Photo: Google Places. Hero: the dining room at Grill 23 & Bar, Back Bay, Boston.
Boston is not a Michelin city, but it runs a serious top tier, and a fair slice of it goes dark on Sunday and Monday. The chef-driven rooms (Menton, Deuxave, No. 9 Park) close one or both. What stays open on Sunday is the steakhouse-and-Newbury-Street axis in Back Bay, where Sunday is a working day rather than a night off. Six confirmed Sunday rooms follow, ranked by what each is for, with exact hours and US dollar prices a head before wine.
Boston has no Michelin guide, so the city's hierarchy is set by the steakhouses, the Back Bay grandes dames and the new wave of design-led rooms on Newbury Street. Many of the kitchens a visitor most wants on a Saturday keep a closed Sunday or Monday to rest the team, which leaves a predictable gap on the calendar. The rooms that hold a Sunday service cluster in Back Bay and along Newbury Street, where Sunday brunch-into-dinner is a business in its own right.
The order below leads with the steakhouses that anchor a Sunday dinner, then the seafood and Italian rooms that round out the night. A note on the city's rhythm: Boston eats early, prime tables run 6 to 8, and the rooftop seats at Contessa go first in warm weather. Hours are checked against each restaurant's published schedule. Every name links to its full review with the score and booking mechanics. For the rest of the week, start with the Boston dining guide.
Sunday hours: Sunday, 17:00–21:00 (dinner)
Grill 23 has run Boston's power-steak room since 1983 at 161 Berkeley Street in Back Bay, in a high-ceilinged former bank hall. The dry-aged sirloin and the lobster bisque are the markers, and a steak dinner lands around $90 to $160 a head. Sunday is dinner only, five to nine. The clubby room and the serious wine list make it the Sunday pick for a deal or a celebration that wants weight rather than fireworks.
Sunday hours: Sunday, 17:30–21:30 (dinner; bar from 17:00)
Jamie Mammano's seafood room sits at 1 Charles Street South near Bay Village, all marble and white tablecloth. The whole roasted branzino, filleted tableside, and the Mediterranean crudo are the order; a meal runs $90 to $160 a head. Sunday dinner is 5:30 to 9:30 with the bar open from five. It is the most formal of the Sunday seafood options in town, which makes it the room for a quiet anniversary or a visiting client.
Sunday hours: Sunday, 11:00–22:00 (all day)
Abe & Louie's keeps the longest Sunday on this list, eleven in the morning to ten at night, at 793 Boylston Street across from the Boston Public Library. The bone-in ribeye and the Sunday prime-rib special are the order, with a meal around $80 to $150 a head. The all-day hours cover a late lunch, an early family dinner and a post-game table after the Sox, which makes it the most flexible Sunday booking in Back Bay.
Sunday hours: Sunday, 07:00–14:30 and 17:00–22:00
Major Food Group's Contessa crowns the Newbury hotel at 3 Newbury Street, a glass-walled rooftop with a retractable roof and Public Garden views. The veal Milanese and the cacio e pepe are the order; a meal runs $80 to $150 a head. Sunday splits into a morning service to 2:30 and a dinner from five to ten. Ask for a roof table in warm weather. It is the see-and-be-seen Sunday booking, and the hardest seat on this list to land last minute.
Sunday hours: Sunday, 17:30–21:00 (dinner)
Sorellina faces Copley Square at 1 Huntington Avenue, a cream-and-black room that has been Back Bay's go-to special-occasion Italian since 2007. The black-tagliolini with lobster and the branzino are the markers; a meal lands $80 to $140 a head. Sunday dinner runs 5:30 to nine. The room is calm and well-spaced, which makes it the Sunday choice when the table needs to actually hear each other over dinner.
Sunday hours: Sunday, from 16:00 (dinner)
Avra brought its Manhattan Greek-seafood format to 400 Newbury Street in spring 2026, with whole fish sold by the pound over ice and a bright, airy room. The grilled Dover sole and the Greek spreads are the order; a fish dinner runs $90 to $170 a head once you pick from the ice display. Sunday service opens mid-afternoon for dinner. It is the newest and liveliest Sunday room on this list, best for a group that wants a long, loud table.
In Boston the prime Sunday tables run early, six to eight, and the rooftop seats at Contessa are the first to go in warm weather, so book the moment your date is set. Grill 23 and Abe & Louie's both clear a Sunday dinner more easily, which makes either the safe choice for a Sunday business dinner on short notice, and both are natural picks for the best steakhouses worldwide shortlist. For a solo Sunday, the bar at Ostra or the counter seats at Abe & Louie's are the easiest tables and a strong solo-dining move. Entertaining a group? Avra seats large parties latest and loudest. Most of these rooms take bookings on Resy or OpenTable; the rest of the city's Italian options sit on the best Italian restaurants worldwide guide.
Six upscale Boston rooms keep a confirmed Sunday service: Grill 23 and Abe & Louie's for steak in Back Bay, Ostra for Mediterranean seafood near Bay Village, the Contessa rooftop and Sorellina for Italian, and Avra Estiatorio for Greek seafood on Newbury Street. Many of the city's chef-driven rooms, including Menton, Deuxave and No. 9 Park, close Sunday or Monday, so a confirmed Sunday list saves a wasted trip.
No, because Boston is not covered by the Michelin Guide at all. The city has no Michelin stars to lose, so its top tier is judged by the steakhouses, the Back Bay grandes dames and rooms like Contessa and Avra. Of those, the six listed here are the ones confirmed to serve on a Sunday, with Grill 23 and Ostra the most formal options for a special occasion.
Contessa runs a Sunday morning service to 2:30 on the Newbury hotel rooftop, the marquee upscale brunch in town, and Abe & Louie's opens at eleven for an all-day Sunday that covers a late breakfast. Both take bookings and both fill their best Sunday tables first, so reserve several days out and ask for a window or roof seat at Contessa.
Two Back Bay steakhouses keep a Sunday dinner. Grill 23 serves its dry-aged sirloin five to nine in a former bank hall on Berkeley Street, around $90 to $160 a head. Abe & Louie's runs all day to ten on Boylston Street with a Sunday prime-rib special, around $80 to $150. Grill 23 is the more formal room for a deal; Abe & Louie's the more flexible for a family Sunday.
For these rooms, yes. Contessa's rooftop and Grill 23's dining room both book out for Sunday evening, especially in spring and autumn, and walk-in space is limited to the bar. Abe & Louie's and Avra hold more last-minute room, and their bars take walk-ins, but a reservation through Resy or OpenTable is still the safe move for any party larger than two.
Hours verified against each restaurant's published schedule as of June 2026; confirm directly before travelling. Restaurants for Kings is editorial, not sponsored. Some reservation links may earn an affiliate commission, which never affects a ranking or a score.