Church Keys Wine Bar & Restaurant

Walk into Church Keys on a Friday night and you'll understand why 409 people have bothered to rate it online. This is the kind of place where the staff know their Burgundy from their Bordeaux but won't make you feel thick for ordering a Pinot Grigio. The room itself has that lived-in warmth of somewhere that's been doing the same thing well for years—exposed brick, decent lighting, tables close enough to overhear other people's conversations. You're here for wine, naturally, but the food actually holds its own: proper charcuterie boards, the kind of smaller plates that work brilliantly alongside a glass or three. It's become the unofficial third space for Boston's better-informed drinkers.