My first trip to Boston was in 2015 so I was super excited to go back and re-experience the city. This stop was part of a longer road trip Jackie and I did along the New England Coast, but we had two other friends join us for this leg and we had quite the girls weekend. Below are my recommendations for things to do as well as everywhere we went to eat (and what we ordered!). If you’re looking for more of an itinerary post, check out my Boston Anecdote!
WHERE TO STAY
BOSTON PARK PLAZA // @PARKPLAZABOSTON
Located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, this hotel was a great landing spot for our trip. They just completed a $100 million renovation and it is honestly beautiful and the staff was great. I’d classify it as a mid-priced hotel with rooms being $300ish a night.
For a future trip, I’m dying to stay at the Newbury Boston because all the photos and videos make it look positively dreamy. It’s right across the street from the Public Gardens and also in the Back Bay neighborhood which felt like the most central place to stay (IMO). Other hotel options can be found on this list by Conde Nast Traveler (there are too many good options for me to list!).
I also really love this Local’s Guide to Boston post with a great hotel breakdown!
WHERE TO EAT
BANKS FISH HOUSE // @THEBANKSBOSTON
Our first stop in Boston for lunch, this newly opened Back Bay restaurant did not disappoint. The interior is gorgeous, the staff was on point and all the food was delicious.
We ordered: fried artichokes, unicorn oysters, steamed mussels, lobster roll and chowda flatbread.
406 Stuart St, Boston, MA 02116
Our first dinner was at Bar Mezzana, which came as a recommendation from Claudiane of @nailthecocktail. This South End spot was super lively and the food was really good. I loved all the dips and especially loved the lobster pasta we had!
We ordered: focaccia with peperonata, white bean puree, eggplant w/chili dips; prosciutto; black truffle burrata; orecchiette pasta w/sausage, fennel, radicchio; and the paccheri pasta w/a deshelled one and a quarter pound lobster served with lobster crema, green onion, and tomato.
360 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118
Another Seaport spot, Lolita was the perfect place for a weekend brunch. Again, it was super hot so we ate inside, but the outside patio would be a great place to share a meal with friends. I think this was my second favorite meal of the trip because everything we had was really yummy!
We ordered: guacamole fresco, spicy artichoke empanadas, tuna maracuya, Lolita lobster roll, mushroom quesadilla and broken eggs. For drinks get the Lolita, Diablo and Spicy Cucumber cocktails.
253 Summer St, Boston, MA 02210
We ordered: ricotta, pistachio and oreo
It’s said that Mike’s Pastry tends to be the “tourist” favorite while Modern is the locals favorite so we decided to do a taste test of the two. I have to admit, Mike’s won because the filling had more flavor and the shell was crunchier!
This Back Bay restaurant used to be MET Back Bay (which we went to during our visit in 2015!) but has since turned into a super cute seafood restaurant. I still can’t get over the food here – while we ate at a lot of amazing places, I think this meal was my favorite.
Things you MUST order: steak tartare, snow crab toast, torched salmon belly, warm spicy crab roll and rock crab carbonara. We also had the ginger scallion lobster and coconut cream cake which were good but not amazing like the other dishes.
279 Dartmouth St, Boston, MA 02116
We quickly became obsessed with Tatte (literally went 3 times!) for a few reasons: their cafes are super cute, their coffee & tea is on point and their pastries are delicious. You can also have a light brunch there if you want (there was a little wait on the weekends but I’m sure it’s worth it).
Things to order: the Jerusalem bagel, pistachio donut and a pistachio croissant.
WOOODS HILL PIER 4 // @WOODSHILLPIER4
This restaurant also came as a recommendation from Claudiane and it was the perfect spot for a weekend brunch. I really loved the burger and as weird as it is to recommend two salads, both of them were phenomenal so I couldn’t leave them off the list. It’s in the new Seaport District which was super lively and I loved that it was right on the water. If it hadn’t been so hot it’d be the perfect place to eat outside.
We ordered: the WHP4 burger, salad of mixed green, heirloom tomato salad and the lobster popover
300 Pier 4 Blvd., Boston, MA 02210
WHAT TO DO
There’s no shortage of things to do in Boston, and below is a list to get you started!
- Catch a Red Sox game at Fenway (we did this in 2015 and it was a blast!)
- Explore Cambridge (across the river where Harvard and MIT are – we still didn’t make it on this trip but it will be at the top of my list when I go back!)
- Check out the Boston Public Library courtyard (note it’s closed on Sundays)
- Check out Faneuil Hall Marketplace / Quincy Market, a historic market complex with stores, restaurants and pubs
- Walk the Freedom Trail (it starts at the Massachusetts State House) toward State Street to check out the more historic part of the city. We saw a few walking tours which I’m sure are great, but I was also Googling buildings as we walked and pointed things out which was kinda fun!
- Walk/shop along Newbury Street
- Stroll the Public Gardens and Boston Common
- Walk along the Charles River Esplanade
- Visit the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum
- Get lost in the historic Beacon Hill neighborhood (make sure to visit Acorn Street, the most photographed street in America!)
BUCKETLIST
I would definitely head back to Boston for another weekend trip and if I did, I’d love to check out the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, finally explore Cambridge and get to the Boston Public Library courtyard. The Seaport area also has a few other things to check out like the ICA/Boston, the Lawn on DI also have the following restaurants on my list for the next time I’m there:
- Beehive for Brunch (I went on my first trip to Boston and I remember it being super good!)
- Bootleg Special – seafood and crab boils with Mardi Gras inspired cocktails
- Committee – cocktails and Greek food
- Coppa – charcuterie boards
- Flour bakery (this was on a ton of guide lists and they have a couple locations – one of my IG followers suggested the Kouign-amann)
- Legal Harborside
- Lookout Rooftop
- Mariel – Cuban food and drinks
- Neptune Oyster
- Pammy’s – small plates
- Pink Taco
- Row 34 – oysters and a lobster roll
- Source for pizza
- South End Open Market (also went on my first trip, specifically for a donut stand)
- The Tall Ship Boston and ReelHouse (both in East Boston, ReelHouse has views of the city)
- Yellow Door Taqueria – tacos and margaritas
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