dinner in Boston with no reservations

[uni eater]

I am travelling to Boston tonight to give a lecture. Any recommendations for a kick ass place that takes walk-ins? I don't want to make a mortgage payment, but willing to treat myself a little.
I am staying at St Botolph on Commenwealth Ave, so near there or easy to find is good. (boston is confusing!) I will have a car.

[finlero]

The bad news is that the St. Botolph Club is smack dab in the middle of Back Bay, which tends to be one of Boston's more touristy, chow-deficient neighborhoods.

The good news is that it's surrounded by good chow neighborhoods (Chinatown, South End, Beacon Hill), so you've got some great options nearby.

It sounds like you're dining solo? If so, a few options I might try:

Good Life/Kingston Station - these two mid-scale restaurants are across the street from one another on the Chinatown/Financial District line, and have done quite a bit to raise the chow bar in the neighborhood. Good Life leans towards inventive American, Kingston Station towards French. Kingston is the newer of the two, and has received some rather polarized reviews on the board thus far, but I've really enjoyed the meals I've had there so far.

Chinatown miscellany - virtually anywhere in the neighborhood would be totally fine with a walk in. A few faves: Peach Farm (Chinese seafood), King Fung Garden (very good Peking everything), Xinh Xinh (Vietnamese, I love their curry chicken pho).

Oishii - located in the South End, it's some of Boston's best sushi. It's also expensive, but with a handle like "uni eater", you might want to check it out. Along similar lines, I might also suggest Uni in the Eliot hotel, but that's getting into mortgage payment territory.

I also like the idea of Eastern Standard.

[uni eater]

Great. I am actually eating with my boyfriend and we have a car so can meander a bit. the lecture is not til tomorrow AM, so won't impeed on chowing tonight!

[finlero]

Aha. All the recs above should work for a couple as well.

I'd say Oishii would be the hardest. And as Joanie said above, Eastern Standard would be a roll of the dice, although it's large enough that you should be able to get in eventually. Kingston Station, Good Life, and many things in Chinatown should be pretty do-able.

[uni eater]

Do you know what street Kingston Station is on? the Petite Robert menu looks awesome, I wonder if we can get in without a res...

[MC Slim JB]

Kington Station is at 25 Kingston Street near Downtown Crossing, and it's new enough that I doubt you'd have trouble walking in.

[uni eater]

I just called Eastern Standard and they said we could just walk in no problem, so I am leaning towards that, with Kingston Station as my back up. Although my boyfriend may demand one of those Chinatown Restaurants (he loves PeKing everything) as we live in Maine where there is absolutely no good Chinese Food and we sob about this all the time. Thanks for all the help. I will report back!

[uni eater]

Sooooo...Here's the scoop. We arrived in Boston around 7:30. We checked in to the St Botolph (which was a complete trip with old guys wandering around in tuxedos and house rules about what we could and could not wear in the lobby - only formal attire from 10 am to 11 pm and sneakers never! ). Anyway, we wandered over to Eastern Standard. They told us it would be a half hour wait, but it was actually about an hour and fifteen minutes. They sat us inside on the main floor. The interior was fabulous and we both felt great being in such a beautiful space. My boyfriend had a variety of Belgian beers and I had a great Oregon cabernet. Our appetizers were OK. I had the steak tartare which was delicious but too abundant. A few tastes would have been fantastic, but it looked like a very large raw quarter pounder mounded on my plate. After a few bitefuls, I really lost my appetite( I also kept thinking about it the next day as I had to speak in front of a large crowd and I think this contibuted to some stomach rumblings - note to self: never consume large quantities of raw meat before public speaking). He had mussels frite which was pretty good, but not exceptional. The frite themselves were delicious and we gobbled those up with a thin but tastey aioli. Our entrees were delicious. I had the oxtail over noodles - the noodles were slightly on the soft side, but the meat and the sauce were very savory and had an earthy sweetness. He has the bone in rib eye which was perfectly cooked and served with some delicious sauteed spinache. Good espresso and decent profiteroles. Overall I would say it was not a revelation, but we had a fun night, felt glamorous in the environment and left with big smiles. The next night we went to bukhara in JP - lots of fun and delicious Shrimp saag. Thanks for all the help!

[Joanie]

I have no idea where/what the St. Botolph is. You can try your luck at Eastern Standard. I don't know what you consider a mortage payment for dinner, but you could eat at Great Bay pretty easily I think but that's getting up there. i know Brasserie Jo behind the Sheraton could deal (made reservation today just to have), Lineage in Coolidge Corner, La Morra in Brookline Village, Church in the Fenway. These are all walking distance from Kenmore Sq. or a short T ride.

[Allstonian]

The Saint Botolph Club is a private club at 199 Commonwealth, right near the corner of Exeter Street. So Back Bay recommendations are probably better than Kenmore Square (depending, also, on where the OP's lecture is!)

[Spiritchaser]

Not sure if it will fit in the the "kick a**" category but you could try Petite Robert in Kenmore.

[yumyum]

That's what I was thinking too. No need for the OP to take the car, just walk down to PR.