when booking for a drag brunch to not choose outside. All drag brunches will be held inside.

TUESDAYS ~ Our Normal Dinning Room is closed for our local cornhole league, hightop bar tables are available but please keep in mind those tables are in the bar area and it will be busy!!!

Top review

Timothy

Dined on Jun 18, 2025

It was my first time at Blend and it was an amazing time the food, the drinks and the staff. It was just a wonderful time and I can’t wait to go back again.

Drifters Kitchen and Bar

4.8

4.8 (9)

$30 and under

American

Quincy

About the restaurant

New kid on the block! Neighborhood spot serving pizzas, burgers, cocktails and more. Stay tuned for website, reservations, take-out & late night menu getting added to the rotation soon!

Top review

BillVIP

Dined on Jun 11, 2025

Incredible first experience. Great food great vibe great service very cool decor. Very comfortable high tops with really comfortable stools. Music was good. Bathroom is clean. People were nice. Dollar oysters, huge surprise and they were really tasty. We got a Smashburger and a salad and some arancini. Highly recommend this place. Some nice improvements to that area of Quincy. Haven’t been there for a while two dollar parking garage ticket in a three minute walk to the restaurant. Just a solid experience.

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