Boston Restaurant Talk

Friday, June 19, 2026

Scull & Keel Fish House and Spirits Opens in Cambridge

A new seafood spot has come to Cambridge, replacing a longtime dining and drinking place within a riverside hotel.

According to an article from Boston Magazine, Scull & Keel Fish House and Spirits is now open within the Royal Sonesta, moving into the space where ArtBar had been. The post says that the new restaurant offers such options as shrimp po' boys, Atlantic crab cake sandwiches, lobster dinners for two, and hot and cold seafood towers, while its menu also shows such dishes as clam dip, shrimp scampi flatbread, a fried hake sandwich, grilled oysters, fish and chips, and more.

ArtBar first opened at the Royal Sonesta about 20 years ago.

The address for Scull & Keel Fish House and Spirits (and the Royal Sonesta) is 40 Edwin H Land Boulevard, Cambridge, MA, 02142. Its website can be found at https://scullandkeel.com/

(Follow Marc on Bluesky at @marchurboston.bsky.social)

[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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Naya Opens in Boston's Fenway Neighborhood

Last fall, it was reported that a growing group of Middle Eastern restaurants with roots in New York City would be expanding to a new location in Boston, and now we have learned that it is up and running.

According to a press release, Naya is now open in the city's Fenway neighborhood, and as mentioned in an earlier article here, it has moved into a space on Boylston Street where a location of Caffe Nero had been. The new location of Naya, which joins others in downtown Boston, the Back Bay, Cambridge's Kendall Square, Arsenal Yards in Watertown, and Burlington, features a garage-door-style facade that fully opens to the sidewalk, and it offers dishes with Lebanese influences including customizable bowls, wraps, salads, desserts, and more.

Naya first started out with a restaurant in Midtown East in Manhattan back in 2008.

The address for the new location of Naya in the Fenway is 1375 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02215. The website for all locations can be found at https://www.eatnaya.com/

[Earlier Article]
Naya Plans to Open in Boston's Fenway Neighborhood

(Follow Marc on Bluesky at @marchurboston.bsky.social)

[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

Please help keep Boston Restaurant Talk and Boston's Hidden Restaurants going by making a one-time contribution or via a monthly subscription. Thanks! (Donations are non-deductible.)

FiDO Pizza in Allston Is Closing

A pizza spot from a local restaurant group is closing after being in business for less than a year.

According to a poster within the Friends of Boston's Hidden Restaurants Facebook group page, FiDO Pizza in Allston is getting ready to close, with an Instagram post from the Western Avenue spot saying the following:

We have made the difficult decision that FiDo Pizza will close its doors after dinner service this Sunday, June 21. It's a wonderful restaurant...we're disappointed...came at a wrong time. We are very proud of what FiDO Pizza brought to Lower Allston and of the amazing job the FiDO Pizza team did in offering great food and hospitality each and every day of service. We want to thank and will miss our Lower Allston neighbors and wish them all the best. And lastly, we'd like to thank you, our FiDO Pizza friends and family, for joining us along the way.

FiDO Pizza first opened late last summer, with Traveler Street Hospitality (Bar Mezzana, Shore Leave, No Relation, Black Lamb) being behind it.

The address for FiDO Pizza is 250 Western Avenue, Allston, MA, 02135. Its website is at https://www.fidopizza.com/

(Follow Marc on Bluesky at @marchurboston.bsky.social)

[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

Please help keep Boston Restaurant Talk and Boston's Hidden Restaurants going by making a one-time contribution or via a monthly subscription. Thanks! (Donations are non-deductible.)

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Sport & Leisure Plans to Open in Boston's North Station Area

It looks like the people behind a pair of sports bars in Rhode Island will be bringing a new location to Boston.

According to a licensing board hearing page within the city's website, Sport & Leisure is looking to open by North Station and TD Garden, with the notice indicating that it would take over the space on Beverly Street where A&B Kitchen • Bar resides. The notice mentions that the proposed spot would have one large room on the ground floor including a bar, and an outdoor patio would be set up as well. If approved, the new location of Sport & Leisure would join others in Providence and East Greenwich, and based on those locations, expect to see scratch-made versions of bar food including wings, tenders, pizza, sandwiches, and pasta dishes along with beer, wine, and cocktails.

The address for the proposed Sport & Leisure would be 115 Beverly Street, Boston, MA, 02114. The website for the Rhode Island locations are at https://www.sportandleisurepvd.com/ and https://www.sportandleisureeg.com/, respectively.

(Follow Marc on Bluesky at @marchurboston.bsky.social)

[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

Please help keep Boston Restaurant Talk and Boston's Hidden Restaurants going by making a one-time contribution or via a monthly subscription. Thanks! (Donations are non-deductible.)

Flann O'Brien's May Be Returning to Boston's Brigham Circle/Mission Hill Area

It looks like a beloved Irish pub that said farewell to Boston several years ago could be coming back.

According to a licensing board hearing page within the city's website, Flann O'Brien's is looking to open back up in its former location in the Brigham Circle/Mission Hill neighborhood, moving into its space on Tremont Street that had been home to a location of Yellow Door Taqueria from late 2022 until closing earlier this year. The notice mentions that the new incarnation of the pub would have seating within a dining area and a bar along with additional seating in a rear TV room, with Scott Prince being the manager listed.

Flann O'Brien's, which had been in business since at least the 1990s, closed during the early part of the pandemic, and while there had been hope that it might return, those plans fell through and Yellow Door Taqueria (which currently has locations in Dorchester, the South End, and Providence, RI) took over the space.

The address for the proposed Flann O'Brien's is 1619 Tremont Street, Boston, MA, 02120.

[Earlier Article]
Yellow Door Taqueria in Boston's Brigham Circle/Mission Hill Neighborhood Has Closed

(Follow Marc on Bluesky at @marchurboston.bsky.social)

[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

Please help keep Boston Restaurant Talk and Boston's Hidden Restaurants going by making a one-time contribution or via a monthly subscription. Thanks! (Donations are non-deductible.)

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Puritan Tavern to Open in Groton

A well-known local chef and restaurateur is going to be opening a spinoff of one of his Boston-area dining spots, with this one being northwest of the city.

According to an article from Boston Magazine, Will Gilson (Puritan & Company, Puritan Oyster Bar, Cafe Beatrice, Geppetto, The Lexington, Amba, First Street Market) is planning to open Puritan Tavern in Groton, moving into the former fire station on Station Road where Groton Station House Restaurant had been until transitioning into an events venue then closing in 2022. The upcoming restaurant will be an offshoot of sorts of Puritan & Company which resides in Cambridge's Inman Square, though perhaps slightly less upscale, as Gilson says that he wants it to be "somewhere where everybody can get together on a weeknight, take the family, come in good or bad times. A place that doesn't feel expensive or special-occasion." (The article mentions that the dining spot will offer "creative takes on New England staples" while also serving local beers, affordable wine, and classic cocktails.)

If all goes as planned, Puritan Tavern could be opening later this summer, with a patio debuting sometime next year.

The address for the upcoming Puritan Tavern is 20 Station Avenue, Groton, MA, 01450. Its website will be at https://puritantavern.com/

(Follow Marc on Bluesky at @marchurboston.bsky.social)

[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

Please help keep Boston Restaurant Talk and Boston's Hidden Restaurants going by making a one-time contribution or via a monthly subscription. Thanks! (Donations are non-deductible.)