Two Newton Restaurants Among Boston Magazine's "Best New Restaurants"

NEWTON, MA – These Newton restaurants may be new to the scene, but they're already making waves.

Little Big Diner and Moldova landed on Boston Magazine's "Top 25 New Restaurants" list. In its latest issue, the magazine highlighted can't-miss joints that recently popped up in the greater Boston area.

Little Big Diner came in at No. 17, while Moldova inched a couple of spots ahead at No. 15. Here's what the magazine had to say about these two up-and-coming hotspots:

Moldova

344 Watertown St., Newton, 617-916-5245, tastemoldova.com.

Authentic Moldovan is such a rarity around these parts that we’d probably make the trek to Nonantum if the food were half as good. Happily, the home-style knockouts coming out of Artur and Sandra Andronic’s kitchen would wow even the most finicky Chişinău expat. Most notably, the plăcinte la tigaie: flaky, delicately elastic pan-fried pies that cradle savory and sweet fillings. Plus, the most prevalent menu ingredient is sour cherries—an automatic stock booster, in our book.

Scouting Notes: Sarmale—stuffed cabbage and grape leaves—are potential fan favorites. Plenty of bang for your buck.

Little Big Diner

1247 Centre St., Newton Centre, 857-404-0068, littlebigdiner.com.

Given the city’s ramen depth, David Punch and Daniel Scott must have realized they’d have to make more than a decent bowl of paitan to draw crowds to Newton Centre. While Little Big Diner’s soup game is solid, it’s the small plates that keep us coming back. The flawless green-papaya salad packs fish-sauce-driven power under a confetti of crunchy toasted garlic; the rice bowls are heaped with primo proteins; and a recent special of chewy, wok-charred rice cakes tossed with spicy pork laapdeserves permanent-menu status. Vibe-wise, Little Big’s downtown-urban, David Chang–y sensibility makes it feel as fresh and sharp as anything in the city.

Scouting Notes: “S#@t That’s Hot” Bomb chili sauce is no joke. Sleeper hit: grilled-pineapple-sambal burger.

>>>Click here for Boston Magazine's full list of best new restaurants

Image via Shutterstock