Olena Restaurant
134 Hampshire Street, Cambridge; (617) 661-0505.
In the Inman Square neighborhood of Cambridge, clapboard multifamily houses are interspersed with small businesses, many of them high-tech offspring of nearby M.I.T. The area’s most delectable surprise, Oleana, snuggles midblock on workaday Hampshire Street northeast of Central Square, its entrance tucked on the side.
Figs Restaurant
Figs
67 Main Street, 617-242-2229 The site of the star chef Todd English’s original restaurant.
Though Mr. English has opened outposts of his more upscale restaurant, Olives, across the country, Figs remains low key. It has pasta specials, root beer and glam rock on the sound system, and Boston foodies still line up for pastas and brick-oven pizzas; one topped with prosciutto and fig and balsamic jam is $16.95; a pizza topped with fried calamari is $16.
Uni @ Eliot Hotel (Sashimi Bar)
370 Commonwealth Avenue, 617-536-7200
The city is thick with restaurants that say they serve flopping-fresh seafood, but few are brave enough to dispense with the plastic bibs and drawn butter.
In its low-slung confines, the chef Ken Oringer serves sublime fish with inventive accompaniments that actually work. Peppery onion seeds and Amarillo vinaigrette cut the richness of sea urchin and hamachi ($16); the Chinese black beans on wild king salmon come off like caviar ($14). No reservations, and no humdrum soy sauce either.
Canestaro’s Restaurant and Pizzeria
16 Peterborough Street, (617) 266-8997, www.canestaros.com, just a few blocks from Fenway Park, has a nice outdoor patio, good pizza, and big pasta dishes.
Entrees range from fettuccine Alfredo ($11.95) to grilled sirloin ($18.95), or dig into a chicken Parmesan or a meatball Parmesan sandwich ($6.95), a large plain pizza for $11.50, or pasta entrees for $11.95 to $13.95.
Locke-Ober Café
3 Winter Place, (617) 542-1340
Locke-Ober Café is just off Boston Common is classic Boston with a twist. The largely male clientele includes many politicos from Beacon Hill, who meet here to cajole and twist arms over lunch – keep an eye out for the likes of John Kerry and Mitt Romney.
Jackets are recommended. Think dark wood, gold chandeliers, worn mosaic tile floor, stained glass and the famous nude painting of “Yvonne,” much of it dating back to 1875 when the cafe was founded.
Sage Restaurant (North End)
Sage North End, 69 Prince Street, (617) 248-8814
If you love authentic and hearty Italiam, Sage is hard to beat. The menu, which changes often, can include intimate savory dishes like rabbit, veal and lobster. Sage is tiny (28 seats maximum) and easy to miss from the street, while inside, it’s simply adorned, but comfortable. Reservations are recommended. Open for dinner only. Appetizers are $10, entrees $18 to $30.
Save room for torrone nougat ($4.75) at the Modern Pastry Shop around the corner at 257 Hanover Street.
28 Degrees Bar
28 Degrees
1 Appleton Street, 617-728-0728 www.28degrees-boston.com
28 Degrees is a bar that shimmers with flashy cocktails, a flashy circular bar and an even flashier party going on inside. There are Bellinis, pomegranate cosmos and Herradura tequila and Cointreau margaritas to be downed with a mixed crowd of Euro-students, chic-beyond-belief adults and neighborhood regulars. This bar alone fills Boston’s glamour quotient.
Toro Restaurant (Tapas)
1704 Washington Street, 617-536-4300
Toro is a Barcelona-inspired tapas restaurant that is hopping. The interior is simple and modern with whitewashed brick walls and large mirrors. The high bar stools at the communal table are the best seats to take in the action as you drink sassafras mojitos and caipirinhas with caramelized limes.
Or pick a Spanish Rioja from the four-page wine list — the wine is served in giant tumblers.
Sausage @ The Butcher Shop
552 Tremont Street, 617-423-4800 www.thebutchershopboston.com
You can buy meat and racks of lamb from small local producers, artisanal cheeses and a range of handmade sausages. Don’t leave without ordering the magnificent Hot Dog à la Maison: a bratwurst made downstairs, cooked with Gruyère and served with rosemary potato chips. The Butcher Shop opened two years ago but still feels like a local secret.
It’s open every day, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. or midnight.
Flour Bakery + Café
12 Farnsworth Street, 617-338-4333 www.flourbakery.com
Flour Bakery & Cafe is a small sandwich and pastry shop that serves pain aux raisins ($2.50) for breakfast and made-to-order salads for lunch. It opened behind the just-expanded and just-reopened Boston Children’s Museum (300 Congress Street, 617-426-8855; www.bostonkids.org), known for its science playgrounds and hands-on activities.
The No Name Restaurant (Seafood)
For the best seafood, go where the natives took me: the No Name Restaurant (15 Fish Pier; 617-338-7539) located on the Boston Fish Pier. Excellent fish and extremely fresh.
Sel de la Terre
255 State Street; 617-720-1300; www.seldelaterre.com is just wonderful in every way, including their location along the waterfront. A scenic walk after dinner is always a must.
No. 9 Park
9 Park Street; 617-742-9991; www.no9park.com) on Beacon Hill.
Merengue (Dominican)
156 Blue Hill Avenue; 617-445-5403 cannot be beat. Be cautious of the area, but once you step inside, you will be blown away! The décor is extremely authentic. The food is amazing and very inexpensive.
INMAN SQUARE, CAMBRIDGE:
Oleana, 134 Hampshire Street, Cambridge; (617) 661-0505. Dinner only. Open daily. T-stop: Central Square (Red Line). $60 a person.
SOUTH END:
Franklin Cafe, 278 Shawmut Avenue; (617) 350-0010. Dinner only until 1:30 a.m. Open daily. No reservations. T-stop: Back Bay (Orange Line). $28 a person.
NORTH END:
Carmen, 33 North Square; (617) 742-6421. Dinner only in winter (lunch in spring and summer). Closed Mondays in winter. T-stop: Haymarket (Green and Orange Lines). $45 a person.
BEACON HILL:
No. 9 Park, 9 Park Street; (617) 742-9991. Closed Saturday lunch and Sunday. T-stop: Park Street (Green and Red Lines). $60 a person in the dining room.