Since 1986, through various names and family owners, this restaurant has served very tasty south american food. The Yucca and Platanos (plantains) are hard-to-find comfort foods for transplanted South Americans. After 5 PM, there are 5 parking spaces available in the back of the restaurant. Please see restaurant staff about a permit after you park.

Joe V's is one of those typically great and under-rated neighborhood spots that you wish someone had told you about long ago. Popular with those who live in the South End neighborhood. Casual, comfortable, and unpretentious ... a great find since the South End continues to go increasingly upscale. Joe V's is good food at reasonable prices. While it is best known for pizza, there is plenty more on the menu.
Boston Magazine named Joe V's the winner of Best of Boston 2004 Neighborhood Restaurant, South End...saying "Joe V's has already shown that it can hold its own in a neighborhood crowded with great restaurants. The excellent food at reasonable prices ranges from thin-crust pizzas with a tangy, garlicky sauce, to confidently executed classics (lobster ravioli), while delicious brunch dishes (the South Beach omelet, with Egg Beaters, ham, and tomato) keep the locals dropping in all weekend long."^[1]

The recently opened full-service dining area boasts a warm, cavernous appeal (including a working fireplace, a boulder-like wall that serves as a tactile homage to the elements and an upscale ambiance downstairs with windows peeking out to a rock garden that actually feels like you're dining in a cave) and a stylish, but cramped, space upstairs. The moderately-priced menu boasts a few comfort-food staples like their winning parmesan-garlic fries with chipotle aioli. The fries have a tasty, crunchy coating and score points with its creative cone-style presentation. The South End Buttery's menu has several stellar pasta dishes including its penne with pumpkin seed pesto and serves up some killer braised beef short ribs with parsnip puree that literally melt in your mouth. The vibe is cozy. Perfect for a first date or an intimate gathering of friends. As far as the upstairs cafe area, it's delicious, but small. Kind to children, but no high chairs for this South End local hangout. There is a cafe that serves everything from coffee to cupcakes, quiches to tuna melts.

Tired of Scorpion Bowls that taste like a mixture of Tang and hand soap? Then hit up Pho Republique, a hip if pricey restaurant and bar offering Western takes on traditional Asian delicacies and a drink menu featuring creative concoctions like coconut and mango martinis and their own take on the Kong's classic. Pho Republique boasts a sexy and intimate tropical atmosphere perfect for impressing a date or liquoring up your folks before you tell them that you're graduating with a degree in art history. Given the delicious if not-so-exotic entrees like the Pineapple Kung Pao Chicken ($18), Lamb Hot Pot ($17), and Sesame Crusted Tuna ($22), it might seem easy to pass on the appetizers, but don't—the Crispy Tuna Springrolls ($11) are to die for. It's well worth the journey to the South End for this tantalizing fusion of East and West, especially if you head back northward with a scorpion-inspired buzz. NOT SO Good Deal Alert: This deal apparently is no longer available, so don't expect cheap eats: Mon-Thu between 5:30-7:30 there are $2 dim sum deals at the bar. More details This section contains information from Harvard Student Agencies' Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard.

House of Siam just opened up a second, smaller restaurant in the old Thai Village. The 35-seat South End haunt serves up saucy Thai faves like drunken chicken and pineapple fried rice.

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Metropolis occupies what was once an ice cream parlor; today, there is no better place in Boston to spoon up cinnamon ice cream with chocolate bread pudding and caramel sauce ($8), one of the restaurant's rarefied desserts. While the ice cream here is exquisitely prepared, this trendy bistro focuses on innovative, Italian-influenced cuisine. Dishes such as the roasted duck with sun-dried plum, goat cheese, and smoked bacon tart ($20) exemplify how Metropolis' chef melds diverse and complex flavors with excellent results. The date-worthy atmosphere more than compensates for the lack of elbow room and the inevitable wait (call ahead). Entrees $15-20. This section contains information from Harvard Student Agencies' Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard. Customers squeeze into the tightly spaced tables and read the paper at the wrap-around bar.

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Mela comes to us from the One World Cuisine team who also run Bukhara, Diva, Kashmir, Mantra, and Cafe of India. The lunch buffet is very reasonable for the area: $10 weekdays, $13 weekends. Mela is likely the only Indian restaurant in the South End, but a very welcome addition. The service is friendly to children, but expect tight spaces, no kid cups or kid menus and to emphasize "very very mild spices please"/ They will however store your stroller for you.

According to website this restaurant appears to now be closed.

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Caffe Umbra has recently closed.