The best Ethnic food in Boston/Cambridge?

[02139]

Our wedding anniversary is coming up next month, and we're thinking about going to a nice ethnic place. Any suggestion? (Other than Elephant Walk)

[fets]

Chez Henri is nice. French Cuban near Porter Square. Personally, I'm a big fan of the traditionl Cuban food in the bar, but you might be more interested in the more upscale dining room. It's a nice warm atmosphere either way.

[4chowpups]

Cafe Polonia. It is quaint, reasonable and the food is fantastic!!!!

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Cafe Polonia
611 Dorchester Ave, Boston, MA 02127

[dianalim]

I think I talk about Oleana all the time, but I second Oleana. Yum. O-Ya (sushi, near South Station, small room and impeccable tiny bites of awesome) is incredible, I thought, and though you will pay an arm and a leg your socks will probably be knocked right off. Hellmand is also a great idea.

[enhF94]

Hard to know what ethnic means to you, since you didn't mention your ethnicity.

[Food4Thought]

It might seem odd to characterize this as "ethnic" but I recently dined at Estragon on Harrison St (barely) in the South End.

Estragon is being heralded as a "tradional" spanish tapas bar. I went with a group (6) of fairly adventurous eaters and there were dishes that pushed the comfort level of some (in a good way). Everything was very tasty and pretty reasonably priced. The menu was slightly different than what is currently online at:
http://www.estragontapas.com/menu.htm

Our waiter did a great job of explaining each dish in great detail, however service in general was a little iffy and most of the plates came out at the same time which made for an uncomfortably cramped table so perhaps order in stages. Estragon hasn't been open for too long so I'll chalk the service issues up to trying to find the right rhythm.

The Hounds seem to be divided on the atmosphere of this place, I find it kinda cool/funky which I would enjoy for an anniversary, it's not what I would consider romantic.

From a food perspective everything was rather impressive and as a bonus, many of the ingredients and cheeses are available next door at the sister store Las Ventas.

.

[lgss]

Asmara (Eritrean) in Central Square. asmararestaurantboston.com

[jajjguy]

Also Addis Red Sea in the South End and in Cambridge near Porter.

[rlh]

The Helmand in East Cambridge

[nasilemak]

Try Malaysian fare if you haven't already...Aneka Rasa in Allston and Penang in Chinatown are the best picks.

[amatto]

According to

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/555542

Aneka Rasa is gone.

[three of us]

I know it's not Boston/Cambridge but it sounded really nice.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/554433

[Dr.Jimbob]

FuLoon in Malden Center. A bit of a hike, but actually only two blocks' walk away from the Malden Center Orange Line stop. Search this board for multiple posts preaching the good news, it's one of the finest all-around real deal Chinese restaurants that I've come across in a while.

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FuLoon
375 Main St, Malden, MA 02148

[9lives]

I've probably posted this before but Fuloon is very accessible to anyone in downtown..quick trip a few stops on the Orange Line and a short walk.

Very accessible and worth the trip.

[02139]

We are pretty adventurous eater, so it can be anything. We're pretty knowledgeable about restaurants in Boston area, we actually have a couple of places in mind, but I think it's more fun to try a new place (at least new for us, anyway!)
We like food with character, and we dislike overpriced food (and I mean overpriced, expensive food can be worth it, if the actual food is expensive)

[bowmore36]

oleana - cambridge

[Food4Thought]

"Ethnic food" is casting a pretty wide net. Perhaps if you could define your preferences, dislikes or cuisines that intrigue you but you have not tried. I think narrowing it down a bit will garner you responses other than "do a search".