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The oldest restaurant in Boston is Union Oyster House, which has served meals at 41 Union Street since 1826 and describes itself as the oldest restaurant in continuous service in the United States. Two taverns claim earlier dates, Warren Tavern in Charlestown (1780) and Bell in Hand on the same block of Union Street (1795), but Union Oyster House is the one usually named as the city's oldest restaurant.
Below are the historic places you can still eat in, with the year each one gives for itself, what it is known for and how to plan a visit.
Boston's oldest restaurants and taverns at a glance
| Place | Since | Neighborhood | Go for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warren Tavern | 1780 | Charlestown | A pint near the end of the Freedom Trail |
| Bell in Hand | 1795 | Downtown, Union Street | An old alehouse, beer and pub food |
| Union Oyster House | 1826 | Downtown, Union Street | Oysters at the original bar, chowder |
| Parker's Restaurant | 1855 (hotel) | Downtown, School Street | Boston Cream Pie where it began |
| Yvonne's | 1862 (Locke-Ober's rooms) | Downtown Crossing | Dinner in a restored 19th-century dining room |
Union Oyster House: the oldest restaurant in Boston
Union Oyster House opened in 1826 in a building that was already old: its own history dates the site's first recorded business, Hopestill Capen's dry goods shop, to 1742, and says Isaiah Thomas printed The Massachusetts Spy upstairs from 1771. The wooden booths and the semicircular oyster bar, the restaurant says, stand where they were first installed, and the National Park Service designated the building a National Historic Landmark in 2003.
The menu is New England seafood: oysters raw, grilled, fried or as Oysters Rockefeller, clam chowder, lobster and broiled fish. The restaurant counts only three owners since 1826, and the Milano family has run it since 1970. Upstairs, the booth it identifies as John F. Kennedy's favorite carries a dedication to him.
It is on the Freedom Trail, one block from Faneuil Hall. The nearest T stops listed on its directions page are State (Blue Line) and Haymarket (Orange and Green Lines). Reservations go through OpenTable; parties of 7 to 25 call the dining room manager.
Warren Tavern: Charlestown, since 1780
Warren Tavern gives 1780 as its founding year, which makes it the oldest date on this list. It is in Charlestown, which is part of the City of Boston and home to the USS Constitution Museum and the last stops on the Freedom Trail. It bills itself as a restaurant and tavern, which makes it a natural lunch or drink stop at the end of the trail rather than a formal dinner.
Bell in Hand: the old alehouse on Union Street
Bell in Hand says it has been open since 1795 and describes its early crowd as printers and politicians, sailors and students. It is at 45 Union Street, on the same block as Union Oyster House, so the two make an easy pairing: oysters at one, a drink at the other.
Parker's Restaurant: where Boston Cream Pie began
The Omni Parker House opened on School Street in 1855 and calls itself the longest continuously operating hotel in the United States. The hotel credits its kitchen with Boston Cream Pie, created by French chef Augustine Anezin after he was hired in 1865, as well as Parker House rolls and Boston scrod. Parker's Restaurant, the hotel's dining room with crystal chandeliers and carved woodwork, still serves the pie, and the hotel says Kennedy proposed to Jacqueline Bouvier at table 40.
Yvonne's: a supper club in Locke-Ober's rooms
Yvonne's is a modern restaurant, but it occupies the rooms of Locke-Ober, the Boston dining landmark that opened in 1862, and its operator has kept much of that interior. Come for a dinner reservation and the setting rather than a traditional menu.
How to see them in one walk
- Start on Union Street with oysters at Union Oyster House and a look into Bell in Hand next door.
- Walk to School Street for Boston Cream Pie at Parker's Restaurant in the Omni Parker House.
- Book dinner at Yvonne's on Winter Place in Downtown Crossing.
- On a separate day, follow the Freedom Trail to its Charlestown end and finish at Warren Tavern.
For more of the city's history around these stops, see things to do near Faneuil Hall and historical things to do in Boston.
Sources: Union Oyster House history, awards and directions; Warren Tavern; Bell in Hand; Omni Parker House history and Boston Cream Pie; Yvonne's. Checked September 27, 2026.