Non-outrageously priced restaurants for an anniversary

Original requester here. I think all of the recommendations so far are within our budget. It's basically, can we get out under $100 and have a nice experience.

I think for a nice place $35 per person is not outrageous. It is expensive, but not ridiculous, especially for a special occasion, especially in Massachusetts. No, I can't afford it either, I'm a student and I work only part time these days. My partner (who also isn't rich) took me there once, and we really enjoyed it, got out at around $50 I think, an even reasonable-er price. It fits pretty much exactly what the poster was asking for.

$40/head total (plus 6.25% meal tax and a frugal 18% tip), so entrees in the mid-to-high twenties, apps in the low teens. (Small plates make this calculus trickier, so let's skip those for now.) Some ideas with cool-to-sorta-nice atmosphere and good service, with a few off-beat options:

Grotto, Beacon Hill. Romantic, funky basement space, a kind of luxurious, rich take on Italian cuisine.

Daily Catch, North End. Tiny, casual but loaded with old-timey North End atmosphere, great Sicilian-style seafood, specializing in squid dishes. One of the few North End restaurants I have any use for. Cash only. Do not bother with the Seaport or Brookline locations.

The Glenville Stops, Allston. A rare grown-up kind of place in student-y Allston, like an upscale British pub in aspect but with a globetrotting menu.

Fairsted Kitchen, Washington Square, Brookline. Intimate neighborhood place with an eclectic American / Mediterranean menu

Mida, South End. Cozy, modern Italian neighborhood place, great housemade pastas.

Fat Hen, East Somerville. 30-seat romantic Italian joint with great wines and a killer four-course prix fixe for $45, a steal, if a little above your budget.

Juliet, Union Square, Somerville. Charming, rustic neighborhood French place. The gentle prices include gratuity.

Branch Line, Watertown. Cool, airy former factory setting, modern American cuisine with a focus on rotisserie.

Steel & Rye, Milton. A modern American restaurant in a cool industrial setting that would be out of your price range if it were downtown, but is in the suburbs.

Sycamore, Newton Centre. New American in a brick-walled bistro setting, also cheaper than it should be thanks to its suburban location.

Q Restaurant, Chinatown. I like the romance of sharing hotpot with a sweetie, and this is probably the swankiest shabu room in Boston, sorta nightclubby, and it has a liquor license. A wicked bargain. Tutorial here, if you're not familiar with the format.

Okay, it is hard these days to avoid small-plates places. Some of my favorites:

Uni, Back Bay. Hip, modern Japanese restaurant combining sushi, sashimi, and izakaya dishes. Avoid the priciest imported raw fish (mostly from the sashimi bar) and stick to the hot tavern dishes (dumplings, skewers, and you can hit your price point nicely.

Kava, South End. A tiny, moddish Greek place doing very traditional mezze. Drink retsina for cheap!

Little Donkey, Central Square, Cambridge. Two beloved local chefs do small plates from around the world. Noisy, fun, casual-feeling room.

Tiger Mama, Fenway. Brilliant, modern, meant-to-be-shared Southeast Asian fare in a lovely room.

Sarma, Prospect Hill, Somerville. Whirls around the Mediterranean from Portugal to Morocco, with Turkey at the center. Casual, neighborhood-y, super cool.

Casa B, Union Square, Somerville. Pretty little room, cool tapas style dining with more influences from Central and South America than Iberia.

Tres Gatos, Jamaica Plain. An actual Spanish tapas joint in a charming former residential-home setting, with a record store in the back.

Shojo, Chinatown. Fun, funky, street-food inspired Chinese/Western fusion in a hip-looking little shoebox of a space and the only good cocktail program in the neighborhood.

Hope that helps! You can find my professional reviews of a lot of these places in the links section of my blog.

Happy Anniversary! Since cost was. a consideration in your original request, do you mind sharing how much you paid?