As the surrounding neighborhood grows tall and glitzy, one modest strip of Peterborough Street remains a haven for indie, immigrant-owned restaurants.
On Valentine’s Day in 1985, Monty Gold presented his lawyer with a celebratory bouquet of red roses. Gold had just signed the papers to purchase 84-100 Peterborough St., a modest strip of storefronts in Boston’s West Fens.
It turned out to be a smart investment, and one that he has carefully cultivated and maintained as Fenway’s indie-owned “restaurant row” — even as the neighborhood around it has dramatically evolved.
Last month, Gold sat outside Figaro’s, the popular Italian sandwich shop that added this Fenway location earlier in the year, and reflected on the block’s backstory. Back when he bought the eight-storefront strip, Peterborough Street looked nothing like it does today. It was quieter, he remembered, with a cluster of auto shops and retail stores.
The seller was a man who ran a radiator repair shop that housed an illegal bookmaker. There were also twin artists who lived in the space illegally before moving to New York, a furniture store, a baker who made rolls for Legal Sea Foods, a tanning salon, and a mom‑and‑pop breakfast joint that catered to all the cabbies. Behind the property was a cab company garage. Storefronts were separated by alleyways and underdeveloped land. It was a scrappy, working-class neighborhood with deep, longstanding ties among residents.
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As Fenway began to change, Gold’s tenants moved out and new buildings began rising nearby. One particular structure on nearby Jersey Street was an early sign to Gold that Fenway was entering a different era. Rather than follow the development around him, he sought spaces that could maintain their individuality as the neighborhood evolved. He crossed the Charles River and knocked on the doors of Cambridge restaurants, asking whether they were interested in opening another location on Peterborough Street.
A devastating fire in 2009 dealt a major blow to the block, ravaging several of the Peterborough restaurants and a dry cleaner. It caused $5 million in damages and an almost two-year closure. By 2011, the businesses came back, barring three original restaurants from before the fire.
Gold has a strict policy against renting to corporate chain restaurants, the surge of which he calls “the dumbing of America.” He said he also prioritizes renting to immigrant families.
“I’ve had people with my other projects that don’t understand why I don’t knock [the restaurants] down and build up,” Gold says. “I’m going to tell you why. Because where are these people going to go?”
Gold’s approach to preserving neighborhood character has at times come with controversy. He has faced criticism for filing multiple lawsuits to block affordable housing developments near his properties, including a 39-unit senior housing development in Jamaica Plain in 2021 and a six-story apartment building in Mission Hill in 2024.
Today, the block is packed with eight cuisines and a swirl of aromas — from Indian spices and Turkish grilled meats, to rich Thai curry and freshly brewed Vietnamese coffee.
84 Peterborough St.
Each time the door swings open at Wow Tikka, the smoky char of tandoori chicken mingling with cilantro and mint wafts out. It’s an invitation for locals to stop and see what’s cooking, and it’s intentional, said owner Gopi Nair.
The 51-year-old believes Indian restaurants haven’t done enough to make the cuisine approachable for people who did not grow up eating it. The perception of Indian culture has always been “Oh, it’s spicy, it’s greasy,” Nair said, gesturing with his hands. Too often, he said, Indian food is associated with heavy curries, buffets, and unfamiliar flavors — something customers may enjoy once they know what to order but hesitate to try in the first place.
He added that he wants customers to know that Indian food is healthy, too, depending how it’s prepared and portioned.
“My intent here is to bring Indian cuisine in a way which is approachable, simple, and also tell people that you don’t have to be having this curry notion in your head,” he said. “I thought, if me as a brown guy didn’t do something about this, then why am I blaming [others]? … Let me take that risk.”
While designing the restaurant’s mission and menu, Nair had one question in mind: Will my son eat this food every day?
His son, now 18, has been the family’s picky eater since he was young. Nair set out to make a menu that catered to him.
“I had to design a menu where I thought, ‘I’ll be OK as a father feeding my son this food every day, not once a week, not once a month — every day,’” Nair said. “Every menu in here is with him in mind.”
And so “the bowl” was born.
A bowl at Wow Tikka is not as much a fixed dish but a starting point. Nair compared his role as an owner to that of a pharmacist: Rather than simply taking an order, he asks what the customer needs that day and how they feel, then builds from there.
The bowls have base options of white or brown rice, biryani rice, or salad greens. Customers can then add fillings ranging from chicken to paneer, to lamb keema, or sauteed vegetables. To top it off, sauces stretch from tikka masala and spicy vindaloo to coconut or mango curry.
“Indian food is not just curry and spice,” he said. “There is this subtle nuance of really balancing your plate, of having five colors. That option of having great offerings in the neighborhood only makes this place more desirable.”
84 Peterborough St., Boston, 857-250-2062, www.wowtikka.com, Monday-Sunday 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Build-your-own bowls and burritos $9.99, street food and appetizers $9.99-$12.99, sides $1.99-$4.99, desserts $3.99, specialty drinks $1.99-$5.50.
86 Peterborough St.
Raymond Zhang and Jacky Yang have owned KChickin, a Korean-Japanese fusion eatery, for less than a month, but they’re not shy about their goal — winning over customers on a street crowded with dining options.
Taking over a restaurant that has been operating for two years means Zhang and Yang have a solid foundation. They are keeping KChickin’s beloved fried chicken recipe but say they have improved the marinating process with what Yang jokingly calls “a secret sauce.”
The menu includes Japanese dishes such as sushi, tonkatsu, and ramen, Korean-style spicy chicken wings, garlic-salt wings, and tofu soup.
Zhang, from Quincy, has been in the industry since he was 15 and he opened his first restaurant, Foxboro Mandarin Chinese & Japanese Restaurant near Gillette Stadium, with his sister.
Yang was previously a real estate broker but always had a secret penchant for restauranting. “It was my dream to be a boss for a restaurant, because from my childhood, I really liked to cook food for people, especially for my family, my friends,” said Yang, who is from China and graduated from Boston University in 2021.
While the Peterborough Street restaurant scene may be friendly competition, Zhang and Yang see a cluster of distinct establishments vying for the top spot.
“You go on Peterborough Street and you’re looking at seven to eight different restaurants,” Zhang said. “That’s why we gonna make sure our food is good. I gotta make sure customers come back.”
86 Peterborough St., Boston, 617-530-1181, www.kchickin.com, Monday-Friday 11 a.m. to 9:45 p.m., Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 9:45 p.m., Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 9:15 p.m., Korean fried chicken wings and boneless chicken $12.95-$14.95, appetizers $4.95-$11.95, sushi and specialty rolls $8-$18.
88 Peterborough St.
Harry Abkarian’s restaurant, The Greek Gyro, feels less like a standalone business and more like an extension of his home.
Abkarian grew up visiting Fenway, attending Red Sox games and eating Regina Pizza. The area had always seemed like the perfect place to build something of his own.
Abkarian runs the restaurant with his relatives from Greece and Armenia. Even the staff members who aren’t related to him — ranging in age from 21 to 50 — have become a part of what he describes as a found family.
That sense of family extends beyond the restaurant’s walls.
With the restaurants sharing patio space and supporting one another through the busy stretches, Abkarian said the businesses on Peterborough Street feel less like competitors and more like one business.
One thing about visiting Peterborough Street, Abkarian said, is that one “must come hungry.”
At The Greek Gyro, he recommends starting with dessert — a vanilla soft serve topped with chunks of baklava and honey imported from Greece — before moving on to the main event: a gyro, with options including chicken, pork, or a chicken-and-lamb combination.
“I think everyone who’s been a part of the Fenway community knows that this street’s special,” Abkarian said. “The strip offers so much that you don’t really have to leave the neighborhood.”
88 Peterborough St., Boston, 857-991-1000, www.thegreekgyro.com, daily 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., gyro and souvlaki pita wraps $12.99-$24.36, bowls $18.19-$19.49, dinner plates $27.29-$32.49, salads $16.89-$22.09, appetizers and dips $11.69-$14.29, sides $1.30-$11.69.
Spring Shanghai Pan-Fried Buns
90 Peterborough St.
When Chuan Chen Tao arrived in the United States from Shanghai in 2015, he searched throughout Boston, and even traveled to New York, in hopes of finding authentic sheng jian bao, or Shanghai pan-fried buns.
Nothing he tasted matched the flavors from home, so Tao decided to make them himself. In May 2024, he opened Spring Shanghai Pan-Fried Buns.
The restaurant specializes in Shanghai’s iconic pan-fried buns, known for their thick, doughy exterior; savory soup-filled center; and crispy golden bottoms.
“We cook the pan fried buns just like they do it in Shanghai,” Tao said. “We use a big pan to cook the buns, about 70 buns in one batch.”
The Chinese eatery is also known for its braised pork chop noodle soup and scallion oil noodles, and has created a community for the Shanghainese population in Boston, Tao said.
Tao recently opened another Chinese restaurant in Cambridge called Wu Li Xiang Shanghai Kitchen.
“I just want to bring my hometown taste to the city,” he said.
90 Peterborough St., Boston, 857-449-8075, Sunday and Monday, Wednesday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Tuesday, Pan-fried buns $9.75, noodle dishes $9.25-$13.99, noodle soups $14.50-$15.75, wontons and wonton soup $9.50-$15.50.
92 Peterborough St.
Figaro’s has an unassuming exterior — a simple black background with its name in white blocky italics — but inside it’s a party. The thump of pop music and the reverberation of laughter can be heard outside the restaurant.
“We’re kind of like a cult sandwich shop,” said owner Rosie Martone. She wore a black shirt and apron with the restaurant’s logo, and her mane of curls was pulled back behind a matching black Figaro’s hat.
“We literally gave birth to Figaro’s and gave birth to these sandwiches, so we figured we’d name them,” said Martone, 49. “We’re not selling ham-and-cheeses.”
Each sandwich at Figaro’s has its own identity. The most popular — the “Sonny Corleone,” an Italian-style burrito packed with chicken, chipotle sauce, and roasted red peppers named after a character from “The Godfather” — is described as “a punch in the face,” she said.
Martone grew up in a bustling Malden home with nine people and one bathroom. Her house was alive with the sounds and smells of a large Italian family — pots clattering in the kitchen, garlic sizzling on the stove, and women gathering around the food they prepared together.
Before starting Figaro’s with her brother in 2002, Martone did stand-up comedy in Los Angeles. Years later, that upbeat energy seems to have followed her back to Boston.
Martone turned to another employee, a college-aged girl with black and blonde dyed hair leaning against the counter. “OK, babe, can you put the music on a little bit higher? A bit more … Perfect.”
92 Peterborough St., Boston, 617-936-4015, www.figarosboston.com, Monday-Friday 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday-Sunday closed, Hit List and wraps $17.95, steak sandwiches $18.49, vegetarian sandwiches $16.95-$17.95, salads $15.95-$17.95.
94 Peterborough St.
At Rod Thai Family Taste, it’s a family affair.
Supat Limsawat, who goes by the nickname “Panda,” traces the restaurant’s start back 30 years ago, when his aunt first opened it in Brookline under the name Rod Dee. When the family expanded with a second location on Peterborough Street, they rebranded as Rod Thai Family Taste.
Limsawat’s brother, nicknamed Jumobo, taught him not only how to cook but also how to run a business.
“We would like to pass our passion of Thai food to everyone here,” he said.
As the longest-running restaurant on Peterborough Street, Rod Thai has watched the neighborhood change around it. For Limsawat, the most remarkable changes come every year, where the college cycle brings a new wave of regulars.
He recommends diners at Rod Thai Family Taste try the Pad Kra Pao, a stir fry with spicy basil sauce and usually minced chicken or pork. It’s a classic street food that’s known for its heat, and it’s “at the heart of authentic Thai wok cooking,” Limsawat said.
“We are a friendly business,” he said. “We don’t just do business with our customers. We try to treat them like family.”
94 Peterborough St., Boston, 617-859-0969, https://www.rodthaifenway.com/, Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday noon to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., appetizers $8-$9, Thai noodles $12-$17, fried rice $15-$18, entrees $12-$16, curry dishes $12-$24, specialty rice plates $15-$17, drinks $2-$7.
96 Peterborough St.
Outside among the red umbrellas, Pakkapol Sapkasem, 29, leaned back in his chair, squinting in the afternoon sun. He wore a thrifted T-shirt with the phrase “Read more books” and frequently glanced toward the cafe’s door, which opened and closed every few minutes with customers.
The French-Vietnamese cafe is a haven for college students who live near or frequent the Fenway area, and the line often snakes out onto the sidewalk. Recently, the cafe’s popularity fueled the opening of a third location. In July, Phinista opened its third location, in Allston.
When Sapkasem became a co-owner of Phinista in 2024, he set out to improve the cafe’s day-to-day operations without changing the branding and drinks that had made it a favorite “third space” for students.
He replaced premade matcha with drinks whisked individually by baristas. Phinista is also known for its Vietnamese coffees, including the Iced Saigonese, a dark-roast brew topped with sea-salt cold foam and sweetened condensed milk. Specialty matchas include the Pandan Matcha, made with pandan syrup that carries hints of grass, coconut, and vanilla.
Sapkasem enjoys the collaborative, non-competitive relationship among the neighboring restaurants, noting that Phinista is the only cafe on the block.
96 Peterborough St., Boston, 617-262-7700, www.phinista.com, Monday-Tuesday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m, Vietnamese coffee $5-$7.50, espresso drinks $3.75-$6.25, matcha lattes $5.75-$7, bánh mì $11.50-$13, breakfast items $8.50-$19.50, rice bowls $13.50-$14.50, salad bowls $12.50-$13.50, crêpes $11-$13, desserts $5.75-$12.50.
100 Peterborough St.
Edip Nabikoglu’s restaurant, Fenway Grill & Bar, sits at the intersection of Peterborough and Kilmarnock Streets, and also happens to be the junction of his past and future.
Nabikoglu, 52, spent years running three Turkish restaurants in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
In 2025, he sold them and moved to Boston, drawn by the chance to be closer to his child, a Boston University engineering student — and the opportunity to introduce Turkish and Mediterranean cuisines to Fenway’s dense mix of students and cultures.
That introduction comes in the form of the mixed grill kebab platter, an assortment of lamb, chicken, and beef kebabs that’s perfect for an indecisive diner.
Nabikoglu also wanted to appeal to Fenway’s immigrant population. The city of Boston estimates that nearly one in three of the neighborhood’s residents are foreign born.
His solemn face brightened as his 19-year-old daughter, Sara, breezed through the front door. The interior has a simple charm, with sleek wooden counters, marble tables, and flags from several Boston-area universities hung next to a TV. It’s quiet and inviting, reflecting the city that Nabikoglu is still getting to know.
A few months before the restaurant opened, Nabikoglu flew across the Atlantic to visit Sara and see the city she had chosen for herself. Boston was a new beginning and, in some ways, a shock.
Sara translated her father’s words from Turkish to English as they sat next to each other inside the restaurant. He held out his phone, slowly swiping through photos of Turkey. His biggest surprise after arriving in Boston, she said, was the enormous piles of snow last winter.
For Nabikoglu, the city is now familiar in different ways: through the restaurant, the neighborhood, and the daughter who had already made a life here.
100 Peterborough St., Boston, 617-530-1778, www.fenwaygrillbar.com, Monday-Sunday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., breakfast and brunch $2-$59.99 (for a shared brunch set), soups $7.99, salads $12.99-$13.99, appetizer dips $10, kebabs and entrees $19.99-$39.99, Turkish flatbreads $9-$25.99, pizzas $14.99-$17.99.