I'll be in Boston for one night in mid-July, staying in the 200 block of Tremont Street (Marriott Courtyard). Do any of you have a suggestion for a good regional restaurant for dinner within walking distance? If not regional, any suggestions for good food in the area? Thanks.

Don

You are within walking distance of so many, many great restaurants, from casual to elegant - the list would be endless -
you can walk to so many in the theater district, on Newbury St/Boylston - in the South End- the 'restaurant row' area on Tremont St, - Copley Place -
you really need to be a bit more specific - price, types of food you like - what do you mean by 'regional' - not a chain or food specific to Boston? you have one night - are you looking for a night of fine dining or a restaurant that also has music/jazz or a casual, quicker meal b/c you are going on to something afterwards?

We had a fabulous Italian dinner at La Famiglia Giorgio's on Newbury street.Paulk

Thanks for both the replies. I am not aware of the kind of area the hotel is in so I did not know I would have such a range of choices. I'm not looking for fine dining but I also don't want a TGIFridays, Applebies, etc. What I'm hoping for is a local place with good food and a quiet ambience. If they have music or are close to a place playing jazz so much the better.

Ok, in my mind, trying to find good local and quiet ambiance might be hard unless you go earlier in the evening to dine and then move on to the music or you don't mind music while you eat -

of course, this also depends on whether mid week or weekend, and in the summer you might want to make rezzies if you have your heart set on a place.

I suggest you go through some menus and pick the type of food you want or eat at one of the fun music places that also has good food.

I will list you some of my favorites that you could walk to (are you a walker? say anywhere from 1/4 to a mile of easy, flat walking?) or you can also take the T or a cab -

I also sugest allmenus.com (which has many of these restaurant menus) or
boston.menuypages.com -

Allmenus is nice for a quick look at menu/prices, not always updated but gives you a good feel, but it doesn't give you a look at the restaurant/decor like you do from the individual restaurant web pages -

You can also try opentable.com to look at menus and availability and make your reservation online if you don't use this service, it's great for the cities it services while traveling b/c it saves you dialing for dollars making phone calls looking for a rezzie.

LaFamiglia mentioned many enjoy - I would also add Giacomo's on Columbus Ave for italian - (but I think it is really loud after even 7pm) and also Sage on Washington Street -

There is Bobs Southern Bistro down on Columbus -
bobsouthernbistro.com

take a look at the menu, you can keep an eye on the music line up, it's a comfortable place - are you with a group, 2 or single? I'd definitely reserve for a group, for 1 or 2 you would likely be ok, and for 1 you can usually snag a seat or at the bar -

A new restaurant/jazz/music has just opened in Boston that the owners of Bobs have a hand in called the Beehive - in the Boston Center for the Arts which is 541 Tremont Street - (and you might want to check out the Calendar for the BCA) between Berkely and Clarendon Sts

BeehiveBoston.com

I have not been there, but I plan on going next week - it is serving food and music - should be good w/ the owners/chefs involved, and they will be pulling local talent from Berkely School of Music and other places - since you aren't coming till July I'll try and remember to post here after I've gone

If you want neighborhood, strolling in a less touristy environment than say Newbury Street, I would walk to the South End from where you are (if you google the address, then play with the map, you will see how you can walk on Tremont to Berkely St and then on to pass Clarendon, Dartmouth, etc (the cross streets are alphabetized for the most part until you get to Mass Ave) -

There is a section of the South End between Berkely and Dartmouth on and around Tremont that have some excellent spots that earlier in the evening would be quieter - some for you to look at :

Franklin Cafe (but early, like when they open, I find this one really noisy by 8pm) - food is excellent
Franklincafe.com

We also love Metropolis Cafe on Tremont St
same thing- earlier the better noise wise

Garden of Eden on Tremont Street: fresh, organic choices, outdoor tables on the sidewalk in the summer- friendly place -

Clery's on Darmouth Street we love for the burgers, fish n chips, and some of their pastas and pizzas too - it has a great bar, high top tables across from, reg tables and a side room, big tv's - sort of reminiscent perhaps of a Fridays but MUCH better food and a nieghborhood pub feel - this also gets noisy at night w/ the younger crowd, but lots of people (like us) eat there earlier on, families, couples, single, older, all ages - of course, I don't know your age so maybe you want to eat later, but from the type of restaurant you inquired about I am guessing you aren't 30 looking for that type of noisy/clubby feel or if so there is another list for that !)
I count calories for days before heading to Clery's so I can have one of their burgers and their fries
Clery's you can get to walking down Tremont to Dartmouth - and ifyou keep going past Clery's, you will come to Copley Place/Boylston St/Newbury and a zillion other places -

Two other local places inthe South End are Delux Cafe and the Dish, you can check those out too -

Of course, you could also go to the North End, have italian and walk the streets which is always fun in the summer -

for good italian at reasonable prices, we like Piccolo Nido's and La Summa - you can check out those menus and prices and see if they appeal to you -
there are less and more expensive places -we also like Rabias and Luccas - then you can stroll a bit, and get your coffee and whatever at Mike's or Maria's or Vittoria's....or wherever you happen upon - if you end up at Piccolo Nidos be prepared, the owner is a character but has a heart of gold and is very entertaining and will cook you whatever you want
-
There could be lots of other music places near you, but Bobs and Beehive are the two that come to my mind - of course, many of the hotels also have music in their bars so you can check that out too online or once in town -

Newbury St has a lot of restaurants with outside eating, popular in summer, where you can people watch early in the evening and then head to somewhere for music - Boston.com can give you music/theater listings too

On Newbury and Boylston and all in the Back B ay, South End, North End, Theater District, you will find so many restaurants your head could spin - so you could plug any of those areas into the web pages I mentioned above and see if some appeal to you more than others and if you end up with a list, come back and we can maybe help narrow it down !

Not what I would call a small neighborhood/local place but also fun is 28 Degrees, - the menu is smaller tasting plates on many items, so it can be a fun place to eat - their menu/etc on their web site and that is on your way to the South End on Tremont St -

One night eating in Boston, that's a tough one huh?
hope I haven't confused you, there are just so many great places near you, I am sure others will also chime in with lists of 20 other great choices !

escargot

pleeze copy your response, it should be saved and posted to future threads. veru helpful!

editors: this was what I was talking about on making a place to save really helpful posts from dropping to oblivion.

dwooddon, I suggest touring the southend or the northend for dinner. However if you'd rather stay local, I am a huge fan of dining at ViaMatta, bread as a starter with crunchy eggplant app and mushroom side and a carafe of the house red. Best bargain in town at a higher end joint.

Good luck~

thanks, kealalani - and oooo I love Via Matta too -
and Avila, which is on One Charles St is fun - and it has a very inviting bar you can sit at - not to me a 'neighborhood' feel place and not quiet once it gets hopping - but the food is interesting, the selections all pulled from the countries 'surrounding the mediterranean' so you have a real mix of things influenced from italy, middle eastern, etc -
you can find that online also -

ok, this is making me soo hungry - and anxious to get in town next week !

Thanks to you both. This gives me lots to choose from.

To answer your implied question escargot, I'm a certified old guy and will be traveling solo.

Don

well then good, the recs this certified old gal gave you should work out well
have fun !

ah- that's bostonmenupages.com
i had a typo in it, sorry

you might try B&G Oysters if you're looking for local seafood. its in that part of the South End (maybe on Dartmouth, I'm not sure). Its a great place to get oysters, clams or a lobster roll, and they have a small terrace for outdoor dining.

Another place I ate at recently which was fun was Tremont 647.

And I also like Via Matta a lot.

One place you might find jazz is at the Oak Bar in the Fairmont Copley. They usually have live music, and have an excellent bar...although the martinis are really pricey.

If you like seafood, I suggest any of the Legal seafood bars, we eat at the bar and end up chatting (when you feel like it_ with tourists or locals sitting next to you. The same at the Bar of the Olde Union Oyster House in Fanuel Hall .

Thank you all for the information and recommmendations. I'm leaving on this trip tomorrow (Saturday) evening and it looks like I have a wide selection tp choose from.

Have fun! I have been to the Beehive since the above post and enjoyed it - the two times we went the line was not too long and it was a nice enough evening so we did not mind sitting outside on a bench watching the world go by but we went for music/drinks/snack and not as a primary food stop.