Seven Great Dining Spots for Family & Friends Weekend

No, UBurger, Noodle Street, and Chipotle are not where you will want to bring your family and friends when they visit October 19 to 21 for Family & Friends Weekend.

Those campus favorites are fine, but visitors to Boston deserve to experience the dining mecca that Boston has become, whether it’s New England seafood, a trendy spot in nearby Fenway, or a great dish of pasta from the city’s historic North End. So to help with that, we bring you seven restaurants—all no more than a 15-minute drive from campus and almost all easily accessible on public transportation—that will impress your guests.

1. Neptune Oyster
63 Salem St., Boston, 617-742-3474

If you’re looking for quintessential Boston—fresh, delicious seafood, a historic vibe—you won’t be disappointed by Neptune Oyster. If you have some time to spare, that is. This seafood bar does not take reservations and is perennially packed, so your best bet is to show up two or three hours ahead of your desired dining time, and then spend the wait exploring the surrounding streets of the historic North End. Once you’ve (finally) settled into a seat in the narrow dining room, order the overstuffed lobster roll, a raw bar plateau, and Italian-inspired main dishes like the spicy seafood stew known as cioppino. It’s worth the wait.

2. Branch Line
321 Arsenal St., Watertown, 617-420-1900

Ever so slightly out of the way in Watertown, Branch Line boasts some serious mass appeal. There’s something for everyone here, including an impressive craft beer and cider list, a year-round outdoor patio with bocce, and must-try rotisserie chicken (also be sure to order the snap pea salad). And it’s located in a sleek, sweeping space in Watertown’s historic Arsenal Mall, which is pretty neat, too.

3. SRV
569 Columbus Ave., Boston, 617-536-9500

After earning a business degree from BU, Michael Lombardi (Questrom’08) discovered another passion: Italian cooking. Now, as partner and co-chef at South End hot spot SRV, he draws on his skills in both areas to help keep the restaurant’s Venetian-inspired dishes cranking out of the kitchen night after night. Try the one-bite cicchetti snacks, like toothpick-sabered pork and beef polpette, and house-made pastas such as rye rigatoni and prosciutto agnolotti. For those with more adventurous palates, the shareable, chefs’ whim–style Arsenale menu is a great value at $45 per person.

4. Sweet Cheeks
1381 Boylston St., Boston, 617-266-1300

Northerners may not have invented barbecue, but there is great barbecue to be had in Boston. Near campus, too. Hit Sweet Cheeks, where chef Tiffani Faison—who also runs nearby Tiger Mama and Fool’s Errand—serves the most comforting of Southern-style classics: pulled pork and brisket by the pound, scoops of creamy broccoli cheese casserole, and buckets of flaky biscuits served with honey butter. A quick walk from campus, its bustling atmosphere and large tables make it especially good for larger groups.

5. Mei Mei
506 Park Dr., Boston, 857-250-4959

There’s a lot to like about Mei Mei, a sibling-run Chinese American restaurant that started as a food truck in 2012 before finding a permanent home on Park Drive, just a stone’s throw from campus, soon after. Service is fast-casual style, and the colorful menu emphasizes local ingredients and craveable, creative takes on Asian favorites. Think scallion pancake sandwiches, lemongrass pork dumplings, and veggie sides like broccoli with black bean spread.

6. Hojoko
1271 Boylston St., Boston, 617-670-0507

There are restaurants that serve sushi in a very serious manner. Not here. Rather, Hojoko embraces the youthful, rock ’n’ roll side of Japanese culture through whimsical izakaya-style dishes like wasabi roulette sushi, Funky Chicken Ramen, and a bacon-wrapped hot dog with bonito flakes and kabayaki sauce. Run by the owners of Boston’s acclaimed O Ya, this Fenway restaurant turns into a karaoke and cocktail bar later on at night—a good spot if your friends and family are so inclined.

7. Eventide Fenway
1321 Boylston St., Boston, 617-545-1060

One of the most popular Portland, Maine, restaurants, Eventide Oyster Co. recently opened a fast-casual style outpost in the Fenway. The quick-service setup means that upgraded spins on seafood shack fare, like its signature brown butter lobster roll and perfectly golden-fried fish sandwich, come out of the kitchen as fast as can be (great for satisfying last-minute cravings before heading to the airport). And don’t skip dessert—the brown butter soft serve doused in bourbon caramel is a revelation.