Stephi's on Tremont

[phelana]

This is our second visit this year. We had a long day moving in Boston and needed some sustenance. I called to see if they were serving food at 4:30 and was told they had the afternoon menu until 5. We got to the restaurant area at 4:45 but could not find a parking space. We finally arrived 4:59 and had to dine off the dinner menu. We sat outside as we were in casual moving clothes, plus, the afternoon was still lovely. Our waitress chose our light bites and wine. Our capable waitress chose the Sauvignon Blanc, Whitehaven (Marlborough) 2010 (WOW)..our tuna tartare and goat cheese app were both heavenly. The bed of warmed goat cheese was surrounded by Kalamata olives and roasted garlic. The crusty herbed baquette was chewy and warm. Our towering tuna tartare was wonderful. It was sashimi grade tuna served with sesame poached tomatoes, whipped avocado, chipotle chili soy sauce, spicy mayonnaise and lime vinaigrette..what a lovely light meal. This is a fun spot for people watching. The area was positively hopping. The bill was 50.00 plus tip.

[MC Slim JB]

I am surprised to find Stefi's on Tremont useful (Mrs. MC is a big fan), as I too hate Stephanie's on Newbury with an abiding passion. Two problems: there isn't much on the menu if you're in the mood for something light: even the salads are mostly big and substantial and meat-heavy; and I've had a few inconsistent meals over the last few months, like a Caesar topped with blackened sirloin that was just plain awful. Bartending is respectable if you ignore the specialty cocktail list and don't push past the classics. Bar crowd is not my favorite, especially on weekends.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[meeps2002]

I put Stephie's in the same tier as Rustic Kitchen... you can get a very good meal there, but don't bank on it.

The Newbury location smells like moist dish towels and is just in dire need of a renovation. It looks filthy with the millions of tourist foot traffic

[teezeetoo]

I generally try to write about places I like because I don't much see the point in trashing places but Stephanie's on Newbury is so very bad that I can't resist trashing it. I've been dragged to lunch there twice and both times my experience has been that this is a deliberately "don't care" restaurant that relies on location and makes not the slightest effort to provide good food at reasonable prices. It just is bad and it doesn't care.

[meeps2002]

I too love this spot, despite hating the Newbury location