South End Dining
I recently moved to the South End and have been doing all the wandering I can (only been here about 7 days and unfortunately gotta go to work during the week), but am interested in hearing from those more familiar with this area what some favorites are? Looking for both casual dining and more formal dining, but please specify which is which.
Also, my parents are some of their friends are going to be in town next weekend and they want me to make a dinner reservation for all of them (16 people). Ideally I'd love to find a great place in the South End to bring them to and show them some of my neighborhood. They're interested in something steak/fish-ish, and, in this case, ambiance is important as well as food. Any thoughts?
Thanks!!
By ubtalking
on Aug 26, 2007 03:42 PM
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Hamersley's Bistro is a good place to impress the parents, $$$ tho. Casual is Deluxe, Picco, Foley's, Columbus Cafe, Pop, Morse Seafood, Pho Republique, Franklin, Dish, Joe V's, Ortinique (sp?), the Thai places. A step up would be Metropolitan, Stella, Butcher Shop, B&G, Tremont 647, Rocco, Petit Robert Bistro. Another step up would be Aquitaine, Sibing Rivalry, Union, Oishi. A lot of discussion on most of these places.
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Welcome to the neighborhood! I agree that Hammersly's (or Sibling Rivalry) would be good places to take your parents.
Some of our favorite neighborhood spots are: The Butcher Shop, B&G Oysters, Franklin Cafe, Pops, Metropolis Cafe, Aquitaine, Tremont 647/Sister Sorrel, The Dish, Mela, Masa, 28 Degrees, Union Bar and Grille, Sage, Stella, Rocca, and Gaslight. Really want to try Orinoco, but haven't been yet. For more casual (and cheaper) places, our favorite places include Delux, Picco, Joe V's, and Pho Republique. The most formal places are Oishi, Icarus, and Hammersly's.
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hsquare, it seems like you named the entire neighborhood
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Ha! And I forgot Toro. Another one of my "favorites." What can I say? I do like most of them a lot. I would have given a little explanation for why I like each one (like lissy did below), but I didn't have time and I figured the longer list would still be of some use to the OP. What is your favorite, jpeso?
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Welcome to the South End! My favorite spots are:
B&G Oysters for the wide variety and freshness of the oysters. It's a casual spot but not inexpensive.
Hamersley's for sitting at the bar with a friend and splitting the roast chicken. The dining room here is a bit more formal, but the bar dining less so. They also have a great outdoor patio.
Sibling Rivalry for their tuna tartare.
Franklin Cafe for totally casual comfort food at very reasonable prices.
Delux is another very casual spot with inexpensive but good food (cash only). Also I had a Ketel One on the rocks last week that I think was under $5.
Pho Republique for their mango martinis and crispy tuna spring rolls.
Butcher Shop for their steak tartare.
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I think the challenge for you is going to be seating 16 people together at many of the nicest South End places. . .
The newly opened Gaslight seems to excel at big tables, I've been in in a couple of times and I've see large groups. The food is good, atmosphere interesting, somewhat noisy, which may annoy older people in your group. This place represents a new twist on South End dining, less expensive, but still has an interesting edge, and the food is recommendable. One nice advantage of Gaslight is that if anyone has a car, parking is free.
Another place to consider if you are hoping to keep the group together is 647 Tremont, they have a fairly nice private room in the back, which might be fun if this is a group that is never together, but really wants to be together. It features a large rectangular table, but I'm not sure what the capacity is.
Any of the places recommended above would be great especially if you can get a host to work with you on placement of smaller groups at tables clustered together. You may want to take a walk around one night early and stop in and talk with the hosts at the places you are interested in and see what seems to fit your needs. A good host will make all the difference.
Good luck and I hope you end up having some fun and a good meal, too!
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My list above was in response to the general South End question and not to the 16 person dinner. Most of my recommendations wouldn't be able to accommodate that big of a group.
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For that big dinner with the folks, I'd consider Union, a handsome place with solid, unchallenging American food and great service. Wherever you go, you'll want to nail that down with a reservation ASAP; 16 people is always a tough weekend table in the South End.
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Second Union. There are only a limited number of places in the South End that can accomodate a group that size and Union does a good job.
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Union Bar and Grille
1357 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02118
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Although probably not your best pick for parents' night, Toro is great... interesting Spanish tapas, good atmosphere, and skilled bartending.
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It could use a bit of an update as it was written back in April, but I posted my "Round Up" of a fair-few South End restaurants here: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/387822
Enjoy the neighborhood, it's a great place to live!
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