Boston's definitive business steakhouse since 1983, with a Wine Spectator Grand Award list. Book two weeks out to close a deal.
The Reservation Problem at Grill 23
The marble columns reach you before the host does. Grill 23 fills the old Salada Tea building on Berkeley Street, and the room carries the height and the hush of a 1917 lobby, white tablecloths under a ceiling built for echoes. Conversation stays at the table where it belongs.
Grill 23 & Bar opened in 1983 at 161 Berkeley Street in Back Bay and has held Boston’s business-dinner crown ever since. Executive chef Ryan Marcoux, who joined Chris Himmel’s Himmel Hospitality in 2020, runs a kitchen built on prime beef aged on the premises for at least 45 days. Boston Magazine named it the city’s best steakhouse again in 2024. The wine list holds a Wine Spectator Grand Award. That combination keeps the room full on a Tuesday.
How to Book Grill 23
Grill 23 books on OpenTable and by phone at (617) 542-2255. The room takes reservations on a rolling window, and weeknights are gettable a few days out. The pressure is on Friday and Saturday at seven and eight, and on parties of six or more, which want two weeks or a call to the events desk. Dinner only, Monday through Sunday from five.
The bar is the way in without a reservation. It runs the length of one wall, takes walk-ins, and serves the full menu, so the ribeye is available on a stool when the dining room is gone. For a group, ask about the private rooms upstairs. If you want the quietest corner for a deal, request a banquette along the wall rather than a center table when you book.
What You Eat
The signature is the 20-ounce bone-in ribeye, the most-ordered plate in the restaurant’s four decades, cut from Midwestern prime and dry-aged in-house. The bone-in filet mignon is the leaner alternative for the guest who wants tenderness over the ribeye’s heavier flavor. Order beef, then let the sommelier point you into the California Cabernet section, which is where this list earned its award. Sides are built to share. Come hungry; the portions are sized for the room’s appetite.
The Smart Play
For a weeknight deal dinner, book two or three days out and ask for a wall banquette. For a Saturday, give it two weeks. When the night is full, take a seat at the bar and order the ribeye there; it is the same kitchen and often the better conversation. Himmel’s group is opening a second address in the Seaport in 2026, but Berkeley Street remains the room that closes deals. Menton and O Ya are the across-town alternatives at the top of the city.
Not for a quiet, light or budget dinner. The room runs loud and clubby, the menu is built around dry-aged prime beef, and a full evening with wine climbs past 150 dollars a head.
View Grill 23 & Bar on Restaurants for Kings →
Related Reading
- Our full profile: Grill 23 & Bar in Boston.
- The wider city: Boston dining guide and the hardest restaurant reservations in Boston.
- Strategy: our guide to impossible restaurant reservations.
- Steakhouse siblings: how to book CUT by Wolfgang Puck and how to book Jeffrey's in Austin.
- Occasions: best for closing a deal and best for a team dinner.
- Nearby tables: Menton and O Ya.
Frequently Asked Questions
How hard is it to book Grill 23?
Not impossible, but not casual on a weekend. Grill 23 takes reservations on OpenTable and by phone on a rolling window, and weeknights are usually gettable a few days out. Friday and Saturday at seven or eight, and parties of six or more, are the pressure points and want about two weeks. The bar absorbs walk-ins.
How far in advance should I book Grill 23?
A few days for a weeknight, about two weeks for a weekend prime time. For groups of six or more, call the events desk well ahead rather than relying on the OpenTable grid. If your date is fixed and falls on a Saturday, book the moment the window opens and request a quieter wall banquette for conversation.
Can you walk in to Grill 23?
Yes, at the bar. The bar runs the length of one wall, takes walk-ins, and serves the full menu, so the 20-ounce ribeye is available on a stool when the dining room is booked out. Arrive early or late for the best odds. For a table in the main room or a private space upstairs, you still want a reservation.
How much does Grill 23 cost?
Plan on roughly 110 to 180 dollars a head for food before drinks. The bone-in ribeye and bone-in filet sit at the top of the menu, sides are large and meant to share, and the Grand Award wine list can take the bill considerably higher. It is a special-occasion and expense-account room, priced to match.
What should I order at Grill 23?
Start with the 20-ounce bone-in ribeye, the most-ordered dish in the restaurant's history, dry-aged in-house from Midwestern prime. The bone-in filet mignon is the leaner choice. Then lean on the sommelier and the California Cabernet section, which is where this award-winning list is strongest against dry-aged beef.