Hannah Selinger

The North Shore has many draws, from its beautiful beaches and whale watches to scenic and historical sites. The expansive region is also home to excellent restaurants, some even rivaling Boston’s best. Shaped by the fishing industry and proximity between southern New England and Maine, Cape Ann and the North Shore boasts impeccable seafood, regional specialties and spots with citified appeal. Whether you’re planning a day trip, weekend away or longer stay on the North Shore, here’s where to eat right now.

Newburyport’s petite pasta spot, Carmine, has a tiny menu and an even tinier dining room (godspeed if you show up on a weekend night without a reservation). But don’t let that stop you from testing the waters at this superb little restaurant, where the pastas are fresh and supple, and where the environment always feels a little like New York’s Bleecker Street in the 1990s (that’s a good thing). The cacio e pepe, made with bone broth, Pecorino, fresh spaghetti and plenty of butter, is alone worth the visit.

Chef Anthony Caturano relies on only the freshest ingredients and special catches right from the local harbor at his Gloucester spot, Tonno, with more seafood-centric dishes on its menu than its Wakefield sibling or his North End original, Prezza. Italian for “tuna,” Tonno features the country’s coastal dishes, such as spicy octopus "La Plancha” and spaghetti fra diavolo with shrimp and fish stew, along with traditional landlubber favorites, like chicken parmigiana and veal Milanese.

This Marblehead bistro is nearly always full, and for good reason. Expertly executed small plates—where the restaurant shines—deliver a French sensibility that you don’t find many other places on the North Shore. Dive into a plate of escargots de Bourgogne, with garlic butter and grilled levain; chicken liver mousse with a Sauternes gelée; and a Hamachi tartare beneath a gem-colored layer of popping tobiko. The warm and inviting dining room is the kind of place that welcomes guests back night after night, week after week, year after year. 

In the summer of 2021, the team behind Trina’s Starlite Lounge added to their repertoire the Sunset Club, a year-round, mainly outdoor lounge and eatery on the Newbury side of Plum Island. What was once a gas station and its attendant parking lot has since become one of the North Shore’s coolest hangouts, with an ersatz sand beach, fire pits, picnic tables and a view of the basin’s iconic sunsets. (There's also limited seating inside around the bar.) The food is offered up with international flair: jerked chicken wings, tuna poke bowls, Cubano sandwiches—the menu changes often, although these are some standbys. The Cottage Colada, a non-frozen version of the island classic, stands out on the beverage menu with the addition of caramelized Coco Lopez. 

Haverhill recently welcomed this ode to the Italian island of Sardinia (Bosa is a city on the western coast), though the vibe is far glossier, owing to its location in the Heights, the city's top apartment complex, with a rooftop bars and views overlooking the Merrimack River. A 600-degree Marra Forni oven delivers pizzas that are chewy, slightly charred, and among the North Shore’s finest, though they’re not the restaurant’s only highlight. It would be a shame to pass up the homemade paccheri in a creamy, spicy vodka sauce, or any of the tiny, skewered spiedini, a faint reminder of how much flavor char can impart on a meal.

The New York Times recently anointed this Gloucester restaurant home to the state’s finest pizza, but Short & Main, now in its second decade, nails far more than great Neapolitan-style pies. With an ever-changing menu, expect market-driven cuisine, with locally sourced bivalves on offer, salads and snacks, homemade pastas and, yes, a petite pizza menu that lives up to even New Yorkers’ expectations. 

Open since 1935, the internationally recognized landmark that is the Ipswich Clam Box—it resembles an open box of clams—is famous for all the right reasons. A thin and delicate batter encases the only thing locals dare order here: whole belly fried clams, harvested right from Ipswich, known to be the best in the world. If the line feels too long in summer, just know that the wait is part of the experience.