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MC Slim JB
Aug 27, 2009 12:39 PM
I understood the OP's request, but Mistral's high prices are an old hobbyhorse for me on this board. It wasn't my intent to dissuade him from going to Mistral at all, but I certainly think the Blue Room is a better value, can't say I'm sorry they ended up there. I hope they were happy, would love to hear what they thought.
There are many places with entrees averaging in the mid-30s/low-40s that I think are superior values. Oddly enough, one such is Sorellina, from the same team: I haven't ever left there feeling ripped off. A few others I consider better values in the same general neighborhood price-wise: Locke-Ober, Craigie on Main, Troquet, Hamersley's Bistro, Salts, Prezza, Lumière, and La Voile.
But it doesn't take much to get yourself into Clio/No. 9/L'Espalier territor at Mistral: a couple of Dover soles, for instance, and you're right up there. And I think it really pales next to those places.
Mistral always has ardent defenders that jump up and chime in whenever I express this particular opinion. The restaurant is clearly doing something right: it has been one of the most popular and successful restaurants in Boston for years. I guess I just liked it in its early years a lot better, before its prices started creeping steadily up. You're perfectly entitled to feel that it is not a swindle.
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re: MC Slim JB
Do you feel the preparation is lacking at Mistral and has gone downhill since its early years when you admittedly liked Mistral? Personally, I have found the restaurant to be remarkably consistent since its opening.
Everyone on this board is entitled to personal preferences, however I am still trying to understand the superior value and rip off comments. Using your example of Sorrelina, here are how the current core menu prices break down:
- Appetizers: Sorrelina ($14-22) vs Mistral ($11-19)
- Entrees: Sorrelina ($29-44) vs Mistral ($18-42)
* I have excluded the $55 Dover Sole (Mistral) and $65/ea Rib Chop (Sorrelina) from the comparison as those are both clearly outliers from the normal entree range and not really representative examples of the restaurant's value. I have also excluded the pizzas (Mistral) and pastas (Sorrelina).
- The wine list and cocktails are comparably priced.
- The portions are a touch more generous at Mistral.
- Quality of ingredients is very comparable as well (both top notch).
- I have personally experienced excellent service at both establishments.Perhaps it is just personal perception of being ripped off and preference in establishment, and that is fine. I'm not trying to be difficult, rather trying to understand the opinion of a poster whose advice I generally value.
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re: Gabatta
MC Slim JB
Aug 27, 2009 02:15 PM
I agree: their prices are comparable. It's not a quality issue. I'm just not sure how to give you the quantification you seem to be looking for here. It's a value judgment. Maybe it's that the food just doesn't excite me. At those prices, I expect a little something more that I don't feel in Mistral's food. It strikes me as a little pedestrian, a bit dull. This was easier to take, made a lot more sense when their average check was 40% lower than it is now.
Nowadays, I feel like they're getting away with something unjustified with their prices -- and I'm not just talking about Dover sole, which I thought was insane at $40, never mind $55. But my opinion doesn't seem to be holding them back. They should charge whatever the market will bear.
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re: StriperGuy
MC Slim JB
Aug 27, 2009 06:38 PM
One school of thought holds that the fact that Mistral's food is somewhat unchallenging, a tad middlebrow, is a big part of its appeal.
I have a friend who routinely (like, weekly) uses the place to entertain his suburban clients, and they all adore it. Great service, great atmosphere, attractive crowd, nothing unfamiliar: no odd pig parts, no black garlic, no surprises, period. His take is, "I would never go there on my own at those prices, but I write it all off, so no big deal."
The menu is filled with indisputable crowd-pleasers: tuna tartare, steamed mussels, a Caesar salad, grilled flatbread pizzas, grilled swordfish, grilled beef tenderloin, a lamb rack. You see at least one big, swanky, pricey, impress-the-date place like this in practically every NFL city: call it The Glamour Bistro. And you can credit Mistral with being ahead of the curve on the now-overdone South Beach look. I've been to scores of similar places over the years.
But even when the concept is impeccably executed, as it is at Mistral, I'm deathly bored with it. For me, it's a bit much to pay upwards of $200 for dinner for two, with a bottle from the lower third of the wine list, for this kind of food. It's not an insult, exactly, but I've got places I'd much rather spend that kind of money,
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re: StriperGuy
hotoynoodle
Aug 27, 2009 07:38 PM
i think part of the reason people like it is that the menu never changes. so they can go and always get the tuna tartare or the sole.
11 years ago (? more?) that tuna wasn't even cutting edge. so clearly that's not their market. they execute consistently and service is excellent, but i find the menu a yawn and the wine prices hysterical.
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re: hotoynoodle
Amen. I have always found the menu to be best categorized as "hotelish". Meaning very safe and about ten years behind the times. When I compare what I would pay at Mistral to, say, troquet there is very little doubt that the better value is with the latter. It seems Mistral makes no attempt to better itself. No showcasing of local ingreadiants, no breath of fresh air on the menu and no attempt to really showcase all that is in season - risotto and dried cherries in the summer? While I don't feel the need to be challenged with every bite; I do like to feel I am paying top dollar for thoughtful, local food at it's prime. I have never felt that at Mistral. I have heard the same complaints about Hamersley's Bistro over the years but atleast there you are paying for great produce, etc. I haven't chosen to eat at Mistral in years and don't plan on doing so anytime soon. Out of his mini empire I honestly prefere Teatro to all others. The food is not much differant and quality is every bit the same while the price is much lower.
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I understand that some believe that Mistral's prices are too high, but the request was for food suggestions for a birthday dinner, not a commentary on the prices. You go to Mistral for a birthday dinner and I'm pretty sure you know what you're getting into from a price perspective.
As for the food, I'm a huge fan. The tuna tartate appetizer is amongst the best in Boston. Delicious! The steak pizza described below is another must. I like the tenderloin and sirloin entrees as well and the Sole. Mistral fries on the side are great too.
Btw, for those that sit at the bar, Mistral has an AMAZING burger that's not on the menu. It's really, really good.
I count Mistral as one of the best (and one of my favorite) restaurants in Boston factoring in the vibe, food and service. Expensive, yes. Worth it, yes as well.
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MC Slim JB
Aug 24, 2009 10:25 AM
Amazing how recession-proof their prices are. The steak pizza (a little flatbread thing) is now $24, apps mostly in the mid-teens, most entrees in the mid-thirties. The Dover sole is going for $55! That's flounder with a pedigree, folks!
I'd probably eat somewhere else first, maybe get a burger around the corner at Coda, then pick at the $18 linguine with tiny tomatoes. It's a great-looking place with very fine service, but their prices still seem unconscionable to me, as they have for a long time.
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re: MC Slim JB
StriperGuy
Aug 24, 2009 10:40 AM
never did understand why dover sole is considered better then any of a dozen other flat fish...
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re: StriperGuy
hotoynoodle
Aug 24, 2009 10:53 AM
and why on earth something with a flavor so unobtrusive could become mistral's signature dish.
to the op: i love the blue room.
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re: MC Slim JB
Second the vote on the tenderloin "pizza." YUM
The lamb and duck entrees are delish...as are the profiteroles!
Have fun - it's a great place!-
re: allieb2031
MC Slim JB
Aug 26, 2009 08:58 PM
I've enjoyed that pizza, but I my point was expressing my horror that a small flatbread bar pizza is now $24. Mistral has a lot of nice food, for sure; the value question is a different one.
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re: MC Slim JB
hotoynoodle
Aug 27, 2009 05:20 AM
it is staggering. a pizza and 2 drinks, with tax and tip, will cost you about $65.
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re: MC Slim JB
yes $24 for a pizza is a lot. And so is $18 for a tuna tartar appetizer. BUT, I recently ate at Mistral and made a very nice meal out of the tuna appetizer and the pizza. Total for everything including a drink = $64. Not outrageous and I took half the pizza home for lunch the next day.
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re: MC Slim JB
Out of curiosity, in your opinion which high end restaurants in Boston DON'T have recession proof prices? I don't think Mistral offers any less value than other high end establishments. Note that the Dover Sole is certainly an outlier as far as their entrees are prices, and many places across the country gouge for this dish for some reason.
No doubt that Coda and many other places offer excellent value at low price points, but we are talking about an entirely different tier and special occasion dining for many people. Mistral offers some of the most delicious and consistent dishes around which might explain why their business has been fairly steady through the recession despite their prices.
What of the prices at other high end places. Are the prices at No9 or Sorrelina unconscionable as well?
Also, I find the pizzas to be plenty large enough, and I am not exactly a large eater.
To the OP's actual question, some of the highlights include:
- tuna tartar
- sirloin
- rack of lamb
- striped Bass (currently on the menu as a seasonal item)
- I have actually never disliked an entree there and the portions are overly generous (almost to big sometimes)
- for dessert their carrot cake is my favorite around
- as mentioned, the tenderloin pizza is one of the best pizza dishes in town
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