Welcome to 2025. Please take care of yourselves. A new year can be a fine time to commit to doing so, and perhaps you’ve made some resolutions to that end. Maybe you envision a year filled with more vegetables and whole grains, less (or no) meat, planet-prioritizing practices, or an alcohol-free lifestyle. Whatever it is, it will go best when it’s enjoyable. Here are some places to eat and drink well while supporting your resolutions.
Barlette
For those who love a chic, craft cocktail experience but aren’t drinking alcohol, Barlette brings the vibes. Many of the cocktails at this little Brookline lounge can be made spirit-free. There’s the Peru Plunder, a potion of poached pear, lemon, smoked chile, and rosemary. Or the Walden Smuggler, in which Concord grape shrub meets lime and ginger. Or an espresso martini (decaf available too, if you’ve sworn off regular). What are you drinking tonight? There are so many options.
318 Harvard St., Coolidge Corner, Brookline, 601-301-2024 (text only), www.drinkatbarlette.com
Advertisement
Byblos Restaurant
For a festive occasion, a family gathering, or just dinner, this Norwood restaurant has been a standby for Lebanese fare for almost 30 years. You’ll understand its longevity when you’re feasting on hummus, vegetarian moussaka and kibbeh, lentils and rice with caramelized onions, and tender grilled kebabs.
678 Washington St., Norwood, 781-762-8998, www.byblosrestaurant.com
Cafe Iterum
“Waste not, want not” sums up the experience at this East Boston cafe from chef Matt McPherson (Menton, Porto). Oriented around sustainability, it serves tasty fare made from scratch: egg sandwiches, chile smashed beet bowls with tofu and eggplant bacon, chicken kale Caesar wraps, pastries and cookies, and all the fancy coffee and tea drinks your heart desires.
Advertisement
11 Father Jacobbe Road, East Boston, 857-233-5013, www.cafeiterum.com
Habesha Restaurant
There are few more satisfying meals than Ethiopian vegetable dishes — lentils, cabbage, potatoes, and more — with the spongy, tangy flatbread injera. In Malden, Habesha is a favorite, and its flavorful, spice-rich, vegetable-focused platters (available with or without meat) will make everyone at the table happy.
535 Main St., Malden, 781-399-0868
Kava Neo-Taverna
This stylish South End spot serves modern Greek cuisine. Feast on feta-topped salads, lima beans in tomato sauce, grilled calamari with capers and olives, stuffed cabbage, and grilled chicken skewers. All the olive oil, vegetables, and grilled meats and fish (and perhaps a glass of Greek wine) might keep you alive a little longer, who knows. At the least, you’ll enjoy dinner while you’re here.
315 Shawmut Ave., South End, Boston, 617-356-1100, www.kavaneotaverna.com
Life Alive
Twenty years ago, this organic, wellness-oriented cafe serving grain bowls, smoothies, and more debuted in Lowell. There are now a dozen locations statewide, as well as a D.C. branch in the works. The plant-based menu is easy to customize to specific dietary needs, and the ethos embraces both health (for people and the planet) and pleasure. Which is to say, I know I am far from alone in having Googled “Life Alive ginger tamari sauce dupe,” because groovily named dishes like the Buddha Bowl, Green Goddess, and Rainbow Harvest are delicious.
194 Middle St., Lowell, 978-453-1311, www.lifealive.com. Additional locations listed on website.
Lulu Green
Brunch tastes best when it’s better for the planet. Lulu Green has got you, with seasonal, organic ingredients, a vegan menu, and a sustainable mind-set. Seitan asada breakfast tacos and gluten-free buttermilk pancakes go perfectly with Bloody Lulus and mimosas. Come for lunch and dinner, too; the South Boston restaurant offers hot honey-glazed “chicken” sandwiches, Korean lettuce wraps, rigatoni alla vodka with almond ricotta, brownie sundaes, and more.
Advertisement
246 W. Broadway, South Boston, 617-420-4070, www.lulugreen.com
Pho So 1
One of the best reasons to come to this Randolph restaurant is in the name: bowls of steaming, fragrant pho, a clean and light start to the year. With its flavorful broth, vermicelli rice noodles, fresh herbs, and bright lime, the Vietnamese noodle soup will clear your head. The Quincy Pho So 1 is an offshoot from the same family.
51 Memorial Parkway, Randolph, 781-961-6500
The Red Lentil
At this Watertown restaurant, chef Pankaj Pradhan serves vegan and vegetarian dishes with international flair: big, bright salads, red lentil soup (naturally), nachos, paella, shepherd’s pie. Pradhan attended cooking school in Kolkata, and his training is reflected in dishes like Gobi Manchurian (fried cauliflower in spiced tomato sauce) and the Ayurveda-influenced Nirvana Delight (tandoori tofu kebabs with biryani, mango-apricot salsa, and cucumber yogurt sauce).
600 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, 617-972-9188, www.theredlentil.com
Woods Hill Pier 4
A stylish Seaport restaurant on the water, Woods Hill Pier 4 is true farm-to-table dining, featuring pasture-raised meat and more from restaurateur Kristin Canty’s New Hampshire farm. The menu leans on natural polyunsaturated fats and organic, local, non-GMO ingredients for dishes like grass-fed steak tartare with rosemary and tallow aioli, sunflower risotto, squid ink casarecce, and BBQ pork shoulder. The bar staff serves up excellent cocktails, with or without alcohol.
Advertisement
300 Pier Four Blvd., Seaport, Boston, 617-981-4577, www.woodshillpier4.com
Devra First can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram @devrafirst.