The Best Way to Savor The South End is with Bites of Boston

The Best Way to Savor The South End is with Bites of Boston

Guest feature by Bites of Boston

Boston’s South End remains a hidden gem for most

Just enough off the beaten path and away from the bustle of the busier downtown streets for many to simply miss it all together. Lucky for you, you’re here already, and we hope you have a chance to truly explore what this special neighborhood has to offer. In fact, we’d love to help you do just that on one of our food, fun, and fact-filled, on-foot adventures taking place just outside your door!

At Bites of Boston, we are passionate about local food and community, and how the two become so closely intertwined within the fabric of urban living. In fact, these passions are what led to the curation of our very first food experience – right here in the South End – nearly 10 years ago! Since 2011, we have been welcoming both local and visiting guests to eat, explore and experience every beautiful, interesting and delicious thing this exquisite neighborhood has to offer. With a history as vibrant as the cuisine is tasty, the South End is the perfect place to feed your mind and fill your belly!

For example, did you know that famous former South End residents include Martin Luther King Jr. and Alexander Graham Bell? Both true! And the first telephone call ever was actually made while Alexander was living in the neighborhood in 1876 – and if he’d had it his way, we would all be answering our phones today by saying “Ahoy” instead of “Hello.” As we stroll the South End streets over the course of our 3-hour tour, we have plenty of opportunities to stop and visit numerous sites of historic interest, as well as to share fun facts like this. Curious as to what occupies Bell’s former residence today? If you guessed a restaurant, you are correct! To be more specific, a lovely casual spot Armenian-Lebanese dishes, owned by an equally lovely husband and wife team, that we love to visit on our tours.

Speaking of the local Boston food…

We don’t call it the “Sweet and Savory” South End Tour solely because we enjoy alliteration (although we very much do!), but also because our tour includes the opportunity to taste some fantastic examples of both sweet and savory faire during visits to multiple local neighborhood eateries. The food scene is what the neighborhood has become best known for in recent years and with very good reason.

Today, the South End is home to over 50 eateries, and boasts the most diverse collection of ethnic cuisines in the city. When asked what our favorite restaurant in the South End is, the answer is often something along the lines of “it really depends on what I am in the mood for!”. With the opportunity to dig into Cambodian, French, Venezuelan, Puerto Rican, Chinese, Taiwanese, Ethiopian, Southern, Creole, Thai, Indian, Italian and Greek dishes – all delicious and all within just a few blocks of one another – it really does become a matter of what you are craving at a given moment. 

Does this sound overwhelming? We understand and we can help guide you! Our South End tour offers the unique opportunity to sample six different local eateries over the course of three hours. With a chance to taste a beloved local dish at each spot, we are confident you will discover a place you can’t wait to revisit for a full meal. Suddenly, navigating the neighborhood just got a whole lot easier – and a whole lot more fun.

We invite you to join us during your stay at The Upton for a stroll around one of Boston’s most beloved neighborhoods so we can savor the experience together. Bites of Boston tours begin again on April 15th, 2021 and have been updated to include appropriate COVID-19 safety protocols to ensure that everyone can explore and eat safely. When it comes to food and fun, we’re always ready! Book your tour on bitesofboston.com.

During the pandemic we also embarked on a pivot project to continue to show support to fellow small business owners in our community. We’ve included beautiful locally made items in curated gift boxes that share a theme. As with our tours, we’ve also stayed true to what we do best by including stories about the local makers and individual products in all of our gift boxes. It’s like a local maker tour – in a box. Not only are these gift boxes a fun way to discover and celebrate local Boston items, they also lend support to numerous small businesses affected by the pandemic. What’s even better? As a guest, you can order one ahead of time to be waiting for you in your room when you arrive at The Upton!

Enjoy your stay in Boston’s beautiful South End!

The Bites of Boston Food Tours Team