Mark and Trish's Boston Dining Links

Welcome to our Boston dining links page.

I've salvaged this page from our old America Online site, which I can no longer update due to the fact I no longer have the AOL software installed on my computer (and haven't for many years).

If you find a broken link, or if you know of a site that should appear on this page, please email me at (lomeister AT att.net). I will try to fix it at some point in the future.

—Mark Lo

Boston.Com Arts & Entertainment—This site rolls together reviews from the Boston Globe, capsules from Boston Magazine, and user reviews. Lots of information here, but it's not as cohesive as the old Boston Globe Dining Out archive. Reader reviews are above average.
BostonChefs.Com—Elegant site focusing on Boston's big name chefs, while "celebrating the art of food presentation." Sumptuous photos, chef bios, menus, restaurant info, and more.
Boston Phoenix—Restaurant reviews from Boston's arts and entertainment weekly. Now includes all Phoenix reviews since 1995. Also available are pages for Portland and Providence. The Worcester Phoenix is no longer being published, but the Worcester Phoenix food archives are still online.
CitySearch—Formerly, Sidewalk.com, CitySearch has come into its own. You can search, browse, or peruse the Top 10 lists in categories from best seafood to best romantic dining. On the down side, the ability to plot a group of restaurants on a single map (my favorite feature) is gone.
DiningIn.Com—A great restaurant delivery site, with dozens of restaurants to choose from in the Boston area. Type in your ZIP code and street address, and you're off.
Gayot—This online version of the Gayot guidebooks has a much broader focus than many comparable sites. Includes tons of reviews (even hitting some of the suburbs), restaurant news, and a substantial wine section. You can even book a table or see 360-degree views of selected restaurants.
The Phantom Gourmet—The Phantom Gourmet rates restaurants on everything from menu variety and cleanliness to portion size and quality of desserts. Not only content with dining in town, the Phantom Gourmet is known to strike as far away as the outer suburbs, or even Connecticut, New Hampshire, or Rhode Island. Also includes a growing number of recipes and special articles, plus the "Phantom Gourmet 100."
Sally's Place—This site brings you short reviews of many of the city's trendier restaurants. But we think it's best for the columns and primers on the world's cuisines and beverages, including beer, wine, spirits, tea, and coffee.
Where to Dine—This site offers menus from numerous restaurants and provides reader reviews and links to restaurant web sites. The links to reviews from external sites seem to be gone now, but this is still a very useful site.

ActiveDiner—Mostly just addresses and phone numbers, though the capability for entering reader reviews has been added. You can also search for restaurants across Massachusetts.
Allston Village—A directory of restaurants is available from this guide to Allston.
AOL City Guide—Formerly Digital City, this restaurant guide has dropped in quality over the years.
Frank Avruch's Restaurants Page—Known for his long-time involvement with Boston cultural and community affairs, this "Man About Town" picks some of his favorite dining spots, mostly in the Back Bay/South End area. Now with guest reviews.
Boston Herald—Dining Out is now its own section in the Herald's online edition. Unfortunately, only recent articles are viewable for free. Older material is available from the archives for a fee.
Boston Magazine—Restaurant features, a handful of in-depth reviews, plus hundreds of capsules. Also included is the famous Best of Boston list, with everything from the best brunch to the best soul food.
Boston's Hidden Restaurants—A budding new site dedicated to neighborhood-type restaurants and other hidden gems.
BostonPlus.Com—Brief restaurant listings from throughout New England.
Boston Irish Pub & Restaurant Guide—A guide to Irish pubs in the Boston area.
Cape Cod.Com—With listings for 600 restaurants on Cape Cod and the Islands, this site has taken over for the late great Cape Code Menus site. Some listings have short descriptions and links to official restaurant home pages.
Chowhound.Com—According to this site's founder, Jim Leff, "foodies" follow the trends, while "chowhounds" go beyond the hype to find the best places to eat. Unfortunately, his site focuses on New York City, though it does have lively Boston- and New England-area message boards.
Dine.Com—This site features an extensive listing of restaurants and becoming a member lets you submit reviews, receive reviews by e-mail, and keep a list of your favorite restaurants. If you find a reviewer whose taste is similar to yours, you can even browse his or her reviews to find other dining spots you might like.
DineSite—DineSite provides lists of restaurants by price range or cuisine. Includes information from Boston restaurants and those in the surrounding towns. Reader ratings are also available.
DiningGuide—The MetroGuide Network's guide to dining in Boston, this site provides basic information on restaurants, mostly in Boston, Cambridge, and Brookline.
DiningInMass.Com—Statewide listings for restaurants, caterers, hotels, and more.
Dining Massachusetts—Search or browse a database of more than 2,000 eateries, courtesy of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. A good place to find links to official restaurant web sites.
DinnerBroker—A reservation system that allows restaurants to give you discounts when you dine at off-peak hours, while charging you for hard-to-find "prime-time" reservations.
Eatwell, Inc.—Home to pages for Eatwell's restaurants and bars. Includes menus, chef profiles, event listings, and even QuickTime VR tours of some of the restaurants.
Fodor's Restaurant Index—More than 100 capsule reviews of Boston restaurants from the well-respected travel guide. Now with reader "rants and raves."
FoodLine—Relaunched under new ownership, this site lists over 1300 restaurants and provides basic information and reader reviews for each. Restaurant news, food event calendar, and columns are no longer offered. The reservation system is being revamped and is not currently available.
iDine—Soon to be renamed the Rewards Network, this site allows you to find restaurants that offer discounts to members. Includes menus, maps, Zagat ratings (available to members only), and directions.
The Internet Delivery Directory—A directory of businesses that deliver. Links to information are available for a few dozen restaurants in Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, Newton, and the South Shore. Does not seem to have been updated in some time.
The Irish Connection—Home to web pages for the Irish pubs and restaurants owned by the Glynn Hospitality Group.
MassLive Restaurant Finder—This search page lets you locate places to eat in central and western Massachusetts. Includes reviews from the Republican, where available.
MassMenus—Line listings for lots of restaurants. Hosts a few restaurant web pages.
Menus for Boston/Cambridge Area Restaurants—Menus and take-out information, focusing on restaurants near MIT.
Nation's Restaurant News—"What's hot" on the dining scene, according to this newsweekly of the foodservice industry. (Registration required)
Open Table—Open Table allows you to make reservations at more than 50 area restaurants, with more on the way.
Oxford Wine Room—This site reviews wines, provides a calendar of wine tasting events, and lists New England restaurants that have won Wine Spectator or Distinguished Restaurants of North America awards.
Panorama Magazine—Panorama is one of the tourist magazines you find in your hotel room. This site includes the online version of their dining guide.
Pick a Restaurant—A messy looking site, but it includes some interesting search features, such as "power lunch" or "deal-closing dinner."
Real Eats—A pretty basic site featuring "real restaurant reviews from real people."
Restaurant.Com—This site focuses on its discount gift certificate program, but also provides menus, wine lists, photographs, and information for a few dozen restaurants in Boston and vicinity. Some restaurant "microsites" include additional features, such as chef bios, links to official restaurant web sites, and email addresses.
Restaurants.Com—Large national site, but without a lot of information on each restaurant.
Restaurant Report—Capsule reviews of 25 Boston restaurants that are "the best of the best." Also features the top 100 food links, job listings, etc.
Restaurant Row—A site that relies on "recruiters" to send in materials on their favorite dining spots. Lets you search for restaurants in several ways and allows you to make reservations online.
Samuel Lipoff's Menu Page—Scans of menus, mostly in the Harvard Square area.
Takeout Taxi—An "on-demand delivery service" featuring food from restaurants in Boston and the inner suburbs.
2nite in Boston—2nite hosts web pages for several area restaurants and includes links to others. Also has links to Boston-area entertainment information.
Wendy and Tom Dine Out!—When the Birchmires eat out, they take notes on where, when, and what they ate. Then they write up a summary and post it for you. More than 100 restaurants are listed alphabetically and by town. Good personal site.
Worcester Business Journal—We're not sure if it's still running restaurants reviews, but the WBJ web site has some links to home pages for various Worcester-area restaurants.
Zagat Dine—This is the online version of the famous and influential Zagat Survey, where restaurants are rated according to food, decor, and service. Now you can cast your votes online.