Best of Boston

2001 Best Romantic Restaurant, North

Stone Soup Café

Want a table for Valentine’s Day? Reserve it now. This intimate American restaurant is so much in demand that North Shore residents eagerly sign up months in advance to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, and engagements at one of the five tables, sometimes making their next reservation before the bill is even paid. White linens, candle lamps, and refined daily specials lend an elegance that supplements the food, and the two-person waitstaff lavishes attention on each guest, listing every last ingredient. Seafood and meat dishes are consistently rich without being too heavy, and pasta entrées dominate the seasonal main menu.

Zero Central St., Ipswich, 978-356-4222, ipswichstonesoup.com/