The Dish

10 food deals for Boston Marathon weekend

These local restaurants are offering specials for runners and spectators this weekend, including pasta deals and all-you-can-eat pancakes.

Get a double portion of select pastas at Eataly this weekend. Globe Staff/Aram Boghosian

April 17, 2025

3 minutes to read

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What I love about an event as big as the Boston Marathon is that it’s for everyone. I don’t run, nor would I put myself in the position to run (except when I don’t want to miss the T or bus).

But the Boston Marathon — while absolutely a day about the inspiring runners — is also a holiday for the “spectators,” the people around to cheer, revel, eat, drink, be merry, and not work.

The list I’ve put together below is for everyone who might be out and about this weekend and Marathon Monday, who might be looking for a good deal or special. Whether you’re getting one last giant plate of pasta before you run, or are eating carbs to coat your stomach before a day of consuming libations, I hope you’ll find the below news useful.

Levain Bakery: If you just finished one of the hardest road races in the world, you deserve a cookie, no doubt about it. If you head to Levain Bakery (two locations in Boston) and show the staff your medal, you’ll get a free cookie in return.

Dani’s Queer Bar: From 9 a.m. to midnight on Marathon Monday, this new spot in Back Bay is offering $1 wings and $5 shot specials.

Eataly: The Italian market chain is marketing itself as the place to carbo-load all weekend long, from Friday to Marathon Monday. Get a double portion of the following pastas: Lo Spaghetto Al Pomodoro ($32), Tagliatelle Alla Bolognese ($36), or Pappardelle Al Ragù Di Funghi ($38).

Frank Pepe’s: This isn’t technically a Marathon Monday special, but this pizzeria’s Mass. locations will be offering a $15 lunch special on weekdays (which includes the Friday and Monday of Marathon weekend). You get a one-topping 10-inch pizza, caesar salad, and a fountain drink.

Legal Sea Foods: Runners, show your marathon bibs at any point on Marathon weekend at one of the several Boston Legal Sea Foods locations, and get a free cup of chowder.

Source: Got a group to feed? Eat family-style for $36 per person at Source in Cambridge on Sunday, which will definitely include pizza. The restaurant also now offers a Me & You Monday deal, which affords you a three-course meal for $26.

Lolita Back Bay: The best snacks in life are free, and at Lolita’s Back Bay location, spectators can get their hands on free popcorn.

Alcove: All weekend long, this West End restaurant is serving pasta dishes in addition to its regular menu, like an arugula pesto tagliatelle and a short rib radiatori.

Tuscan Kitchen Seaport: What does it take to get a free plate of pasta around here? Run the marathon, and from Friday through Monday you can get a complimentary Bolognese entree from Tuscan Kitchen.

South Street Diner: Both runners and spectators are invited to chow down on $10 all-you-can-eat pancakes, an offer the iconic Boston diner is running from 4 to 11 p.m. Sunday.

Just looking for a spot along the route? We’ve got you covered with this guide. Happy Marathon weekend!

For your reading list

🍺 4 Boston Marathon beers to try (Boston Globe)
🧁 Flour brings new pastry to a new location (Boston Magazine)
🎂 Should restaurants give you free b-day cake? (Food & Wine)
🍲 The Le Creuset cult (New York Times)

For your calendar

🥪 Sandwich pop-up at Back Bar
🥡 Eat Korean-American comfort food
🌃 Tall Order’s late-night menu
🍜 Bon Me $14 meal deal

What Emily Turner, deputy community editor, is eating:

I’m currently eating lots of salmon at home, so I asked my editor to share her best meal recently.

She told me she’d eat lobster rolls every day if she could afford it. Instead she indulges in one a year. During a recent lunch to Le Madeline with her husband, she tried the best lobster roll (Tôm Hùm Rang Me) she’s had in recent years. It’s a completely fresh take on a classic local dish, fried with tamarind and tobiko stuffed into a buttery brioche bun. Plus, it comes with shrimp chips, the pile of deep-fried crackers next to the lobster roll.

— Katelyn Umholtz