Sign up for The Dish
Stay up to date on the latest food and drink news from Boston.com.
5 best new restaurant openings and dining updates in Boston (Feb. 26, 2026)
Stay up-to-date on the best new restaurants, recent openings, and the biggest dining updates across Greater Boston's food scene.
In Greater Boston’s dining scene, there’s always a new restaurant opening to celebrate or a fresh update coming to one of the city’s delicious eateries. In the months ahead, we have major restaurant openings from Michelin chefs and famous New York restaurateurs, as well as a swell of diverse and delicious smaller restaurants joining our neighborhoods.
Each week, Boston.com will highlight the restaurant openings worth knowing about across the region. Some spots will already be open, while others are set to debut in 2026. At least one featured restaurant will always be a bonus item — either a pop-up, a collaboration, or event at area restaurants.
Advertisement:
Want more on the latest food and drink news? Sign up for The Dish, Boston.com’s newsletter featuring the latest food and drink news, chef Q&As, deep dives on industry issues, expert tips on where to eat and drink, and more.
What’s new in Greater Boston restaurant openings this week
La Tavernetta
Award-winning Chef Douglass Williams (of MIDA) is opening up another restaurant in Eastie, taking over the space left vacant by The Smoke Shop BBQ. Details about the restaurant’s menu have yet to be shared (though spritz and oysters will probably make the cut), but its Instagram page describes the spot as “a coastal tavern with an Italian kiss.”
Advertisement:
Opening date: Spring 2026
35-45 Lewis St., East Boston
Salt & Straw
Maybe you’ve heard of Portland, Oregon’s Salt & Straw, an ice cream shop brand known for rotating menu of classic and strange flavors (examples include chocolate gooey brownie, double fold vanilla, pear and blue cheese, and strawberry honey balsamic with black pepper). The chain has expanded more east, and now New England will get its second location in the Seaport, according to a press release.
Opening date: Late 2026
200 Seaport Blvd., Seaport
Sorella Cucina Toscana
Taking over the former Tuscan Kitchen in Burlington comes Sorella, also an Italian restaurant from the Tuscan Brands that promises a reimagined and elevated restaurant. The Italian restaurant’s menu includes a variety of pasta (bolognese, mushroom risotto, and lobster gnocchi), several crudo dishes, and entrees like veal osso bucco with saffron risotto and Chilean sea bass with spinach agnolotti.
Open now (February 2026)
2400 District Ave., Burlington
Table Four
A European wine bar has landed in Melrose from a former Charlie’s bartender, Lorrie Overgaag. A menu isn’t available online, but Overgaag has told other publications that guests can expect a menu of European wine and beer, along with charcuterie boards and other wine bar snacks at this intimate spot.
Advertisement:
Open now (January 2026)
169A W. Emerson St., Melrose
Bonus: Femme Fête events
Boston’s inaugural natural wine fair may be sold out, but multiple offsite events have popped up across town and through next week for those who want to take part in the first year’s festivities but can’t go to the main event. Liska Wine is visiting State Park on Thursday, there’s a Maloof Wines tasting at Momma’s Grocery, and more.
Event details: Wine tastings and bar takeovers from Wednesday, Feb. 26, to Wednesday, March 4; various locations
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com