Known for its award-winning Italian food, the North End is also a favorite celebrity haunt. In recent years, Tom Brady, Mariah Carey, Bad Bunny, and Robert De Niro have all been spotted enjoying a meal or two in the neighborhood. If you’re looking to dine out soon, and wouldn’t mind celebrity sightseeing, too, here are the best restaurants in the North End to eat with the A-Listers.
Strega:
In 2023, after performing her “Merry Christmas One and All” show at TD Garden, Mariah Carey stopped by for some grub at this notable Italian restaurant. According to NBC Boston, Carey ordered ravioli and pasta de fungi. Other celebrity sightings at the restaurant have included Justin Timberlake, John Mayer, and Kate Hudson. (Strega, which won Boston Magazine’s award for “ Best Place to Spot a Celeb.” in 2019, won a variation of the award again (Best Place to See an Out-of-Town Celeb” in 2024.)
Carmelina’s:
If it’s good enough for Benedict Cumberbatch, it’s good enough for us. In 2015, Cumberbatch and his friends ate at this North End restaurant, where they feasted on meatballs, asparagus with quail egg, and shaved garlic beef. “He’s a great guy,” said Carmelina’s owner/chef Damien DiPaola. “He’s a gentleman. He was so happy to be in the North End. He loved the atmosphere.” After the meal, they visited Modern Pastry, another North End institution known for its cannoli.
Bricco Boston:
Would we really have written this if we weren’t on the list, too? As Boston’s #1 “boutique” Italian restaurant, Bricco’s tables have been filled with celebrities like Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, and Bachelor stars Grant Ellis and Juliana Pasquarosa. Last year, ahead of his concert at TD Garden, Bad Bunny enjoyed our ricotta pillows, pumpkin tortellini, and our signature pappardelle al cinghiale, which is a slow-cooked pasta simmered in a wild boar sauce.
Ready to Eat Like a Celebrity Tonight? Contact Bricco Boston, the North End’s Top “Boutique” Italian Food Today!
We’ve got a table with your name on it. Reserve it today by calling us at or reaching out at (617) 248-6800, or on our website. We’ll be in touch soon!