8 Best Spots For Boston Cream Pie In Boston

When you think of foods that hail from Boston, lobster rolls, Boston baked beans, or Fenway franks may be the first dishes that come to mind. Perhaps if you're a particularly big seafood fan, you might think of oysters or creamy New England clam chowder. But Boston also lays claim to one very famous dessert (among many in the U.S.) that's now spread its way across the country and beyond. It's the Boston cream pie, and despite its name, it's actually a pie, not a cake.

If you ask me, it's also one of the very best cakes to have ever been invented. The base of the dessert is sponge cake, which is arranged in two separate, fluffy layers. Between those two layers of sponge cake, you'll find a rich, creamy custard, which is what makes this cake so deeply decadent. To finish it all off, it's covered with a decadent chocolate frosting, which wraps the whole cake in a robe of sweetness and complexity.

These days, you can find Boston cream pie at many restaurants and bakeries in the United States and beyond. But, obviously, the best place to snag yourself a slice of Boston cream pie is in Boston itself. I've done quite a bit of taste-testing around the city — and researching online reviews — to create this list of some of the best spots to try Boston cream pie in Boston and the surrounding area. Get ready for a transformative dessert experience.

If you're a serious Boston cream pie fan, then it only makes sense to visit the birthplace of the dessert. Yes, it was born in Boston, but more specifically, Boston cream pie was invented at the Omni Parker House, a cozy hotel in downtown Boston. The dessert came to the fore all the way back in 1856, at which point it was called chocolate cream pie. Originally, it was spiked with dark rum, although that addition has fallen out of favor in more modern recipes. The hotel is definitely a solid place to stay while you're visiting the city, but even if you have accommodations elsewhere, you should definitely stop by so you can taste a slice of the hotel's famous dessert invention for yourself.

Since you'll be getting the OG recipe here, it's definitely my top suggestion for the best spot in Boston to get this dessert. Enjoy it after you eat breakfast or lunch at the restaurant (yes, it's totally appropriate to have breakfast dessert), or snag a whole pie that you can take to-go. Reddit reviewers often suggest it as one of the best spots to snag the treat, with one saying that it's the "only correct answer" when it comes to getting a Boston cream pie in the city.

https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/boston-parker-house

(617) 227-8600

60 School St, Boston, MA 02108

Bova's Bakery is one of the best spots in Boston for basically any type of baked goods. It shouldn't exactly come as a surprise, then, that it's also an excellent place to stop for a slice of Boston cream pie. Located in Boston's historic North End, known for its Italian-American community, Bova's is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In a city that's known for shutting down early, it's nice to know that there's a place you can go for a late-night slice of cake any time you're craving one. And since it's been around since 1926, you know it's proven itself as an outstanding bakery.

Here, you can buy a slice of Boston cream pie when you stop in looking for a treat, or you can go all out and buy an entire cake if you want it for some sort of event. The single-serve portions here are very generous, so you can easily split a single slice and still feel full. This is a must-visit spot for Boston cream pie (and so many other sweets).

https://bovabakeryboston.net/

(617) 523-5601

134 Salem St, Boston, MA 02113

S&S Restaurant is the kind of restaurant you go to when you're feeling nostalgic, when you want to get cozy in a booth and enjoy the kind of deli-style favorites you won't see at the newest fast casual restaurant in your neighborhood. It's been around since 1919, making it a local institution that's worth checking out just to enjoy a slice of history. Located in Cambridge's Inman Square, it's arguably most well-known for its sandwiches, like the corned beef Reuben and the three-decker knockwurst, hot pastrami, and Swiss cheese.

But look past the savory items to make it to the dessert section of the menu, and you'll find that it's also an excellent spot to grab a slice of Boston cream pie. As one of the most historically rich restaurants in the city, it's one of my favorite places to enjoy this classic Boston dessert. It's the best way to end a meal you won't soon forget.

http://www.sandsrestaurant.com/

(617) 354-0777

1334 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02139

Another North End dessert favorite is Mike's Pastry. The food it's arguably most well known for is its cannoli, which have legendary status on the streets of the North End (although the shop now has multiple locations across the Boston area). Of course, it's worth trying one out if you go there — after all, cannolis are another classic Boston dessert. But the expanding local chain also sells cookies and cakes. In the cake section of its menu, you'll find its Boston cream pie, which you can buy whole for under $50. It's perfect for bringing to a party when you have a lot of sweet tooths to feed.

Don't want to commit to a whole cake? You can also just grab a slice if you're not getting dessert for a whole crew, which is one of my personal favorite ways to experience the dessert. Either way, this simple, straightforward version of the dessert highlights why it's become such a beloved classic in the city and far beyond.

https://www.mikespastry.com/

(617) 742-3050

300 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113

Another North End staple with various locations around the Boston area, Modern Pastry has been around for over 90 years, serving up a wide variety of baked goods. This place is known for its cakes — you can get a surprisingly wide array of cake flavors here, all decorated beautifully for celebrations. It carries both American-style and Italian-style cakes, so there's something for everyone. You'll also find cannolis, cheesecakes, eclairs, tarts, and so much more when you visit.

But let's focus on what you're really there for: The Boston cream pie. This place takes the "modern" in its name seriously, offering a creative, updated version of the cake classic. Modern Pastry's version of its Boston cream pie cake starts with white cake that's layered with fluffy Chantilly cream. The top is then layered with that signature chocolate ganache and is decorated with a swirled pattern with white ganache. It's elegant and visually striking, making it one of the prettiest Boston cream pies in town.

https://modernpastry.com/

(617) 523-3783

257 & 263 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113

There are so many different places around Boston where you can try a classic Boston cream pie, but honestly, we like a bakery that can switch things up and offer us a new take on a long-time favorite. That's just what you'll get when you make your way to Flour Bakery and Cafe. Among a slew of other delicious cakes, Flour offers a Boston cream pie cake, but with an unexpected twist. It has the sponge cakes you'd expect, with a layer of cream between them. But before they layer on that rich chocolate ganache, they also include some coffee syrup, giving this cake a complexity that you won't find in other recipes. That coffee flavor isn't overpowering — that slight hint of bitterness just works to balance the cake and bring all the flavors together.

I love that you can order this cake in different sizes, depending on how many people you want to feed. Opt for a six-inch cake if you have only six to eight people to feed, or opt for a whole half sheet if you're feeding a crowd. There are several size options in the middle as well. The Boston cream pie is also available by the slice, if you don't want to commit to the entire thing.  It's yet another spot recommended by Redditors, though one user cautioned that it might be best to order at least a day in advance for a whole cake.

https://www.flourbakery.com/

Multiple locations

Hear me out: Sometimes, you need a good budget cake to bring to a party or other event, and you need it quickly. It's those times when visiting a grocery store bakery can seem appealing. A lot of grocery store cakes, though, aren't that appealing, with too-sweet frosting and dry sponge cake — probably not what you're looking for. But at Roche Bros, a Massachusetts-based grocery chain with locations all around the greater Boston area, the bakery actually whips up a really, really good Boston cream pie. And considering how much more affordable it is than most of the other places' cakes on this list (a whole cake will cost you less than $15), it's absolutely worth trying out if you want to get a taste of a classic Boston cream pie on a budget.

It's simple but tasty: Those two layers of sponge cake, plus the creamy custard in the middle, topped with a generous layer of chocolate ganache. They even put a maraschino cherry on top for extra visual appeal. Although it might not be the fanciest-feeling place to grab a Boston cream pie, Redditor reviewers often recommend it.

https://www.rochebros.com/

Multiple locations

You'll have to head to Somerville to experience what Lyndell's Bakery has to offer. This is another long-standing institution — the bakery has been around since 1887, making it one of the country's oldest retail bakeries that make their food from scratch. That makes it worth visiting in its own right. But I also think that Lyndell's is a particularly good spot in which to snag a Boston cream pie because it offers the dessert in two different forms. One Redditor even called the chain's Boston cream pie "doper than dope." There's the classic cake version, with those two layers of sponge cake, a rich, creamy center layer, and the chocolate ganache on top. This variety is sold in both small and large slices.

But interestingly, the shop also sells a Boston cream pie in donut form, so you can have this iconic dessert for breakfast. And who doesn't love starting the day off with what's essentially just a breakfast-ized form of cake?

https://lyndells.com/

(617) 625-1793

720 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02144

I chose these spots based on both personal experience and online reviews. I especially selected bakeries that are historically important in their neighborhoods or in the city of Boston as a whole, since this is the home of the dessert. 

There is also a mixture of bakeries that offer a more classic version of the dessert as well as bakeries that are creating interesting spins on the classic. All of these locations, though, are serving up Boston cream pie with lightweight, fluffy sponge cake, an ultra-decadent layer of cream, and well-balanced (read: not too sweet) chocolate ganache.