Readers Say

Readers shared their favorite iconic restaurants. Now it’s time to narrow it down.

Name up to three of your top choices before we create our bracket.

Kowloon on Rt. 1 in Saugus. John Blanding, Boston Globe

September 14, 2021

We’re searching for the most iconic restaurants in the Greater Boston area

Last month, when we asked readers to name their favorite iconic restaurants in the Greater Boston area, we expected to see the usual stalwarts: Union Oyster House. Kowloon. Mike’s Pastry. And Cheers, of course, because why not.

But with more than 340 readers — and a few experts we contacted — chiming in, we also received some more under-the-radar nominations. Some people named decades-old diners, like Casey’s Diner and Victoria’s Diner, as well as corner sub shops and pizzerias. There were clam shacks and steakhouses, local chains and family-owned eateries, coffee shops and dive bars. All of them, in some way, held a special place in someone’s heart.

In October, we’ll be launching a bracket that will ultimately name a winner in the debate for the most iconic restaurant around Boston. The bracket will include 64 restaurants — which poses a bit of a problem. Readers and experts named over 100 restaurants in our survey, and we need your help narrowing it down to the final 64.

From the list below, we’re asking you to choose up to three restaurants that you would consider an iconic institution in Greater Boston. We know selecting just three is going to be tricky, but consider it a challenge. We’ll see you back here in October, with a bracket that will feature upscale destinations, sandwich shops, bar pizza outposts, diners, Irish pubs, Thai restaurants, and more, all vying for the title of Boston.com’s most iconic restaurant.