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Bisected by the Merrimack River, Lawrence, MA, is just miles from New Hampshire in the northern part of Massachusetts. If you’re living in Lawrence, you’ll find gorgeous river views, green parks, a rich historical past, and of course, restaurants that represent the area.

But if you’re new to the area or just moved into an apartment in Lawrence, you might be wondering where the locals go for a bite to eat. Well, we’ve got the answers. Here are 9 must-try restaurants in Lawrence, MA, that you may want to stop by this year.

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#1: Cafe Azteca

Cuisine: Mexican restaurant
Address: 275 Essex St Ste 102, Lawrence, MA 01840
Cafe Azteca’s Website

Serving traditional and home-made Mexican food, Cafe Azteca has a lot of options for anyone looking for a new spot to eat. Think molletes, tamales with mole or salsa verde, chimichangas, enchiladas, sizzling fajitas, and buñuelos.

#2: Tripoli Bakery

Cuisine: Bakery and pizzeria
Address: 106 Common St Ste 6, Lawrence, MA 01840
Tripoli Bakery’s Website

Situated in downtown Lawrence, you can find a variety of freshly baked Italian bread, pastries like cannolis and Florentine cookies, and made-to-order pizza at Tripoli Bakery.

#3: Terra Luna Cafe

Cuisine: Latin American restaurant
Address: 225 Essex St Frnt 1, Lawrence, MA 01840
Terra Luna Cafe’s Website

Another one of the awesome restaurants in Lawrence, MA, is Terra Luna Cafe. You’ll find a variety of dishes like sancocho, grilled hanger steak with mojo sauce, empanadas, tostones sliders, grilled Spanish octopus, tres leches cake, and much more at their location.

#4: Vaka

Cuisine: Sushi restaurant and Latin American restaurant
Address: 337 Essex St, Lawrence, MA 01840
Vaka’s Website

Vaka is a one-of-a-kind Dominican-Japanese fusion restaurant located in the heart of Lawrence. You can find their menu filled with items like Asian chicharron, rock shrimp, paella, yakisoba noodles, baked lobster, sushi rolls, and passion fruit tres leches cake.

#5: Blue Lounge & Grill

Cuisine: Spanish restaurant
Address: 2 Amesbury St, Lawrence, MA 01840
Blue Lounge & Grill’s Website

Blue Lounge & Grill, located across the street from North Canal, has plenty of options for those looking for a Spanish restaurant serving mofongo, quesadillas, grilled salmon, Caribbean goat stew, yuca frita, and craft cocktails.

breakfast dishes like eggs and waffles on a table

#6: Lu’s Cafe and Bakery

Cuisine: Bakery and café
Address: 2 Lawrence St, Lawrence, MA 01840
Lu’s Cafe and Bakery’s Website

You can find Lu’s Cafe and Bakery serving a great selection of coffee, baked goods, breakfast and lunch items – the perfect place to start off your morning. They’ve got everything from Vietnamese coffee, breakfast sandwiches, croissants and muffins, to banh mi, vermicelli bowls, BLTs, and cookies. 

#7: Nick’s Place

Cuisine: American restaurant
Address: 195 Lawrence St, Lawrence, MA 01841
Nick’s Place’s Website

Nick’s Place is an excellent spot if you’re looking for a sandwich, burger, pizza, grilled chicken kebab, ribs, or lamb chops. Opened in 1985, make sure to check out this restaurant in Lawrence, MA.

#8: Pollo Centro

Cuisine: Caribbean restaurant
Address: 105 Broadway, Lawrence, MA 01840
Pollo Centro’s Website

Pollo Centro has some amazing grilled chicken with a Caribbean flair, as well as croquettes, pastelitos with chicken, cheese, or ham, tostones, vegetable rice, and caramel flan.

#9: Elaine’s Pizza

Cuisine: Pizzeria
Address: 234 Hampshire St, Lawrence, MA 01841
Elaine’s Pizza’s Website

Finishing off our list of restaurants in Lawrence, MA, is Elaine’s Pizza is a stellar spot to check out if you’re in the mood for a pizza, calzone, cheesy bread, ziti with marinara sauce, spaghetti with meatballs, or baked haddock dinner.

This post first appeared on Redfin.com. To see the original, click here.