The best restaurants North of Boston on the North Shore

After a recent menu revamp, Lynn’s favorite noodle bar continues to shine. Chef Rachel Miller offers tasting menus featuring Vietnamese- and French-inspired seafood and noodle dishes. Whether you choose seven, nine, 12 or 14 courses (there’s also a new five-course on Sundays), you’ll be inspired by the menu that changes daily (and on the chef’s whim). The patio recently opened as a clam shack on Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 2 p.m., and you can also take home grab-and-go hot lunches, cold drinks and prepared foods from the adjacent Sin City Superette convenience store.

The creation of Frank McClelland (formerly of L’Espalier fame), this Beverly concept features a full restaurant, bar and market. Open for weekend brunch, lunch and dinner, Frank serves straightforward and purposeful fare specifically made to let local ingredients be the stars of the plate. Apart from the eatery’s seated menu, Frank also boasts a grab-and-go area, where you can purchase baked goods, prepared foods including house-made charcuterie (get the duck prosciutto), specialty provisions like artisanal cheeses, as well as a curated selection of beer and wine.

Since opening in Lynn in 2009, the Blue Ox has been a beloved neighborhood gathering spot - and with good reason. The dishes are elevated comfort, with hearty plates of crispy chicken, hanger steak, and innovative pastas, being sent out. The Sin Burger has won Boston magazine’s “Battle of the Burger” competition, and the Dirty & Hot has made quite a name for itself, with people traveling for this spicy take on a gin martini with Maitland Mountain pickles. Check out the Under $5 Before 5 menu for quick and tasty bites of salmon tartare, wings, fish tacos and more.

Named after the tools that quarrymen would use to cut the abundance of nearby granite, Feather & Wedge pays homage to Rockport’s past while still celebrating its present. This restaurant is all about local ingredients, using them in internationally influenced preparations that range from classical French to Southeast Asian. Its menu changes literally every day depending on the products they’ve secured from local purveyors. Its kitchen is a true culinary standout and, quite honestly, a breath of fresh air amongst the typical tourist traps that pepper Bearskin Neck.

Yella, which has locations in both Andover and Gloucester, is not your average Mediterranean grill. For starters, this restaurant recognizes the perks of being in New England, sourcing its ingredients from local farms and fisheries to craft elevated versions of Mediterranean favorites. Amongst the sophisticated street food coming out Yella’s kitchen: roasted vegetable shakshuka with quinoa, chickpeas, feta and herbs; freshly caught fish with za’atar, sautéed corn and pepper trio, and Kalamata olives; and citrus strawberry shortcake made with a lemon biscuit and orange blossom whipped cream. Snag a seat at its beautifully tiled bar or on its outdoor patio on Gloucester’s waterfront, grab a pita flatbread and wash it down with a glass of wine.

With more seafood-centric dishes on its menu than its Wakefield sister Tonno, Chef Anthony Caturano’s north shore spot relies on only the freshest ingredients and special catches right from the local harbor. Italian for “tuna,” Tonno features the country’s coastal dishes, such as Spicy Octopus "La Plancha,” Spaghetti Fra Diavolo with Shrimp and fish stew, along with traditional landlubber favorites like Chicken Parmigiana and Veal Milanese.  

While some have their sites on another “famous” roast beef on the North Shore, Zeno’s Roast Beef is a worthy destination in Ipswich. This place offers all of your typical roast beef and seafood shop favorites—from pizza rolls and onion rings to kebab salads and fried haddock—but the main attraction here are the hot roast beef sandwiches. Whether you’re going for the Jr. Beef or Super Beef, just be sure to make it a proper bite and go with the three-way (that’s code for getting it with mayo, barbecue sauce and cheese).

Owned and operated by a husband and wife team and situated in the heart of Salem, this understated yet stylish neighborhood spot works magic when it comes to blending French technique with New England ingredients. Its menu embodies both of these rich traditions with a daily selection of dishes that are simultaneously sophisticated (like the French) yet straightforward (like us puritanically rooted Bay Staters). The restaurant prides itself in having a scratch kitchen, which means that pretty much everything that goes onto your plate is made by them in-house, like its fresh pastas and bread. Pair this effortlessly chic food with a glass of wine from its highly curated and impressively Basque-heavy list.

If you’re not from the area, you might walk by this hidden gem without even knowing it. But just look for the colorful sign sporting a calavera skull and you’ll find a bustling bar and family-owned restaurant serving some of the most authentic Mexican street food you’ll find North of the Border. Tacos should be your menu move here. The kitchen stuff incredible house-made tortillas with a variety of traditional fillings—from sauteed cactus to pork that’s been slowly smoked in banana leaves. Live music every Friday and Saturday night, karaoke nights and wicked heavy pours in their margaritas push this Day of the Dead-decorated eatery over the top.

Located right on the Essex River, this place is a real… well, pearl when it comes to the Cape Ann food scene. Its stunning views of the water and marshes are only upstaged by the plates of local food coming out of the kitchen. Because the chefs locally source their ingredients, the menus change to reflect each season—while still maintaining a few year-round dishes like its lauded chowder (it’s made with pork belly and topped with crispy clam strips) and house-smoked barbecue. If you can’t snag a table during the busy season, grab a dozen oysters and daily drink special at the bar, where seating is first come, first served. 

This family-run bakery and sandwich shop has been a Gloucester treasure since it opened in 1961. From its small Main Street storefront, you can grab freshly baked breads, specialty groceries and slices of pizza (regular or sheet pan style). But the real move here is to order one of its sandwiches favored by the local Sicilian community, like its West Ender or Mudiga Steak Bomb. Go full “Glostah” and get the Saint Joseph sandwich, named after the store’s signature roll. Don’t take it just from us—take it from George Clooney, who was a Virgilio’s regular while filming The Perfect Storm.

People make pilgrimages all the way up to this Byfield joint because of its absolutely insane barbecue. Obviously, this place does an impeccable job with all of the pit classics—from tender St. Louis ribs to beautifully caramelized burnt ends. But it also takes a little poetic license when it comes to serving slow-cooked meats. Its menu features barbecue-heavy twists on North Shore staples (i.e. a brisket bomb sub and smoked super beef three-way sandwich) as well as crazy carnivore creations like a smoked pork belly melt and a smoked meatloaf sandwich. Check out its Instagram page for daily blackboard specials before you go and make a point to get there on Thursday, when the kitchen piles all of the meats atop platters of nachos.

This laid-back, brick-walled joint is worth the trip up to Winthrop. Blackstrap slowly smokes all of its many meats onsite using local hard wood from Tuggy's. Beyond its many pit specialties—from Memphis Dry Rub Ribs to brisket burnt ends—this place also offers hearty accompaniments like roadhouse chili, ginger scallion lo mein and a LaDude Pretzel, as well as boozy adult milkshakes. Other ways to enjoy its super tender proteins: atop its barbecue fries and nachos. The weekly menu specials give the kitchen a chance to play and create food outside the BBQ box like fried chicken and most Saturdays cues up live, local bands after 9 p.m.

Ledger has quite the presence in Downtown Salem, thanks to its location within the stunning old Salem Savings Bank building that dates back to the early 1800s. This restaurant’s interior alone—with its stately central bar, bank robber-themed artwork and antique vault door—earns it a spot on this list. But its menu is also bewitching, crammed with elevated American classics that marry old school New England ingredients with modern culinary techniques. What we love most about Ledger is that it isn’t afraid to have fun, serving everything from mystery mimosas and creative donuts during brunch, to upscale fast food favorites as entrees.

J.T. Farnham’s has some of the best fried clams on Cape Ann, and that’s saying a lot because Essex is famous for these battered babies. Often overshadowed by a certain other seafood spot down the street, Farnham’s is a quaint little shack usually crammed with locals, who grab trays of clam chowder, steamed lobsters and fried clams. This no-frills place has ample picnic table seating right beside the river, so guests can take in those marsh views as they feast upon its bounty.