Shrimp Scampi in Boston

8 restaurants in Boston list shrimp scampi on their menus. The cheapest is Mediterranean Grill at $15.45. The typical price across town is $27.95, and the dearest we found is $35.95 at Massimino's, so the two ends of the list are $20.50 apart, which is 133% more for the same dish. Of the 8 kitchens listed, 4 charge more than a dollar under the typical price, 2 sit within a dollar of it and 2 charge more than a dollar over.

We track shrimp scampi in 272 other areas and compare them all on shrimp scampi across United States. The typical price there runs $23.00 at the median, so Boston is dearer than most of them, with a lower typical price than 27 of the 272. The lowest best price anywhere we cover is $8.99 at Via Italian Table in Worcester, MA, and the highest best price is $32.00 in Red Bank, NJ. The nearest area with it is Medford, about 6 mi away, where the best price is $17.24.

Where is the cheapest shrimp scampi in Boston? Mediterranean Grill, at $15.45 on 281 Franklin St. The same dish reaches $35.95 elsewhere in town, so where you order it changes the bill by $20.50.

What should shrimp scampi cost here? About $27.95 is the typical price across the 8 kitchens in Boston that list it. Of the ones listed above, 4 are more than a dollar below that and 2 are more than a dollar above, so the typical price is a middle rather than a floor.

Is it cheaper nearby? The nearest area we track it in is Medford, about 6 mi away, where the best price is $17.24. That is $1.79 more than the best price here.

Why do the prices differ so much? We compare what each menu calls the same dish, and menus are not identical: portion, cut, sides and the kind of room you are sitting in all ride on the price, and none of that shows up in a number. Part portions and half sizes are kept out of this comparison, and a chain charging the same at several addresses is counted once, so the spread above is between genuinely different kitchens rather than the same one repeated.