Here's a look at the best new Boston restaurants, corporate event venues, hotels, conference centers, and private and party rooms to open for events this summer. These new and renovated Boston venues can accommodate groups large or small for private and corporate events, conferences, meetings, weddings, business dinners, teambuilding activities, cocktail parties, and more.
Naco Taco, a long-term pop-up restaurant near M.I.T., puts a twist on Mexican street food. The 2,600-square-foot restaurant, which seats 100 guests inside and 85 on a spacious three-season patio, also has a 25-seat horseshoe bar. The menu offers a lengthy list of beer and sangria as well as a rotating selection of tacos, tortas, and sides. Opened in mid-May, Naco has a Sonos sound system and multiple HD TVs that can be used for presentations.
The first New England outpost of the popular New York eatery Serafina opened in early April in the former Radius space downtown. Known for its thin-crust pizzas, the restaurant’s bright and airy 12,000-square-foot space has a design that combines modern Italian with a New England farmhouse. The Vault, a lower-level private event room that once was as a bank vault, retains its original metal security door. The room fits three farmhouse tables that seat 24 guests total. Another private event space just off the lower-level lounge holds 100 guests at 10 wooden farmhouse-style tables.
Offering East Coast Revival cuisine, the East Cambridge restaurant Loyal Nine opened its doors in late March. The menu features a variety of lesser-known shellfish, vegetables, and meats. The dining room seats 94, with additional seats at the bar, or the room holds 130 guests for receptions. The space can be combined with that patio that seats 30 or holds 50 for receptions. A smaller café area seats 30. Buyouts of the 4,000-square-foot venue are available.
Launched in the Boston area in late April, Breather is an on-demand workspace with three locations. Planners book the stylishly designed private office space online or through Breather’s app for a minimum of 30 minutes or as long as an entire day. At the Boylston Street location (pictured), amenities include a large conference table, a whiteboard, a lounge area, and private restrooms. The space seats 17 guests or holds as many as 30 for receptions.
The 700-square-foot Newbury Street shop Amorino is the first Boston-area outpost of the popular European gelato chain. Guests can choose from 24 flavors of gelato, or order treats such as a gelato frappe, crepe, or signature gelato-filled macarons, as well as 10 varieties of hot chocolate. The space, which opened at the end of March, has a warm wood and brick interior and holds 50 guests for receptions.
Set to open in mid-June, the bar and restaurant Committee will serve Mediterranean fare in a modern and industrial Seaport location. A 200-square-foot private room seats 18 people or holds 25 for receptions. A patio can be booked for semiprivate seasonal events. The venue’s audiovisual capabilities include a projector, a screen, a television, and Wi-Fi.
The popular restaurant chain reopened its Burlington in May as Papa Razzi Metro with a new menu, design, and concept that includes a Neapolitan pizza station and house-made pastas. The eatery offers two private event spaces: La Piazza seats 100 guests or holds 140 for a receptions and has a full bar that can be customized with two taps. La Citta seats 50 and has a mobile bar. Both rooms are outfitted with audiovisual equipment, including an 84-inch flat-screen TV with HDMI input, multiple USB ports, a wireless microphone, and the option to stream music via Bluetooth. Whiteboards, flip charts, conference phones, and branded notepads also are available.
The luxury island getaway Nantucket Hotel & Resort is unveiling an new wing early this summer that will add five new Cottage Guest Suites that mix traditional Nantucket charm with modern-day amenities. The property’s meeting spaces include a 3,100-square-foot ballroom, which seats 250 or holds 300 for receptions. It has a raised stage and audiovisual hookups. For smaller groups, the Point, a 550-square-foot room, seats 14 guests.
Chef Michael Serpa has opened Select Oyster Bar—which serves crudo, ceviche, and of course, oysters—at an 800-square-foot Back Bay space. The dining room seats 14 guests, while the bar seats another 16. A 300-square-foot patio seats 22. The restaurant opened in April and is available for full buyout.
For a wellness-minded group or healthful breakfast meeting, the Juice Box serves made-to-order juices, smoothies, and breakfast bowls. The 700-square-foot Southie juice bar and café, which opened in February, comfortably fits 25 guests and is available for full or partial buyouts.
