Dine downtown: Amherst Restaurant Week is June 8-12

A tradition for 28 years, the Taste of Amherst for most of its run brought restaurants to the Town Common in mid-June, with select menu items offered from various tents that attendees could enjoy while listening to live music.

With the food festival last held on the green in 2019, the Amherst Business Improvement District is reviving its spirit by launching Amherst Restaurant Week on Sunday.

Running for five days, from June 8 to June 12 at more than a dozen downtown restaurants, the idea is to give residents, students, visitors and others the chance to explore the town’s food and drink scene by focusing on the brick-and-mortar sites. This is being done through special offers, exclusive deals and fixed-price menu items.

“Amherst Restaurant Week is all about celebrating the incredible talent and variety we have right here in downtown,” says Robert Allingham, the marketing and communications manager for the Amherst BID. “We want to make it easy and exciting for people to visit multiple restaurants, support our local businesses and discover something new.”

To kick off the event, on Sunday town center will have free entertainment from 4:30 to 6 p.m., when local band Prone to Mischief will perform live music for those strolling through the commercial district to their dining destination.

At the same time, Chef Bill Collins is hosting a free cooking demonstration on the patio at the White Lion Brewing, 24 North Pleasant St. There, he will prepare asparagus marsala that people will be able to sample and learn how to make themselves.

Restaurants and cafes that are part of the event will be marked with “Restaurant Week Participant” window decals and table signs. Additional details, including each restaurant’s specific offer, is available at amherstdowntown.com and by following @AmherstDowntown on Instagram.

The participants include Antonio’s Pizza, Amherst Oyster Bar, Bistro 63, Bueno Y Sano, D.P. Dough, Fresh Side, GoBerry & Cream, Inn on Boltwood, Kwench, La Veracruzana, Lime Red Teahouse , Osteria Vespa, Pasta E Basta, Protocol and Taqueria Del Pueblo.

Also involved in the promotion is Aster & Pine Market at 189 North Pleasant St., which is offering deals to customers who have supported one of the local restaurants involved in Restaurant Week.

The Amherst BID ran a similar promotion in both 2016 and 2017, though those were held during spring break at the University of Massachusetts as a way to help businesses during a slow time.

The Taste of Amherst began in 1992 on the streets of downtown Amherst, a year after Northampton put on its own Taste of Northampton. Northampton’s Taste event returned in 2022 after about a 20-year break.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at [email protected].