Steak House To Open In Medford Square

[pemma]

A steak house-type restaurant is scheduled to open in Medford Square this winter. According to an article in the local paper (link below), the restaurant, to be called "55 High" will be "casual, yet upscale" and will feature a fireplace and rotisserie and private dining inside a vault (location used to be a bank). This bank was where the infamous safety deposit vault break in took place that involved local cops.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/medford/ne...

[Calico Jack]

Architectural plans released:

http://insidemedford.com/2010/02/25/s...

[Calico Jack]

A restaurant is still coming to Medford Sq. Just not the one people originally thought. Coming soon as Salvatore's. Not very exciting at all. Wonder how they will fair with Il Faro around the corner.

scroll down a bunch.
http://www.sals-pizza.com/locations.html

[elcaminogirl]

Oh joy. Finally a place to get pizza in the greater Medford area.

[pemma]

Yes, now all we need is a place to get our nails done and another bank. But, seriously, a mid-priced, kind-of-nice Italian restaurant might do well in the square. They have more than pizza, but if you think about it , there isn't a sit-down restaurant in the square that serves pizza and alcohol. Even in other parts of Medford, what is there -- Boccelli's. I can't think of another.

[Calico Jack]

And a chain to boot. Kind of depressing as Medford Sq. has loads of potential.

[EllenMM]

Do you think they did any market research? Regina's gets my $$$$ for a local pizza place.

[pemma]

Forgot about Regina's!

[groptimum]

Some of you- I think no need to be SO cynical about this. YES- Medford Square needs a revitalization and a shot of hipness/vitality, but some decent things have come in, in past few years, and Salvatore's looks to be better than a few of you are giving credit for. First off, this is a Salvatore's Restaurant, not Sal's Pizza. It's in a very happening area in the South Boston Waterfront area and while the menu doesn't look to be cutting edge/Northern Italian or anything, it looks like decently good, cut-above sorta old school Italian with perhaps a few higher end fluorishes. It gets 4out of stars on Yelp with a decent # of reviews. And I think in this case the financial muscle of a chain (Sal's- of which there's many & Salvatore's- which they also have another suburban location, Medford will be 3rd) will be a good thing as it will allow them to A.) create a nice, slick physical infrastructure in their High St loc, B.) ride out possibly relatively slow beginning/growth period, and C.) Promote/advertise in a big league way. And remember, a solidly performing restaurant - with liquor license- in Medford Square, which I'm sure they intent to be- and the Salvatore's ownership clearly doesn't mess around- can in the long run only help make Medford Sq more of a magnet for other businesses- i.e. more unusual, exotic restaurant fare.

[Chris B.]

Had to chime in.

"cut-above sorta old school Italian" ??????????????

What's wrong with old school Italian? I like my red sauce.

[groptimum]

Nothing's wrong with old school Italian. Nor did I say there was. I like red sauce, too. I was not disparaging or even making an opinion about the cuisine style in question, but merely assigning it (correctly, I believe) to said restaurant.

[groptimum]

Has anyone driven by the location or heard anything about what is going on and when 55 High might actually open?

[Aromatherapy]

There are "opening soon" signs in the window but a glimpse inside does not inspire confidence in the "soon" part.

[karbare07]

Looks like the "opening soon" signs have been taken down and there is now "for lease" signs on the window. Did they pull out of the deal?

[phonelady]

http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/MainSite/...

Definitely for lease!

[hiddenboston]

Wow, what a disappointment. I was looking forward to it opening.

[johnjakes]

I'm disappointed as well. Medford Square has so much potential. I wonder if it was a problem with renovations and having to keep with some code for historic building purposes...Similar to Bestsellers Cafe. Just let people build!

[almansa]

I would guess, and that's all it is, that the bottom dropped out of the financing like with so many other projects out there.

[yumyum]

Bingo. (I only know this third-hand) but yes, that's what happened.

[MeffaBabe]

The city has adopted beer and wine licenses for much smaller seating capacities so places like Moultons now enjoy some alcohol being served with dinner.

[pemma]

It sounds like it is going to be a step above Frank's. The article said choice steaks at about $30, with less expensive entrees, too. There is really nothing like it nearby. They should be able to draw from Winchester and Arlington, too. Although a steak house is not the first place I want to go when going out to eat, this place sounds a little different and will be a welcome addition to the area. They are very exprienced restaurant people and I wish them well.

[enhF94]

no big, but the article said prime beef, rather than choice. Certainly Bistro 5 seems to do OK in Medford, so I bet there's room for some fanciness.

[MeffaBabe]

It is being opened by the sons/nephews of the owners of Carolls Diner... I am sure many people not just from Meffa will remember and have fond memories of Carolls Diner... Tommy & Maury have big shoes to fill.

[Mervyn Cruddy]

Wow...now there's a flashback to the 60's 70's..at least. I remember the old Carroll's place. My dad worked there for a short while back in the 70's.

[Mervyn Cruddy]

Thanks for the tip. I live fairly close to Medford Sq. and wouldn't mind a decent and affordable steak house in that area. I like Frank's in Cambridge but that's pretty much it without driving into Boston and paying a fortune.

[hiddenboston]

Sounds like 55 High will be more upscale than Frank's, but not as expensive as your typical Boston steakhouse. It will be nice to have another option for steaks just northwest of Boston, that's for sure.

[itaunas]

BTW, in addition to this restaurant (which has been rumored about for a while), Medford in general has been discussing adding some full liquor licenses for smaller restaurants to help with the "revitalization" of the Square, as well as adding additional B+W licenses. (Currently in Medford only establishments with more than 99 seats can qualify for a full liquor license which had all been snapped up and I there was a homerule petition to change that to 19 and increase the # of licenses, plus add some more beer/wine licenses in the spring.) Pemma, Aromatherapy, or buffet_king seem to keep more on top of these things than I do so not certain where that stands in the process of working with the state. But the City at least hopes this is the start of even more restaurants (but not bars) in the Sq. Although personally I think the selection we currently have in the square is wonderful (don't forget to add nearby Bistro5 and Pastalina's) but anything to help keep those businesses and add more is great.

If you like Frank's, don't forget to try Jimmy's in Arlington Hts which isn't that much further and I prefer, plus there are some other options in Malden and Chelsea along these lines minus maybe the prime rib. Also steak oriented Tango in Arlington Ctr (slightly more expensive) or Pampas/Churrasco Grill (inexpensive) in Magoun Sq Somerville.