Ken Oringer has long been considered one of the best chefs in the city, and his beloved Japanese eatery Uni (The Eliot Hotel, 370 Commonwealth Ave., 617-536-7200, uni-boston.com) is one of Boston’s top tables. So how could he make this great establishment even better? By making the formerly cramped, subterranean hot spot bigger, of course. Oringer and Executive Chef Tony Messina did just that in early February when they unveiled the new, 96-seat second coming of Uni, which now contains three bars—one for drinks, one for sushi and one for sashimi—in the street-level space once occupied by Clio. A re-tooled bar program featuring sake on draft also lifts this expansion from a simple renovation to something truly sublime.

Photo: Hien Nguyen