Until not too long ago the Seaport was an empty expanse of parking heaps and the situation of the Boston Children’s Museum; now it is a style of the long run on this metropolis anchored in nostalgia, a gleaming harborside cluster of high-rises and vacation spot eating places. In the early 2000s Nia Grace was considered one of two Black servers working aboard the Spirit of Boston, a dinner cruise that docks within the Seaport; she used to park her automotive the place her Grace by Nia at present stands. Today a turquoise door provides technique to a cavernous room, and a menu of Southern classics contains Maryland crab dip and jambalaya. “People of color have learned to adapt and fit into spaces that were not created with us in mind,” says Grace, who additionally owns Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen, a beloved live-music venue in Roxbury. “Years of being intimidated by spaces like that probably made people feel like, ‘I’ll just stay here in Dorchester or Roxbury.’ But when you see a Grace by Nia or BLKChip Gallery, you think, ‘Oh, you do want me here.’ I’m glad I can be a part of this new wave.”
On my final night I be part of a buddy at Somerville’s retro diner Rosebud Bar & Grill. The beloved railcar façade has been a fixture in Davis Square since 1941, and the shiny crimson chesterfield cubicles and chrome-ringed tables seem like they have not been touched since. But the restaurant is beneath new Indian American possession, and its basic diner menu now comes with sudden twists: grilled cheese with a spicy tomato rasam soup, masala chai French toast. I’ve had loads of memorable meals this week, however in some methods this one tells me probably the most in regards to the Boston I’ve returned to: aesthetically acquainted, some would even say antiquated, however reimagined with daring flavors. History could all the time be Boston’s most useful commodity, however there’s complexity surfacing amid the sepia-tinted nostalgia. For the primary time it seems like a metropolis I can see shades of myself in.
What to hunt out in Boston past the Revolutionary historical past
Afrimerican Academy presents Black-history excursions like visits to Roxbury’s Nubian Square and the North End’s Nineteenth-century New Guinea settlement. The Boston Little Syria Project guides guests via the bygone early-Twentieth-century enclave. The Immigrant History Trail is a self-guided loop via Chinatown with markers that relate to the tales of the realm’s multicultural communities. The metropolis’s gallery scene can be gaining momentum: Last 12 months the pioneering BLKChip Gallery for Black and Brown native artists opened within the Seaport, and in October the edgy Street Theory Collective, a 6,000-square-foot cultural hub, will open in Cambridge’s Central Square. After a profession within the arts in New York City, Yng-Ru Chen moved again to Brookline in 2019 to open Praise Shadows Art Gallery for rising and midcareer modern artists. And throughout town, installations have appeared in public areas as a part of the inaugural Boston Public Art Triennial, on via October.
Where to eat
Since the pandemic, a wave of eating places has been bringing various flavors to town’s neighborhoods—from Grace by Nia, a soul meals spot within the Seaport, to Jadu, a globally impressed café in Jamaica Plain that added a wine bar this summer time with bottles from lesser-known areas like Slovenia, Croatia, and Uruguay. In early 2026 the husband-and-wife staff behind Comfort Kitchen, a Dorchester joint showcasing flavors of the Global South, will open a sibling restaurant, Ama, in addition to a rooftop bar at Atlas, a brand new lodge in hip Allston. Across the river, among the many momo joints and crystal outlets of Cambridge and Somerville, there’s been a surge of cool cafés with diverse influences, together with the family-owned Rwandan place Yego Coffee, the Palestinian-style Yafa Bakery & Café, the Saigon-inspired Cicada Coffee Bar, the Portuguese-inflected Bōm Dough, and the Indian American diner Rosebud Bar & Kitchen, a reborn basic serving twists on acquainted favorites.
Where to remain
Most of town’s best accommodations stay clustered round historic Back Bay, whose central location makes it a great base for venturing out. When the Four Seasons Hotel Boston (from $800) opened throughout from the Public Garden 40 years in the past, it was a trailblazer; now, due to a 2023 transformation by the celebrated designer Ken Fulk, its foyer and public areas have been redone in jewel tones that match the lushness of the park. Newer is the 147-room Raffles Boston (from $675), which grew to become the model’s first foray into America in 2023; its 35-story tower brings Asian-style hospitality, together with Raffles’ signature butler service, whereas out-of-towners and locals flock to its eating places, just like the Italian-inspired La Padrona and the Seventeenth-floor Long Bar & Terrace, whose views make it widespread at sundown. In tony Beacon Hill a historic Beaux Arts constructing is house to XV Beacon (from $495), a sublime hideaway the place all 60 rooms include fireplaces; the rooftop presents sweeping views over the golden dome of the Massachusetts State House.
This article appeared within the September/October 2025 concern of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the journal here.