North Shore Restaurants
Italian
Seafood Slant
Tonno, Gloucester
Insider Tip: Check out Sunday Gravy. Every Sunday night, the chef offers a special rustic menu featuring meatballs, fresh pasta, and whatever else is fresh and seasonal.
In the Works: A second location opening in Wakefield this summer.
2 Main St., Gloucester, 978-879-4795, tonnorestaurant.com
Northern Italian
Angelo’s Ristorante & Wine Bar, Stoneham
Standout Qualities: Many of the dishes Angelo Caruso creates are from Northern Italy. Angelo’s offers the best available ingredients and locally grown herbs and vegetables, the menu changes seasonally and features generations of family recipes. The pastas, sauces, and mozzarella are all made in-house—making Angelo’s the epitome of authentic Italian.
237 Main St., Stoneham, 781-279-9035, angeloristorante.com
Old World
Lucia Ristorante, Winchester
What’s Unique: The restaurant’s vaulted ceiling is painted to look like the Sistine Chapel.
Fun Fact: The restaurant sometimes offers pasta-making classes.
13 Mt. Vernon St., Winchester, 781-729-0515, luciaw.in
Modern
Alto Forno, Peabody
Standout Qualities: Modern Italian food in a sexy space dripping with crystal chandeliers and tufted dining chairs.
Insider Tip: Grab a seat at the bar in front of the gorgeous Wood Stone oven, fired by hardwood and gas. Watch the chefs at work on perfectly crusty flatbreads.
41 Cross St., Peabody, 978-871-2942, altoforno.com
Giuseppe’s, Newburyport
Fun Fact: Owner Giuseppe Masia is from Sardegna, Italy, and started his restaurant as a takeout-only shop.
257 Low St., Newburyport, 978-465-2225, giuseppesfinefood.com
Kid-Friendly
Trina’s Starlite Lounge, Amesbury
What’s Unique: High-end hot dogs, video games, and craft cocktails. Need we say more?
Fun Fact: The long tables in the back are hewn from old bowling alley lanes. They are the perfect spot for parents to sip a Cartel Café while watching the kids play video games. The Cartel Café is made with espresso-infused tequila, mezcal, Campari, and grapefruit.
Insider Tip: Order the Southern Corn Fritters for dessert. It’s dusted with powdered sugar and served with a lavender-honey dipping sauce. They are sophisticated and fun all at once.
37 Main St., Amesbury, 978-792-5746, trinastarlitelounge.com
Lobster Dinner
Bob Lobster, Newbury
Standout Qualities: Lobsters are steamed—not boiled—to order, based on weight to make sure each comes out perfectly.
What’s New: The North Shore Restaurant just got a renovation with a spiffy paint job and a rustic service counter.
Insider Tip: For a full-on New England experience, order the Bob’s Clam Bake. It’s a one-pound steamed lobster, a pound of steamers, a cup of clam chowder, French fries, coleslaw, corn on the cob, and drawn butter.
49 Plum Island Turnpike, Newbury, 978-465-7100, boblobster.com
Lobster Roll
Island Creek Oyster, Burlington
Fun Fact: Ethel’s Lobster Roll is named after chef Jeremy Sewall’s grandmother.
What’s Unique: A mixture of mayo and crème fraîche binds the tender knuckle, tail, and claw meat set on a hand-rolled brioche bun.
300 District Ave., Burlington, 781-761-6500, islandcreekoysterbar.com
Shack
Bob Lobster, Newbury
What’s Unique: Six variations on the classic, from one topped with short ribs or pork belly to a luscious wasabi-dressed one with slaw and sesame seeds.
Fun Fact: The new artwork in the dining room is art by a pair of Newburyport High School students.
49 Plum Island Turnpike, Newbury, 978-465-7100, boblobster.com
Little Harbor Lobster Company, Marblehead
Standout Qualities: Lobster meat is shucked daily for each roll, which is heaped with a third of a pound of meat fresh off the boat.
3 Beacon St., Marblehead, 781-639-1961, littleharborlobster.com
Keep Reading Our North Shore’s Best Restaurants to see the Best Mediterranean!