Head-to-Head · Boston
Grill 23 & Bar vs Krasi
Grill 23 is the Back Bay power steakhouse; Krasi the Greek wine bar. Book Grill 23 for deals, Krasi for discovery.
The Verdict
Grill 23 is the Boston power table. Open on Berkeley Street in Back Bay since 1983, it is the city's reference steakhouse: marble columns, white-jacketed service, a 45-day dry-aged program and a wine list deep enough to make a deal feel important. The cooking is classic and confident, built on prime beef, raw-bar towers and the kind of sides a boardroom expects. It scores 8 for food, 8 for the room and 7 for value, and it is where Boston goes to sign something over a steak.
Krasi is the discovery. A few blocks away on Gloucester Street, it is a Greek meze room with the largest Greek wine list in America, more than 180 natural and biodynamic bottles you will not find elsewhere in the city. The menu runs through spreads, spit-roasted and whole-animal cooking and the kind of regional Greek plates Boston rarely sees, and the Symposium Wednesdays turn the wine programme into the main event. It scores 8 for food, 7 for the room and 8 for value, and it is the table that makes you feel like you know the city's secret.
The split is institution versus discovery. Grill 23 is the grand, four-decade steakhouse for a deal or a milestone, the bigger room and the safer bet; Krasi is the intimate Greek wine bar for a date or a night of exploring, the better value and the better story. One impresses, the other delights.
Scores, Side by Side
| Score | Grill 23 & Bar | Krasi |
|---|---|---|
| Food | 8 / 10 | 8 / 10 |
| Atmosphere | 8 / 10 | 7 / 10 |
| Value | 7 / 10 | 8 / 10 |
The Rooms and the Tables
Grill 23 is a two-floor temple of dark wood, brass and marble, loud in the best way, with tables spaced for a private conversation and a bar that fills with suits after work. It is dressy without a strict code, and it handles a party of eight as easily as a table for two. The steak is the order, but the raw bar and the wine list are why the deals get done here.
Krasi is the opposite: a warm, low-ceilinged room on a side street, built for sharing plates and passing bottles. You come for the meze, you stay for the wine, and the staff steer you through Greek grapes you have never tried. It is the better room for a date or a small group that wants to graze and drink rather than commit to a single slab of beef.
Which One for Which Occasion
| Occasion | Editorial Pick |
|---|---|
| Closing a deal | Grill 23 & BarFour decades of Back Bay steakhouse polish and a deep wine list make Grill 23 the room where Boston signs the contract. |
| A wine-led date | KrasiThe largest Greek wine list in America and a warm side-street room make Krasi the better table for a date. |
| A milestone dinner | Grill 23 & BarMarble columns, dry-aged beef and white-jacket service give Grill 23 the occasion a celebration wants. |
| Discovery and value | KrasiRegional Greek meze and 180-plus all-Greek wines deliver a night you cannot repeat elsewhere, at a gentler price. |
| A group that wants to share | KrasiThe meze format and the passing of bottles make Krasi the more sociable table for a small group. |
Price and How to Book
Both book online and both reward a little planning. Grill 23 takes reservations through its own platform and by phone, with Friday and Saturday the squeeze and the bar a reliable walk-in; the full picture is in the Grill 23 review. Krasi books on Resy, where weekend tables and the Symposium Wednesdays go first and a weeknight is the easy seat; the detail sits in the Krasi review. Both anchor our Boston dining guide.
For cuisine context, weigh Grill 23 against the best steakhouses worldwide and Krasi against the world's finest Greek restaurants. For occasion fit, see our picks for a meal to close a deal and for a first date. More Boston match-ups sit on the compare index, including Avra vs Krasi and Kava vs Krasi.