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The spiciest dishes in Greater Boston, according to readers
Readers' favorite spicy dishes include fried chicken, a Chilean sandwich, and various Sichuan meals.
In New England, with its seemingly myriad seafood shacks, Italian restaurants, and Irish pubs, great spicy dishes may not seem as commonplace.
But in Greater Boston, you’d be wrong. Diners have plenty of options when it comes to the kind of heat that torches your tongue, or adds that necessary flavor punch, from the growing number of Sichuan Chinese restaurants to fried chicken smothered in hot sauce.
We asked our Boston.com readers where they go when they feel like breathing fire. What we got back were 60 responses, featuring a wide range of dishes across 39 Greater Boston restaurants.
Some restaurants got more than one — as many as four — dish shoutouts. Below we featured the eight restaurants and their multiple spicy dishes readers say you should try, if you can handle the heat, of course.
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Here’s your list of top reader-recommended dishes, an interactive map, and full bulleted list of spiciest dishes and where to find them below:
Dan Dan noodles at Sichuan Garden II at the Baldwin Bar
Known for housing the award-winning Baldwin Bar, Sichuan Garden and its spicy dishes got multiple nods from the 61 total responses we received.
“Without a doubt, the Dan Dan Noodles at Sichuan Garden II in Woburn are one of the best overall dishes, spicy or otherwise, in all of Greater Boston,” said Mike from Woburn.
Other favorite spicy dishes were their Chengdu chicken wings, smokey shredded beef with cayenne chili, and fei tang fish.
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2 Alfred St., Woburn
Jin Gu fish filets at Sichuan Gourmet
With multiple locations throughout Massachusetts, the Jin Gu Fish Filets shows up on every menu with not one, not two, but three chili peppers next to it. You could also take Bolton resident Matt’s word for it.
“Fish filets swimming in a broth that is basically a lava flow of chilis,” Matt said.
Other readers suggested the Chengdu Street BBQ special at Burlington, the fish filets (or the chicken) and Napa cabbage with chili sauce at Framingham, and the Xiang LA dry fish filet dish. Some food items are not on the menus at all five locations of Sichuan Gourmet.
Multiple locations
Kerala fried chicken and green chili waffles at Rosebud Bar and Kitchen
Since a recent change in ownership and menu revamp, Rosebud swapped regional comfort food for the fusing of American classics with Indian cuisine. The dish mentioned twice by readers as their favorite spicy meal was the Kerala fried chicken and green chili waffle, a spin on chicken and waffles. To kick up the heat even more, Ramya from Somerville suggests adding spicy fries to your plate.
381 Summer St., Somerville
Beef with longhorn peppers at Dumpling House
Popular for their dumplings, the aptly named Dumpling House also serves Sichuan dishes that a few of our readers say are fire-burning hot, like East Boston resident Jacob E.’s go-to beef dish.
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“Make sure you order extra rice and have a few glasses of water handy to fight through the pain, but it’s so worth it in the end,” Jacob E. said.
Also recommended by reader Johnny D. from Newbury is the restaurant’s Sichuan-style sliced fish soup. And from the looks of this red-in-color soup on their online menu, that water preparation suggested by Jacob E. should probably apply here, too.
950 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge
Kaeng Som from Sugar & Spice
This Thai favorite in Cambridge boasts a menu full of spicy dishes, denoting the spice level — mild to very spicy — with a number of chili peppers next to each dish’s name. They rated the Kaeng Som, a salmon curry dish, with a “very spicy” five peppers.
“I’ve tried lots of spicy dishes around the area, and the best spicy dish in Greater Boston is the Kaeng Som from Sugar & Spice in Cambridge’s Porter Square,” said Julien G. of Cambridge. “It’s super spicy, but also a great fish dish that has lots of great ingredients besides the heat to balance it out. It’s all-around delicious.”
1933 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge
Chilean sandwich from Chacarero
Owner Juan Hurtado has been serving Chacarero’s namesake, the Chilean Chacarero sandwich, for nearly 30 years in Boston.
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Topped with either beef or chicken, Muenster cheese, tomatoes, and green beans, this sandwich gets its heat from the way the meat is cooked and an additional “secret jalapeño and/or habanero recipe.”
“Tastiest Chilean sandwiches ever,” said Rogers of Boston. “If you dare to order ‘extra spicy,’ it will definitely warm you up.”
101 Arch St., Boston
Chongqing noodle soup with minced meat, peanuts, and bok choy at Home Taste
Another Sichuan cuisine showing, Home Taste is known for its traditional Chinese hand-pulled noodle dishes. Katherine from Medford gets this noodle soup dish at the Arlington location, but it’s also on Watertown’s menu. If you’re looking for more mouth-blistering dishes here, Julia S. from Natick recommends any of their Mala Pot options, which includes vegetables and some kind of protein stir fried in the mala numbing spice.
“The Mala Pot is incredibly spicy with lots of interesting vegetables,” Julia S. said. “It has a unique flavor that goes beyond just spice. Also try the spicy hot oil seared noodles.”
Multiple locations
Wings in reaper sauce from Wendell’s Pub
One of the few wing entries on the list, diners at this cash-only Norton pub can get their wings tossed in eight different sauces. Turn up the heat to the most extreme degree with wings in Wendell’s reaper sauce, or settle on a medium spicy wing sauce known as the 3.5, which comes recommended by reader Ted M. from Rockland.
30 W. Main St., Norton
Here are the spiciest dishes in Greater Boston, and where to find them, according to readers
- Awaze tibs from Habesha: 535 Main St., Malden
- Beef with long horn peppers and the Sichuan-style sliced fish soup from Dumpling House: 950 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge
- Bo Bo Chicken from Ruka: 505 Washington St., Boston
- Braised beef with Napa cabbage from Blossom Bar: 295 Washington St., Brookline
- But Make it Spicy fried chicken sandwich from Crazy Good Kitchen: Multiple locations
- Chacarero Chilean sandwich from Chacarero: 101 Arch St., Boston
- Chicken gnocchi fra diavolo from Fiorella’s Cucina: Multiple locations
- Chicken Vindaloo from Bonfire Indian Grill: 1091 Lexington St., Waltham
- Chicken Vindaloo at Holi: 20 North Rd., Bedford
- Chicken with three kinds of peppers from Chilli Garden: 41 Riverside Ave., Medford
- Chongqing noodle soup with minced meat, peanuts, and bok choy or the mala pot from Home Taste: Multiple locations
- Cumin Lamb Biang Biang Noodles from Chili Square: 666 Hancock St., Quincy
- Curry chicken from Pho Viets: 1022 Commonwealth Ave., Boston
- Dan Dan noodles, Chengdu chicken wings, smokey shredded beef with cayenne chili, and fei tang fish from Sichuan Garden II at the Baldwin Bar: 2 Alfred St., Woburn
- Hand-pulled noodles from Gene’s Flatbread Cafe: Multiple locations
- Hell fries from All Star Sandwich Bar: 1245 Cambridge St., Cambridge
- Hellfire ramen from Doragon Eatery: 1 W. Union St., Ashland
- House Italian sub from Bob’s: 324 Main St., Medford
- House Wok Basil at House of Siam: 542 Columbus Ave., Boston
- Jin Gu fish filets, Chengdu Street BBQ special, the fish filets (or the chicken) and Napa cabbage with chili sauce, and the Xiang LA dry fish filet dish from Sichuan Gourmet: Multiple locations
- Kaeng Som from Sugar & Spice: 1933 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge
- Kapow Basil at Laughing Monk Cafe: Multiple locations
- Kapow from Kala Thai: 151 Hanover St., Boston
- Kerala fried chicken and green chili waffles with spicy fries from Rosebud Bar & Kitchen: 381 Summer St., Somerville
- King Volcano cocktail from The Independent: 75 Union Square, Somerville
- Khao-Gra-Pow from Dakzen: 195 Elm St., Somerville
- Lamb with cumin from Dumpling Xuan: 465 Cambridge St., Cambridge
- Mala broth from LaMei Hot Pot: 230 Harvard St., Brookline
- Nashville Hot Fried Chicken from State Park Bar: 15 Hampshire St., Building 300, Cambridge
- Pork with green peppers from Seoul Jangteo: 151 Brighton Ave., Boston
- Reaper sauce wings from Wendell’s Pub: 30 W. Main St., Norton
- Red curry at Pineapple Thai: 17 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill
- Shredded beef with long horn peppers at Taipei Cuisine: 68 Billings Road, Quincy
- Spicy Mu Lan Fish from Mu Lan Taiwanese Restaurant: 228 Broadway, Cambridge
- Spicy Tan Tan Ramen from Little Big Diner: 1247 Centre St., Newton
- Szechuan Kung Pao beef from Great Chef: 390 Chelsea St., Boston
- Szechuan Spicy Mapo Tofu from Mala Restaurant: 129 Brighton Ave., Allston
- Sichuan spicy beef udon noodle soup from Peppercorn House: 318 Main St., Woburn
- Spicy Chicken Basil from Red Sugar Cafe: 24 Vernon St., Wakefield
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