When Boston Gets Dark Early: An Evening at Encore Boston Harbor

By late November, the sun sets around 4:15 p.m., so you’ll need to walk before dinner instead of after. Encore Boston Harbor in Everett, about five miles from downtown Boston, suits that new order well. It has a waterfront worth seeing in daylight and dinner tables that open while the commute is still crawling.

The Harborwalk at Sunset and the Cleanup Behind It

Head outside first to the Harborwalk, a six-acre waterfront path along the Mystic River. It’s open day and night and links to the nearly 40-mile Boston Harborwalk. The half hour before sunset works best, since the public art, plantings, and skyline across the water are still easy to see.

The shoreline here has an odd backstory. Chemical companies occupied this land from 1868 to 1983, and the riverfront stayed closed to the public for more than a century. Wynn Resorts later spent $68 million cleaning up the site, and that is why the shoreline is open to walkers today.

The work included dredging 41,000 tons of sediment and planting a 24,000-square-foot living shoreline, which later earned an EPA Environmental Merit Award. After dark, the river wind gets personal, and the warm lobby starts to look appealing.

Dinner Depends on When You Get Hungry

There are plenty of places to eat at Encore, but your options change as the afternoon turns into evening. Giardino is better for an early visit, while Fratelli and Mystique take over when dinner time rolls around. The nice part is that nobody has to agree on sushi or pasta before leaving home.

Fratelli has a fitting answer to the evening commute. Its Rush Hour special runs from 4 to 6 p.m. as a multi-course menu for $49.95. That means you can be seated for dinner while the roads outside are still jammed.

All three restaurants accept reservations, and opening times vary by day. Check the current restaurant hours before you go, especially if you want to catch the Rush-Hour window.

Where the Evening Goes After Dinner

Dinner doesn’t necessarily mean the night is over, especially on Fridays and Saturdays. Several places at Encore run past midnight, so you have time for another drink, a late snack, or something more substantial if you’re hungry again.

• If you’re not quite finished eating, Fratelli serves its full menu until 11:30 p.m. on weekends. After that, you can still order Neapolitan pizza or calzones until 1:30 a.m. Apparently, there’s always room for one more slice.
• For drinks later on, Mystique Lounge is open until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. During the rest of the week, it closes at 11 p.m., so the day you visit makes a difference.
• Over at the Sportsbook, Frank & Nick’s serves North End favorites, including prosciutto and mozzarella panini. It takes walk-ins only and is open until 3 a.m. on weekends, making it an option when the meal was several hours ago.

And because this is Massachusetts, the Dunkin’ on the gaming floor never closes. So even when the pizza stops coming, you can still get coffee somewhere.

Before You Call It a Night at Encore

It’s easy to lose track of time when dinner turns into drinks, and someone suggests one last stop. A table that agrees on a time and a door leaves together. A table that does not can end up split between the gaming floor, Mystique Lounge, and the hotel side of a resort this large. That’s particularly useful on weekends, when the restaurants and lounges run later.

Encore has separate rideshare stops for the casino and hotel, so double-check which entrance you need as you head outside. If you’re heading back to Boston or farther out, it’s also worth thinking about a prearranged return trip while the table’s still together.

And there’s no rule saying you have to wait for the last bar to close. You might finish with a cocktail, a late pizza, or one more look at the Mystic River. Boston will already be dark either way, so you might as well make the evening count.