Restaurante Cesaria

"For a chic night out, head to lush Cape Verdean restaurant Cesaria in Dorchester. The menu highlights lots of seafood preparations from the island country, including crispy octopus, spicy shrimp, and grilled salted cod. There’s also an outdoor patio for dining in warmer weather, and keep an eye on social media for live music nights." - Celina Colby, Dana Hatic, Erika Adams

"Traditional Cape Verdean fare is in the limelight at Restaurante Cesaria, named after the famous Cape Verdean singer Cesaria Evora. The island country’s rich, flavorful seafood preparations are on display here, like the camarão moçambique, shrimp sauteed in a spicy white wine, lemon, and crushed red pepper sauce; and the bacalhau grelhado, a hearty grilled salt cod dish finished off with a sweet garlic olive oil. True to its name, the restaurant also regularly hosts live music acts." - Erika Adams

"There are certain things that Southern New England does better than any other place in America. These include making sports blog commenters angry, providing the backdrop for gritty crime dramas where the actors drop R’s from words that don’t even have R’s, and cooking Cape Verdean food. The rest of America doesn’t know much about Shrimp Mozambique and cachupa, but we’ve got Cesaria. Come to this clubby spot on Meeting House Hill the next time you want some live music, grilled shellfish, and slow-cooked stews." - dan secatore

"Restaurant Cesaria feels like home — it has a real sense of community. Samuelsson listens to Cape Verdean jazz and talks with the restaurant’s founders, who believe “food connects us and music unites us,” over pastel di midju (sweet potato pastry filled with tuna), cabritada (stewed goat with yuca), and capucha (a slow-cooked stew of corn, beans, cassava, and fish or meat)." - Sonia Chopra

"Samuelsson tries Cape Verdean specialties like cachupa and cabritada." - Terrence Doyle