Boston, MA
For Cocktails in Boston, the local food press points to Backbar, Temple Records, and Parla. Picks from The Boston Globe and Boston Magazine, updated July 2026.
Editor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in The Boston Globe and Boston Magazine. Updated July 2026.
Backbar · Union Square
The Globe's hidden Somerville gem. Rotating themed menus and custom drinks tailored to your flavor preferences.
Temple Records · Downtown
The Globe's Japanese listening-bar pick. Vinyl records, Japanese spirits, and a sushi counter downstairs.
Parla · North End
The Globe compares walking into Parla to stepping inside an old fashioned. Dark, wood-paneled, with modern Italian food and botanical cocktail twists.
Yvonne's · Downtown Crossing
A modern supper club built inside the 150 year old shell of the legendary Locke-Ober, entered through a blow dry bar and revealed room by room. The Library bar keeps the original mahogany counter and bookshelves, pouring cocktails in a Downtown Crossing room built for lingering over several rounds.
Coquette · Seaport
A frilly, flirty French resto bar inside the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport, from the COJE group behind Yvonne's and Mariel. It joined the city's most striking bar rooms on opening and has stayed a fixture of the nightlife scene, with a cocktail list to match the maximalist decor.
What’s your #1 Cocktails in Boston?
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