Start with the mini caviar roll here stuffed with crème fraîche, or the caviar dip, also with crème fraîche and served with housemade potato chips. Of course there are seafood towers—three, depending on your appetite and bank account. The fried lobster and waffle topped with a sweet corn butter sounds like it was built for TikTok, but it’s so good you’ll wonder why lobster isn’t always paired with waffles. They also do New England basics really well, serving one of Boston's best lobster rolls.

This is where you’ll find the best Italian American seafood in the city, with pasta and sauces made fresh daily and seafood that was probably plucked from the ocean the morning of your visit. There’s almost always a wait, but try to walk in on a weeknight (they don't take reservations) and grab a tiny table next to the hot and busy kitchen. Get the aglio olio with squid ink pasta, ground calamari, and anchovy, and don’t plan on doing anything but going to bed afterward.

Ask enough people, and you’ll start to realize this colorful Winter Hill Mediterranean spot is everyone’s favorite restaurant in Boston. And it only takes one visit to realize that the people might be onto something. This is one of the longest menus in Boston, but ironically, you’ll be thrilled with just a few of the Middle Eastern small plates that punch you in the face with flavor.

Greek food is having a moment in the Boston area, and Bar Vlaha is the best example of the cuisine done exactly right. The food is all about super shareable dishes from the mountain regions of Greece: think pork and fennel sausage, whipped feta aloifes, and flatbread-style pitas topped with fresh cheeses and smoky meats. It’s one of the toughest reservations to get in town, unless you show up right at 5pm on a Wednesday (and even that’s iffy).

Celeste is quite possibly the most fun restaurant in Somerville. Head here with a date or even a double-date (more people, more sharing) for ceviche that’s been marinated in the Peruvian-style leche de tigre. Get the mixed seafood ceviche (blue cod, shrimp, and squid) and a glossy lomo saltado with perfectly cooked steak and softball-sized onion slices. Top it off with a purple pisco drink while you watch the flames dancing from the fast-moving pans in the kitchen.

If you’ve ever wanted to blow your whole paycheck in one night (first off, please get a financial advisor), or you have access to a corporate credit card, you’re not going to do much better than this Leather District sushi restaurant. Expect lots of over-the-top touches of truffles, caviar, and gold leaf to go with perfect cuts of fish. The $295, 20-course omakase menu will be an exceptionally memorable meal.

Boston is proud of its Irish pubs, but we’re aware it might seem wild to put one on a list of best restaurants. Let us explain. You won’t find mozzarella sticks on the menu at The Dubliner, but you will find what’s quite possibly the best pot pies, scotch eggs, housemade soda bread, and Irish stew this side of the Atlantic. The space works for big groups or dining alone at the bar (with a perfectly poured Guinness, of course) and they have live music on the weekends.

Every city should have an old-school steakhouse with incredible service, great prime-aged steak, and perfect highball cocktails. Grill 23 is that spot in Boston. They’ve been open since 1983, serving up martinis speckled with chunks of ice, overflowing seafood towers, and steaks aged and cooked to perfection. One of the best things we put in our mouth this past year was the grade A5 wagyu striploin, but the 14-ounce prime New York steak isn’t shabby either.

Since opening in the Seaport in 2018, Chickadee’s seasonal, Mediterranean-leaning menu and expansive industrial-chic space have been a hit with locals and people visiting the area. This big, noisy spot (shoutout to whoever creates the playlists) sits in a design center with major cool kid vibes and menu mainstays like chickpea panisse fries, fresh baked pita and spreads (consider this a love note to the feta pimiento), and labneh-ranch dressed fried chicken that keeps us coming back.

At Woods Hill Pier 4, the food and harbor views will constantly battle for your attention. This is a good thing, because both are excellent. We love the smoky adelita margarita, the Cubano with ham and pork shoulder confit on the butteriest baguette, and any towering shellfish platter that comes, naturally, with Old Bay aioli. Go for brunch on a sunny day to sit in a comfy booth, gaze out the floor-to-ceiling windows, and try the lobster popover (possibly the fanciest lobster roll on our list).