There are restaurants you visit once and forget by the time you reach the parking garage, and then there are places that burrow into your memory and refuse to leave. Myers + Chang, tucked into the South End on the corner of Columbus Avenue and Shawmut Street, belongs firmly in the second category. From the moment you push through the door and the noise and warmth of the dining room wraps around you, you understand that something genuinely special is happening here.
The concept is deceptively simple: Asian-inspired small plates drawing from Chinese, Taiwanese, Thai, and Vietnamese traditions, filtered through a distinctly Boston sensibility. Co-founders Joanne Chang — yes, the same pastry wizard behind the beloved Flour Bakery empire — and her husband Christopher Myers opened this place together, and you can feel that partnership in every detail. The menu is adventurous without being alienating, which is a harder balance to strike than most chefs will admit.
Let me walk you through what a typical evening looks like, because the ordering strategy matters here. The kitchen is built for sharing, so come with two or three friends if you can manage it. Start with the scallion pancakes, which arrive golden and flaky and almost impossibly light, served with a soy-ginger dipping sauce that you will be tempted to drink directly from the bowl. Then move toward the dan dan noodles — rich with sesame and chili crisp, topped with a tangle of pickled vegetables that cut through the richness perfectly. The wok-seared Brussels sprouts with fish sauce vinaigrette have converted at least a few dedicated sprout skeptics in my presence.
For a main-ish moment, the whole fried fish when it is on the menu is a showstopper, but the pork belly fried rice is the kind of dish that ruins ordinary fried rice for you permanently. It is deeply savory, slightly smoky, and studded with enough crispy bits to keep you digging to the bottom of the bowl.
The cocktail program deserves its own paragraph. The bar team leans into Asian flavor profiles — lychee, yuzu, ginger, tamarind — with real finesse. The drinks feel thoughtful rather than gimmicky, which is not always the case when a kitchen-forward restaurant tries to get creative behind the bar.
The South End neighborhood itself is worth arriving early to explore. The blocks surrounding the restaurant are lined with Victorian brownstones, independent galleries, and some of the best people-watching in the city. Walk south from Back Bay Station on the Orange Line, or grab the 43 bus, and you are right there.
Reservations are strongly recommended, especially on weekends, though the bar area does accommodate walk-ins if you are willing to be flexible. The room is loud in the best way — the energy of a place where people are genuinely happy to be sitting exactly where they are. That feeling is rarer than it should be, and Myers + Chang delivers it consistently.
Whether you are a first-time visitor trying to understand what makes Boston’s dining scene tick, or a local who somehow has not made it here yet, this is the meal you owe yourself. Go hungry, go curious, and clear your schedule for the rest of the evening — because you will not want to rush a single bite.
