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New and exciting restaurants to check out, plus good reasons to visit older spots.
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Xiao long bao at Zhu, with crispy shrimp toast in the background. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
November is for soup dumplings and hand-pulled noodles: Luckily we’ve got several recent openings specializing in each. (Perfect for cold weather, but just as good for these eerily warm 70-degree days.) We’re back with our monthly where-to-eat guide: new restaurant openings, expansions and revamps of existing businesses, and a couple upcoming debuts we’re watching closely. This month’s list includes a cozy Irish pub, pretty pastries, several exciting Chinese restaurants, and more. (Check out last month’s guide here.)
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Also, check out recently updated guides: Top 50 restaurants in Boston | Top new restaurants in Boston | (Allegedly) haunted restaurants around Boston | Cider doughnuts | Clam chowder | Harvard Square restaurants | Martha’s Vineyard restaurants | Pumpkin patches | Salem restaurants
New Restaurants to Try This Month
Recent (or imminent) openings to check out.
Black Bamboo (West End)
Canal Street has a new, uh, “eat-tertainment” venue: part sushi bar and Asian fusion restaurant, part bar and lounge, a short walk from TD Garden. Pregame with Korean fried chicken wings and mango sticky rice cocktails; celebrate a win with wagyu-and-uni handrolls topped with caviar and gold flakes. (Sushi fans, take note: Black Bamboo’s kitchen team comes from the recently closed South End stalwart Oishii.)
57 Canal St., West End, Boston, 617-668-6088, blackbambooboston.com.
First Crush. / Photo by Ling Zi
First Crush (Somerville)
The latest pop-up-to-brick-and-mortar success story, Gabrielle Malina’s wine-focused event series has evolved into a Union Square wine bar. Watch for wines from the Iberian Peninsula and beyond; wine-friendly snacks, like cheeseboards, tinned fish, and olives; and vinyl nights.
259 Washington St., Union Square, Somerville, firstcrushboston.com.
The Moseley’s cavatelli Bolognese. / Photo by Michael Piazza
The Moseley (Downtown)
Head up, up, up to the ninth floor of the shiny new tower above South Station for something quite a bit nicer than your usual train station grab-and-go dining. This full-service restaurant invites lingering before your trip over lobster rolls, piri piri chicken, cavatelli Bolognese, and wine.
682 Atlantic Ave., 9th floor, Downtown Boston, the-moseley.com.
Saint Brigid’s Well (Somerville)
Nature is healing: Magoun Square has a saloon and a pub once again, following the 2021 closure of Dark Horse Public House. Irish pub Saint Brigid’s Well is now open in the former Daddy Jones space across from Olde Magoun’s Saloon, and the Irish-Chinese spice bag—crispy chicken, pepper, and onions in curry spices—is already proving popular. We can’t wait to see what the staff does with the expansive patio space come spring.
525 Medford St., Magoun Square, Somerville, stbrigidswellpub.com.
Xi’an Cool Noodle (Cambridge)
One of two recent openings spotlighting Northwestern Chinese cuisine—see also: Xi’an Famous Foods below—Xi’an Cool Noodle features liangpi (cold skin noodles) and thick, hand-pulled biangbiang noodles with garlic and chili. The restaurant also touts its house-made, 3o-ingredient chili oil and rou jia mo, flatbread sandwiches stuffed with braised pork. Find it inside the Lesley University Porter Exchange building in the former Yume Ga Arukara space. (Yume has since moved to a bigger space at the front of the same building.)
1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge, xiancoolnoodlema.com.
Wu Li Xiang (Cambridge)
Meanwhile in Central Square, Shanghai cuisine stars at a new spot focused on xiao long bao (soup dumplings). Wu Li Xiang’s concise menu also includes a handful of other items, including pork-and-bamboo soup, chili oil shrimp wontons, and rice ball soup for dessert.
411 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge, 857-999-2211, instagram.com/wulixiang.cambridge.
Zhu (Back Bay)
For soup dumpling fans on the other side of the river, the swanky, two-story Zhu awaits with truffle-and-Berkshire-pork-stuffed xiao long bao, apple char siu puffs, and crispy shrimp toast. Also: dessert dumplings (chocolate mochi or lava custard). Aside from the spiral staircase—and even that was completely redone—you’d never know this was the longtime Lir space, with the cozy Irish pub vibes replaced with a decidedly modern, date-night ambience.
903 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston, 617-888-2388, instagram.com/zhuboston.
New Locations of Familiar Restaurants
Expansions and moves.
A selection of Ciao! pizzas at the Somerville location. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Local Favorites
Pizza fans, good news times three: Ciao! Pizza and Pasta, the Chelsea-born Neapolitan-style pizzeria whose Somerville expansion won a 2024 Best of Boston award, has expanded again, this time to Lynn (41 Sutton St.). Try the salsiccia, with house-made fennel sausage and cherry peppers. Plus, two pizza pop-ups have put down roots. Scrappie’s Pizzeria, a sustainability project using leftover bread from local restaurants in its pizza dough, opened a Beacon Hill brick-and-mortar location (42 Charles St.). Doors open at 4:30 (pies topped with ample parm come out of the oven 5 to 9 p.m. or sell-out) Wednesday through Sunday. And the Old Friend pop-up—slow-fermented, crisp-edged, Detroit-style rectangles—now has a West Roxbury storefront (5272 Washington St.).
Local cafés are expanding, too. Best of Boston bakery Michette, whose tiny original location in Somerville frequently has lines out the door for tasty pastries, has added a bigger sibling in Cambridge’s Inman Square (305 Webster Ave.). We suggest starting with the spanakopita croissant, cardamom bun, and any cookie. Boston’s Caffè Ducali will have a spacious Winchester sibling any day now (959 Main St.), complete with this gorgeous brick oven and room for birthday parties and cooking classes. And French bakery Colette—beloved in Medford, Melrose, and Boston’s South End—has just expanded to Arlington (681 Massachusetts Ave.) with pâtisserie and viennoiserie galore.
The Mushroom Shop & Market—forager Tyler Akabane‘s delightful destination for (culinary) mushrooms, artisanal pantry items, and mushroomy trinkets—has moved from Somerville to Cambridge (484 Cambridge St.). It’s a fun place for fungi lovers to browse, but we’re also big fans of the home-delivery monthly mushroom club.
Spicy cumin lamb hand-ripped noodles at Xi’an Famous Foods in Boston’s Downtown Crossing. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Out-of-Towners
Flushing, New York-born hand-pulled noodle chain Xi’an Famous Foods—endorsed by the late Anthony Bourdain, among other food-world celebs—has finally made its official Boston debut, over 14 years after announcing plans to expand here. (This Downtown Crossing brick-and-mortar location [255 Washington St.] was preceded by a now-closed Roxbury ghost kitchen last year.) The fast-casual spot features ordering kiosks and a large window into the kitchen so diners can watch the noodle-pulling onsite. For your first visit, try the spicy cumin lamb noodles; when you return, venture into the dumpling and burger options.
Cruller alert, courtesy of another New York group: Greater Boston’s third location of famed restaurateur Danny Meyer’s Daily Provisions opens in Back Bay on November 4 (501 Boylston St.). With the opening of its newest all-day café, the company is debuting a Boston cream pie cruller at the three local outposts.
And from warmer climes, another all-day café: Pura Vida Miami opens November 5 in Harvard Square (95 Mount Auburn St.) with avocado toast, froyo, açaí bowls, salads, and more.
Older Restaurants Doing New Things
New services and such.
Celine’s steak frites, steak tartare, half chicken, and Lyonnaise salad. / Photo by Emily Kan
Two new lunch services of note: French-Canadian Fort Point newbie Celine (324 A St.)—from the group behind Baleia, SRV, and more—is now serving weekday lunch (11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.), with weekend brunch on track to start later in November. Dishes include rotisserie chicken croque monsieur, steak frites, and more. And in Brookline, Best of Boston Korean restaurant Iru (238 Washington St.), which specializes in samgyetang, ginseng chicken soup, is now serving lunch Friday through Sunday. The three lunch sets feature samgyetang, bulgogi, or simmered mackerel with rice and seven banchan.
And a new restaurant within an old bar: The South End’s Wink & Nod, a cocktail bar/culinary incubator, has welcomed its latest resident chef. Dandelion, by chef Anthony James, offers coastal French cuisine featuring New England seafood. Think: Maine lobster thermidor, littleneck clams marinière, and grilled whole branzino with citrus-saffron beurre blanc.
Wink & Nod’s newest culinary residency, Dandelion, late 2026. / Courtesy photo
Looking Ahead
Intriguing spots coming soon (or not-so-soon).
A key lime croissant at Niveaux Pâtisserie in Quincy. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Niveaux Pâtisserie (Downtown)
Pastry chef and cookbook author Robert Gonzalez’ destination-worthy Quincy pastry shop is expanding to Boston’s Financial District in 2027. Expect dreamy entremets, croissants, and other sweet treats that meld French and Asian baking techniques. (Fingers crossed that the original location’s tea service with dessert tower is available at the new location, too.)
75 State St., Downtown Boston, niveauxpatisserie.com.
Uchi. / Photo by Shelby Moore
Uchi (Fort Point)
Award-winning chef-restaurateur Tyson Cole is bringing his Austin, Texas-based Japanese fine-dining restaurant Uchi to Boston. The first restaurant in Cole’s now-expansive group Hai Hospitality, Uchi opened in 2003 and now has 10 locations nationwide, with four more in the works, and a variety of sibling concepts. Uchi features a wide range of nigiri, sashimi, and more, including omakase (chef’s tasting menus)—joining Boston’s crowded high-end Japanese seafood scene—and extensive vegetarian options, too.
374 Congress St., Fort Point, Boston, uchi.uchirestaurants.com.
Catch up on other recent restaurant openings:
News
New and exciting restaurants to check out, plus good reasons to visit older spots.
News
New and exciting restaurants to check out, plus good reasons to visit older spots.
News
New and exciting restaurants to check out, plus good reasons to visit older spots.
Guides
New and exciting restaurants to check out, plus good reasons to visit older spots.
Guides
New and exciting restaurants to check out, plus good reasons to visit older spots.
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