The Best Beer, Wine & Spirits in Boston

Pemberton Farms

★★★★☆ 4.1 (293) • $$

"My favorite grocery store ever! They have local foods that are just delicious, and the workers are the friendliest. Although their prices are expensive, the taste, quality, and the benefits of buying local are great! Just beware that you'll have to pay ~$1.25 extra, if you buy anything in a glass bottle."

Village Cafe

★★★★☆ 4.2 (257) • $$

"This place is a hidden gem. It opened at 7:00 and filled right up. I must be the last to discover this place.I don't know how they remember everything on their menu. There was so much to choose from.As soon as I sat down I was given a menu and water. They had four people in the kitchen and three people handling the customers.I had the "ultimate omelet" with mushrooms and Swiss cheese. They gave me a choice of 5 cheeses. Then I had raisin toast. I usually don't see this option. The interior was all wood, finished wooden counter, wooden booths, pretty ritzy for a greesy spoon.I wish I had found this place sooner. I would return."

Cardullo's Gourmet Shoppe

★★★★☆ 3.9 (277) • $$

"A really neat shoppe where we essentially stopped to pick up some dessert on the run. We picked up some macaroons and chocolate. The variety of chocolate was plentiful. They also had plenty of other items to buy as well."

Ciao Roma

★★★★☆ 3.9 (238) • $$$

"This must be the CUTEST place in the North End. The decor screamed "good vibes" as soon as I walked through the door; pink leather chairs, marble bar, flowered wallpaper. It was vintage, boujee and fantastic.My husband and I met friends here for lunch. I appreciated that a "glossary" of Italian terms was on the menu so it was easy understand what you're ordering. We started with the calamari & arancini. Calamari was just average but the arancinis were excellent. I could have eaten 100 of them!For my entree, I got the eggplant parm with spaghetti. The menu stated the pasta was made fresh daily in-house, but the spaghetti was just ok/underwhelming. However, the eggplant was delicious! It was a layered eggplant with veggies in between the layers (roasted peppers & spinach). I ate every last bite! I would definitely recommend checking this place out for the ambiance alone, if not anything else. The decor is perfect for a girls day/night :)"

Lambert's Marketplace

★★★★☆ 3.6 (158) • $

"A good deli and grocery store is located across from Boston Common. It has a deli with freshly prepared foods. Lambert's Marketplace is the only grocery store in this area so it doesn't have anything to compete against, which is a bad thing. High prices but they can get away with it. There's no reason they have to do anything because of the lack of competitors so they can also overcharge.It has some good things about it. One cool thing is the milkshake and smoothie machine. There's lots of flavors to choose from, and you see it made in front of you. Many people come here for the deli. There's a lot on the big menu. Lots of cheese. Sandwiches are okay but these are small portions. It usually has a salad bar. The selection on this isn't good so it's not recommended. Poor quality produce and it can also smell bad. The prices are very annoyingly high. Good for the fast convenience. It otherwise is only just okay. There's a good choice of organic and vegetarian friendly products."

The Joint

★★★★☆ 4 (106) • $$

"This place is a paradox -- all food and drinks is ordered through the Toast app. Its cumbersome to say the least. But we got through it. The service and food to table was slow. There is next to zero interaction with the one wait staff person. Other than to seat us and ask if we had questions. The food was good. She had a burger and I had a falafel wrap. The sandwiches were very good, the fries very good too -- nice crisp.The other part is this place is expensive --- entrees are almost $20, beers, $8. And thats a lot for a burger and a wrap. Would I go back, likely not. Do I think the food was delicious, yup hence the 4 vs 3 stars. Better options in JP for less money."

Golden Goose Market

★★★★☆ 3.7 (106) • $$$

"For such a small footprint, they really manage to pack it in! This urban supermarket has everything. You can not only get a decent selection of ready-to-heat and ready-to-eat stuff, but you can completely outfit your kitchen. A decent frozen section, a well cared for produce section, fresh meats and chicken, cleaners and paper products, lots and lots of wine and more.There's even a fresh salad bar!This is my 200th review of 2018!"

Giorgiana's

★★★★☆ 3.6 (66)

"Great place to pick up some provisions, a botte of wine, or a freshly prepared sandwich. Their breakfast is also a hidden gem. Great local market in the South End"

Happy Market & Spirits

★★★★★ 4.7 (29)

"Very very good store with a focus on fresh produce. Not much frozen product here but you won't go hungry.I've had a fair share of produce actually be rotten when I cut it open at home, but it's just something to keep in mind.Very excellent. Thanks Happy Market."

Cardullo's Gourmet Shoppe

★★★★☆ 3.5 (38)

"Favorite wine shop in town!! Cardullo's has a wide selection of wines; very organized by geographical location (and color) and easy to find in the store. In addition to wine, they carry liquor (just at this store in Seaport), beer, whiskey, and seltzers. The staff is always friendly and willing to help me find whatever I'm looking for. They even allow me to bring my pup inside the store every week while I shop for what I need. Cardullo's has a large selection of quality cheeses, chocolate, jam/honey, spices, candy, meats (prosciutto, salami), and crackers/chips. I've never been disappointed in any of the cheese I've bought here- they're all very tasty (and a handful are constantly rotated so you'll always have new ones to try). They also sell some very local (and niche) products - clam chowder, pickles, cookies, syrup, nuts, and tea. During the day they have a deli area of the store where you can order a fresh sandwich (just expect a long line around lunch time). Prices are fair (and the average) for their wines. Love this store and will keep coming back.Note all the ever-changing gift baskets they have throughout the store; make for great gifts around the holidays or birthdays!!"

Topshelf

★★★☆☆ 3.3 (21) • $$

"800 stars. I came in to buy a vase and flowers to bring to MGH. I had a vague idea of what I wanted, and as their prearranged flowers offered limited options and several had already been purchased for the hospital room in question, I decided to buy by-the-stem. I got talking to the owner/manager who was just a good guy, interested without prying to the reason why I was buying flowers, and just cool. He could tell I was pretty much on edge, nervous and strung out from being sleep deprived, so he kept adding flowers to my selected bunch "on the house".When I went to pay, for what was at least $30 of flowers and an $8 vase, he said "$15, bro. Everything is going to be fine, best hospital in the country" Gave him a pound and felt great about the experience, and I really needed it. On the way back home, I stopped in and purchased a very reasonably priced bottle of Shiraz to help me sleep off some nerves.Go out of your way to patronize this establishment. It is flowers. It is grocery essentials. It is snacks. It is wine, beer and tobacco. It is directly across from the Charles/MGH Red Line stop. It is awesome."