There’s something truly magical about watching food being prepared for you. Seeing a chef carefully work on his craft in an effort to serve others is so special. As diners, being able to see the hard work behind a dish can certainly make us appreciate a meal much more than it just being put in front of us. Love watching chefs create meals? Head to one of these restaurants in Boston for an open-kitchen dining experience.
Curious about how Alden & Harlow puts together some of their thoughtfully sourced, honest American dishes? Take a seat at the restaurant’s high-top chef’s table for the opportunity to watch in awe. Our favorite dish to watch being prepared? The local burrata with savory pain perdu, maple roasted squash syrup, and pecan crumble.
From pizza-making to dishing pasta, get all the views of Capo’s Italian kitchen with a seat right at the back of the house. From your chair, you’ll feel the warmth of the wood-fired brick oven all while watching chefs toss dough in the air before topping with ingredients like fresh mozzarella, fontina fonduta, and roasted garlic.
Terra at Eataly
We can imagine that many of you want to experience Terra solely to capture a photo of this beautiful restaurant. The atmosphere alone is worth a visit, with live plants galore, a glass roof, and of course, an open kitchen. If that’s not reason enough to head over to Eataly, let us tempt you with one of our favorite dishes: grilled local sea scallops with satsuma tangerine, riso venere, and fennel.
And Terra isn’t the only restaurant that’s basically covered with plants. Field & Vine in Somerville is another stunning restaurant. And though the open kitchen only seats a few, consider yourself lucky if you can snag one. The menu is constantly changing with the season, but a core dish that we always enjoy is the beef tartare with nuoc cham aioli, fried shallot, peanuts, and potato chips.
While the others on this list are more of an open kitchen concept, we couldn’t leave out The Hourly’s open shucking station. You’ll definitely want to call ahead to reserve a seat at their beautiful marble raw bar, but trust us, it’s worth planning ahead. Watch the pros effortlessly shuck oysters and handle other fresh seafood like lobster, clams, mussels and shrimp. Just sit back and enjoy a glass of Muscadet, our favorite wine pairing for oysters.
For those who like to watch what happens in the kitchen, there’s a chef’s table where you can take a peek at all the action. You’ve gotta admit that there’s something truly special about watching the magic of the kitchen while you eat. We’ve especially enjoyed their lobster benedict brunch entree with butter poached Maine lobster, spinach, poached egg, and hollandaise.
This lively and contemporary izakaya features an ambitious menu of street-food inspired small plates as well as makimono, nigiri, and sashimi. It’ll take several visits to get through the menu, but watching the dishes being prepared is a huge draw for returning.
