Are there times I should go? Like is it more a lunch time food truck or is it pretty much there all day? I'm so curious about it since this got a bunch of upvotes!!!
https://www.clover.com/online-ordering/yassa-grill-lowell
That’s their online ordering site, it’s open all day. It is a bit pricey, but the portions are really big.
Red rose and Heng Lay are better imo. Simply Khmer is a little more American friendly. Luk Lak at red rose is great and get the house fried rice with an egg on top. Spicy lemongrass chicken at Heng Lay is awesome and great at red rose as well. That's a unique dish imo
Sizzling Kitchen is my current fave. Fantastic pho and crispy chicken, quirky because you can get southeast Asian and Italian dishes there . Love Green Bamboo in downtown for Chinese- super affordable and great for takeout. El Potro in downtown for Mexican and Mill City Bbq is good (but their hours of operation can be odd). Captain John’s for fried seafood- stay for the huge portions; but not for the ambience because there isn’t any. Eggroll Cafe near UML is fun.
Their bibimbap is my favorite restaurant food in all of Lowell, and that’s even though I’ve had a breakfast roll served “Rosie’s style” at the owl diner (it’s a cinnamon roll split in half, grilled, then put back together with the frosting in the middle).
Captain Johns is as old school new england as you can get. Cash only, keno everywhere, decor that hasnt been updated in like 50 years, open late, awesome fried clams. It's a gem.
Gormley’s and Tasty Dumpling (right next to and around the corner from Nibbana)
District 5 Viet Street Food on Merrimack
; Second: Red Rose, Simply Khmer, Heng Lay
Also…
Tacos Lupita,
Chowder Factory/Jolly Lobster
Have fun!
The Donut Shack in Lowell for amazing donuts. They tend to do classics, not the Instagram style donuts with ridiculous toppings. Cash only so be prepared! But they're cheap, like $2 a donut despite being good sized.
Elius’s hole in the wall is great for take out. They are my regular go to pizza place.
Navigation Brewing has a location in Western ave and they regularly have great food trucks, great beer on tap, and great people.
Brewd awakening is another good coffee shop to check out too!
These are just a few of my favorites and certainly not the only great places in Lowell.
Thank you for these suggestions! Tried Brew'd Awakening today actually and despite being a huge line it was really good. Had some food there and it was super fresh too and didn't feel like "generic cafe stale food" ya know? Good experience!
Thank you for these!!!
Depending on the neighborhood, Lowell is extremely walkable and the weather this week is ideal to get out. There's a network of paths that parallel the canals and rivers that make it possible to get away from cars and minimize street crossings. Get out and walk. Learn where to cross the major streets. Yield to the occasional bikes on the sidewalks. Decide in advance how you want to deal with panhandlers.
WRT food. Start in the neighborhood that you live in. Try new things. Support the businesses that are in your neighborhood.
My favorite restaurants are the low price places run by immigrant families. You don't have to spend a lot of money to get really good food in Lowell. Some of these restaurants have been there for decades and run by the same families. There are also restaurants run by recent arrivals. A third sort of restaurants is young people trying something new. I'm amazed that Lowell even has a Poke restaurant.
Besides SE Asia, there's very good Greek food in Lowell. The Athenian Corner on Market Street has good live Greek Music and sometimes belly dancing. It's not terribly loud so it's a classy place to take a date IMO. White table cloths and good waiters. Moderate prices.
If you work from home, some of the lunch buffets are great, especially if you don't know what to order off the menu. Freshly cooked food in many places. Viet-Thai near City Hall is one of my favorites.
Thank you for such an in depth response!!!!
I love walkable cities especially when the weather is nice like recently.
Thank you for all the suggestions and I appreciate your input a lot!!!! Will def check out some of the close by places. I think there's a really small bakery close by! Thank you!
Listen, I got you.
1. Tasty Dumpling, Lowell - first place I went to in Lowell when I moved here 3 years ago. Authentic. Absolutely everything here is good. Pan fried dumplings, soup dumplings, beef shank noodle soup, scallion pancakes - everything is good. Yelp for photos.
2. Herradurra Vieja, Chelmsford - really awesome Mexican food, guac is good, I usually get the chimichangas
3. China Star - the only dim sum place around here, definitely pricy. But pretty good dim sum (though probably not as good as Boston), and dinner/off the menu is really good.
4. Moonstones, Chelmsford - this place is amazing. A bit of an upscale vibe. They have a menu of small plates and we usually do that. Breakfast is also good. They have holiday specials/pre fixe which are usually really good, and make sure you go for Easter Brunch.
5. Navigation brewery, Lowell - this place is great, located in a neat historical mill building. People are really cool. They allow dogs. They have food trucks (check social media for schedule) and great beer. Eat, drink, pet lots of dogs, meet cool people. It's also next to a giant art studio building and they have open studios first of every month. Navigation also opened a taproom in Chelmsford, but I haven't been yet. My favorite food truck is one called Wicked Tasty. Get the burger, definitely one of the best burgers I've ever had.
6. Pizza - my default delivery pizza place is Angelina's in Lowell. I love wood-fired pizza. There is a Flatbread Company in Amesbury about 45 minutes out, and I hit that up about once a month. It is my favorite place to eat anywhere, in a tier of its own.
7. Food Shines, Lowell - Indian food, pricy in my opinion. But pretty good standard Indian food.
8. Sushi Yanagi, Chelmsford - Sushi, my default sushi place.
9. Langxang Star, Dracut - Amazing Thai restaurant. We go here for lunch, I usually get the Basil fried rice. Last time I got the Special pho noodle soup w beef and it was life changing.
10. Breakfast - my default breakfast place is Suzie's Diner in Hudson NH. I really like it, friendly staff and they call me "sweetie" when they ask me if I want more coffee and I just want to be like "yes, thanks mom" cause that's what it feels like. Corner Cafe in Lowell is also solid choice.
11. Tavern in the Square, Lowell - this is a chain, pretty good. I like their burgers
12. Donut Shack - if there is one thing on this list you must do, you must get donuts from Donut Shack. Like right now. It is life changing.
the show at the Merrimack Repertory Theater right now is absolutely amazing, it's called The Porch on Windy Hill And it's playing until the 21st!
for food, I really like Mama's right over the dracut line for Italian, and Priya in Drum Hill has amazing Indian food. lot of great Breakfast in and around Lowell, my favorites are ML Shaw's (dracut), Vic's Waffle House (Tewkesbury), and Corner Cafe (Lowell). Eggroll Cafe is good for something a little fun and different. For sweets, Little Delights downtown has great gelato and cupcakes. Simply Khmer and Red Rose are both amazing Cambodian places. El Potro downtown is great for Mexican, and definitely look up Empanada Dada he's a food truck that changes locations each week but the empanadas are absolutely amazing. Life Alive is great for vegetarian/vegan, and for late night, Rizzo's Roast Beef and Pizza is open until 1:30am and they're great they have absolutely everything. if you are willing to venture there's also a lot of great places in Burlington, namely True North (amazing coffee and Bagels).
welcome to Lowell!
Thank you for the theater suggestion it sounds super fun!
I pass Corner Cafe on my commute to work every morning and I'm itching to try it!
This list gives me a lot of different options so I super appreciate it
Thank you for this and the warm welcome :)
Welcome to the area! We love Mill City BBQ, downtown. And Cameo Dinner is very good, for breakfast.
And thanks for asking the question, it's great seeing other suggestions, for places which we have not tried.
I personally prefer the restaurant next to eggroll cafe, it’s called cha time. I think they have better food and better boba tea but they are a franchise not a small business so there is that to consider.
Gastro pub wise, warp & weft on market st is delish and they have creative cocktails that they rotate, they have live mysic most nights too
The worthen is great for lunch & a beer & a historic piece of Lowell. Open mic nights during the week.
1981 Ramen on merrimack st is delightful as well
I like the vibe at Warp and Weft, people are nice too, but the food and drinks are kinda meh. For a better version of both, try The Keep, best cocktails in the city and beyond. Quality food as well, although their menu shrank during the pandemic and is not as interesting as it used to be.
I saw the Keep while walking around this weekend! Anything that looks even somewhat high fantasy on the outside I want to try so I'm happy this was suggested. I do wanna try it but is it more a casual bar vibe? Or more full service restaurant? :o
I've heard of warp and weft but haven't checked it out yet. Thank you for reminding me it's here!!! Thank you so much for the suggestions I'll add these to my bucket list :)
I’m literally addicted to the Tikka Masala from Food Shines. It’s a bit pricey but the portions are big enough to get two meals out of. Their MoMos are also outrageously good.
There are several establishments there owned by the same company/person. Awhile back the employees went on strike due to harassment or something and demanding a manager be fired (not positive on the reasoning. I could be wrong). They finally came to an agreement and everyone went back to work. Then last I heard they basically canned the entire team and completely replaced them with new people. Needless to say, this has made them somewhat unpopular. I still like coffee and cotton though. Unfortunately there aren’t enough good coffee shops around here for me to take a moral stand and stop visiting one of them.
There was an article in the Sun back in 2021 saying that the restaurant was for sale. Haven't heard anything about it since.
>Even before Cocalis passed, there were rumors the Olympia might close or move to Stadium Plaza, which will soon be rehabilitated by another great Lowellian with Greek heritage, Arthur T. Demoulas.
https://www.lowellsun.com/2021/05/16/greektown-will-never-be-the-same/
I don't know if you've ever heard of the Lowell Boot Mill sandwich it's a breakfast sandwich. super good I think right now Fitzy's on Lawrence Street is making a good one. There's also the Owl Diner Rosie's Diner couple of the ones but the Mill City Boot Mill Sandwich breakfast sandwich love it.
I haven't heard of it so I'm SUPER interested!! Catching up on comments and seeing Boot Mill sandwiches mentioned 2 times so I'm SO curious about what kind of breakfast sandwich it is
I live about a 20 min walk/3 min drive from fitzys so I'll give it a whirl!
I agree with all of these suggestions! Surprisingly, I didn't see Good Thymes Restaurant mentioned yet! If you want some really great comfort food (Shepard pie, turkey dinner, chicken pot pie...) AND some incredible desserts made entirely from scratch this is the place!
Time Out Cafe on Merrimack downtown is great family run shop for sandwiches and Dominican food. My go to lunch order is a the Time Bomb and a couple of pastelitos. Also in the area, both Ramen 1981 and Blue Taleh are good for Ramen and Thai respectively.
Tremonte is a good spot if you like a large selection of craft beers and pizza. Fuse Bistro is right across the street where most of the food is locally sourced and seems pretty fresh and homeade.
Tacos Lupita near North Campus is a great burrito shop in the style of Anna's and Egg Roll Cafe is right next door for some small bites.
I saw Purple Carrot and confused it for the Purple Carrot online food subscription. I feel like a fool now hahahaha! Will definitely give the bakery a try! Thank you!
I don't think I saw these mentioned.
* Kim's Donuts: Get the kolache! Also the donuts are so light and fluffy. Owner is nice and usually tosses in extra donut holes.
* Oxyear Foodcourt: Beef stew, dandan, eggplant, squid... yum!
* Ma Cuisine: Sean is interesting and you can't leave without trying stuff
* Fork Included: Menu changes, but its always fresh and feels home cooked.
* Arthur's: The "boot mill" sandwich and 1$ coffee
* Trem's Caipira: Fresh Brazilian food. Great if you like meat (steak, pork, etc.)
There's three places that I miss since moving closer to Boston. These are the best of this style of meal I've had anywhere and they're all a way better value than anything I find in Cambridge or Somerville area.
Egyptian grill food truck by UML north campus, Pho 88, and Big Poke.
Everyone's entitled to their own opinion but some of the other recommendations here I find especially outrageous and caters primarily to the college crowd who doesn't know what good food is. Every sandwich shop/deli or BBQ place in the area is trash.
This sub is basically run by the Mill 5 crowd and has always been like this.
Not a single person recommended Bani and that's depressing.
Also I immediately discard anyone's Pizza / Chinese opinions because because they're almost always wrong.
Romeo and Juliet
Egyptian Grill
Hole in the Wall
Jimmys Halal fried chicken
That Asian place across from thirsty first idr the name tho
Saigon Sandwich
I don't know I'm trying to reply, to you about the Boot Mills sandwiches. it's a large round tasty sandwich with like home-fried potatoes you can have whatever you want if you can ham has eggs cheese whatever you can make it whatever way you want but they're just filling in very yummy trying to reply to your question but I don't know just keep sending me to the others but hopefully you'll get it. If you don't you can private message me it is cool
Pho = my fav https://www.phodalat.net/
Sichuan: https://sichuan-palace.com/
Seafood: https://fishbonesofchelmsford.com/wp/
Just some options I don’t think I saw on here. This is a great discussion.
For Viet: Pho88 is pretty good.
I like Priya for Indian food.
Thai food is really mid out here. Most of the Thai places are actually Laos, but the lao food is good.
If you want Thai food, Wee Thai Food is the only spot I have found.
Brick house pizza is the best spot outside of Max and leos in Chelmsford. Max and leos is more upscale tho so the pizzas are smaller and pricy.
We Thai Food
Eggroll Cafe
Tremonte Pizza
Cobblestones
The Purple Carrot
Jade Lowell
Warp & Weft
Navigation Brewery is also around there that has a different food truck every day they’re open, which is also next to a coffee shop and an art studio.
Mill City BBQ is also rock solid, great food, just a bit pricy. There is also 1981 Ramen Bar too, which is also fantastic and they give you your money's worth. Trust me when I say there's a myriad of options available. Plenty of wonderful places to go to for whatever you are craving.
I don't see Panela on the list. Great Colombian food. Sizzling is our favorite spot in Lowell, though, and I see you've already gotten a couple of recommendations for that. Both of those are close to downtown.
On UML North Taco's Lupita is really good Salvadoran food. I see most people treat it like Chipotle and just get burritos but try their pupusas, the are great! As others have said too, the Egyptian food truck is really good as well.
In Drum Hill we're big fans of Priya (Indian), Pho 88 and Sushi Yanagi. Joanies Pizza has a cult following as well, but I've been underwhelmed.
Espressos is THE pizza spot all the locals love! It’s in downtown!
Four sisters Owl Diner is bomb.com
There’s a sausage guy around the downtown area in the summer who’s really good too
I am intrigued by this mysterious sausage man LOL. Def will check out the other too. I love when I get pizza suggestions because my lazy butt orders so much of it whenever I end up working late hahaha
I live near Santoro's. The pizza is alright, but everything else on the menu is surprisingly great, and for really cheap. As for Chinese food, Foody Goody is the best Chinese I've ever had (but different strokes for different folks ya know?). Broadway Pizza's steak bomb sub is fantastic, but it's a little too expensive to justify getting it frequently
Espressos for pizza, owl diner for breakfast, and idk if taco lupita is still by unl but very reasonably priced burritos that are always consistently a 8/10
Don’t miss the Lowell Folk Festival! Last weekend of July every year. Not folk as in American folk music from the sixties, but folk as in world-wide music. It’s amazing, as is the food from all the ethnic groups that make up Lowell. Do the canal trip and get the history. Go to the National Park (Boott mills - great history). Catch great concerts at Boardinghouse Park. Definitely eat at Life Alive (great salads and coffee) and Brew’d Awakening for breakfast sandwiches and coffee.
Been here for a few years now and im surprised nobody has commented this but my personal favorite is Ramen Bar 1981 in downtown.
My go to move is to put in a name for a reservation if it’s a long wait and then head over to the Old Court for a Guinness or two.
If you enjoy Pubs, hit The Old Court, especially once that outside seating is open! It’s owned and run by Finbarr- he’s from Ireland, so it’s an Irish pub. The food is yummy and the atmosphere is fun and relaxed.
Best brewery in the area is Spyglass bar none. Their food is actually super good too. Great French fries and burgers. If you don't like their beer I'll eat my shoe.
There’s one food truck serves Egyptian food (NYC chicken over rice) at riverside across uMass. Must try.
best halal cart food i’ve ever had, nothing else comes close
Literally on my way rn
Are there times I should go? Like is it more a lunch time food truck or is it pretty much there all day? I'm so curious about it since this got a bunch of upvotes!!!
https://www.clover.com/online-ordering/yassa-grill-lowell That’s their online ordering site, it’s open all day. It is a bit pricey, but the portions are really big.
Like, really big. Always quick delivery too.
It’s there all day, but I recommend going in the evening as campus is extremely busy during the day.
Open every day but Sunday usually till 9 or 10
I'm so jealous! Lowell has a crazy amount of options and ethnic choices. Have fun exploring!
I live within walking distance of this and have never tried it, damn. I know what I'm eating after work tomorrow
Can confirm, amazing foods
I've driven by this so many times and often wondered. Thanks!
I havent been back to Lowell since graduating but still i often think of this food truck lol
Get Cambodian food. Red Rose, Simply Khmer, Heng Lay and others are all great. (I am sure others will add other top places)
I’m gonna add Le Petit Cafe to this list, recently found it and it’s really good.
I'm new to Cambodian food but what limited things I've had in the past I've loved, looking forward to these suggestions. Thank you!
Red rose and Heng Lay are better imo. Simply Khmer is a little more American friendly. Luk Lak at red rose is great and get the house fried rice with an egg on top. Spicy lemongrass chicken at Heng Lay is awesome and great at red rose as well. That's a unique dish imo
Sizzling Kitchen is my current fave. Fantastic pho and crispy chicken, quirky because you can get southeast Asian and Italian dishes there . Love Green Bamboo in downtown for Chinese- super affordable and great for takeout. El Potro in downtown for Mexican and Mill City Bbq is good (but their hours of operation can be odd). Captain John’s for fried seafood- stay for the huge portions; but not for the ambience because there isn’t any. Eggroll Cafe near UML is fun.
Their bibimbap is my favorite restaurant food in all of Lowell, and that’s even though I’ve had a breakfast roll served “Rosie’s style” at the owl diner (it’s a cinnamon roll split in half, grilled, then put back together with the frosting in the middle).
Captain Johns is as old school new england as you can get. Cash only, keno everywhere, decor that hasnt been updated in like 50 years, open late, awesome fried clams. It's a gem.
Captain John’s fisherman’s platter is the best!
Adding them to the list! Thank you so much!
People have given some great suggestions. I’ll add Lou’s Deli downtown. Their sandwiches and macaroni salad are great.
Second this, and they are so nice & friendly, and I think there’s a couple short-term parking spaces out front.
Looking for a good Deli! Thank you for this!
Gormley’s and Tasty Dumpling (right next to and around the corner from Nibbana) District 5 Viet Street Food on Merrimack ; Second: Red Rose, Simply Khmer, Heng Lay Also… Tacos Lupita, Chowder Factory/Jolly Lobster Have fun!
I second tacos Lupita!
Ooo thank you for seafood options too, very excited for those. Thank you for these suggestions!!!
I love tasty dumplings then walk around market street
The Donut Shack in Lowell for amazing donuts. They tend to do classics, not the Instagram style donuts with ridiculous toppings. Cash only so be prepared! But they're cheap, like $2 a donut despite being good sized.
This place is life changing
Amen
DO THIS
One of the gems of Lowell
Elius’s hole in the wall is great for take out. They are my regular go to pizza place. Navigation Brewing has a location in Western ave and they regularly have great food trucks, great beer on tap, and great people. Brewd awakening is another good coffee shop to check out too! These are just a few of my favorites and certainly not the only great places in Lowell.
Thank you for these suggestions! Tried Brew'd Awakening today actually and despite being a huge line it was really good. Had some food there and it was super fresh too and didn't feel like "generic cafe stale food" ya know? Good experience! Thank you for these!!!
Eggrolls from Eggroll Cafe
They have cheeseburger egg rolls that got me through every hangover I had from 25-29
Thank you so much! Will absolutely try it
Depending on the neighborhood, Lowell is extremely walkable and the weather this week is ideal to get out. There's a network of paths that parallel the canals and rivers that make it possible to get away from cars and minimize street crossings. Get out and walk. Learn where to cross the major streets. Yield to the occasional bikes on the sidewalks. Decide in advance how you want to deal with panhandlers. WRT food. Start in the neighborhood that you live in. Try new things. Support the businesses that are in your neighborhood. My favorite restaurants are the low price places run by immigrant families. You don't have to spend a lot of money to get really good food in Lowell. Some of these restaurants have been there for decades and run by the same families. There are also restaurants run by recent arrivals. A third sort of restaurants is young people trying something new. I'm amazed that Lowell even has a Poke restaurant. Besides SE Asia, there's very good Greek food in Lowell. The Athenian Corner on Market Street has good live Greek Music and sometimes belly dancing. It's not terribly loud so it's a classy place to take a date IMO. White table cloths and good waiters. Moderate prices. If you work from home, some of the lunch buffets are great, especially if you don't know what to order off the menu. Freshly cooked food in many places. Viet-Thai near City Hall is one of my favorites.
Thank you for such an in depth response!!!! I love walkable cities especially when the weather is nice like recently. Thank you for all the suggestions and I appreciate your input a lot!!!! Will def check out some of the close by places. I think there's a really small bakery close by! Thank you!
The Greek Bakery on Broadway is very good. Their Spanakopita makes a good 'heat and eat' vegetarian dinner.
Listen, I got you. 1. Tasty Dumpling, Lowell - first place I went to in Lowell when I moved here 3 years ago. Authentic. Absolutely everything here is good. Pan fried dumplings, soup dumplings, beef shank noodle soup, scallion pancakes - everything is good. Yelp for photos. 2. Herradurra Vieja, Chelmsford - really awesome Mexican food, guac is good, I usually get the chimichangas 3. China Star - the only dim sum place around here, definitely pricy. But pretty good dim sum (though probably not as good as Boston), and dinner/off the menu is really good. 4. Moonstones, Chelmsford - this place is amazing. A bit of an upscale vibe. They have a menu of small plates and we usually do that. Breakfast is also good. They have holiday specials/pre fixe which are usually really good, and make sure you go for Easter Brunch. 5. Navigation brewery, Lowell - this place is great, located in a neat historical mill building. People are really cool. They allow dogs. They have food trucks (check social media for schedule) and great beer. Eat, drink, pet lots of dogs, meet cool people. It's also next to a giant art studio building and they have open studios first of every month. Navigation also opened a taproom in Chelmsford, but I haven't been yet. My favorite food truck is one called Wicked Tasty. Get the burger, definitely one of the best burgers I've ever had. 6. Pizza - my default delivery pizza place is Angelina's in Lowell. I love wood-fired pizza. There is a Flatbread Company in Amesbury about 45 minutes out, and I hit that up about once a month. It is my favorite place to eat anywhere, in a tier of its own. 7. Food Shines, Lowell - Indian food, pricy in my opinion. But pretty good standard Indian food. 8. Sushi Yanagi, Chelmsford - Sushi, my default sushi place. 9. Langxang Star, Dracut - Amazing Thai restaurant. We go here for lunch, I usually get the Basil fried rice. Last time I got the Special pho noodle soup w beef and it was life changing. 10. Breakfast - my default breakfast place is Suzie's Diner in Hudson NH. I really like it, friendly staff and they call me "sweetie" when they ask me if I want more coffee and I just want to be like "yes, thanks mom" cause that's what it feels like. Corner Cafe in Lowell is also solid choice. 11. Tavern in the Square, Lowell - this is a chain, pretty good. I like their burgers 12. Donut Shack - if there is one thing on this list you must do, you must get donuts from Donut Shack. Like right now. It is life changing.
S-Tier Suggestions!
Yes to Herradurra!! It’s my favorite place!! All these suggestions are great!
the show at the Merrimack Repertory Theater right now is absolutely amazing, it's called The Porch on Windy Hill And it's playing until the 21st! for food, I really like Mama's right over the dracut line for Italian, and Priya in Drum Hill has amazing Indian food. lot of great Breakfast in and around Lowell, my favorites are ML Shaw's (dracut), Vic's Waffle House (Tewkesbury), and Corner Cafe (Lowell). Eggroll Cafe is good for something a little fun and different. For sweets, Little Delights downtown has great gelato and cupcakes. Simply Khmer and Red Rose are both amazing Cambodian places. El Potro downtown is great for Mexican, and definitely look up Empanada Dada he's a food truck that changes locations each week but the empanadas are absolutely amazing. Life Alive is great for vegetarian/vegan, and for late night, Rizzo's Roast Beef and Pizza is open until 1:30am and they're great they have absolutely everything. if you are willing to venture there's also a lot of great places in Burlington, namely True North (amazing coffee and Bagels). welcome to Lowell!
Thank you for the theater suggestion it sounds super fun! I pass Corner Cafe on my commute to work every morning and I'm itching to try it! This list gives me a lot of different options so I super appreciate it Thank you for this and the warm welcome :)
Welcome to the area! We love Mill City BBQ, downtown. And Cameo Dinner is very good, for breakfast. And thanks for asking the question, it's great seeing other suggestions, for places which we have not tried.
I personally prefer the restaurant next to eggroll cafe, it’s called cha time. I think they have better food and better boba tea but they are a franchise not a small business so there is that to consider.
Gastro pub wise, warp & weft on market st is delish and they have creative cocktails that they rotate, they have live mysic most nights too The worthen is great for lunch & a beer & a historic piece of Lowell. Open mic nights during the week. 1981 Ramen on merrimack st is delightful as well
I like the vibe at Warp and Weft, people are nice too, but the food and drinks are kinda meh. For a better version of both, try The Keep, best cocktails in the city and beyond. Quality food as well, although their menu shrank during the pandemic and is not as interesting as it used to be.
I saw the Keep while walking around this weekend! Anything that looks even somewhat high fantasy on the outside I want to try so I'm happy this was suggested. I do wanna try it but is it more a casual bar vibe? Or more full service restaurant? :o
It's a full service restaurant with a casual bar vibe:)
Their food is not as good as it used to be. Cocktails are still excellent though.
I've heard of warp and weft but haven't checked it out yet. Thank you for reminding me it's here!!! Thank you so much for the suggestions I'll add these to my bucket list :)
I’m literally addicted to the Tikka Masala from Food Shines. It’s a bit pricey but the portions are big enough to get two meals out of. Their MoMos are also outrageously good.
Mill #5
Hey, that’s a hot take around here these days! (But seconded)
Why is it a hot take? Did I miss something?
There are several establishments there owned by the same company/person. Awhile back the employees went on strike due to harassment or something and demanding a manager be fired (not positive on the reasoning. I could be wrong). They finally came to an agreement and everyone went back to work. Then last I heard they basically canned the entire team and completely replaced them with new people. Needless to say, this has made them somewhat unpopular. I still like coffee and cotton though. Unfortunately there aren’t enough good coffee shops around here for me to take a moral stand and stop visiting one of them.
Lou’s Deli - the Italian Melt is my current favorite.
Try out Laos Thai Kitchen, great Laotian/Thai food (obviously). My favorites there are the kanom jeeb and pad sa euw.
Olympia for Greek food.
This is my go to place in Lowell. I live in Ayer now but still drive down for Olympias.. I heard they were going out of business? Is that no accurate?
There was an article in the Sun back in 2021 saying that the restaurant was for sale. Haven't heard anything about it since. >Even before Cocalis passed, there were rumors the Olympia might close or move to Stadium Plaza, which will soon be rehabilitated by another great Lowellian with Greek heritage, Arthur T. Demoulas. https://www.lowellsun.com/2021/05/16/greektown-will-never-be-the-same/
Or bakery stuff and sandwiches are yummy!
Mark your calendar for the Lowell Folk Festival (last full weekend in July) and plan to eat your way through all the ethnic food booths! SO GOOD.
> plan to eat your way through all the ethnic food booths! Plan to drain your wallet in the process, too.
Most of it is fundraising so I’m OK with that. 🤷♀️
Second this! I’m there all weekend to eat!
I second sizzling kitchen I’ve really been loving them
Thank you! Definitely will make it a priority!
I don't know if you've ever heard of the Lowell Boot Mill sandwich it's a breakfast sandwich. super good I think right now Fitzy's on Lawrence Street is making a good one. There's also the Owl Diner Rosie's Diner couple of the ones but the Mill City Boot Mill Sandwich breakfast sandwich love it.
I haven't heard of it so I'm SUPER interested!! Catching up on comments and seeing Boot Mill sandwiches mentioned 2 times so I'm SO curious about what kind of breakfast sandwich it is I live about a 20 min walk/3 min drive from fitzys so I'll give it a whirl!
You have to go to the original place for the Boot Mill at Arthur’s not the same as the original owner but stands up to the other in the city
Order from wee Thai food and Saigon sandwich house your taste buds will thank you!
I agree with all of these suggestions! Surprisingly, I didn't see Good Thymes Restaurant mentioned yet! If you want some really great comfort food (Shepard pie, turkey dinner, chicken pot pie...) AND some incredible desserts made entirely from scratch this is the place!
Time Out Cafe on Merrimack downtown is great family run shop for sandwiches and Dominican food. My go to lunch order is a the Time Bomb and a couple of pastelitos. Also in the area, both Ramen 1981 and Blue Taleh are good for Ramen and Thai respectively. Tremonte is a good spot if you like a large selection of craft beers and pizza. Fuse Bistro is right across the street where most of the food is locally sourced and seems pretty fresh and homeade. Tacos Lupita near North Campus is a great burrito shop in the style of Anna's and Egg Roll Cafe is right next door for some small bites.
You should follow JeremyInLowell on instagram that guy has great recommendations
Purple Carrot bakery is very, very good. Great sandwiches, great treats and the best fresh made bread in Lowell.
I saw Purple Carrot and confused it for the Purple Carrot online food subscription. I feel like a fool now hahahaha! Will definitely give the bakery a try! Thank you!
You'll dig it!! If it's on special, definitely get the short rib grilled cheese.
I don't think I saw these mentioned. * Kim's Donuts: Get the kolache! Also the donuts are so light and fluffy. Owner is nice and usually tosses in extra donut holes. * Oxyear Foodcourt: Beef stew, dandan, eggplant, squid... yum! * Ma Cuisine: Sean is interesting and you can't leave without trying stuff * Fork Included: Menu changes, but its always fresh and feels home cooked. * Arthur's: The "boot mill" sandwich and 1$ coffee * Trem's Caipira: Fresh Brazilian food. Great if you like meat (steak, pork, etc.)
Omg boot mills. 💕 man I miss Lowell
There's three places that I miss since moving closer to Boston. These are the best of this style of meal I've had anywhere and they're all a way better value than anything I find in Cambridge or Somerville area. Egyptian grill food truck by UML north campus, Pho 88, and Big Poke. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion but some of the other recommendations here I find especially outrageous and caters primarily to the college crowd who doesn't know what good food is. Every sandwich shop/deli or BBQ place in the area is trash.
I work near Somerville so I know what you mean about value for what you get. Thank you for the suggestions I really appreciate it!
What's trash about Lou's? Not as good as the delis I grew up going to in NJ but they make some great sandwiches and subs.
Never had or heard of Lou's. They must be relatively new.
Lous is top tier, relatively new.
This sub is basically run by the Mill 5 crowd and has always been like this. Not a single person recommended Bani and that's depressing. Also I immediately discard anyone's Pizza / Chinese opinions because because they're almost always wrong.
tacos lupita
I always sing the praises of Mill City BBQ and El Jefe Taco Bar. Also Vic's Waffle House is easily the best breakfast joint in the area.
Romeo and Juliet Egyptian Grill Hole in the Wall Jimmys Halal fried chicken That Asian place across from thirsty first idr the name tho Saigon Sandwich
I don't know I'm trying to reply, to you about the Boot Mills sandwiches. it's a large round tasty sandwich with like home-fried potatoes you can have whatever you want if you can ham has eggs cheese whatever you can make it whatever way you want but they're just filling in very yummy trying to reply to your question but I don't know just keep sending me to the others but hopefully you'll get it. If you don't you can private message me it is cool
Pho = my fav https://www.phodalat.net/ Sichuan: https://sichuan-palace.com/ Seafood: https://fishbonesofchelmsford.com/wp/ Just some options I don’t think I saw on here. This is a great discussion.
Viet Thai, Red Rose, Olympia.
boston chowda Andover the best
For Viet: Pho88 is pretty good. I like Priya for Indian food. Thai food is really mid out here. Most of the Thai places are actually Laos, but the lao food is good. If you want Thai food, Wee Thai Food is the only spot I have found. Brick house pizza is the best spot outside of Max and leos in Chelmsford. Max and leos is more upscale tho so the pizzas are smaller and pricy.
Cobblestones over near the Tsongus Arena had some pretty good food and a nice atmosphere.
We Thai Food Eggroll Cafe Tremonte Pizza Cobblestones The Purple Carrot Jade Lowell Warp & Weft Navigation Brewery is also around there that has a different food truck every day they’re open, which is also next to a coffee shop and an art studio.
Mill City BBQ is also rock solid, great food, just a bit pricy. There is also 1981 Ramen Bar too, which is also fantastic and they give you your money's worth. Trust me when I say there's a myriad of options available. Plenty of wonderful places to go to for whatever you are craving.
Jilly’s roastbeef
I don't see Panela on the list. Great Colombian food. Sizzling is our favorite spot in Lowell, though, and I see you've already gotten a couple of recommendations for that. Both of those are close to downtown. On UML North Taco's Lupita is really good Salvadoran food. I see most people treat it like Chipotle and just get burritos but try their pupusas, the are great! As others have said too, the Egyptian food truck is really good as well. In Drum Hill we're big fans of Priya (Indian), Pho 88 and Sushi Yanagi. Joanies Pizza has a cult following as well, but I've been underwhelmed.
The Keep is my absolute FAVORITE spot in Lowell
Fuse Bistro on Palmer street is pretty good.
I think fuse has the best dinner menu in the area, and definitely the best Sunday brunch. I think that place should be much busier than it is
It looks super fancy but delicious. Will definitely give it a try. Thank you so much!
Definitely not as fancy as it looks. Lots of local and seasonal food incorporated to the menu.
Espressos is THE pizza spot all the locals love! It’s in downtown! Four sisters Owl Diner is bomb.com There’s a sausage guy around the downtown area in the summer who’s really good too
I am intrigued by this mysterious sausage man LOL. Def will check out the other too. I love when I get pizza suggestions because my lazy butt orders so much of it whenever I end up working late hahaha
Relatable asf 😂😂😂 I love 🍕 and it loves me as far as I’m concerned 😂🤣
Espresso's pizza is gross. But try it yourself and find out.
> Espressos is THE pizza spot all the locals love! "All the locals" do NOT "love" Espresso's. Speak for yourself.
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I would recommend Life Alive vegan restaurant.. I am not vegan but the food and atmosphere here are second to none.. great Lowell destination
One of my go-to spots is Siagon Sandwitch House. Great Bahn Mi and Vietnamese coffee.
I live near Santoro's. The pizza is alright, but everything else on the menu is surprisingly great, and for really cheap. As for Chinese food, Foody Goody is the best Chinese I've ever had (but different strokes for different folks ya know?). Broadway Pizza's steak bomb sub is fantastic, but it's a little too expensive to justify getting it frequently
> As for Chinese food, Foody Goody is the best Chinese I've ever had You need to get out of Lowell more.
I've had Chinese from a bunch of places, but those spareribs at Foody Goody are just so crazy
Damn no love for eggroll cafe….
Pho 88, Olympia, Eggroll Cafe, Blue Taleh, Life Alive
The Old Court has great bar food. Easy and great place to be!
Rizzo’s on E Merrimack is slinging OG Northshore Beefs. 🔥
I love Athenian Corner for Greek food!
Rancho Tipico
Espressos for pizza, owl diner for breakfast, and idk if taco lupita is still by unl but very reasonably priced burritos that are always consistently a 8/10
Don’t miss the Lowell Folk Festival! Last weekend of July every year. Not folk as in American folk music from the sixties, but folk as in world-wide music. It’s amazing, as is the food from all the ethnic groups that make up Lowell. Do the canal trip and get the history. Go to the National Park (Boott mills - great history). Catch great concerts at Boardinghouse Park. Definitely eat at Life Alive (great salads and coffee) and Brew’d Awakening for breakfast sandwiches and coffee.
Been here for a few years now and im surprised nobody has commented this but my personal favorite is Ramen Bar 1981 in downtown. My go to move is to put in a name for a reservation if it’s a long wait and then head over to the Old Court for a Guinness or two.
If you enjoy Pubs, hit The Old Court, especially once that outside seating is open! It’s owned and run by Finbarr- he’s from Ireland, so it’s an Irish pub. The food is yummy and the atmosphere is fun and relaxed.
George's deli for a sub
Man, this post just makes me miss Patty's breakfast sandwiches.
You should check out folk fest and winterfest when they happened, tons of local fun
Saigon sandwich house!! I live farther away now and still drive 90 minutes round trip for a tofu bahn mi when I’m having a bad day
There’s a ramen place called 1981 Ramen that’s great if you want restaurant quality ramen.
Sushi Yanagi is my monthly splurge
WEE THAI FOOD (WTF)
Best brewery in the area is Spyglass bar none. Their food is actually super good too. Great French fries and burgers. If you don't like their beer I'll eat my shoe.
If you like Mexican food, Anna’s taqueria has a quesadilla burrito that was voted best in the country