Have you ever been to The Charles River Speedway in Brighton? If not you should. This cute marketplace is home of Notch Brewery, and multiple other smaller nice food & drink places. Come to visit and spend a perfect evening with friends and family traveling across different countries.

Where and What

The Charles River Speedway in Brighton is located West of Boston, close to the Charles River. It’s accessible by bus, car and bike. The bike option is very convenient because you can use the bike lanes along the Charles River with a 30 to 45 min ride.

In the Speedway you will find a large and nice open courtyard with multiple small shops. The Notch Brewery and beer garden takes the most space and is a good stop, the other smaller locations are equally or even more interesting. These locations include in summer 2023: Pizza Project, Notch Provisions (food), The Koji Club (Sake Bar), Super Bien (Latin inspired grocery bar), Birds of Paradise (travel cocktails bar).

In addition to the food and drink locations, the Charles River Speedway is also home of few arts shop. You can spend a perfect night here going from one location to the other and enjoying different styles of foods and drinks.

Charles River Speedway top places

Notch Brewery: This brewery has the biggest space in Speedway with a large tap room and beer garden. The Brewery is originally from Salem and is specialized in eastern Europe beers. You can expect a large choice of Czech & German/Austrian beers (they do few IPAs if you are not into European beers). The beer garden is nice, and you can enjoy your beer with some food from the Notch Provisions or from Pizza Project. Check their website or the Untappd for more info.

The Koji Club: Is a small and really enjoyable Sake Bar. You can be a Sake specialist or drink Sake for the first time and you will have a great experience. The bar tender is extremely knowledgeable, you can share your taste preference and he will find a Sake that you will like. Also, he will tell you the story that goes with your drink: where it was made, or what are the specificities. The location has few Japanese snacks to pair with the Sake.

Notch Provisions: proposes Central Europe beer garden food. You will find Sausage, cheese plate, Pretzel,… This is a good pairing for the Notch beer.

Pizza Project: is a Sicilian Slice and Sandwich shop. It offers a selection of good pizza slices and Sandwiches. The slices to go are also an excellent pairing with the Notch beers. Be aware that this place can have a line and be out of stock before the closing time.

Super Bien: is a Latin inspired grocery bar. We have not tried this place yet but it has very good ratings online.

Birds of Paradise: Is a travel inspired cocktails bar with a cozy vibe. The menu contains cool drinks, each of them is inspired by two different travel destinations (As example San Juan to Hanoi). If you are looking for food they also propose Sashimi Rice box, Poke or Dumpling. This location has a large inside bar and small outside cocktails patio.

A perfect evening at The Charles River Speedway

Come biking from the Charles River and start your night by travelling in two different locations with an cocktail and some Gyoza at Birds of Paradise (book in advance). After this appetizer take a small walk to visit the Speedway art and craft places: Boston Women’s Market and House of art & craft. Then you can travel to Europe by trying a beer in the Notch Beer garden paired with some slices from Pizza Project. To finish your evening, go to Japan by stopping at The Koji Club for Sake (after 9PM or 9:30PM you might find a spot at the bar without reservation). You can finish your night by biking back along the Charles River (make sure to have proper lights).

Be aware that the Koji Club or Birds of Paradise may require booking.

Discover more

More breweries and hikes on our map below, or by following-us on Untappd or Instagram (boozy_the_moose).