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Where to find the best fries in Greater Boston, according to readers
Boston.com readers love straight-cut fries and one South Boston institution when it comes to enjoying a plate of deep-fried potatoes.
Enjoyed by humans and seagulls of all ages, it’s hard to turn down an order of fries around Greater Boston.
They compliment burgers, they go with salads, pair with a number of condiments, and they can be tasty all on their own (as long as they’re properly salted).
But as delightful and delicious as a fry can be, there are also plenty of bad fries out there. Sometimes it’s about the cut of the fry. What if a business only serves a bad interpretation of a waffle or steak fry? What if you’re not a fan of shoestring?
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“Crinkle-cut fries should never be served outside of a middle school cafeteria,” argued reader Ronald from Boston, who prefers the skinnier shoestring fry.
Tanya Walker, fry expert and Saus co-owner, is a fan of most fry cuts, but the one thing that can ruin a good batch of french fries is if the bite involves too much soft potato interior.
“That can make the experience more bland,” Walker said.
Boston.com readers overwhelmingly voted for straight-cut, or traditional, as their favorite fry cut. You’ll find that at Saus, a reader favorite for french fries, as well as at reader picks’ Kelly’s Roast Beef, Boston Sail Loft, and Eastern Standard.
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Walker said the perfect fry requires a few things. At the Bow Market stall, they cook their fries using the twice-fry method, which involves frying first at a lower temperature, letting the fries cool, then frying them again at a higher temperature.
Saus also uses old, cellar-aged potatoes, Walker said.
“Something magical happens to the sugars and starches as a potato ages, and an old potato makes a perfect french fry,” Walker said.
Lastly, Walker likes to eat her fries with at least three dipping sauces, which she can at Saus given their condiment options.
But there was a clear favorite restaurant among readers, despite this 74-year-old concession stand serving crinkle-cut fries over the typically preferred straight-cut.
“We’ve exclusively used crinkle-cut fries since we first opened our doors in 1951,” said Brendan Sullivan, owner of Sullivan’s Castle Island. “It’s a staple that our customers have come to love and expect from us, and it’s something we have no plans to ever change.”
Sullivan said that the crinkle-cut fry is his favorite, especially when paired with a Sully’s hot dog or cheeseburger and the “sights and sounds of Castle Island.”
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We asked readers to share their favorite fry spot in Greater Boston. Use the list or map below to find your next order of french fries, however you like them cut or paired.
Where to find the best french fries in Greater Boston 📍
Full list: The best fries in Greater Boston 🍟
- Blue on Highland: 882 Highland Ave., Needham
- Boston Chops: Multiple locations
- Boston Sail Loft: 80 Atlantic Ave., North End
- Cabot’s: 743 Washington St., Newton
- Captain Pizza & Roast Beef: 3 Railroad Ave., Swampscott
- Charlie’s Kitchen: 10 Eliot St., Cambridge
- Clover: Multiple locations
- Eastern Standard Kitchen and Drinks: 775 Beacon St., Fenway-Kenmore
- Fill-A-Buster: 142 Bowdoin St., Beacon Hill
- Granite Links: 100 Quarry Hills Dr., Quincy
- Kelly’s Roast Beef: Multiple locations
- Mike’s Roast Beef: 115 Broadway, Everett
- Moonshine 152: 152 Dorchester Ave., South Boston
- Newbridge Cafe: 650 Washington Ave., Chelsea
- Paddy’s Public House: 95 Elm St., Newton
- Porter Cafe: 1723 Centre St., West Roxbury
- Sam LaGrassa’s: 44 Province St., Downtown Boston
- Saus: 1 Bow Market Way, Somerville
- Seapoint: 367 E. 8th St., South Boston
- Smashed Up by Boston Burger Company: 409 Harvard St., Brookline
- Sorellina: 1 Huntington Ave., Back Bay
- Sullivan’s Castle Island: 2080 William J. Day Blvd., South Boston
- The Drift: 48 George Washington Blvd., Hull
- The Joint: 605 Centre St., Jamaica Plain
- Winthrop Arms Hotel & Restaurant: 130 Grovers Ave., Winthrop
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