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All the Best of Boston 2025 Food Winners

Here’s a look at the restaurant honorees—and some other food- and drink-related businesses—for this year’s awards.

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Photograph by Nina Gallant. Styling by Madison Trapkin.

Best of Boston research takes many forms. Some is solitary and finds a Boston staffer, for instance, hunched over their kitchen scale, taking a picture of the weight of a giant sandwich in case our fact-checkers questioned the assertion that it was two (glorious) pounds. Or, going on a solo chowder crawl, a mistake one of us made in 2023 (and has not repeated since).But the best research outings are social: calling up colleagues to meet for lobster rolls for lunch and giant cookies for a snack (er, let’s call those lunch #2). Celebrating special occasions with loved ones at truly special spots and introducing them to the adventure of waiting in line for a coveted bar seat. Getting a crash-course in foraging on a stroll through the woods with a chef and photo crew.

But the social aspect of dining also steers the process: Where are you going to want to celebrate occasions both special and everyday with your favorite crew? What’s an ideal lunch with coworkers or an after-work drink spot? What’s a neighborhood go-to for a family dinner or a date night?

Accordingly, this project is a big team effort, and one that happens year-round, really, aside from a flurry of visits and revisits near the date when we finalize the list. To ensure we’re covering the broadest swath of cuisines, neighborhoods, and dishes, we enlist staffers across departments, and trusted longtime contributors, to scout and test and taste. We switch up the categories year after year to keep things fresh and reflect current trends—so if you didn’t see some of your favorite categories this year, don’t worry; they might come back another year.

You can find our main Best of Boston dining categories here, 70+ award-winning restaurants in and near Boston. But our annual awards also touch on food and food-adjacent topics in some of our other sections (Shopping, Kids, etc.), so we’ve compiled all the food-related winners from this year’s Best of Boston below.

Best of Boston 2025: All the Winners

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Environment, Occasion, or Type of Meal

Looking for an elaborate omakase meal, good tunes and good drinks, or luxurious caviar service? Find those in this category, and more.

Row 34. / Photograph by Joe St. Pierre. Styling by Madison Trapkin.

Favorite Dishes

A few classics and a few newer faves—here’s where to find the hottest chicken, the most over-the-top sandwich, the juiciest burger, and more.

Hot Chix Boston. / Photograph by Joe St. Pierre. Styling by Madison Trapkin.

Sweet Treats

Save room for dessert.

Chocolate Therapy. / Photograph by Joe St. Pierre. Styling by Madison Trapkin.

Best of the New

Highlighting the best spots that opened within the past year(ish).

Overhead view of a table full of upscale Greek dishes, mostly seafood, with various condiments and cocktails.

Kaia. / Photo by Birch Thomas

Neighborhood Favorites

The type of spot where you want to cozy up a couple nights a week if you live nearby. (We include a rotating selection of neighborhoods each year, so if you don’t see yours, stay tuned for 2026.)

Fuchun Ju. / Photograph by Nina Gallant. Styling by Madison Trapkin.

World Cuisines

Take a trip around the globe without leaving the city.

Ssaanjh. / Photograph by Joe St. Pierre. Styling by Madison Trapkin.

Beyond Boston

Road-trip-worthy destinations farther from the city.

XOXO Sushi. / Photo by Joe St. Pierre

Restaurant-Adjacent

Some of our favorite food-or-drink-ish winners from the non-restaurant sections of Best of Boston, from a romance bookstore/wine bar to food-filled outdoor markets. 

Lovestruck Books. / Courtesy photo

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