Newton Centre

Newton Centre is one of Newton's village centers, and its dining has developed at that scale: Fig City News reports that the city's village centers give restaurants a walkable base of residents and daytime workers. Part of the village's commercial fabric is Piccadilly Square on Union Street, a group of 19th-century brick buildings refurbished in the early 1970s by a developer who, returning from a trip to Britain, named the block for London's Piccadilly Circus.

The village's contemporary restaurant record runs through Sycamore, opened in 2012 by chef-owner David Punch, who had earlier opened and co-owned Ten Tables Cambridge. Working with co-chef Lydia Reichert, Punch built a locally sourced menu drawn from the country cooking of Spain, France, and Italy, paired with a wine list favoring small producers, mostly domestic craft beer, and classic cocktails; Boston Magazine reviewed the restaurant in 2013. In 2015 Punch announced a second, roughly 20-seat Newton Centre project at 1247 Centre Street, which he described as an "east Asian soul food diner meets izakaya."

On Union Street, Thistle & Leek took over premises previously occupied by Comedor, a Chilean bistro. Its owners modeled the room on London gastropubs and make breads, pastas, and ice creams in house; the restaurant is listed in the MICHELIN Guide.