In the digital age of food, secrets are few: social media documents every inch of every restaurant; Online reviews describe each dish. But there’s still a secret or two to be unraveled, and we asked some of this year’s top 50 restaurants to divulge the details. Read on to learn more about off-menu items, best entry times, and reasons why you should head to Brookline’s Mahaniyom for your next special occasion.
Harissa barbecue duck shish kebab at Sarma, a menu staple among a wide range of ever-changing seasonal specials. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Sarma
The secret: Yes, you can really get a place.
Chef/Owner Cassie Piuma shares three secrets of the No. 1 restaurant on this year’s list. Perhaps most importantly for this hard-to-reserve hotspot, “8:30 p.m. is the magic time” to snag a seat at the bar, says Piuma. And while you’re sitting at this bar, you might feel like sipping on one of the restaurant’s early drinks, the fan-favorite Cardamom Ginger Elettaria. “Our cocktails have come a long way, but if you want an Elettaria, we’ll make one upon request.” Have you ever wondered how Piuma and the team make Sarma’s vegetables taste so irresistible, so… meaty? That’s thanks to Sugar Bob’s Vermont smoked maple syrup, she says, which gives it a bacon-like flavor.
249 Pearl St., Somerville, 617-764-4464, sarmarestaurant.com.
Horiatiko Psomi from Bar Vlaha, homemade village-style sourdough bread. / Photo by Birch Thomas
At least Vlaha
The secret: You can take home a whole loaf of bread.
The Greek restaurant pays homage to the rustic cuisine of the nomadic Vlach people, from charcoal-grilled meats to freshwater fish dishes. The best way to start a meal? One or two slices of horiatiko psomi, freshly baked village-style sourdough, spread with sheep’s butter and sea salt. Best way to end a meal? Take a whole loaf home with you for later. The restaurant’s top secret is that there are whole loaves available for takeout daily, says Brendan Pelley, culinary director of Xenia Greek Hospitality. The secret is revealed.
1653 Beacon St., Brookline, 617-906-8556, barvlaha.com.
Duck in Urban Hearth. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Urban hearth
The secret: You can open any wine bottle if you commit to two glasses.
At this local favorite, light drink lovers aren’t limited to the selection by the glass. The restaurant opens “pretty much every bottle on our expanded list,” as long as you opt for two glasses, says chef/owner Erin Miller. “It’s a beautifully curated wine list.” Bonus secret: When you make a reservation, ask for table 6 or 7 for a cozy corner (or to annoy a teenager within earshot).
2263 Massachusetts Ave., North Cambridge, 617-682-7295, urbanhearth.net.
Brassica Kitchen + Café
The secret: There’s a fancy Big Mac, iykyk.
This quirky JP restaurant – which recently moved to a larger, fancier space next door – is hard to define; Think: a little Italian, a little Japanese, but with French roots and a big focus on fermentation and upcycling. Easier to define? How delicious the off-menu burger is. “It’s been about 20 years trying to create a Big Mac from scratch,” says co-chef and co-owner Jeremy Kean, “using gorgeous Wagyu and other ingredients as fine as we can.” There are only about 10 per night, usually taken up by experienced regulars. So get there early if you want one. “We never advertise it; it’s never on the menu. If you know it, you know it.”
3712 Washington St., Jamaica Plain, Boston, 617-477-4519, Brassicakitchen.com.
Don’t miss Mahaniyom’s eye-catching bathroom. / Free photo
Mahaniyom
The secret: Tequila!
Except we serve some of them the best Thai food Around town, this lively Brookline restaurant is known for its hospitality (and—bonus secret—a super-cool blacklight-responsive bathroom mural). “We give our guests a very warm welcome,” says co-owner Chompon “Boong” Boonnak, “so our secret is: If you’re celebrating something with us, we’re happy to bring it with you.” [you] Shots. A shot of tequila is my favorite.”
236 Washington St., Brookline, 617-487-5986, mahaniyomboston.com.
Le Madeline. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
But Madeline
The secret: There is always soup.
This Quincy favorite for modern Vietnamese is a recent reinvention of Pho Linh, which was more of a traditional Vietnamese noodle shop. Old menu favorites – a wide selection of phở and rice dishes – still take center stage at lunch, while Lê Madeline’s new-school approach takes center stage in the evening. But, says chef and co-founder Peter Nguyen, you can always order the soups and rice plates for dinner, even if they aren’t on the menu. (“It’s the perfect time of year for soups,” he adds.) One more thing: You can add bone marrow to any soup, “which is a great combination.”
409 Hancock St., Quincy, lemadeline.com.
Baleias Cataplana, a braised pork and seafood stew. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
whale
The secret: A tasting menu that is hardly known.
The South End’s Italian gem, SRV, is known for its Arsenale tasting menu — one of the city’s cheapest at $67 per person — but fewer people know that its trendy younger brother Baleia, which serves Portuguese-inspired dishes, also has a tasting menu. Try the Explorer ($70/person) for “a kind of tasting or whim of the chef,” which includes surprises beyond the a la carte menu, says chef Andrew Hebert.
264 E. Berkeley St., South End, Boston, baleiaboston.com.
Grill 23 Brandt Beef Steaks, ready to cook at home. / Photo by Isabel Lopiano
Grill 23 & Bar
The secret: DIY steak dinner at home.
Want luxurious beef in the privacy of your own home? You can buy uncooked steaks at Grill 23, says chef Ryan Marcoux, and show your date your kitchen talents. The restaurant includes flavored beef butter with your order. For those less interested in food, there’s another secret: The venerable steakhouse only serves “a fabulous burger” at the bar, says Marcoux. A perfect combination for Grill 23’s TikTok-famous, ultra-icy martini.
161 Berkeley St., Back Bay, Boston, grill23.com.
Next to Puritan & Company, Puritan Oyster Bar offers Japanese-style caviar cones with egg salad—along with half-price oysters if you go early. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Puritans & Corporations
The secret: A mini food crawl.
Take advantage of the proximity of two Cambridge Street Hospitality locations, says Jared Sadoian, the group’s operations manager: Puritan & Company’s cozy little seafood sibling is right next door. “Come to Puritan Oyster Bar from 5 to 6 p.m. and enjoy half-price oysters [available daily] before we settle down to dinner in the Puritan & Company dining room.”
1164-1166 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge, 617-615-6195, puritancambridge.com.
Moona in Inman Square. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Really
The secret: This room has history.
This romantic Eastern Mediterranean restaurant will launch a larger spinoff elsewhere in Cambridge later this year, but the small original Inman Square location is in a restaurant space with historic bones. “In the early 1950s, the original Legal Sea Foods fish market was open in the building next door [to where we are]“says Moona owner Mohamad El Zein, “and his commissioner was in the building we are currently in.” Founder George Berkowitz owned both buildings and later sold the building that currently houses Moona to the owners of Rosie’s Bakery, which operated there for nearly 40 years before closing in 2015. Rosie’s owners Judy Rosenberg and Eliot Winograd then rented the space to the Bronwyn team – who briefly opened a Balkan-inspired sandwich shop Playska – and eventually to Moona, which opened in 2016.
243 Hampshire St., Inman Square, Cambridge, 617-945-7448, moonarestaurant.com.
Saltie Girl’s warm lobster roll. / Free photo
Saltie girl
The secret: They sell a lot of lobsta.
It takes a lot of lobster to satisfy seafood fans with Saltie Girl’s popular lobster rolls—hot with butter, cold with mayo, and a fried, spicy collaboration with sauce brand Fly by Jing that’s reminiscent of the restaurant’s award-winning off-menu fried roll that we fell in love with last year. Saltie Girl goes through 1,500 pounds of lobster meat per week, says owner Kathy Sidell. “That’s the equivalent of 5,000 lobster rolls we sell per week.”
279 Dartmouth St., Back Bay, Boston, 617-267-0691, saltiegirl.com.
Abe & Louies
Another lobster secret: Get the Lobster Macaroni and Cheese Stuffed Lobster.
Not in the mood for steak at this popular neighborhood steakhouse? Shellfish fans have been going off-menu lately and ordering a decadent stuffed lobster—with a lobster macaroni and cheese filling, says chef Mark Marciano.
793 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston, 617-536-6300, abeandlouies.com.
Pagu’s spicy biang biang noodles. / Photo by Tracy Chang
Page
The secret: Noodles!
Pagu’s spicy, hand-pulled biang biang noodles are on the secret menu if you ask, says chef and owner Tracy Chang. “It was a popular dish that we made [regular] There was one menu item during the coronavirus crisis, but demand was so high that we would have had to close the shop and only offer hand-pulled noodles to keep up with demand.” (Want to make them at home? Pagu offers classes. “We had children as young as five learning to jump rope with noodles, and grandmas making noodles up to a meter long,” says Chang.)
310 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge, gopagu.com.
Related
