Here's a look at the best new Boston restaurants, hotels, party rooms, corporate event venues, conference centers, and private rooms to open this fall. These new and renovated Boston venues can accommodate groups large or small for private and corporate events, meetings, business dinners, cocktail parties, conferences, weddings, and more.
Once the Fenway Motor Hotel, the Verb Hotel is now a hyper-stylish, music-theme hotel that opened in August. Located next to Fenway Park, the 94-room boutique property displays Boston-centric music and pop-culture memorabilia and irreverent design such as stairway walls with painted messages such as "If the music is too loud, you're too old." The property has a pool and a deck suited for events, and its restaurant, Hojoko, an izakaya from Tim and Nancy Cushman, is slated to open later in the fall.
Housed in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Boston, Bar Boulud is chef Daniel Boulud’s first restaurant in the city. Chef Aaron Chambers, formerly of Bar Boulud New York City, will helm the kitchen at the hot spot, which opens September 16. A 68-seat main dining room and 17-seat zinc-topped bar are available for guests, as is a 22-seat private dining room. Classic French dishes like coq au vin are served alongside American dishes with a French twist, like “the Frenchie,” a grilled beef burger topped with pork belly confit, arugula, Dijon, tomato compote, and Morbier cheese on a brioche bun.
This summer, the International, a golf resort in the Nashoba Valley 40 minutes from Boston, debuted the 4,050-square-foot Fairway Lawn, a lush outdoor area overlooking two 18-hole golf courses that can be tented for events of as many as 300 guests. At the Lodge, the property’s 52-room boutique hotel, there are several other event spaces including the Lounge at the Lodge, which seats 70 or holds 100 for receptions in a 790-square-foot space. Its Business Conference Center seats 400 guests theater-style.
Showcase Cinemas Woburn, which completed renovations in June, is available for private event rental. The auditoriums feature stadium-style seating and powered reclining armchairs. The theater is available for private screenings as well as corporate events that stream their own content onto the screens. Event packages offer full bar service and catering.
Housed in the former Boston Police Headquarters, Precinct Kitchen & Bar opened in May at the Loews Boston Hotel and is available for private events. The 5,245-square-foot restaurant and patio serves modern New-England-style cuisine and seats 69 guests in the dining room or holds 140 for receptions.
Available for teambuilding events, Heirloom Kitchen began offering private culinary experiences in August. The spacious open kitchen and retail space holds cooking classes led by chef Ed Hoffey in a 1,400-square-foot facility in Dedham. The space holds 12 guests around a butcher’s block table.
Lawn on D is a 2.7-acre outdoor event space managed by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. The lawn, which launched in August, has freshly planted trees and greenery, lawn furniture, and a 5,000-square-foot tent with a permanent bar. Guests can sit at picnic tables or stroll along paved walkways; a number of food trucks often line up nearby. The facility offers electrical connections, lighting, security, and Wi-Fi access for private events.
Green Tangerine Spa and Salon opened a branch in the Sheraton Boston in late June, catering to business travelers and Boston residents. The spa has seven treatment rooms equipped with Italian leather chairs, 14 stylists’ chairs, manicure and pedicure stations, and one full-service private hairstyling suite. For private receptions, the 6,000-square-foot space holds 200 guests and includes catering from the hotel.
Known for its 65 locations in Canada, Earl’s Restaurants plans to launch the concept in the Northeast on September 12 with Earl’s Kitchen & Bar at Assembly Row in Somerville. The eatery will seat 294 people, including in a 72-seat dining room, at a 12-seat wine bar, in a 130-seat main bar and lounge area, and on two patios for 40 guests each. The restaurant will be available for private events and will be easily accessible by public transportation: in August, the first new rapid transit station in more than 25 years opened at Assembly Row.
In July, Sweet Basil owner Dave Becker opened Juniper, a Mediterranean bistro in downtown Wellesley. The eastern Mediterranean menu includes dishes such as grilled swordfish and vegetable tavvas served in a colorful atmosphere. A 10-seat patio and a 10-seat bar complement the 90-seat dining room, which is about 2,200 square feet.
