Boston has spent years trying to convince the rest of the country it’s more than lobster rolls, red sauce and business-lunch steakhouse lighting. And, now, it has a shiny new receipt: Condé Nast Traveler has put Boston on its global “best places to eat in 2026” list, a roundup of destinations worth building a trip around if your vacation planning starts with restaurant reservations.
The magazine’s pitch is simple: Boston’s food scene isn’t just “good for New England” anymore—it’s getting genuinely broad, with more neighborhoods driving the story. Condé Nast Traveler points to the Seaport as a major engine, where big-name openings and viral newcomers are stacking up alongside waterfront mainstays. One buzzy headline: Danny Meyer’s Italian concept Ci Siamo is slated to open its first location outside Manhattan here in 2026.
But the list’s more interesting Boston take is that the moment isn’t confined to the postcard parts of town. It calls out the South End’s Kaia, a coastal Greek spot that already landed on Condé Nast Traveler’s 2025 Hot List, as an example of how the city’s “seafood-only reputation” is getting rewritten.
There are also local groups making Boston feel less like a “one big downtown” dining city and more like a patchwork of pockets you actually want to chase: the guide highlights BCB3’s trio of Somaek, Sushi @ Temple Records and Zurito as part of the energy pushing beyond the usual greatest hits.
If you haven’t been back since your last Fenway weekend or you last ate in the North End, 2026 might be the year Boston finally lures you with a different kind of itinerary—one that’s less chowder-and-commons, more “pick a neighborhood and eat like you live there.”
Here’s the full slate of food destinations Condé Nast Traveler says are worth planning an entire trip around in 2026:
- Boston
- Crete, Greece
- Fès, Morocco
- Hong Kong
- Medellín, Colombia
- Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Parramatta (Sydney), Australia
- Patan, Nepal
- Prince Edward County, Canada
- Seville, Spain