Cheap Boston Date Night?

[bodiluse]

My husband and I are spending Saturday night in Boston in a few weeks to celebrate our anniversary. We Pricelined a room at the Liberty Hotel, but don't have a lot left over for a fancy meal. However, I would like to find a special restaurant for dinner. We love all kinds of ethnic food. I'm looking for restaurant recommendations that are relatively cheap, good but not fancy food and near the T.

[Bob Dobalina]

Price range? Your cheap may be different than my cheap.
For example, I would recommend looking at the menu at Oleana, where you can get away with ordering a few small plates and a couple of glasses of wine for say $60, and is a special restaurant.

[bodiluse]

Our cheap would probably be entrees around $15-$17, though I do like the idea of small plates at Oleana.

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Oleana
134 Hampshire St., Cambridge, MA 02139

[Bob Dobalina]

Also on that side of the river, you might consider Bondir (small plates / half plates) or Evoo (I think a decent fixed price option). On a nice day, all within a relatively short walk of Kendall Square station on the red line. Or you could just walk the entire way from your hotel over the Longfellow Bridge - probably the better option, because you would only be going one stop on the T.

For even more inexpensive, you could get pizza at Emma's or Za, also in that neighborhood. The suggestion for Grotto (below) also gets a thumbs up from me.

[Matt H]

A few places with under $20 entrees and nice atmosphere would be:

Grotto (Beacon Hill) - Italian

The Helmand (East Cambridge) - Afghani

Teranga (South End) - Senegalese

Floating Rock (Central Square) - Khmer/Cambodian

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Teranga
1746 Washington Street, Boston, MA

[Small Plates]

A nice little walk down Charles Street will bring you to Bin 26 Enoteca, where all the courses from the small plates to the appetizers to the pasta dishes are under $20. You can also order wine in 100- or 250-ml glasses, which pares down the wine cost a bit if you want to sample a nice wine, but you don't want to pay an expensive full glass or bottle price. Plus you would be right next to the Public Garden, which would be the perfect spot for a romantic after-dinner walk! Enjoy!

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Bin 26 Enoteca
26 Charles St, Boston, MA 02114

[Blumie]

I'm a fan of Antonio's, a cute little store front Italian a short walk from the Liberty. The food is good and the prices very reasonable.

http://www.antoniosofbeaconhill.com/

[ebaba]

I'll second the recommendation for Helmand -- it is really wonderful and the atmosphere feels special.
Antonio's is one of the worst Italian restaurants I've ever been to, and I've been several times because we'd give it shot after shot (we lives around the corner). Canned mushrooms. That about sums it up.
The price point is the same at both and Helmand wins by a mile.
Pierrot is roughly the same price and it's also wonderful, a good date spot, and walking distance to the Liberty.

[meeps2002]

Myers & Chang is an excellent date spot and it will satisfy every craving. The food is amazing, lively atmosphere, and just a great spot. I would suggest leaving for dessert and walk to South End Buttery.

Definitely look at the menu online for M & C - you won't be disappointed. My wife and I go often for dinner...we eat plenty and it's very affordable.

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South End Buttery
314 Shawmut Avenue, Boston, MA 02118

[AaronInBoston]

I like the Helmand recommendation, I haven't gone myself but it has great yelp reviews and obviously a cuisine that isn't served at many places. Now next door is a great thai restaurant called The Similans. Dishes range from about $12-20 on average. Their seafood pad thai (15$) is outstanding. Also really like their brown sugar duck (i think that's the name of the dish). These are both in a good location, walking distance to CambridgeSide Galleria mall, Charles River, and Museum of Science.

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The Similans
145 1st St, Cambridge, MA 02142

[bodiluse]

Thanks everyone! A wine bar seems like our idea of a 10th-anniversary-without-kids-level date night, so we've made a reservation at Bin 26 Enoteca. Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions!

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Bin 26 Enoteca
26 Charles St, Boston, MA 02114