Boston Magazine Taste 2026: caviar bumps, cocktails and venison

Caviar bumps from Roe House, fresh salmon from Umami Omakase and venison from Bar Vlaha were among E Smith Umland’s favorites at Boston Magazine Taste. Liz McElligott loved the chance to try so many restaurants in one evening, with cocktails between bites.

Both went with tickets through Secret Boston and shared their experiences afterward. The November 4 gathering at the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter brought restaurant teams, distilleries and breweries together for the event’s 16th edition.

The venue supports something beyond a good night out, too. Artists for Humanity employs Boston teens on paid art and design projects, and hosting events helps fund that work.

Mooncusser moved from third place to first on the Top 50, with chef Carl Dooley’s seafood-focused cooking earning the top spot. Upstairs, dinner is a tasting menu; downstairs, Moon Bar serves à la carte small plates and cocktails. Mooncusser also received the magazine’s Best Tasting Menu award.

Sarma placed second after taking the top spot last year. Chef Cassie Piuma’s Somerville restaurant serves Mediterranean and Middle Eastern small plates, including Black Sea cornbread with feta and honey. The full dinner menu is available at the bar, where seating is first come, first served.

Third place went to 311 Omakase, chef-owner Wei Fa Chen’s South End restaurant. Its 18-course dinner gives the evening over to the chef’s selection, with reservations released at noon on the 15th of each month.

Field & Vine took fourth place. At the Union Square restaurant, the menu follows what’s available from farmers and fishermen, bringing vegetables, raw seafood, fish and meat into seasonal dishes. Bar Vlaha completed the top five and also appeared on the announced Taste lineup.

Fallow Kin led the Top 10 New Restaurants list and won Best New Restaurant in Best of Boston 2026. The Talulla team and chef Marcos Sanchez put vegetables first at their Cambridge restaurant, alongside pasta, seafood and meat. Dinner can be ordered à la carte or as a seven-course tasting at the chef’s counter.

Aatma at Widowmaker and Dalia also made the newcomers list, along with Uptown Social, Willie’s and Zebra Room.

Restaurateur Nia Grace’s Uptown Social continues the food-and-live-music tradition at the former home of Bob the Chef’s and Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen. Culinary director Chelven Randolph’s menu includes fish and grits, plus sweet-tea-brined chicken with red-velvet waffles. It also earned the magazine’s Best Revival award.

Willie’s brings pizza and pasta to Charles Street, with ingredients that reflect its restaurant siblings, Zurito and Somaek. Gochujang appears in the rigatoni amatriciana, while Spanish jamón Ibérico tops a margherita pizza.

Beneath Yvonne’s, Zebra Room is a 10-table steak lounge serving dishes such as Wagyu dumplings with caviar, crab Louie deviled eggs, Wagyu rib-eye cap and baked lobster Savannah. It won Best Speakeasy Steakhouse in the magazine’s summer awards.

Aatma at Widowmaker serves Indian food inside Widowmaker’s Brighton brewery. Chef Keith Sarasin’s clay-pot lamb belly biryani was among the dishes highlighted in the magazine’s Taste preview. Alongside its place on the newcomers list, Aatma won Best Food at a Brewery in Best of Boston 2026.

Bar Vlaha focuses on the cooking of rural central and northern Greece and Vlach traditions. Bread, spreads, charcoal-grilled meat and fish are part of its Brookline menu. At Taste, its venison stood out to Smith, who called it “incredible.”

Kaia, another Xenia Greek Hospitality restaurant, takes a coastal approach to Greek food in the South End. Whole grilled fish, crudo and meze are central to the menu, offering a different introduction to Greek cooking from sibling Bar Vlaha.

Dalia brought another of the magazine’s new-restaurant picks to the announced lineup. The Spanish restaurant on West Broadway serves sangria and pan frito, fried bread with honey and smoked butter, among its dishes. Taste offered an introduction to the team for anyone who had yet to visit the South Boston restaurant.

Jahunger serves Uyghur food in Cambridgeport. Its namesake hand-pulled noodles combine beef and Sichuan peppercorns, and earned the magazine’s Best Noodles award. The restaurant also received a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2025.

Mahaniyom’s Brookline menu centers on Thai small plates to share over drinks, including slow-cooked beef shank in massaman curry. A returning presence at Boston Magazine events, it also won Best Thai Restaurant in Best of Boston 2026.

Neptune Oyster’s North End dining room takes walk-ins rather than reservations. Its lobster roll comes on toasted brioche, either hot with butter or cold with mayo. The magazine highlighted that roll when announcing the restaurant’s participation in Taste.

Umami Omakase’s fresh salmon was another of Smith’s favorites. Chef Gary Lei opened the North Cambridge restaurant in 2019 after working at Uni. At its Massachusetts Avenue counter, dinner is an 18-course selection of sushi, sashimi and cooked dishes, with a shorter 15-course option available on some nights.

Secret Boston members say

“Boston Magazine’s ‘Taste’ was an evening full of incredible food, delicious cocktails, and so many new favorites! It was the perfect reminder of how much amazing culinary talent we have right here in Boston. I loved getting to experience so many local restaurants all under one roof.”

Liz McElligott (@Lyricalwithliz)

“It was a great and fun atmosphere, with a great DJ, some very cool photo spots, and just an overall impressive vibe. The food was all incredible. I especially loved the variety of dishes. I loved the caviar from Roe House, the fresh salmon from Umami Omakase, and the venison from Bar Vlaha was incredible. Turkish Airlines also provided some fresh Turkish coffee to go with their Turkish delight. I loved that we got to sample from distilleries and breweries as well. Overall not only sophisticated and elevated, but fun and energetic at the same time.”

E Smith Umland (@theserpentempress)