Restaurants

Four of the top 100 restaurants of 2022 are in Massachusetts, according to Yelp

The top-ranked spot is an "insanely popular" Middle Eastern restaurant in Somerville.

Seven Layer Hummus with falafel crackers at Sarma in Somerville. Lane Turner/Globe Staff

January 24, 2022

A restaurant serving small plates is making a big impression on Yelp diners in 2022.

Painted Burro plans to open in the old Border Cafe space in Cambridge

Sarma in Somerville was the top-ranked of four Massachusetts restaurants on Yelp’s top 100 places to eat in 2022 in the U.S., securing the No. 33 spot.

The other three Bay State restaurants on the list: Fox & the Knife in Boston ranked No. 70, Prezza in Boston ranked No. 76, and Red Lentil Vegetarian & Vegan Restaurant in Watertown ranked No. 90.

“Nearly all of our Top 100 restaurants in the U.S. are affordable spots where you can enjoy a meal for $30 or under,” Yelp wrote.

Here’s what Yelp had to say about Sarma:

“This insanely popular restaurant features a Turkish meze (small plates) menu created by 5-time James Beard award nominee Cassie Piuma, who mastered Mediterranean cooking under the mentorship of co-owner (and James Beard winner) Ana Sortun. Modeled after a Turkish meyhane (house of wine), Sarma is warm, cozy, and very social. Start with a Dirty Chai Martini and some Fava Bean Pate, followed by Lentil Nachos, Pomegranate Sticky Ribs, and other “snacks,” before digging into a large selection of veggie, pasta, and meat plates.”
— Yelp

At Boston’s Fox & the Knife, “diners indulge in exquisite ingredients such as homemade pasta and ricotta, black truffles, braised duck, and whole branzino,” wrote Yelp, while the city’s Prezza customers enjoy “decadent handmade-pasta dishes, such as the chestnut ravioli with pulled duck, or the Lobster Fra Diavolo with saffron rigatoni, lobster stock, and fennel.”

Watertown’s Red Lentil Vegetarian & Vegan Restaurant is a “Boston-area favorite serving vegan and vegetarian food even meat-eaters will love,” according to Yelp.

Two other New England restaurants, both in Rhode Island, also made the list: Bywater in Warren ranked No. 39, and The Red Dory in Tiverton ranked No. 77.

The No. 1 restaurant is Cocina Madrigal in Phoenix, Arizona.

The website asked Yelpers for their favorite dining spots and then ranked each one by taking into account the total number of submissions, reviews, ratings, and geographic representation, among other factors.

View the top 100 places to eat in 2022 in the U.S.