Our Story

Tasting Counter launched in 2015 as a groundbreaking 20-seat fine dining experience inside a 1,000 sq/ft industrial space in Somerville, Massachusetts. Built around an open kitchen and counter-service format, our mission was to reimagine fine dining for a new generation of diners — offering a more intimate, transparent, and globally inspired culinary journey.

From the beginning, Tasting Counter challenged expectations of what fine dining could be. Within three months of opening, we were named Boston Magazine’s #1 Best New Restaurant and featured on the cover of their annual restaurant issue. That same year, The Boston Globe published a three-star review, writing that the restaurant “was already well on its way to perfect” and that “the future could look a lot like Tasting Counter,” while also naming us Best New Restaurant in their annual end-of-year recap.

Over the course of eight years, we continued to evolve, earning six Best of Boston awards — from Best Fine Dining Restaurant to Best Tasting Menu, as well as Best Meal Kit for our innovative at-home experience, TC@Home — all while staying true to our mission of creating hospitality that’s personal, sustainable, and deeply connected to place.

In a 2025 feature anticipating Boston’s first Michelin Guide, The Boston Globe recognized Tasting Counter as part of the city’s defining era of fine dining — a restaurant that helped shape the culinary landscape and set a standard of excellence in the region.