Restaurants

5 restaurant openings we’re excited about this month

Boston-area openings include an Italian concept at Raffles, a family-owned Mexican restaurant in East Boston, and more.

Toca Chida, centered around traditional Mexican dining, opens May 3 at Assembly Row in Somerville. IUC Boston

May 1, 2024

Italian is popular this month; from a much-anticipated opening in the Back Bay to across the river in Cambridge, prolific hospitality vets Jody Adams and Seth Greenberg are igniting la dolce vita. There’s also Mexican comfort food and a world taqueria coming to town — here are the five new restaurants we’re checking out this month.

Amber Road

A new bar and grill is coming to the downtown neighborhood from MNM Restaurant Group (Fin Point Oyster Bar, Tradesman and Urban Wild). Positioning itself as the “it place to be,” the restaurant and lounge is prioritizing ambiance with a cozy but refined interior centered around an ever-present cherry blossom tree, 22-seat bar and a show kitchen outfitted with a signature rotisserie and wheel crank oven. The oven is responsible for one of their most anticipated dishes, the rotisserie lemon pepper chicken ($34), a 24 hour brined breast, thigh and leg that’s slow roasted and served over tri-colored quinoa with mirepoix vegetables, herbed butter potatoes and pan drippings. Those seeking something lighter might gravitate toward the Asian mini tuna tacos ($22) packed with sushi grade tuna, guacamole, Japanese mustard, tamari soy, ginger, vinegar, sesame, diced edamame, scallion, sesame and radish. The kitchen will feature flavors from across the globe so expect a melting pot of a menu, with other standouts like bacon jam and raclette cheese, lobster turnovers and chilled tuna lo mein noodles.

100 Federal St., Downtown Boston

Opens: mid-May

La Padrona

The new dining concepts at Raffles have been nothing short of compelling — satiating diners with contemporary American, Portuguese and a swanky speakeasy — and now comes the last but not least concept, La Padrona. Spearheaded by A Street Hospitality (the team behind Trade, Porto and The Venetian), the trio comprised of CEO Eric Papachristos, chief culinary officer Jody Adams, and COO Jon Mendez, traveled from Italy’s top to boot to ensure all the regions were fairly represented on the menu at this Italian restaurant. Located on the ground floor of Raffles Boston, the restaurant will have its own entrance to the multi-story space; the first a bar and lounge concept dedicated to after work drinks and convivial gatherings, and the second floor as more of a traditional dining room. Connected by a grand staircase, the restaurant evokes a grand and gilded Italian villa while the menu is a balance between traditional dishes (sourcing key ingredients from Italy like artisan cheeses and salumi from Piedmont) and a fusion of New England flavors (local seafood and seasonal produce) to tie together Italian roots with regional representation. Our mouths are already watering at the Cacio e Pepe Focaccia; Sardinian flatbread with wild herb honey, and cruschi peppers; Fazzoletti with milk braised rabbit, roasted sunchokes, and fennel; the Lobster & Uni Risotto; and the slow roasted porchetta.

40 Trinity Place, Back Bay

Opens: May 15

Los Alebrijes

After a quiet opening in April, this family-owned Mexican restaurant that took over the former La Cancun Restaurant in East Boston is ready to welcome diners to its much louder interiors. Colloquially referring to brightly colored Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures, the name Los Alebrijes, matches its meaning with neon interiors, from yellow seats to pink and orange walls. Already earning recognition for their shrimp aguachile (a marinated mix of lime juice, chiles and cilantro), pozole (a traditional Mexican meat stew topped with shredded cabbage and chile peppers), al pastor tacos, and cajeta-stuffed churros for dessert, we can’t wait to check out what all the buzz is about.

192 Sumner St., East Boston

Now Open

MonteVerdi

Restaurateur Seth Greenberg (Mistral, Mooo, Serafina Boston) is expanding his portfolio to Cambridge with MonteVerdi, a new and personal take on Italian cuisine. The name is a nod to Greenberg’s mother; even though Greenberg was raised in Miami, his late father owned a clothing factory in Italy — while he worked, his mother enrolled in Italian classes where she was monikered “Signora Monteverdi” as Greenberg’s rough Italian translation (green mountain). The menu is also personal as Greenberg embraces the “less is more philosophy” of Italian cooking. Signature items will include fresh pastas ($27-$36), flatbread pizzas ($17-$30), locally sourced seafood and housemade tomato sauce. Located within The Royal Sonesta, MonteVerdi will be able to accommodate 220 diners in the main dining room that’s decked out in an earthen palette with walnut wooden walls, terrazzo porcelain flooring and velvet, olive seating, in addition to 20 bar and 16 lounge seats, as well as 86 patio seats, ideally perched along the Charles Riverfront.

40 Edward H. Land Boulevard, Cambridge

Opens: mid-May

Toca Chida

After championing Boston’s Mexican dining scene with his renowned Papagayo, chef Chris Damian is ready to launch his newest venture, Toca Chida, centered around traditional Mexican dining. The name translates to “play cool,” which Damian hopes to achieve with the casual menu that he refers to as a “world taqueria” that also highlights Latin American favorites like beef birria empanadas, lobster tacos, tuna nachos and of course, housemade guacamole prepared tableside. “Our first Papagayo… was one of the first locations in the city to source a truly authentic and extensive tequila, mezcal and aňejo spirit selection, and we built the menu on an amalgam of Mexican, Tex-Mex and Mexican-American style dishes that were familiar to Bostonians at that time… That being said, I think we were heading towards becoming a more chain-style restaurant, which is typical with rapid growth,” said Damian, who consciously shut the fifth location of Papagayo that Toca Chida will replace — breathing new life into the space but still with Mexican flair. Toca Chida will continue the legacy of creative, Mexican libations with an extensive bar program that rotates based on the seasonal ingredients available to build the freshest cocktails. Damian teases a couple signature sips, including Poblano Escobar with Ghost tequila, cucumber, poblano pepper, cilantro, lime, and chili dust as well as the Ay, Papi that’s served smoked, made with Milagro reposado, Montelobos mezcal, and mole bitters.

331 Great River Rd., Somerville

Opens: May 3