Boston Nesties
Hubby and I have one night, free of the babies to celebrate our anniversary. Despite my Nestie name...not from the area and would like some recs. Want a fantastic meal with an even better ambiance! We don't get out often!
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Yeah baby! Dinner in Boston! Need recs!
Hubby and I have one night, free of the babies to celebrate our anniversary. Despite my Nestie name...not from the area and would like some recs. Want a fantastic meal with an even better ambiance! We don't get out often!
Why ask why, when you know you're going to get a smart-ass answer
Re: Yeah baby! Dinner in Boston! Need recs!
Hi! You post on the NorCal boards, right?
Not sure if you're looking strictly in Boston proper but there are so many options. I'll just list a few ideas (sorry to you regulars on the board who see me repeat this stuff all the time!):
Salts in Cambridge is French-American. Really small, cute, romantic, but not stuffy. They have an amazing honey lavendar whole roasted duck for two that I salivate over. You have to reserve it in advance as they only make a handful of them a night.
No. 9 Park in Boston. Delicious food, great service. 'Nough said. Oh, except to add that the prune-stuffed gnocchi appetizer is a must-try.
Mooo in Boston is a great steakhouse.
O Ya in Boston is a tiny place in the Leather District of Boston. High-end sushi. The omakase is a splurge but very good.
Blue Ginger in Wellesley is a high-end Asian-inspired restaurant run by Ming Tsai. Not too formal. The butterfish is amazing and the tasting menu is so, so good (huge portions in the tasting menu too).
If I think of any more I'll add them later. Have a great time on your visit and bon appetit!
I have never been to any of the recommendations from Rock, but they are all on my list of yummy place to try (esp. No. 9)
We love the following:
L'Espalier http://www.lespalier.com/
Pigalle http://www.pigalleboston.com/
Hamersley's Bistro http://www.hamersleysbistro.com/home/
Troquet http://troquetboston.com/ (Honestly one of the top restaurants we have tried in Boston.)
Have a wonderful night!
Yes actually live in Northern CA. If I could convince my husband to move back, it would be a done deal. I feel at home in Boston. BUT damn it....he doesn't want to ever deal with the winters again! I am going to check out all the places above. Even though it's his home state area....it's been years and generally only goes "home".......he knows nada....I will surprise him!
Thanks ladies!
I totally agree with Rock's suggestion of No. 9 Park. Try the chef's tasting menu. My DH and I did this for our last anniversary and I was blown away by the food and even dishes that I was a little nervous about (fried sweetbreads) turned out to be amazing!
I'd add...
Grill 23- fantastic steakhouse, pricey but wonderful. Hands down the best steak I ever had was served to me here. Great cocktails too.
Avila in the Theater District- described as "modern Mediterranean", it's a great mix of Spanish, Greek and Italian dishes with a very modern feel.
Clio in the Back Bay- I haven't been here, but I heard it's amazing. From the menu it seems to be a mix of American, French and Asian inspired dishes.
Grotto on Bowdoin Street Boston- Literally a hole in the wall place. Fantastic French/Italian food.
Ma Soba- really tasty sushi. On Cambridge Street, Boston.
Elephant Walk, Boston location- not the fanciest of places, but they have delicious Cambodian, French, and Cambodian/French fusion dishes.
My old stand by is Top of the Hub at the Prudential Tower. The food is good, not as impressive as some of the other restaurants, but the view can not be beat.
More votes for L'espalier and Blue Ginger for higher end dining. Oceanaire at the Government Center T stop has fabulous seafood in a 1930's atmosphere. Craigie's on Main (in Cambridge) is my personal favorite. We had the most amazing Arctic Char a squash puree that was amazing followed by apple current crisp with carnela ice cream.
Elephant Walk has locations in Cambridge and Waltham. We frequent the Cambridge location often and its wonderful including the ambiance. Their spring rolls are the best in the City.
Gran Gusto on Sherman Street in Cambridge is a superb Italian place that is off the beaten path and all the better for it. We had the most wonderful black cherry millefiore for desert there last week.
For Indian, we have both Diva (at Davis Square, a T stop) and Haveli (at Inman Square on the Bus line).
Tu Y Yo is the authentic Mexican place while Ole is the Americanized version. Both have wonderful fresh ingredients and fabulous margaritas.
All of these have websites with their regular menus. Each will have daily specials that use the freshest ingredients available.
I like Upstairs on the Square in Harvard Square. The atmosphere is a little more eclectic than your standard fancy-pants restaurant, but in a good/fun way, and the food is really good. And they have super delightful cocktails.
And I second Grotto - it's small and intimate, and the food is good. We also really like their sister restaurant, Marliave, in downtown Boston. Definitely sit upstairs, though, because downstairs is more bar-like than romantic. And if you go, order the rare bits - they're like manna from heaven.
Just to give my two cents on some of the other recommendations (not that anyone asked
). Don't go to the Elephant Walk in Waltham. I wish it was better because it's so close to where we live, but the service there is awful and the last time I was there they gave me semi-raw lamb. Like, literally completely uncooked in the center. And they didn't even apologize or take anything off the bill for it. The one in Cambridge, however, is excellent.
As for Top of the Hub--I can't stand the place. Gave it a couple of shots, got rude, horrible service both times, and never looked back. Life's too short to spend good money on mediocre food and bad service.
It's really too bad you only have one night for dinner! You'll have to let us know what you pick.
Oh man, I'm sorry you got such bum service! We've never encountered anything like that over the several times we've been there (though, there was one visit were my DH wanted to have a word with the extremely rude reservation staff). The food isn't as creative/spectacular as other places, but I love the view.
I suggested Elephant Walk in Boston just for the reasons you outlined for the Waltham location (and I found the same issues in the Cambridge location the two times I was there). It's really too bad since the food can be so excellent.
I just remembered Mistral in the South End. I've heard great things about this one.
EA- I had no idea Grotto had a sister restaurant! Totally putting that on my list!
Yeah, I try to give a place a couple of chances at least before writing them off, but after that I'm done. Especially when you're paying a premium for food and there are so many excellent options in the area!
And I'm sorry you had issues at the Cambridge EW! We've always had great food and service though. It's too bad the chain is so inconsistent. Do you know that they sell gc's on Restaurant.com? So you can eat there on the relative cheap.
I've been to Mistral and liked it, but not as much as No. 9 Park!
@ Rock-
GC's for Elephant Walk? Whoo hoo! I'm on that! EW is one of my DH's favorite restaurants.
Now that I'm moving to Western MA, I think No. 9 Park is one of those restaurants that will be a priority stop when we come to visit Boston! I still drool a little bit when I reminisce over the fantastic meal I had there... maybe this will be a priority stop before we leave town!
Im so hungry
!
All great recommendations - I have never been to Salt in Cambridge, but would recommend any of the rest on the list with just one exception, Top of the Hub. I have just never had a decent meal / service there. Fun to stop in for a dirnk before or after dinner though.
One that I have not seen mentioned and is my new favortie is Bistro Du Midi on Boylston.
Have a fun date night!