Skip to content
List your business

Best Cafés in Boston (2026)

Boston's café scene is strongest in the North End, where Italian pastry shops line Hanover Street and Salem Street. Mike's Pastry, founded in 1946, is famous for its many cannoli varieties, while Modern Pastry is a smaller, traditional shop that fills its cannoli to order. Bova's Bakery on Salem Street is open 24 hours a day and sells bread, cookies and savoury bakes as well as pastries. For a sit-down coffee, Caffè Vittoria, opened in 1929, has antique espresso machines on display and serves drinks late into the evening.

Outside the North End, George Howell Coffee's flagship at The Godfrey Hotel in Downtown Crossing is the place for specialty coffee, with pour-overs, coffee flights and weekly classes, and it opens every day of the year. On Beacon Hill, The Paramount on Charles Street has been a breakfast favourite for years, running as a counter-service café by day and a full-service restaurant in the evening.

As a general tip, the North End pastry shops are busiest on summer evenings and weekends, so visit earlier in the day for shorter queues, and eat cannoli the same day for the crispest shells. A pastry crawl comparing two or three shops is a popular, inexpensive evening out.

6 places · Updated October 27, 2026

Our top 3 cafés in Boston

  1. Mike’s Pastry Italian pastry shop, North EndA North End pastry shop on Hanover Street, founded in 1946, best known for its many varieties of cannoli as well as cookies, cakes and Italian pastries.
  2. Modern Pastry Italian pastry shop, North EndA small, traditional Italian pastry shop on Hanover Street in the North End, known for freshly filled cannoli, torrone and sfogliatella.
  3. Caffè Vittoria Historic Italian café, North EndA historic Italian café on Hanover Street, opened in 1929 and described as Boston's first Italian café, with vintage espresso machines on display and a cigar lounge below.

Café

1. Mike’s Pastry

Italian pastry shop$North End

A North End pastry shop on Hanover Street, founded in 1946, best known for its many varieties of cannoli as well as cookies, cakes and Italian pastries.

View details — Mike’s Pastry

Café

2. Modern Pastry

Italian pastry shop$North End

A small, traditional Italian pastry shop on Hanover Street in the North End, known for freshly filled cannoli, torrone and sfogliatella.

View details — Modern Pastry

Café

3. Caffè Vittoria

Historic Italian café$$North End

A historic Italian café on Hanover Street, opened in 1929 and described as Boston's first Italian café, with vintage espresso machines on display and a cigar lounge below.

View details — Caffè Vittoria

Café

5. The Paramount

Breakfast and brunch diner$$Beacon Hill

A Charles Street comfort food institution in Beacon Hill, cafeteria-style for breakfast and lunch and full-service at dinner, popular for eggs, burgers and brunch.

View details — The Paramount

Café

6. Bova’s Bakery

24-hour Italian bakery$North End

A family-founded North End bakery on Salem Street that is open 24 hours a day, selling Italian bread, cannoli, cookies, calzones, rice balls and Sicilian-style pizza.

View details — Bova’s Bakery