Beacon Grille, Woburn last night

[RoyRon]

Four business associates and I decided to try the newly opened Beacon Grille in Woburn last night. When we arrived for our 6:00PM reservation the place was very busy with every seat at bar filled as well as many of the tables in the dining area. When we left two hours later it had filled up even more. It is obviously going to be a very popular place, especially with the after work crowd from around the area.

I found the menu to be pretty mundane with not much that I would call interesting or exciting. Very much just traditional American food. The apps range from fried calamari (good but not exceptional) to shrimp cocktails, raw oysters a selection of soups and the ubiquitous Caesar Salad. The rest of the menu is made up of meat and seafood choices. Two in our party had the Filet Mignon which were perfectly cooked as ordered and served with baked potato and a few asparagus.Both said the Filet's were good but certainly nothing out of the ordinary. Another person tried the Miso Glazed Salmon and said it was good too but again nothing exceptional. I had the prime rib and it came out medium rare as I ordered it. It was served with sauteed mushrooms and a few asparagus. I would rate it as good. The desserts were also what you might expect at a place like this. The two we tried were very good. A berries and cream that were sort of like a trifle and a bourbon flavored bread pudding.

If you are looking for solid American style food served in an upscale atmosphere with very nice service and well mixed cocktails the Beacon Grille would fit the bill. Prices are average for a place like this with apps in the $8.00 to $12.00 range and entrees from $16.00 to $28.00 or so.

[makonna]

Thank you for the review. I've driven by and wondered and hoped someone would post. Much appreciated.

[Momeaux]

I have eaten at the Beacon Grille twice for lunch and both times the food was mediocre at best. The first time I tried the meatloaf, largely because it included prosciutto and gorgonzola and I was curious to see how it would come together. It didn't. It was visually unappealing (the gorgonzola was sort of just a white blob, the prosciutto was pale) and not tasty at all. There were also red peppers and spinach in the meatloaf which which added a weird texture. There were too many competing flavors and none of them particularly good. The meat itself was decent but would have made for only an average dish if not for all of the added ingredients. I got a side salad with lemon vinaigrette which was not very good either. The dressing was way too tart and was not seasoned at all. The lettuce was cut into very small pieces and was difficult to eat. My business partner got the fish and chips which he described as 'alright'. He wasn't a big fan of the batter and found the dish to be bland. The quality of each dish did not warrant the $12.95 lunch time price tag.

We decided to give it another try for a late lunch earlier this week. We had a rough day at work so decided to have cocktail with our meal. Again, everything was just "ok". I ordered an Aviation - the first one was pretty good so I ordered a second, which tasted nothing like the first one. My business partner had the Burden of Proof, a drink he tried there before and liked very much. The drink was served straight up even though the menu said it would be served on the rocks, the way it was served the first time he had it. Worse than that though was the fact that it tasted completely different.

None of the complaints about drinks can compare to those I have about the food. We started with the Brie in Croute, which tasted fine but I swear the cheese wasn't brie. It was soft and white but simply did not taste like brie. I ordered the chopped salad and a the soup of the day which was Tomato and Basil. The chopped salad was okay, but nothing interesting. Sadly, I probably have had a better chopped salad at CPK. My soup was a total disaster. The wide edge of the soup bowl was covered in soup and it literally looked like someone had vomited into a bowl. It was a brothy tomato soup that had absolutely no flavor whatsoever. The broth looked like dirty water. If I hadn't been told ahead of time that there was basil in the dish, I would not have known it. The basil looked more like overcooked spinach and the dish lacked even a hint of the herby goodness I was expecting. My business partner had the Beacon Burger which was served on a bun that was far too big for the (frozen?) patty and was topped with caramelized onions that looked more like brown mush. $70.00 later, my business partner asked me to promise we would never go there again.....

I wanted to like the Beacon Grille, I really did. I watched it being built since I work in the building and was excited at the potential of having a nice place to unwind and the end of a busy day. So far, it has been a huge disappointment. They are charging fine dining prices for a Cheesecake Factory experience. The bar has a nice ambience but the dining room is nothing special (the art work of Boston landmarks is especially tacky). This service is good but not that extra something you expect at a suburban restaurant charging $30 for a basic steak. But all of those sins could be forgiven if the food was good and well executed.