Walking into Beacon Hill Books and Cafe, Boston’s hottest new bookstore, you’re immediately transported into a fairytale. Seriously, the store looks like it was designed to be in a scene of Bridgerton at any given moment.
With four cozy floors to explore, Beacon Hill Books is unlike any bookstore I’ve ever been to before. As a former local bookstore employee, I wandered the store with my jaw on the floor, mostly because I have no clue how they keep the store in such pristine condition. Every book was in order on the perfectly pastel shelves, no kids were running around throwing books on the floor, and the store smelled delightfully of the bookshop's signature $45 candle, 71 Charles, which contains notes of rose, apple geranium, and jasmine.
If you didn’t think this already magical bookstore could get any better, just wait till you take a glance at the whimsical menu. While the first floor of Beacon Hill Books is still not open to the public, it is soon to be a gorgeous cafe and tearoom. Renowned Boston chef Colleen Suhanosky, who has received immaculate reviews from both The New Yorker and The New York Times, will be running the kitchen, with the cafe serving breakfast, afternoon tea, snacks, and lunch. Among freshly brewed coffees and baked pastries, the cafe will also be serving items like “The Charles,” cheesy scrambled eggs with ham, jammy onions, and a brioche bun, as well as a variety of lunch items, including “The Franklin,” a sandwich fixed with roast turkey, bacon, tomato aioli, pickled pepper, and greens on sourdough, complete with a side of potato crisps.
Above the cafe, the first floor of books begins with a shelf dedicated to staff picks, as well as a selection of non-fiction books. Traveling the winding stairs to the floor above, you will find a vast selection of fiction novels, the store’s bestsellers, and a collection of Persephone Books, a company which aesthetically reprints beautiful yet widely neglected pieces from an abundance of 19th century female authors. Odd nooks and tiny rooms house aesthetic subjects like architecture and interior design, and special interests like travel. The final floor of the store is dedicated to children’s and young adult literature, complete with a model train conducted by the store’s charming squirrel mascot, Paige, which chugs along the floor when bookstore patrons ignite it by pressing a big red button. Miniature furniture around a fireplace, a tea set, enchanting dog bookends, and a mini door provides children with a fairytale experience Belle herself could only dream of.
All of this being said, Beacon Hill Books is almost so immaculate and flawless that I was afraid to touch anything; this certainly isn’t the type of place I would bring my laptop and cram for finals. Beacon Hill Books and Cafe is a great place to explore, impress visiting friends and family with, or dine at on a special occasion, but is definitely not the most cost effective bookshop around BC. And, because of all of the buzz about the bookshop at the moment, you can’t exactly decide to leisurely pop in. When my friends and I visited on a Saturday afternoon, we had to wait about 15 minutes before even being allowed in to peruse the books.
However, the TikToks circulating social media don’t do the bookshop justice. Make sure to check out Beacon Hill Books, support a local bookstore, and experience the magic of a mesmerizing bookshop that is truly like no other.
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