Great place for food and fun with friends. Absolutely love glorifried chicken, ribs, and sweet potato fries! The place is dim with a stage in the back. Sit towards the entrance if you’re more interested in conversation. The best part of Bob’s is given away for free—the corn muffins! Just interested in food, they have a separate take out entrance!

Mike’s is a real diner with all day breakfast, sandwiches, and daily specials at reasonable prices. I always find it difficult to choose between breakfast and lunch, but I usually go for breakfast—egg sandwiches, combo platters, waffles, pancakes. I’ve also had their BLT, pastrami sandwich, and meatloaf. All the food I’ve had has been simple but good. No fancy gourmet touches, just simple.

Service is fast and friendly with quick coffee refills. It gets pretty packed during lunch with locals, construction workers, and staff from the nearby hospital. The lunch atmosphere is bustling but the place is always bright and clean. They also do takeout service at the counter. This is definitely one of my favorite places when I’m on a budget.

This has been my dim sum spot for the last year. From the same owners as China Pearl, it offers dim sum without the insane lines on the staircase as CP. I’ve never had to wait longer than 10 or 15 minutes for a table, and usually there’s no wait at all. I’ve found the carts to come by at a fairly good pace, especially downstairs, and all the food has been uniformly excellent. Most cart attendants speak enough English to inform you of your selection, and the prices can’t be beat!

Just outside of the Chinatown gates, this place is walkable from South Station, Chinatown, NEMC, Boylston, and Downtown Crossing. Parking during the weekends can be pretty tough unless you’re willing to park in a lot.

After a recent renovation, prices have gone up, but you can still get 24 pieces of nigiri for $30. You can also pick all your own pieces with salmon and yellowtail usually the standouts for me. The fish quality can range from good to excellent, but in the dozens of times I’ve been here, I’ve never had a bad meal. I’m disappointed that the avocado salad has rocketed in price from $4 to $7.50, but it is tasty with lots of roe.

Food: Lots of hot and cold tapas to choose from and sharing adds a lot of fun and romance. Prices range from $4.50 to $9, which is quite a bit more than what people in Spain pay for, but I love coming here for a splurge. The seafood paella is large and quite filling! Don’t forget to have some sangria.

Atmosphere: The rooms is loud but tables are romantic with dim lighting and rose petals. Last time I was there our table for two was in a small nook. People crowd around the bar or outside since this place doesn’t take reservations after 6 or 6:30 pm.

Location: Parking is not the easiest. There are a few spaces on the street with meters not in effect after 6 pm. It’s an easy 15 minute walk from Harvard Square.

This place sells subs and pizza but the clear star is the super beef sandwich. Great roast beef that’s red but not bleeding all over the place plus some mayo and bbq sauce. The pastrami sandwich was made to order on a fresh kaiser roll and managed not to be overwhelmingly greasy.