The November Hit List: The Eaves, Eastern Standard, Pastoral, and More — Resy | Right This Way

Boston Restaurants – November 2023

Published: Nov. 1, 2023

Halloween is down. Thanksgiving is riding up rapidly behind it, and between the two are a smattering of attention-worthy openings including the arrival of Long Bar & Terrace at the Raffles hotel, Allston newcomer Sloane’s from Sarah Wade of Stillwater fame, and The Eaves at Bow Market, now fully operational.

There’s also quite a bit of action in Fenway, which has seen the return of much-missed COVID-casualty Eastern Standard, the second coming of Jewish deli extraordinaire Our Fathers, and a brand new restaurant from Mida chef Douglass Williams in the form of DW French.

The leaves may be falling, and temperatures dropping, but there’s an awful lot to feel thankful for in Boston this November. And your latest Resy Hit List captures it all.

1. The Eaves

3. Long Bar & Terrace

4. Pastoral

5. DW French

6. Our Fathers

7. Sloane's

8. Kala Thai Cookery

9. Moonbar

10. Bosso Ramen Tavern

1. The Eaves

Somerville The Eaves, the long-awaited follow-up from Cicada owners Vinh Le and Duong Huynh, is at last fully operational inside Bow Market in Union Square. It maintains the charming DIY aesthetic of the couple’s coffee house, but here the food program has been expanded to include a greater depth of Vietnamese dishes including duck bun cha, bluefish lemongrass tartrate and congee with micro shrimp or minced duck. Night owls take note: The Eaves operates until 1 a.m. from Friday to Monday.

2. Eastern Standard

Fenway It’s here: after three long years of absence, Eastern Standard has made its triumphant return to Fenway. The digs may be new and more modern, but you’ll recognize a long marble bar and a stool with your name on it—along with cast-iron pans stuffed with baked rigatoni and lamb sausage, roasted bone marrow with pickled shallots and beef jus, and plenty of whiskey smashes to go around. Welcome back. Call 617-530-1590 for reservations.

3. Long Bar & Terrace

Back Bay The arrival of Amar isn’t the only dining news to come from the opening of Raffles in Back Bay. The hotel also boasts Long Bar & Terrace, which is perched on its 17th floor and serves as a destination for breakfast and more casual dining during the day (think rolled lobster omelets or a double-patty burger with red onion jam and Habison cheese) and at night transitions to cocktails. Your first drink, obviously, will be a Singapore Sling, but try and stick around for a Boston Sling made with gin, pomegranate liqueur, amaro, cranberry compote and a housemade apple shrub.

4. Pastoral

Fort Point We’d all like a roaring fireplace come fall, but the realities of modern city living make a crackling hearth hard to come by. Fort Point’s Pastoral has a hearth of its own, in the form of a wood-fired pizza oven that cranks out Neapolitan pies topped by hand-torn buffalo mozzarella and crushed tomatoes or sweet sausage, nduja and jalapeno. All in all, a fitting substitute.

5. DW French

Fenway Douglas Williams made his name with Mida, the rejuvenated red sauce-Italian restaurant that now boasts locations in the South End, East Boston and Newton. For his latest endeavor, Williams has turned his attention to Gallic cuisine. While the freshly opened Fenway brasserie has a different focus from what’s come before, the menu promises to be every bit as tactile and satisfying: think tagliatelle with roasted mushroom and garlic bread crumbs, a drippy beef Bourguignon sandwich with caramelized onions, aioli and whole grain mustard, and a New York strip steak au poivre with creamed spinach on the side. Call 617-865-9900 for reservations.

6. Our Fathers

Fenway A short history of Our Fathers: it first opened as a Jewish deli and gin bar in Allston, where it slung hand-carved pastrami sandwiches and G&Ts until closing in 2022. Now it’s back, taking over the old Tasty Burger location in Fenway, where it’s reinvented itself as a casual sandwich spot slinging that same pastrami alongside other handhelds including a “UK Parmo” made with fried chicken cutlets, creamy mustard and white cheese sauce or a brisket steak and cheese with beef jus on a sub roll. And thanks to a cordials license, you can still whet your whistle to the tune of a Rock & Rye Old-Fashioned or a frozen Hemingway Daiquiri.

7. Sloane's

Allston Chef Sarah Wade of Stillwater has expanded her comfort food empire westward with the opening of Sloane’s in Allston. While the fare remains unapologetically stick-to-the-ribs, Wade’s new venture is unafraid to take diners in less expected directions: think pretzel-crusted chicken with honey mustard butter, lamb meatloaf with za’atar ketchup and a molasses-glazed “pastrami-cured” salmon seasoned with carraway seeds, dill and Dijonnaise.

8. Kala Thai Cookery

North End It’s funny that our minds should turn to the cuisine of Southeast Asia the moment the mercury drops in New England. But one look at the menu furnished by the North End’s Kala Thai Cookery tells us why: when winds are whipping, Thai staples like spicy chicken kapow or braised short rib curry are a welcome comfort.

9. Moonbar

Back Bay The first floor of Mooncusser, formerly Cusser’s, has gone back to being Moonbar. Now, what does that mean for you? A slightly refreshed space with tropical accents, but more importantly, a snacky menu divided into “hot stuff” (housemade milk bread with chorizo curry butter, smoked pork ribs with mango chutney) and “cold stuff” (mahi mahi ceviche tostadas, green mango with cashews and calamansi). Call 617-917-5193 for reservations.

10. Bosso Ramen Tavern

Cambridge Along with cooling temperatures and falling leaves, the proper arrival of fall brings another thing: broth season. And few rooms in the city can provide as slurp-worthy a bowl of simmering noodles as Harvard Square’s Bosso Ramen Tavern, whose namesake dish comes in varieties including the spicy pork-and-beef karami or a sour sanmi with cherry tomatoes and Parmesan cheese.