This cherished South End eatery is still a place you go to make discoveries. Recommended: the Vietnamese pancake appetizer and the beef marinated with lime juice as well as anything over rice vermicelli. Don’t neglect the list of traditional Vietnamese dishes at the back of the menu.
A second venue opened by Maido’s Toki Masabuchi puts the emphasis on playful. This Bardstown Road location offers some sushi rolls and other Japanese staples, but fills out the menu with creative takes on tacos and other non-Asian standards.
Bravo serves Italian food in a fun environment under Roman “ruins.” The open kitchen prepares hickory-smoked steaks, chops and whole fresh fish. Try the wood-grilled salmon salad or Sicilian pizza, made in a wood-fired oven.
The Brown Hotel’s more casual restaurant provides a chance to eat the Hot Brown at its natal site — along with other sandwiches, salads and entrées. Features a lunch buffet on weekdays and a contemporary a la carte menu. Breakfast buffet on weekends.
This 48-seat brewpub features at least seven house brews on tap — along with an occasional guest beer. The pub fare accommodates both meat-lovers and vegetarians. Save room for the house dessert — ice cream made with malt from the brewer’s Nitro Porter.
