Boston Restaurant Help

[Dana49]

We're staying in Boston's Back Bay and looking for one real nice restaurant that's not overly pricey. Can anyone recommend a restaurant where we can have an enjoyable, romantic dinner? Thank you.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Romantic and not pricey you said....that is the not easy part in Boston. I am putting my thinking cap on now. There is a restaurant on Charles St that I like.. it is called the Beacon Hill Bistro...not that pricey.

My favorite restaurant in Boston is No. 9 Park Street, it is elegant and pricey. I am actually bumping this up as maybe some other Bostonians have some ideas for you.

 

[mcnuss]

Define pricey...? $100 for two with wine? Less than that?

I love Clio, but it will run about $150.
My favorite restaurant in the city is Hamersley's Bistro which is technically in the South End but not more than a 10 min cab ride from most Back Bay locations. You can eat there for about $100 if you either don't drink or don't do multiple courses. For my money, it's the best food, service and dining room in town.
Tapeo on Newbury has amazing tapas if you like that. I love the Spanish atmosphere.
Via Matta is also a delight.
Brasserie Jo is another good one. Haven't been there myself but know lots of people who have.
If you want to venture away from Back Bay, I'd go to Sel de la Terre on the waterfront (near the aquarium). You won't break the bank there, and it's like being transported to Paris.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Oooh.. I forgot about Via Matta, I love it there... and it is romantic...not sure about pricey though..

I had my daughter's bridal brunch at Sel De La Terre, it was wonderful..and very Francais. The North End of Boston, a cab ride away, has terrific Italian food and most restaurants are very good.

 

[mcnuss]

I love the North End, especially Mama Maria's. It has the most wonderful view of the Custom House now that the highway deck is gone. But it definitely qualifies as pricey!

 

[NC Belle]

I liked the food at Brasserie Jo---and its quite reasonable in costs. It is one of my BIL's favorite resteraunts.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

But is Brasserie Joe's romantic, I have been there for brunch, and thought it was noisey...have not gone at night though..

 

[bicker]

Romantic and not pricey you said....that is the not easy part in Boston. I am putting my thinking cap on now. There is a restaurant on Charles St that I like.. it is called the Beacon Hill Bistro...not that pricey.

It's called "The Hill". This is one of our favorite inexpensive restaurants in Boston. Get the Swordfish if they have it.

There's actually a few good restuarants on that strip, including Harvard Gardens and a great Mediterranean restaurant. However, they're not that close the Back Bay area though. And the North End is even further!

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Here is the official site of the Beacon Hill Bistro..............please note the name...it is also a hotel and we have stayed there as well..very nice.

http://www.beaconhillhotel.com/bistro.html

 

[bicker]

Whoa! I thought the OP said "not overly pricey"!

The Hill is much more reasonably priced, IMHO. It's on Cambridge Street, not Charles Street.

 

[NC Belle]

But is Brasserie Joe's romantic, I have been there for brunch, and thought it was noisey...have not gone at night though..

When NC Beast and I went last year after 8pm---it was pretty quiet.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I guess we are talking about two different restaurants then... I was talking about the Beacon Hill Bistro on Charles St.. I have never heard of the one on Cambridge St..actually I do recognize it from its picture though. Is that near Back Bay???

 

[bicker]

Well Boston's not that big, so everything's nearby everything. However, Beacon Hill isn't really near the Back Bay. Problem is that the closer you get to the Pru, the more expensive the restaurants seem to get.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Boston tends to be an expensive place to have a nice dinner unless you would like to eat at a tavern and have pub type food. I am thinking the OP wanted more of romantic type of dinner in an upscale restaurant....those are hard to find reasonably.

 

[bicker]

Definitely. That's why we love The Hill. It's a tavern, I suppose, but not an old smokey one (as if any of them are smokey anymore), but its quiet and nice -- romantic enough for my wife and I -- and the servers are so nice!

 

[Dana49]

We've chosen two of your suggestions: Tapeos and Beacon Hill Bistro. Whenever we visit Boston, we usually dine in the North End and for that special occasion, Locke Ober (pricey but excellent). Our other choice, in Back Bay, was Casa Romero. Has anyone dined there and would you recommend it? Thanks for all of your help.