Allston

Score Breakdown

About this Neighborhood

Allston is where Boston's students decide to stay after graduation and then feel vaguely embarrassed about it five years later. The restaurant count hits 91 — well above cohort average — with a spread that runs from Yoma's Burmese to Taqueria El Carrizal to the inexplicable endurance of Taco Bell. Seventeen coffee and café spots keep the freelance class fed on caffeine; OneZo and Kung Fu Tea signal the migration of Asian student population from the dorms. Grocery coverage is solid at 20 outlets — Cheema's Supermarket and Mayfair Food Latin grocery anchor the daily essentials. Fitness infrastructure leans combat: Wai Kru Muay Thai and Boston Martial Arts Center sit alongside the obligatory Planet Fitness. Nine parks scatter through the residential streets, anchored by the Penniman Road Community Garden. This is a neighborhood with no pretense and no shortage of options — the kind of place where the gap between 2am and 8am barely matters.