606 Congress
606 Congress St. (617) 476-5606. www.606congress.com .Seats: 120.Cuisine: “communal, fresh and diverse.”Specialties: flash-fried calamari with pickled jalapeño and green onions; butter-poached lobster with Yukon gold potatoes, curry and asparagus; seared sea scallops with wild mushrooms and fingerling potatoes; “high falutin’ mac and cheese” with black truffles and country ham and peas.Main courses: $9-$17.Chef: Toby Hill.Consulting chef: Michael Schlow.Owner: Renaissance Hotels.
BanQ Restaurant & Bar
1375 Washington St. (617) 451-0077. banqrestaur.web151.discountasp.net .Seats: 130.Cuisine: French-Asian.Specialties: pan-seared Cornish hen breasts served on chile-lime green beans and a yam cake with smoked Darjeeling tea jus; Cotes-du-Rhone-braised short ribs with quick-tossed cumin and scallion-scented yams in kaffir lime jus; Muscovy duck breast with duck leg and basmati croquette, sautéed kale with raisins, red currants and cinnamon jus.Main courses: $19-$26.Chef: Ranveer Brar.Owners: Hemant Chowdhry and Mark Raab.
Hungry Mother
233 Cardinal Madeiros Ave., Cambridge. (617) 499-0090. www.hungrymothercambridge.com .Seats: 55.Cuisine: contemporary American with a Southern flair.Specialties: fried Chesapeake Bay oysters with cucumbers, Bibb lettuce, buttermilk-chive dressing and pepper sauce; Chatham Hook bluefish with farro piccolo, tomatoes, arugula, tapenade and smoked sea salt; cornmeal catfish with collards, Carolina gold rice and mustard-caper brown butter.Main courses: $17-$27.Chef: Barry Maiden.Owners: John Kessen, Maiden, Rachel Miller Munzer and Alon Munzer.
Persephone
283 Summer St. (617) 695-2257. www.achilles-project.com .Seats: 68.Cuisine: seasonal and local ingredients with French and Mediterranean influences.Specialties: bone-in, double-cut Angus beef rib-eye steak with roasted-garlic creamed spinach, French fries, beef jus and aged balsamic vinegar; grilled bone-in shoulder end pork loin roast with sugar snap peas, polenta and pork jus; line-caught and pan-seared Chatham striped bass with corn, caramelized onion and bacon.Main courses: $24-$30.Executive chef: Michael Leviton.Owners: Michael Krupp and Shaka Ramsay.
Scampo
215 Charles St. (857) 241-1150. www.scampoboston.com .Seats: 207.Cuisine: modern Italian.Specialties: rare roasted salmon with roasted-hazelnut oil and tangy citrus spinach; chop of Kurobuta black pig with green-onion tart; lobster poached in sea-salted butter with sweet-corn pot de crème; hand-cut pappardelle with beetroot butter, poppy seeds and crisped short rib; hazelnut risotto with crisped sweetbreads.Main courses: $26-$48.Chef: Lydia Shire.Owners: Shire and The Lyon Group.
