Beyond all the historical fame about being the “Birthplace of the American Revolution” today, Boston’s North End is perhaps well known and most often visited for its world-renown food. Between the famous pastry shops, pizza places, delis and Italian North End Restaurants, there are incredible dinning to be had in virtually every corner of this small neighborhood. On weekend nights and in fact some weekdays the North End Restaurants and pastry shops, especially on Hanover street are often packed, with waiting lines spilling out on to the sidewalk. Its well known that on busy nights it can be hard to get a table at some of the more popular places without a good deal of foresight.
The best part about Boston’s North End is that it guards its secrets well and the best places to eat dinner and dessert are hard to find and quiet. Venturing off of the beaten path will reward the adventurous with numerous small, cozy and family run restaurants.
As has been pointed out on other North End Boston dining websites, while most food in this neighborhood can be described as Italian, there is really no such thing as a unified Italian cuisine, and north end menu’s are generally filled with items from various areas and religions starting from the southern tip and ending in the Northern end of Italy, and each place has its own distinct culture, menu and food items.
Perhaps the best selection and quality of food is to be had at the numerous feasts and festivals that occur regularly, especially in the summer in the North End. Small street vendors as well as established restaurants offer their fare for the festival participants and feast-goers. These are surely events not to miss if you want to taste the best restaurants the best neighborhood in Boston has to offer.
Its been widely noted that the feasts, festivals, restaurants and pastry shops aren’t as Italian as they once used to be, and even the feasts have taken on commercial overtones. Some of the feasts have corporate sponsors which have added their names to the traditional festival names, and some street vendors are selling non-italian food, like Chinese food.
North End Boston