From family-style Italian restaurants in the North End to bistros tucked away in the quiet neighborhoods, Boston is no stranger to Mediterranean cuisine. Yet amidst this vibrant dining scene, Krasi — a Greek wine bar — remains an especially beloved and popular choice. With a philosophy of treating guests as family and wine and food as a lifestyle, Krasi has distinguished itself with both a welcoming ambiance and a menu that authentically and skillfully translates the culinary variety of Greece. Located near the bustling Newbury Street in a dimly-lit, modern space, the restaurant combines contemporary reinterpretations with ancient traditions.
Since its opening in early 2020, Krasi has built a strong reputation in Boston’s dining scene and beyond. For two consecutive years in 2024 and 2025, it was named to OpenTable’s list of Top 100 restaurants in the nation — the only restaurant in Boston to maintain its spot on this list. Tables are often booked weeks in advance during peak dinner hours, although limited seating at the bar is sometimes available for small parties or spontaneous solo explorers.
Taking its name from the Greek word for “wine,” Krasi is a wine bar at heart. Its exclusively Greek wine menu reflects upon the cuisine’s identity-defining heritage of winemaking since antiquity. Curated with wine selections from different regions across the Greek mainland and islands, the menu invites guests onto a tour of Greece and its winery. While the long list may be overwhelming to newcomers, Krasi also offers the weekly Symposium Wednesday — which involves a curated selection of wines — to give guests an accessible and communal introduction to Greek wine culture.
To accompany its wine list, Krasi also offers an extensive selection of Greek charcuteries and cheeses. The Noumboulo, a traditional charcuterie of wild boar from the island of Corfu, is well-complemented by the briny olive tapenade and black carob bread freshly toasted on the stove. Rich with olive and walnut, the olive tapenade that comes with every charcuterie dish is certainly the highlight, although its lingering acidity and saltiness do overpower the aroma of the Noumboulo.
The melitzanes tiganites — which are crispy eggplant chips served with sweet potato skordalia and pumpkin seed oil — strike a more impressive balance. Perfectly fried and seasoned, each chip is crispy on the outside but extremely soft on the inside. After the first audible bite of the crust, the soft flesh of the eggplant soon melts on the tongue. The sweetness of the meshed sweet potato skordalia and the savory taste of the eggplant chips each complement one another in both flavor and texture, creating a contrast that only well reflects the natural tastes of the ingredients.
Many may consider Mediterranean cuisine as light and refreshing, perfect for a hot summer day. Thanks to its constantly evolving menu, Krasi challenges this perception and curates dishes well-suited to Boston’s colder and windier weather. Both the giouvetsi — braised lamb shoulder served with orzo in tomato sauce — and the bakaliaros — salt cod with gigantes — provide guests with two pleasantly hearty and comforting dishes. The lamb shoulder is tender and juicy, saturated with the tomato base and cooked to the point of collapse, allowing the meat to melt effortlessly. The orzo, on the other hand, turns the dish from a small bite to something more substantial, filling, and even more comforting.
The bakaliaros is similarly rich in tomato sauce. Its base of the gigantes — a classic Greek dish featuring white beans baked in a tomato sauce and olive oil — is likewise filling, hearty, and perfectly spiced with herbs. On top of the beans lies the lightly fried salted cod. While the cod is slightly too salty on its own, it still pairs well with the gigantes and is a warming dish for a chilly, rainy night. With an open kitchen set behind the bar, each dish is prepared directly in front of the guests and served straight from the oven and the stove, often still steaming. If the restaurant’s philosophy of “philoxenia” — or hospitality — does not warm one up, the dishes surely will.
While Krasi serves mostly meze — small dishes in the Greek culinary culture similar to the Spanish tapas — most plates are surprisingly filling, allowing guests to try a variety of dishes while feeling satiated afterward. Unlike many other tapas restaurants that eagerly welcome fusion concepts, Krasi is rooted in the diverse landscape and deep traditions of the Greek culinary culture, bringing the traditions, and enthusiasm of the Eastern Mediterranean to the palates of Bostonians.
—Staff Writer Xinran (Olivia) Ma can be reached at [email protected].
Dining and Cooking