15 most Michelin star-worthy restaurants in Boston

Tim and Nancy Cushman’s Japanese spot has pretty much always topped the charts here in Boston. With table seating for around 20, its intimate size and unassuming decor allow the menu to pull off all the pomp and circumstance. The hours-long omakase experience changes nightly and is a 20-course display of breath-taking flavor and presentation. Every morsel is a delectable work of art—from foie gras nigiri to big fin squid, Suzuki sea bass to day boat scallops.

When you walk into Mamma Maria you get a tingling sensation that you have mistakenly entered someone’s luxuriously historic home, which is just the feeling you experience at so many little trattorias in London or Paris with a Michelin Star. Mamma Maria is one of Boston’s truly fine dining establishments and you will realize why they are a notch above the rest as soon as you take your first bite. Everything is made from scratch and prepared with precision. Also, the wine list impresses.

What was once a tucked-away sashimi bar has blossomed into a 100-seat izayaka, where you can now pair your nigiri with wok-roasted lobster, tempura squash blossoms and wagyu beef dumplings. The sushi is still a must, including A5 wagyu sirloin nigiri and the famous Uni Spoon—an unami bomb of applewood smoked uni sitting sidecar to ossetra caviar and a quail egg—along with the still-incredible sashimi offerings that began Boston’s love affair with Uni.

This Somerville eatery is known for small plates modeled after menus from the traditional meyhanes of Turkey. Among the 40 or so choices on the menu, you might find hanger steak gyro, sumac-crusted squash blossoms, loaded lentil nachos, fava bean paté, or fluke sarma stuffed with fennel. The dishes and ingredients change seasonally, but the upbeat vibe never wavers.

Amar is the fine dining restaurant at the newly opened Raffles Boston. Overlooking the Back Bay, Chef George Mendes’ signature restaurant brings Portuguese cuisine to town in a luxe light. The tasting menu guides diners through the Portuguese countryside in the best way, with superb wine pairings that could go toe-to-toe with any Michelin starred meal in another city. 

Chef Peter Ungár's culinary talents bring foodies out to a hidden corner of Somerville. Ungár previously worked in the kitchen of the late, lauded Aujourd'hui, as well as in Paris, and is unafraid to push the envelope across all courses of his tasting menus. Creative dishes are prepped in front of the 20-seat, U-shaped counter framing the kitchen, for a “dining as theater” vibe. Their two-hour, nine-course dinner full of seasonal dishes is quite a showstopper.

Spanish for “oyster,” chef/owner Jamie Mammano's fish-focused Mediterranean restaurant in Park Square is an enthusiastic nod to the bounty of the sea. Top quality branzino, sea bream, Spanish octopus and monkfish—some flown in from the Mediterranean—are smartly prepared, while the paella “Valenciana Style” is a playground for all sorts of underwater creatures. Its extensive raw bar, crudo and caviar service is a highlight. 

Boston supplies waterfront views, while The Farm at Woods Hill  supplies inspiration, responsibly raised meats and poultry, and produce for this pasture-to-plate eatery. Located in the former gone-but-not-forgotten Anthony’s Pier 4, this place impresses, with Chef Charlie Foster creating masterpieces like dry aged duck breast, grass fed hanger steak and line-caught striped bass (when in season). Homemade pasta is comforting, while caviar service makes you feel like royalty. 

Chef Alex Crabb (of Noma and L’Espalier), offers a tasting-menu-only format at Asta that challenges what we all expect here in Boston. The funky dishes combined with the relaxed atmosphere give Asta the feeling of a trendy Michelin starred spot in a city like Copenhagen or Amsterdam. And we wouldn’t mind if more of these cool-kid approved spots would pop up in Boston!

With a backdrop of the State House and picturesque Boston Common, James Beard award-winner Barbara Lynch’s flagship restaurant offers a harmonious blend of regionally-inspired Italian and French dishes, served a la carte or as part of a chef's tasting menu. Don't miss one of the city's most famous dishes: pillowy prune-stuffed potato gnocchi with foie gras, which The New York Times once called "a no-holds-barred spectacle."

Chefs Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette recently added an Italian-inspired restaurant to their fantastic local line-up (Coppa, Toro, Little Donkey), and we’re so glad they did. The seafood inspired menu utilizes fresh ingredients, including in-season produce from the Copley Square Farmers Market. The spacious Back Bay restaurant serves coastal delights including a half dozen crudos, grilled Scituate lobster and an excellent selection of spritzes.

Toro really hasn’t changed much in the decade-plus since it opened, blowing the roof off of Boston’s South End with its Barcelona-inspired tapas. The rustic cubbyhole of a storefront that it occupies is as jam-packed and convivial as ever with revelers passing porróns of Cava around; day-one staples like their legendary grilled street corn, paella and quince-glazed duck drumsticks are still capturing the hearts of every tapas virgin who wanders in.

Since 1975, this refined Harvard Square stalwart has been on the forefront of local farm-to-table dining. Its elegant, seasonal menu even earned a place in the heart of former Cambridge resident Julia Child. The kitchen personifies a sophisticated approach to New England cuisine; locally-sourced seafood and meats, plus homemade pastas, are all meticulously and imaginatively prepared. The environs match the seasons, offering both an expansive outdoor patio and a roaring indoor fire.

Never mind sitting elbow-to-elbow with your neighbor at this shoebox of an enoteca set on a quiet South End street. The unique charcuterie program, robust pastas and small-plate bar snacks make this cozy nook worth the tight squeeze. Their famous wood-fired pizzas go beyond basic, with combos including bone marrow with roasted corn and spicy Calabrian sausage with roasted cauliflower.

Owner-chef Robert Harris has changed up the Season to Taste experience, introducing a more casual, accessible approach with comforting dishes such as chicken wings, buttermilk biscuits, lobster rolls and housemade pastas.