A heart is the symbol of Worcester, and so is called the “Heart of Commonwealth” as it’s located in the center of Massachusetts. The place has diverse immigrants, leading it to be the most populous city after Boston.
With its development in the 19th century, this place is known for higher education and industrial production besides its rich history, which is the main reason the place is a competitive destination for tourism.
The travel destinations include the Worcester Art Museum, the Hanover Theatre for Performing Arts, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Union Station, and many more. The place also has a diverse food scene. Due to the large population and lifestyle, many options exist, from casual places to fine-dining restaurants.
This article explores the 11 best restaurants in Worcester, MA, which might be of some help for you to know the city and its eating culture.
11 Best Restaurants in Worcester
1. Bocado Tapas Wine Bar
Famous for its Spanish cuisine, Tapas opened in 2006 and has two locations in Worcester, namely Leominster and Wellesley. Besides Spanish cuisine, there are other international dishes on the menu.
There are approx forty tapas, special paellas, imported cheese, and meats, and if that’s not enough, they also have a collection of Spanish beer.
The ambiance at Bocado Tapas is quiet. There are rustic tables here. You can have a laid-back evening with good food and wine. You have options, from dining to takeout to home deliveries.
Many customers recommend shrimp hamburguesas with hot cherry pepper sauce, fried calamari with orange horseradish cream, pomegranate molasses, sundried tomato-olive salsa on fried chicken, and last but not least, sangria of mango flavor. In Tapas, try Pecho de res Cocido and beef brisket.
Know more about Bocado Tapas Bar from their website here.
2. Deadhorse Hill Worcester Restaurant
One of the best restaurants in Worcester, MA, Deadhorse Hill, was opened recently in 2016 by Chef Jared Forman. It was formerly a hilltop hotel. The place is the best dining scene with a rustic and chic atmosphere.
The uniqueness is not only the food here but also the fact that it serves as a café in the morning and a dining place in the evening. The café offers breakfast but also lunch options, making it perfect for brunch as well. They serve everything, from pastries and sandwiches to salads!
The place cooks from scratch and uses natural ingredients only. This causes variation in the menu, but the quality and the service make up for it.
Some options from the menu that customers recommend are oysters, pan-roasted chicken, pork belly with kimchi rice, creamed herring on toast with salmon roe and pickled onions, and rigatoni. If you select ‘horse feast,’ the chef will decide your order, making your dining experience full of surprises and excitement.
Find more about Deadhorse Hill from their website here, as the place is always jam-packed.
3. Armsby Abbey
Armsby Abbey has one of the best beer bars in New England. They also have the best interior, vibe, and tasty food that makes them a go-to for every person in Worcester.
The place is internationally recognized and has won awards. Armsby Abbey opened in 2018 and is known to source ingredients ethically. The interior of the restaurant gives an industrial vibe due to the exposed brick wall, which is perfect for your Instagram post.
Some recommendations by customers here include rib pot pie, pizza with thin-crust, pan-roasted chicken, double patty burger topped with caramelized onions, mac, and cheese, pan-roasted chicken, or Hill Farmstead- a unique dish of Armsby Abbey Worcester Restaurant.
Reserve your table for a brunch or a dine-in from their website here or get details of the opening time and address.
4. Accra Girls Restaurant
One of the best restaurants in Worcester, MA, Accra Girls, offers the best West African Cuisine. The Grafton Street restaurant is closed on Tuesdays. You can find the business hours, directions, and other services provided by Acrra Girls Restaurant on their website here.
Besides West African cuisine, Accra Girls also has Vietnamese cuisine. Some menu recipes that make this place called Taste of Ghana are yam or okra stews, spicy fried plantains, fermented corn dough balls or fermented corn and cassava dumplings, both also known as kenkey or banku and are savored with fish or Omo Tuo- a corn and cassava dough with chopped okra soup or any soup with palm oil that you like.
At their other restaurant, called Akra, you can experience unique combos as you can choose your combination of rice, meat, and vegetables getting served with your bowls or wraps of the ingredients chosen.
The place has modern interiors, giving a trendy atmosphere with bright backgrounds.
5. Baba Sushi
With awards like Best of Central Mass Sushi 2021, Baba Sushi is the spot for sushi lovers.
The interior is of bricks, and the atmosphere is sophisticated in Worcester’s busy Park Ave location. The restaurant is also in Bristol, Bolton, Sturbridge, and Rhode Island- all serving high-quality sushi and other eatables.
With fresh and fine Japanese cuisine, the place has a friendly service. You can also get Baba gift cards from this place on any occasion from any of their locations.
Some recommended orders to help you are tiger roll sushi plate, starters that are spicy like tuna belly with shichimi pepper, salmon, yellowtail, uni, or eel sushi with either rice or daikon radish, or even their special and experienced hand rolls. In cocktails, you can try orange or peach.
The place also regularly donated from their WAITT program for the COVID-19 pandemic, so you know you’re spending money on good food and drinks and simultaneously helping for a good cause.
Baba Sushi has options for home delivery and takeout as well. So, reserve yourself a table or order online from their website.
6. Miss Worcester Diner
Another restaurant on the list of best restaurants in Worcester, MA, is Miss Worcester Diner, which was voted for the same. The place is open throughout the week. On weekdays, from 5:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and on weekends, it’s open from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Located in downtown Worcester, this restaurant is in the 1940s restored vehicle, or you can call it a food truck, which has been a symbol of Miss Worcester diner for ages. This gives the place an old and rustic vibe. It is an old-fashioned atmosphere on the outside but completely different on the inside.
It serves breakfast, brunch, and dining as well. The breakfast options are wide, with almost twenty dishes. There are, in total, three menus. Miss Worcester Diner takes French Toast very seriously, as one of the three menus has dishes from French Toast.
The food is in large portions, so make sure to go on an empty stomach or order less at the start. Some recommendations are caramel apple walnut cream cheese, hash browns, waffles, omelets, eggs Benedict, hot dogs, pasta, handmade soup, or strawberry cheesecake French toast.
It’s a small, cash-only place that’s always filled due to the food quality and services, so book your seat or know more about them from their website.
7. O’Connor Restaurant and Bar
O’Connor’s family-owned dining scene has been in business for five decades, established in 1989. One of the best Worcester Restaurant, it serves Irish cuisine but, by and large, include other cuisines as well.
The place is cozy, and the interiors are vintage with a 90s vibe. They have dark wood on the inside. The walls are decorated with posters and art, adding to the Irish ambiance. Due to the beautiful interior, many customers also refer to it as a museum.
Even though it’s crowded, the diner is ventilated and spacious so that you can relax despite the crowd there. The staff here is respectful, and the hospitality is excellent.
O’Connor’s has a variety of sandwiches, salads, appetizers, burgers, beer, and fine wine. Traditional Irish recipes like banger and mash, Guinness pie, mushroom, and beef are recommended for you to try. You can also order French onion soup, stew, seafood, or roast prime Rib Au Jus.
There are menus of categories like vegetarian, children-friendly, gluten-free dishes, and so on, making it more suitable for every kind of person visiting.
Because the place is an established brand, O’Connors also have a Gift line where you can buy souvenirs, gift certificates, T-shirt, coffee mugs, pint glass, and other things to remember your visit or gift it to any of your loved ones. All the abovementioned items can be easily purchased from their store, but gift certificates can also be purchased online.
O’Connor also has options for online orders and home delivery. The place is closed only on Sundays and is open from 11:00 a.m. to 8:30/ 9:00 p.m. on weekdays.
You can find the exact schedule, directions, menu to order, notifications on gatherings, and other information from their website here.
8. Fatima’s Café
With being featured in Worcester Magazine, Fatima’s Café is one of the best restaurants in Worcester. It is known for offering East African cuisine, so you can expect a local taste of the cuisine without traveling.
The place has a glass wall on one side and small tables and chairs, so that you can expect a cozy atmosphere inside.
Issa is the co-owner, and his wife, Fatima, takes care of the cooking. Issa is friendly, and while you ask to help with the order or wait for your order, he might explain to you the origin of dishes or recipes, how the spices traveled from India to Africa, or how Fatima learned cooking from her mother and the same is passed through generations and other exciting facts.
Since the place is small and is locally owned, the menu here is small, with dinner entrees, Kenyan chai varieties, juice, smoothies, sandwiches, and salads. The cafe is also cheap. You can expect to walk out with a full stomach without spending much.
Even though you’ll get help from the very kind and friendly Issa, you can order some recommendations from the visitors, like the traditional East African platter with Somali injera bread, goat, and spicy lentil, or the Anjero platter, which has stews and flatbreads.
You can also try ugali, which is a porridge of cornmeal and is served with greens, peppers, and onions, also known as a ‘poor man’s meal’ but it’s the healthiest of all dishes.
Amongst everything on the menu, you cannot walk out without trying any of the flavorful varieties of samosa. It’s a flaky pocket that fills soft yet spicy lentils. The most demanding of all is the beef samosa. It is a bit bland but tastes good with the green chili hot sauce that is made in the house.
This small café or restaurant is closed on Mondays. Because it’s small and famous, the place is always in demand, so you should make a reservation before going. The place also offers catering services for all sorts of events, so book them now or get to know more details from their website.
9. Mare E Monti
As said before, Worcester restaurants have tons of different cuisines to offer. Mare E Monti, similarly, offers Italian cuisine. It is a family-owned restaurant and has been in business for 20 years now. Its owner is Pina Conte, an Italian, so you can assume the cooking to be authentic.
The interior has a brick wall, soft lights, and mini chandeliers for each table. It is a perfect place for a formal or even a romantic date.
Since it’s Italian, you can assume high-quality pizza and pasta variety. You can also try the Anatra Croccante, which is a fried duckling and includes beans, garlic, and rosemary and is served with beans. Their boleneges are also delicious, and so is the eggplant parm.
Recently, they introduced a Spaghetti al Formaggio Parmigiano Cheese bowl, which is available only at Mare E Monti, and you can try it on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There is also a small bar that serves beer and wine.
You can also order their food online. Find their menu and contact details on their website.
10. 111 Chop House or One Eleven Chop House
111 Chop House is a steakhouse, or as it prefers to be called, Worcester’s perfectly aged steakhouse. It is locally owned and was opened in 1999.
In the voting of Worcester Telegram, 111 Chop House was voted as the best restaurant for fine dining and steakhouse. It has also been consistently awarded, since 2001, with the Award of Excellence of Wine Spectator.
The ambiance here is elegant and sophisticated. Perfect for celebrating occasions from formal to casual, you can have company dinners, family gatherings, or dates here. The house has both public and private seating options. The staff is highly sophisticated, knowledgeable, and professional.
The restaurant was built by the renowned architect Peter Niemitz. The interiors, on the other hand, are made with fine wood. There are vintage posters on the walls. The open kitchen and buzzing bar scene make the atmosphere casual yet elegant.
Experts prepare the food here. The freshness of the food is of prime importance, and so is local artisan promotion by using local cheese and meat products.
You can try wagyu beef, veal, lamb, pork, or seafood. Upgrade your food with cocktails and draft beers available in the bar here.
The place also offers gift cards for fine diners in the area, like The Sole Proprietor and 111 Chop House itself. You can get the gift card online, too. It’s closed on Sundays only but is open on special Sundays, i.e., in case there are days like Mother’s or Father’s Day.
During regular hours, they also have a takeout option. You can select your order from the menu on their website here.
11. The Sole Proprietor
Located near 111 Chop House, the Sole Proprietor is one of the top Worcester restaurants in Worcester, MA. Awarded as Worcester’s best seafood restaurant, best business lunch, best fish, best martini, and best oysters and clams, the place is heaven for seafood lovers.
The Sole Proprietor fancies itself by claiming that the food here is so good that you’ll think you’re at the waterfront, and they’re not wrong.
The place has both open and private dining areas. The staff is also knowledgeable and hospitable. Established in 1979, The Sole Proprietor serves fresh seafood as there is a fresh catch from the sea at the raw bar.
They’ve also launched lobster specials for April to make your summer dining experience exciting. There are other options as well, like steak, chicken recipes, and salads. You can order sous vide octopus here, which is accompanied by sweet pepper and creamy mash. There is a gluten-free menu here to help people on diets.
There’s also a bar at the Sole Proprietor, so make sure to upgrade your dining experience with its extensive wine list.
Like other fine diners, The Sole Proprietor also has a Gift Card that you can gift your loved ones. Closed on Sundays, make reservations during their business hours available on their website.
FAQs
Q1. Do the above-mentioned places take reservations?
Yes. Various restaurants mentioned in the article provide reservations, like Armsby Abbey, Deadhorse Hill, Baba Sushi, and others. You can reserve your table through the contact details mentioned on the websites of the restaurants linked in the article.
Q2. Are there vegetarian or gluten-free options in the above-mentioned list?
Yes. Places like O’Connnors and The Sole Proprietor provide such options.
Q3. How do I know the exact location and timings for the Restaurants mentioned above?
You can find the details of the location and their timings through their website, linked with the description of the place.
Last Updated on by Sathi Chakraborty, MSc Biology
