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Merengue Restaurant is a Dominican restaurant at 156-160 Blue Hill Avenue in Roxbury that has served Boston since 1994. It is a casual, family-style dining room, not a fine-dining one, known for mofongo, fried pork chops, chicharron de pollo and seafood rice, and it also runs a large catering business with its own events room.
Here is what to order, what it costs, when it is open and how it compares with Boston's other Dominican kitchens.
What kind of restaurant is Merengue?
Merengue opened in 1994 to bring a sit-down Dominican restaurant to Boston's growing Latino community, and it still describes itself as offering a Dominican dining experience. Boston Magazine named it Best Neighborhood Restaurant in Roxbury in 2017 and singled out its tropical-colored dining room and its tostones. It is a place for a big plate and a batido at lunch or an easy family dinner, and it is just as busy with takeout and delivery as with tables.
What to order at Merengue
The restaurant's own online menu is organized the way a Dominican kitchen thinks: mofongos, meats, fish, seafood and sides.
- Mofongo: mashed fried green plantain with garlic, offered with pork or chicken. The Chimifongo Burger is the house twist.
- De la tierra: chofan (Dominican fried rice), Bistec Merengue, fried pork chops and chicharron de pollo, crisp fried chicken pieces.
- Fish and seafood: red snapper fillet, Pescado Boca Chica (a whole fried fish), shrimp in sauce, lobster rice and seafood paella.
- Sides: tostones (twice-fried green plantain) and white rice with beans.
- Drinks and dessert: fruit batidos, mojitos and a house margarita; flan, tres leches and choco flan.
Its Instagram also features a mangu bowl, the mashed-plantain dish Dominicans eat at breakfast.
How much does Merengue cost?
| Dish | Price on the restaurant menu |
|---|---|
| Mofongo with pork or chicken | $10 |
| Chicharron de pollo | $16 |
| Bistec Merengue | $17 |
| Lobster rice | $27 |
| Seafood paella | $28 |
| Pescado Boca Chica | $30 |
| Tostones | $3.50 |
| Flan or tres leches | $5 |
Prices are from the menu on Merengue's website. Delivery-app prices are noticeably higher (seafood paella was $39 on Uber Eats), so confirm in person or by phone.
Hours, reservations and catering
Google lists Merengue as open every day from 10 a.m. to 8:50 p.m. Reservations go through a form on the restaurant website or by phone at (617) 445-5403. The catering side has more than ten years of events behind it, from office lunches to galas, and a separate room, Sofia's Room, with its own catering menu, which makes Merengue a practical choice for a group dinner or a family celebration.
Where is Merengue, and how do I get there?
Blue Hill Avenue is in Roxbury, a neighborhood of the City of Boston south of the South End. The restaurant gives its address as 160 Blue Hill Avenue; Google maps it at 156. Nubian station, the Silver Line and bus hub, is the nearest MBTA connection; from downtown most visitors take a rideshare or use the MBTA trip planner for the bus leg.
Other Dominican restaurants in Boston
- La Parada Dominican Kitchen, 3094 Washington St in Egleston Square, where Roxbury meets Jamaica Plain: counter service and takeout, Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Mangu Dominican Bistro, 264 Hyde Park Ave: opens at 8 a.m. (9 a.m. Sunday) for a Dominican breakfast of mangu tres golpes, mashed plantain with eggs, salami and fried cheese.
For Latin American cooking in another part of the city, see the best restaurants in East Boston. For more ideas, try finding good Boston restaurants near you and 10 things to eat in Boston.
Sources: Merengue Restaurant about, menu and home page; Boston Magazine Best of Boston 2017; La Parada Dominican Kitchen; Mangu Dominican Bistro; Google Places hours and status. Checked October 1, 2026.