eat like Bourdain
🇺🇸 Where Bourdain Ate in Boston
16 places across No Reservations
“Boston is a city of neighborhoods, each with its own food, its own bars, its own tribes. You don't visit Boston — you visit Southie, or Dorchester, or the North End.”
Bourdain's connection to Massachusetts ran deep — he started his cooking career in Provincetown. His No Reservations Boston episode in 2011 was a deep dive into South Boston's working-class food culture: Irish pubs, dive bars, sub shops, and the neighborhood joints where Bostonians actually eat. He brought his friend Mike Ruffino, a Boston native and fellow author, as his guide through the city's complex tribal geography.
What Bourdain Loved About Boston
South Boston's no-frills food culture — pubs, sub shops, and diners
The Irish breakfast sandwich at Greenhills Bakery in Dorchester
Candlepin bowling — a uniquely New England ritual he embraced
The neighborhood bar culture — Murphy's Law, L Street Tavern, Eire Pub
Belle Isle Seafood — a lobster roll so good it justified the detour to Winthrop
The unapologetic local pride — Bostonians don't care what you think
Episodes Featuring Boston
No Reservations — S7 E7: Boston
Explores Southie's food and bar culture with hometown guide Mike Ruffino
Parts Unknown — S8 E5: Massachusetts
Returns to Provincetown where his cooking career began, plus western Mass
Travel Tips for Eating in Boston
Tony's Advice
Go to Southie. Get a sub at Rondo's. Drink at the L Street Tavern. Bowl candlepin. This is the Boston Bourdain loved.
What to Skip
- ✕Tourist-trap seafood on the waterfront
- ✕Chain restaurants in Faneuil Hall
- ✕Anywhere that puts 'Boston-style' on the menu
Every Place Bourdain Visited in Boston
16 placesGalley Diner
P Street
Corned beef hash.with runny eggs and potatoes. HUGE omelets
Rondo's Submarine Sandwiches
W Broadway
For a big fat greasy sandwich, "a temple of big sandwich arts" which Tony also describes as "happiness"
L Street Tavern
East Eighth Street
They had beer and complimentary beef stew
Quencher Tavern
I Street
A tiny bar where Tony had more drinks and did shots
WRKO
Guest Street
Tony did an interview on a right-wing station here. The Friends of Eddie Coyle is Tony's favorite crime novel, and this impresses the radio host.
South Boston Candlepin
East Broadway
Tony played candlepin bowling, where the ball is smaller and the pins are much thinner and harder to knock down.
Belle Isle Seafood
1267 Saratoga St, Winthrop
Bourdain and Boston native Mike Ruffino visit this seafood shack in Winthrop, often cited as having the best lobster roll in the city. Fresh-off-the-boat lobster on a buttered roll, with views of the harbor.
Michael's Deli
256 Harvard St, Brookline
A Brookline deli institution where Bourdain meets radio host Howie Carr. He samples the 'Howie Carr' — three-quarters of a pound of corned beef and brisket on a roll. A sandwich that requires commitment.
Galley Diner
11 P St
A South Boston breakfast institution. Bourdain tweets 'Corned beef hash and eggs over at the Galley in Southie. Superb. Feel like the Hindenburg.' The omelet is ungodly-sized, served with home fries and hash.
Eire Pub
795 Adams St, Dorchester
A Dorchester institution where presidents Reagan and Clinton both campaigned. Bourdain meets up with Mike Ruffino's former bandmate for pints in this authentic Irish-American pub that defines Boston's neighborhood bar culture.
Rondo's Sub Shop
134 W Broadway
A South Boston sub shop where Bourdain digs into steak and cheese subs. He also hosts a live online web chat with fans from here — the kind of genuine, no-frills place he championed.
Murphy's Law
837 Summer St
First stop on Bourdain's Southie pub crawl. Featured in the Ben Affleck-directed film 'Gone Baby Gone' — a genuine neighborhood bar where the regulars have been coming for decades and the Guinness is properly poured.
L Street Tavern
658 E 8th St
The bar made famous by 'Good Will Hunting' — the film written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Bourdain stops here on his Southie pub crawl and drinks with the locals in one of Boston's most iconic neighborhood bars.
Greenhills Irish Bakery
780 Adams St, Dorchester
A Dorchester institution where Bourdain has the legendary Irish Breakfast sandwich — Irish bacon and sausage, white and black pudding, and scrambled egg on a sub roll. The ultimate hangover cure, which Tony needed after the previous night's pub crawl.
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