In general, I was not impressed with the food scene in Boston. A lot of the top restaurants were disappointing, as were the icon dishes like cream pie. The seafood was VERY good though. Here is a list of places we ate.
Cheap Eats Boston
Here is a review of the “cheap eats” we had in Boston. For the most part, just like the fine dining places, most places were disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, we had a great time in the city. Its beautiful. The architecture, the Charles River walk, the history, the universities, and everything else were excellent; except the food. All the iconic food was disappoiting.
Tatte Bakery
We stopped at the Tatte Bakery in downtown as the place received good reviews. We had an almond croissant. It was disappointing. Texture was off and it was bland. It was not flaky at all and lacked flavor.
Our server at Island Creek Oyster Bar was very knowledgeable about the different oyster they had available, and helped us select 4 different ones. These were probably the second best we had after Row 34.
The rest of the meal was just like all the other in Boston, which is becoming a recurring theme, just ok. Are we not eating at the right places in the city? Let me know in the comments, where you would recommend.
Row 34 had the best oysters we had while in Boston. I would recommend this place if you are a fan of raw oysters. Our server was extremely knowledgeable about each oysters and guided us well.
We also started with a salad which tasted fine, but was overdressed, and a bowl of chowder. I was impressed that they made the saltines from scratch.
For main, we had cold and warm lobster rolls. Unlike Atlantic Fish, this place cut up the lobster more which I preferred. Having both hot and cold again, confirmed my earlier preference for hot. Going forward, I would probably not get the roll cold anymore as the flavors of the lobster come through more when warm with butter.
Another day, another average meal in Boston. For the most part, I found the food in the city unexciting and bland. Menton was supposed to be a “Michelin worthy” restaurant in Boston, but was disappointing. As a side note, while we were there, Boston magazine came out with their Top 50 list and Menton failed to place. The concierge at our hotel said she was surprised and reassured us that it was still good. So was it? Lets see.
O Ya is a highly acclaimed modern Japanese restaurant in Boston. They now have locations in NYC and Mexico.
The price for the “Grand Omakase” is a whopping $385 per person ($285 without the white truffles). This makes it one of the most expensive tasting menus I have ever seen without Michelin Stars.
Before coming to Boston, I knew there were two things I definitely wanted to eat: 1. New England Clam Chowder and 2. Lobster Rolls.
The first place we visited for these items was Atlantic Fish Co. in Back Bay. I made a reservation on Open Table and was seated promptly. It was lunch time and quite busy so I do recommend you make a reservation.
At this place, the butter comes on the side. I prefer the warm version. You get more of a pure lobster taste and the texture just works better for me. Also note that some places chop up the lobster a bit. This place serves it more whole. I prefer the former.
Arriving close to midnight in Boston, I was worried about where to grab a good meal. I did a lot of research and talked to various locals, but ultimately settled on something I found on Opentable called FuGaKyu. They are open until 1:30AM every night. We went to their Brookline location.
Upon arrival, we were seated right away, and in fact, we appeared to be the only customers there.
They had a pretty large menu and also had “funny” rolls like Caterpillar Maki. I started by ordering scallop (hotate), blue fin, unagi, and uni nigiri.
