The Best Healthy Restaurants in Boston
Sure, Boston is known for clam chowder, lobster rolls, baked beans, and cream pies. And you can absolutely find these classics on just about every corner in town. But what you may not know is that Massachusetts is consistently ranked as one of the healthiest states in the country. And greater Boston is a hub of innovation—a place where award-winning chefs team up with renowned scientists to create the foods of the future. But it's not all high-tech: Boston is also home to charming neighborhood cafes, public markets bursting with fresh produce, and, yes, an oatmeal shop. Here are the healthyish spots you can't miss in this city on a hill.
Photo courtesy of Tatte Bakery1/12Tatte Bakery
Israeli-born pastry chef Tzurit Or opened her first bakery in Brookline in 2008. Ten years later, Tatte Bakery has eight locations in Boston proper, plus another four in Cambridge, which means Or’s creations are available in almost every neighborhood (no complaints here). The all-day menu features a slew of sandwiches and salads, plus heartier items such as the garden vegetable bowl served with roasted-pepper cashew spread and housemade challah and the avocado and zucchini tartine. We recommend topping just about anything with a poached egg, local and free-range of course.
Photo by Abigail Jean Connor2/12Life Alive Cafe
Life Alive has been making quinoa and vegetable concoctions before they were called “grain bowls.” In fact, founder Heidi Feinstein told the Boston Globe that when she opened her first location of the vegetarian and organic cafe in Lowell more than a decade ago, “Nobody knew what a beet was.” Now, with two locations in Greater Boston, two in the ‘burbs, and a menu that focuses on “health and vitality,” Life Alive is, well, alive and well. The menu features a variety of salads, smoothies, wraps, and grain bowls like “The Alchemist:" quinoa topped with kale, sweet corn, carrots, sesame seeds, sunsprouts, and a choice of tofu or sprouted legumes, topped with a ginger nama shoyu sauce we can't stop thinking about.
Photo courtesy of the Boston Public Market3/12Boston Public Market
The Boston Public Market is one of those places that feels like it has been a part of the city’s fabric for decades, but, in reality, the indoor, year-round marketplace only opened in 2015. Popular with locals and tourists alike, every single item sold—produce, baked goods, poultry, meat, dairy, seafood, prepared foods, specialty items, crafts—is from New England, which means many of the offerings change with the seasons. Pop in for an ice cream from Crescent Ridge Dairy, a rice bowl from Bon Me, or fresh produce from local farms. The market also offers cooking classes so you know what to do with your haul once you finally make it home.
Photo by Somerby Jones4/12Oat Shop
Against all odds, Boston’s first all-oatmeal cafe has made Plain Jane oatmeal into a breakfast worth traveling for. Located in Somerville’s bustling Davis Square, the Oat Shop features a mix of sweet and savory dishes like the apricot, banana, and almond butter oat bowl and the house-made herb pesto bowl topped with avocado, kale chips, and pumpkin seeds. Certified gluten-free oats are available, and you can make any bowl vegan...even the one with "cheddar sauce," bacon, and egg.
Photo by Patrick Ford5/12ArtScience Culture Lab and Cafe
Cambridge, the home of Harvard and MIT, has some of the world's brightest minds living within its borders, so it’s only natural that a place like ArtScience, which blends food, art, and science with its own real-life laboratory, would exist here. In June 2018, the restaurant teamed up with Allen Campbell, Tom Brady’s former personal chef, to create a selection of plant-based dishes like quinoa-walnut involtini with English peas, black-pepper cashew "cream,” pine nut crisp, basil oil, and a red wine reduction. The expansive cocktail menu features regional libations like the “Piping Plover,” made with rum, lotus, and molasses-infused New England cranberries.
Photo courtesy of JUGOS6/12Jugos
Boston is dotted with juice shops, and most of them are pretty great. But the original that started it all from a closet-sized, commuter-focused (read: cramped, grab-and-go) location in Back Bay Station is still serving some of the best smoothies around. Now, with the opening of its larger South End spot, Jugos Supremo, you can sit down and savor the substantial menu filled with smoothies, juices, acai and pitaya bowls, and plates like the Marrakesh, a turmeric-poached egg with olives, sweet potato, feta, garbanzo, tomato, cucumber, and tahini.
Photo by Eugene Galdones7/12Cultivar
Located inside the historic 19th-century Ames Building (now a boutique luxury hotel), Cultivar offers “sustainable, hyper-seasonal cuisine” like heirloom pumpkin toast and einkorn flour spaghetti with sugar snap peas and mascarpone. If you’re wondering how “hyper-seasonal” cuisine works in a city like Boston, where frigid winters are the norm, the restaurant has its own proprietary, hydroponic garden system, which provides fresh food production year-round.
Alex Lau8/12Pavement
There may be a Dunkin’ on every corner of this city, but if you’re looking for a coffee shop to have a bite and stay a while, Pavement will fulfill your ‘90s coffeehouse dreams with its couches, comfy chairs, and communal tables. Their famed Tequila Sunrise—eggs, bacon, diablo cream cheese, and pico de gallo served on a housemade bagel—is the kind of breakfast sandwich that makes you want to get out of bed in the morning, even (especially?) after a long night out. But rest assured there's a vegan version with seasoned tempeh and diablo tofu spread. Pavement also offers an impressive selection of savory vegan sandwiches, coffee, and teas.
Photo by Regan Byrne9/12Bar Mezzana
South End neighborhood favorite Bar Mezzana serves coastal Italian cuisine with housemade pastas (highlights include the paccheri with lobster, green onion, tomato, and the 'nduja ravioli with honey, hazelnuts, and tomato). For lighter fare, try the award-winning crudo menu—one of the largest in Boston—or pop in for the Sunday brunch where you can order a classic frittata or homemade spaghetti.
Photo courtesy of UNI10/12Uni
The newly updated and expanded Uni—a Boston mainstay that originally opened in 2002 from James Beard Award-winning chef Ken Oringer (Toro, Coppa) and 2018 nominee Tony Messina—is a sophisticated izakaya in a surprisingly unpretentious setting. While the menu is only as healthy as you want it to be—you can order something called a cheeseburger roll as well as orange tofu "food court style”—there’s also an abundance of nigiri and delicate sashimi options like sake salmon with black bean, ginger, and cilantro, and the hamachi yellowtail with ponzu powder and pickled chili.
Photo by Luster Studios/Craig Carpenter11/12The Can't-Miss Shop: Follain
Tucked into a corner of historic, red-brick South End, you’ll find what looks like your dream bathroom but is actually the original location of Follain. The photogenic store carries a vast selection of organic and non-toxic brands such as RMS Beauty (created by Gisele’s longtime makeup artist, Rose Marie Swift), food-grade potions from Tammy Fender, and cult favorite Ursa Major. Every brand Follain carries goes through a strict, five-step approval process before hitting the shelves. Since opening in 2013, Follian has launched a second Boston shop in Beacon Hill, stores in Seattle and Maryland, and a seasonal pop-up in Nantucket. More stores are planned in 2019.
Photo courtesy of Friends of the Blue Hills12/12The Hike: Blue Hills Reservation
Although you’ll find scenic running paths along the banks of the Charles River and around the “Sugar Bowl” in Southie—a seaside loop that darts into Boston Harbor—after walking around the city for a few days, you’ll be craving some real nature. Hop in a rideshare (sorry, public transportation options are limited, but trust us, it's worth it) for 30 minutes to the Blue Hills Reservation, a 7,000-acre, year-round park with 125-miles of hiking trails. The Blue Hills offers well-marked hikes for all levels and seasonal fun from swimming holes to skiing. Climb to the top of the Great Blue Hill for stunning views of the city and beyond.
