A Portland, Maine, restaurant also made the unranked list.
Dalia in South Boston.
September 15, 2026 | 11:16 AM
2 minutes to read
A Boston restaurant has landed on The New York Times‘ list of its 50 favorite restaurants in America for 2026.
“We brave the reservation apps, we stand in the lines, we walk in unannounced. We pay for all of our food, and we don’t accept freebies,” the article reads. “Most importantly, we’re looking for that feeling.”
The publication sent 16 people across the country to scout restaurants ranging from newly opened spots to establishments that have been around for decades. The unranked list includes two New England restaurants: one in Boston and the other in Portland, Maine.
Hamburguesitas at Dalia in South Boston. – Assembly Design Studio/HandoutDalia, Boston
429 W Broadway, South Boston
Dalia, a Spanish restaurant in Southie, opened in April with a menu that features tapas, paella, and Spanish wines. The restaurant centers its cooking around an open kitchen and a wood-fired oven.
The menu includes dishes such as the Hamburguesitas, made with Wagyu beef sliders, and other Spanish-inspired plates.
“Dalia treats Spanish cooking not as a destination but a point of departure,” the Times wrote. “What are the words ‘dan dan’ doing on this menu? That dish is the chef Nicholas Dixon’s sly nod to the Sichuan dish, but the noodles are calamari, and pork and peanuts are smoky sobrasada and almonds.”
Dixon, Dalia’s executive chef and culinary director, told Boston.com in April that diners have described the restaurant as transporting them to Spain.
The Times also highlighted the restaurant’s “kaleidoscopic, through-the-looking-glass dining room,” noting that diners can experience everything from “sun-drenched whimsy” to “the golden glow” from the kitchen’s Basque grills.
Dalia brings wood-fired Spanish cuisine to South Boston
Douro, Portland
110 Thames St., Ste. A, Portland, Maine
Douro, named for the Douro River that runs through Portugal and Spain, opened in Portland in 2025. The 100-seat restaurant is owned by Prentice Hospitality Group, which also operates Twelve, Evo Kitchen + Bar, and Bard Coffee.
The menu focuses on seafood, with a raw bar, small plates such as salt cod croquettes, tinned fish, and cataplana, a Portuguese seafood stew.
“Douro’s farm-to-table spirit pulses in roasted asparagus with artichoke aioli, tempura Romano beans and the Jimmy Nardello peppers that festoon a very juicy bone-in pork chop,” the Times wrote.
The publication also gave a nod to the restaurant’s vermouth service, which it “part aperitivo, part cocktail nibble” served with “a flourish of frozen grapes, potato chips, olives and sour gummy candies.”
Emily TurnerCommunity deputy editor
Emily Turner is the community deputy editor for Boston.com, where she oversees reader engagement.
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