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The best East Boston restaurants for a visitor are Santarpio’s Pizza for pizza and grilled skewers, Rino's Place for big-portion Italian (cash only), ReelHouse for a harbor-view meal facing the downtown skyline, MIDA for modern Italian, and the neighborhood's Mexican kitchens, led by Angela's Café and Taquería Jalisco. East Boston is the Boston neighborhood that also holds Logan Airport, and Maverick, its first Blue Line stop, is one stop from downtown's Aquarium station.
Two corrections to older guides, including an earlier version of this page. The Boston Sail Loft is not in East Boston: it is at 80 Atlantic Avenue on the downtown waterfront, across the harbor. And Topacio's old Meridian Street building was badly damaged by fire on June 27, 2023; Google now lists the restaurant open at 88 Chelsea Street, and our Topacio page explains what happened.
East Boston restaurants at a glance
| Restaurant | Food | Address | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santarpio’s Pizza | Pizza and barbecue skewers | 111 Chelsea St | Open daily, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Rino's Place | Italian | 258 Saratoga St | Cash only; afternoon and evening; closed Sunday |
| ReelHouse | Seafood, global menu | 6 New St | Harbor-view patio |
| MIDA East Boston | Italian | 65 Lewis St | Reservations on OpenTable or by phone |
| La Tavernetta by MIDA | Italian | 45 Lewis St | Open late, from 11 a.m. |
| Pazza on Porter | Italian-American | 107 Porter St | Dinner daily; weekend daytime hours |
| Cunard Tavern | American tavern | 24 Orleans St | Roof deck; weekend brunch |
| Angela's Café | Mexican, from Puebla | 131 Lexington St, plus Orient Heights | Open from 8 a.m. |
| Taquería Jalisco | Mexican | 293 Bennington St | Open daily from 10 a.m. |
| Florenza | Roman-style pizza, coffee, gelato | 164 Sumner St | Open from 8 a.m. |
| Kelley Square Pub | Pub food and barbecue | 84 Bennington St | Open until 1 a.m. |
Italian restaurants in East Boston
Rino's Place is the name most people know, thanks to Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and other TV features. It is a small dining room on Saratoga Street that opens at 3 p.m. Monday to Thursday and Saturday and at noon on Friday, serves its dinner menu, and takes cash only. It accepts reservations only for parties of six or more, a few per night; everyone else joins the list, and the whole party must be there to be seated.
MIDA (midarestaurant.com), from chef Douglass Williams, runs its East Boston location on Lewis Street, with reservations through OpenTable or by phone and same-day patio seating. Its sibling La Tavernetta by MIDA is a few doors away at 45 Lewis Street. Pazza on Porter serves Italian-American plates and specials from 4 p.m. on weekdays, and Florenza on Sumner Street is a Roman-style pizzeria and café for coffee, panini and gelato from the morning on.
Pizza and barbecue: Santarpio's
Santarpio’s on Chelsea Street keeps two trades on one short menu: Italian cheese pizzas with classic toppings, and single skewers of lamb, steak tips or chicken grilled and served with a hot cherry pepper and Italian bread. A plain cheese pizza is listed at 16 dollars. It is open every day from 11:30 a.m., which makes it the easiest East Boston meal to fit around a flight.
Waterfront dining: ReelHouse and Cunard Tavern
ReelHouse, in The Eddy apartment building at 6 New Street, is East Boston's waterfront restaurant, with a patio looking across Boston Harbor to the skyline and a New England seafood menu with international flavors. Cunard Tavern on Orleans Street takes its theme from the old East Boston shipyard and the immigrants who arrived there, and adds a roof deck and weekend brunch.
Mexican food in East Boston
East Boston has a large Latin American community, and its taquerias and family restaurants are a big part of the neighborhood's food. Angela’s Café is a family restaurant cooking the food of Puebla, with mole poblano as its specialty, at its Eagle Hill location on Lexington Street and a second in Orient Heights. Taquería Jalisco on Bennington Street opens daily at 10 a.m. for tacos and plates.
Late nights and pubs
Kelley Square Pub on Bennington Street is a neighborhood bar and restaurant with house barbecue and daily specials, open until 1 a.m.
Getting to East Boston restaurants
The Blue Line runs through East Boston with stops at Maverick, Airport, Wood Island and Orient Heights; Maverick is one stop from Aquarium downtown. If you are flying, East Boston is the obvious place to eat before or after: see things to do near Boston Logan Airport and the Hilton Boston Logan Airport for an overnight. Downtown, our list of the oldest restaurants in Boston covers the other side of the harbor.