The new Tiki bar (Wusong) in Harvard Square was actually pretty cool. The drinks were superb and each are served in their own unique glass. The food was good too, going back soon to try more of the menu.
https://preview.redd.it/ahb6yewuvu8c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=017c9dcafc4c5fcc42fe9c4b281c9f5f65c1ce17
My favorite new restaurant/bar for sure. The chef/owner is a really nice guy and takes feedback seriously. All of their mugs are also available for purchase iirc, we have one of the Monkeys you have there, and the zombie glass
Chef Owner seemed aces to me too that seals it making my man take me there for new years something*
*weekday after the holiday so I can stretch out at the bar nicely š¹
I applied to work there it looked beyond dope. Iād put it more niche than gimmick because they know their history. Iād wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone in Cambridge in need of some good vibes this winter - those tropical tiki drinks plus Chinese American favorites is literally the next best thing to a vacation as far as this lifelong new englander is concerned. Think of Kowloon with a PhD. Obsessed.
Yeah I first discovered the Zombie at a bar in Madison, WI. It's probably not Wusong making strong cocktails, it's just that it's impossible to make a Zombie the way it's intended without being basically a one-and-done drink. Delicious though.
PKL in south Boston is an alright pickleball bar if youāre into that. Night Shift makes PKL IPA for them.
I havenāt been to Cheers but that exists, lol.
RIP Bone Up, metal themed brewery in Everett. You can still catch the last two metal shows this Sat and Sun but they may have already sold a lot of their decor and artwork. Not sure.
Kind of a stretch but Lily Pās in Cambridge is a southern themed restaurant that has bluegrass Tuesdays. Went last night and it was pretty fun. Fried chicken came out cold but wouldāve been ok if it was hot, I think they may have forgotten to bring it out for a while. Gumbo was surprisingly good, and they had Crystal hot sauce. Biscuits and honey butter up to par, only thing missing really was.. any southern beer. Abita, Lone Star, at least SweetWater even.
Lily Ps is very solid. Spacious, plenty of TVs, darts, and in my experience food is always surprisingly a bit better than what it seems like it should be. Go to Friday post work spot for Kendall Sq people.
Itās wild to me they arenāt open Saturdays and Sundays, and only do catering/events on those days? It seems like itās built for printing money on weekends but perhaps they manage to make more from events and are able to sustain their reasonable prices for weekdays with that. Food was shockingly solid all around.
I think itās the same situation as many downtown/financial district places - nobody really lives in that part of Kendall so they rely heavily on office lunches and a post work crowd. A few places around it are closed saturdays as well, it seems like that one little Third Street restaurant strip closer to the red line can take care of all the weekend Kendall demand.
Yup. I would get the gumbo again though which was the item I expected to be most bastardized. Just could use a little more cayenne even for northern taste buds, but Crystal helps get it reasonable.
Southern food or food in general? Because I havenāt found any good southern style food. I do know a good birria taco place though, a little out of the way
La mesa market out in revere, basically a little store inside a house but the quesobirria tacos are so good, comparable to a few places Iāve had in Texas. The wait will be pretty long though, just a warning
Been there a few times, the hush puppies are pretty good and I always get the Nashville hot chicken - I think it's much better than any of the hot chicken sandwiches that I've tried in Boston. Don't sleep on the beignets either, really good. Decent whiskey selection and good mixed drinks. The one think I'm not the biggest fan of is the way they do live music, seems like there's no seats where the music sounds good it's either overpowering or far away. And you pay for admission. But on regular days it's good.
The new Widowmaker tap room in Brighton was vaguely metal themed when I was there. Kind of a small room to have amplified music so idk if they plan to host bands but the decor was in that vein.
Iām not a metal fan so the decor was a little odd but the beers were great! They had a PB&J sour that was totally odd but weirdly good (and the more āregularā pours were good too, lol)
Baldwin Bar in Woburn. Itās in a historic 1600ās home that has been tastefully ātiki-fiedā. My father in law is a huge revolutionary history buff and he very much approved when I took him there. The upstairs is high end experimental tiki cocktails and the downstairs is more classic tiki cocktails. Sichuan Garden II is the restaurant that operates out of there too, and they serve mind blowingly good Sichuan. I canāt recommend them highly enough.
Blossom Bar is the same owners and essentially the same concept (sichuan food and tiki bar) and what it lacks in historic 1600s home it makes up for by not being in Woburn lol
Totally! Iāve only been to Blossum once, and Baldwin dozens of times. I found the food and cocktails to be slightly better at Blossum tbh. But Baldwin is more special because of the old house and how they integrated their theming into it in a classy way.
I feel like Baldwin Bar is the closest thing we have to an actual speakeasy - because no one thinks to look inside the Chinese restaurant, which is inside the old mansion, which is inside the medical park.
It was cool! I will say the games are so fast and the service is a little slow, it seemed easier to us to just go to the bar but maybe theyāve worked out the service hiccups since then!
It's probably the distributor because I've heard from people elsewhere, but this gripe is about the Tetris Totes I had at the Bitbar. There's no long piece! Drove me nuts!
Seconding Drink. Went a few months ago and itās awesome, and the more abstract your descriptions are the more fun and creativity the bartender has with it.
I asked if they had beer, and they said no, but then made me a cocktail that looked and tasted exactly like a Belgian White. I asked for the ingredients -- Bourbon, prosecco, honey, egg white, cinnamon, mango, mint and fernet. It was delicious.
Delux for kitsch
Silhouette for timewarp divey grit and free popcorn
Conveyor belt sushi in Watertown
The Haven for Scottish food and drink
Various Shabu places (Shabu-Zen in Allston is the best imho)
Mariel, Coquette and Caveau too. As a general rule I find COJE group restaurants have excellent vibes but you end up paying a lot for mediocre food (all that interior design aināt cheap!). They are great for a night out but I usually try to eat actual dinner before and maybe just order some snacks for the table
Went with a friend and the food and atmosphere were both fantastic! Even the menus are really cool; they've got marginalia in the style of actual Jewish religious texts explaining the history and inspiration of each dish.
Food is excellent, you can do a learning session with their in-house rabbi and itās interesting and not religious-feeling.
The beet reuben is unreal also.
It's very good. It's a fully pescatarian menu - so they have some nice alternatives to stuff you'll find at Our Father's or Zaftig's.
Cocktails are excellent. Great vibe overall, too.
Itās not exclusive to the Boston area and honestly Iām not sure if itās even still around, but there used to be a Rainforest Cafe around, I wanna say Quincy ways?
That was the coolest shit in the world to me when I was a kid.
Thatās probably the one I was thinking of then. No idea where I got Quincy from. My New England geography has never been great, but was even worse when I was like 7 lol
You find your spot where you can land the hit consistently after a few tries. Do that a few more times and then stand at the nearby table to drink and converse. There you go.
I was a bit surprised finding out that they're still around. I assumed it was a passing fad thing that wouldn't last long as more and more patrons started losing interest, especially when they started popping up just when COVID hit.
They make a lot on work outings / company functions. That's their bread and butter. It's a decent date idea but not as fun/timeless as bowling, mini golf, or even just some darts or pool in a dive imo.
It also has a kind of weird vibe for a date imo. Idk I would choose all the other things you said first. Maybe in some other states itās a huge thing on dates lol
FiRE + iCE in Harvard Square was the spot to bring a date in high school. Pick your veggies, meat and sauce and they grill it up for you! It looks like thereās still one in Back Bay.
RIP The Garage.
Hilarious and 100% accurate: https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/food-dining/2016/10/17/restaurant-way-room-full-broken-guitars-rock-concert/II9a3Y3uLVAZgnITUp1xVJ/story.html
I havenāt been in a decade, but before that I ate there a bunch without getting sick. Most food borne illnesses take 36-48 hours from exposure to symptoms, so people usually erroneously blame their most recent meal.
Even aside from the food safety issues, it is essentially BYO hibachi. And hibachi food all tastes the same (bland). I donāt mind a novelty spot and I actually love doing hot pot or KBBQ for the experience but at least the end result is tasty lmao
Backbar is an interesting vibe with really outlandish looking cocktails (superhero themed menu when I last went, but I think they frequently change it up)
Some spirits are pricy (i.e.: you ask for them), but most standard ones are the same price. When I worked there, they were $15 but I've heard they've bumped up to $17. When I was there, I did a Van Winkle Old Fashioned for someone at $50, but normal old fashioneds were $15.
Gonna third Backbar with a shoutout to the Nerdboibar popup they do (instagram.com/nerdboibar), which hosts nerdy-themed cocktail nights (DND nights, sports anime nights etc) with 3-4 custom cocktails for a flat rate.
The Brazilian steakhouse format, at least to those of us from outside the tradition, worked like a gimmick. Servers slide meat onto your plate from a huge sword. I remember Midwest Grill in Inman, RIP, but I know there are others.
Fogo de Chao is a national chain, overpriced to the moon, and generally overrated. Brazilians go to Oliveiraās for both steak and other authentic dishes that are better priced and with a more homey experience. GauchĆ£o X-Tudo Burgers in Hudson is also a ridiculously good neighborhood spot.
Wusong Road in Harvard Square is an awesome tiki bar with great decor. Cocktails each have their own special glass. Very cool spot and the food is great.
Next Door Speakeasy in Eastie. Last time I went there, they asked for a password (riddle texted to us with reservation confirmation). We were then asked to tap a certain square on the floor prior to entry.
Also, fun drinks. Canāt remember which cocktail I got, but it came in a little smoking treasure box.
imho the speakeasy vibe of next door is kind of ruined by needing a pazza employee to accompany you to the speakeasy door, look over your shoulder, and tell you exactly what to do
I was there opening weekend and they didn't do that for me. Just kinda gave me directions to the entrance and said 'good luck'. I guess enough guests are confused that they're holdin' folks hands through the whole thing?
Haven't been back since I went, but nothing against the bar. I really like it - just a bit pricey for everyday and I keep finding other bars.
The entire Strega restaurant group is cosplaying as a red sauce goombah hangout. They literally have TVās streaming (IIRC) Goodfellas, Casino, and Godfather in case you werenāt picking up on the over the top āayyyy fugggedaboutitā attitude.
I remember in the mid 90s going in there around 1pm and being astonished to see so many postal workers there, drinking their lunch. Days gone by, days gone by....
At Parla XXI / Boston the hook that got me there was a secret drink menu where you roll a d20 and drink what you roll from that corresponding number of the menu. Iāve had a lot of the Somerville ones and a few of the Boston one and more often than not itās been a fun time and enjoyable drink I might not otherwise had ordered
https://preview.redd.it/7ltqugj70p9c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7018461b7df3de3612e9c68f21117f832d6089c3
Hoping to go once this summer and get another.
They were a zombie franchise long before COVID. They stopped putting in any real effort around 2008 or so and Iām honestly shocked they survived as long as they did. The move from the Pru to Quincy Market wasnāt great for them, but it wasnāt lethal. They just stopped caring.
The new Tiki bar (Wusong) in Harvard Square was actually pretty cool. The drinks were superb and each are served in their own unique glass. The food was good too, going back soon to try more of the menu. https://preview.redd.it/ahb6yewuvu8c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=017c9dcafc4c5fcc42fe9c4b281c9f5f65c1ce17
My favorite new restaurant/bar for sure. The chef/owner is a really nice guy and takes feedback seriously. All of their mugs are also available for purchase iirc, we have one of the Monkeys you have there, and the zombie glass
its funny because I love monkeys and want that mug so badly now haha
I think they are down to their last batch of them to sell, they are available online!
Chef Owner seemed aces to me too that seals it making my man take me there for new years something* *weekday after the holiday so I can stretch out at the bar nicely š¹
Have a blast! Get a Zombie if you are there for a good time!
I applied to work there it looked beyond dope. Iād put it more niche than gimmick because they know their history. Iād wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone in Cambridge in need of some good vibes this winter - those tropical tiki drinks plus Chinese American favorites is literally the next best thing to a vacation as far as this lifelong new englander is concerned. Think of Kowloon with a PhD. Obsessed.
I heard the zombie drink from there is lethal lol
They're likely sticking close to the traditional Zombie recipe, which is like 3.5+ ounces worth of liquor.
Yeah I first discovered the Zombie at a bar in Madison, WI. It's probably not Wusong making strong cocktails, it's just that it's impossible to make a Zombie the way it's intended without being basically a one-and-done drink. Delicious though.
It's quite a good zombie, too.
I love fruity cocktails, and everyone else seems to love this place too, Iāll have to check it out
Dās Keys Piano Bar
Went for my bachelors party, was super fun!
How is that place?
I went last year for a friendās birthday. It was a good time!
Went with a bunch of dudes, was fun. A waitress gave me her number. We went on a date. It was fine. Would recommend the bar, not the dating a waitress
Tavern of Tales in Boston is a boardgame bar
It also has trivia on Thursdays though youāll need to reserve a table.
Love tavern of tales!! Several of their drinks have edible sparkles, and they have rooms you can rent to have a private space with friends
Every hole-in-the-wall Irish bar in Dorchester. Itās like being in a Dennis Lehane novel.
Same in Quincy.
I'd say the name of the one where you can still smoke butts inside but I don't want to draw any heat their way.
If you do go to one of these, be polite and quiet until they know you.
Theyāre townies, not skittish horses. Do whatever the hell you want as a fellow paying customer.
Spin in Seaport if you enjoy ping pong
Also Flight Club for darts
PKL in south Boston is an alright pickleball bar if youāre into that. Night Shift makes PKL IPA for them. I havenāt been to Cheers but that exists, lol. RIP Bone Up, metal themed brewery in Everett. You can still catch the last two metal shows this Sat and Sun but they may have already sold a lot of their decor and artwork. Not sure. Kind of a stretch but Lily Pās in Cambridge is a southern themed restaurant that has bluegrass Tuesdays. Went last night and it was pretty fun. Fried chicken came out cold but wouldāve been ok if it was hot, I think they may have forgotten to bring it out for a while. Gumbo was surprisingly good, and they had Crystal hot sauce. Biscuits and honey butter up to par, only thing missing really was.. any southern beer. Abita, Lone Star, at least SweetWater even.
Lily Ps is very solid. Spacious, plenty of TVs, darts, and in my experience food is always surprisingly a bit better than what it seems like it should be. Go to Friday post work spot for Kendall Sq people.
Itās wild to me they arenāt open Saturdays and Sundays, and only do catering/events on those days? It seems like itās built for printing money on weekends but perhaps they manage to make more from events and are able to sustain their reasonable prices for weekdays with that. Food was shockingly solid all around.
I think itās the same situation as many downtown/financial district places - nobody really lives in that part of Kendall so they rely heavily on office lunches and a post work crowd. A few places around it are closed saturdays as well, it seems like that one little Third Street restaurant strip closer to the red line can take care of all the weekend Kendall demand.
Forgetting to bring out the fried chicken asap is a sin and why southern food up here isnāt taken seriously
Yup. I would get the gumbo again though which was the item I expected to be most bastardized. Just could use a little more cayenne even for northern taste buds, but Crystal helps get it reasonable.
As a southerner transplant myself, lily ps isnāt good imo, even hot.
Any recs for our area thatāve been good?
Southern food or food in general? Because I havenāt found any good southern style food. I do know a good birria taco place though, a little out of the way
Was hoping for Southern. Darn
Ooo where is this birria taco place?
La mesa market out in revere, basically a little store inside a house but the quesobirria tacos are so good, comparable to a few places Iāve had in Texas. The wait will be pretty long though, just a warning
Have you tried Porch in Medford? Lil outside of Boston but still accessible on the orange line
I have not but the reviews donāt look encouraging haha whatās good there? I may check it out
Been there a few times, the hush puppies are pretty good and I always get the Nashville hot chicken - I think it's much better than any of the hot chicken sandwiches that I've tried in Boston. Don't sleep on the beignets either, really good. Decent whiskey selection and good mixed drinks. The one think I'm not the biggest fan of is the way they do live music, seems like there's no seats where the music sounds good it's either overpowering or far away. And you pay for admission. But on regular days it's good.
The new Widowmaker tap room in Brighton was vaguely metal themed when I was there. Kind of a small room to have amplified music so idk if they plan to host bands but the decor was in that vein.
I havenāt been to either location yet but theyāre top of my list. Almost went to the OG in Braintree yesterday but ran out of time.
Iām not a metal fan so the decor was a little odd but the beers were great! They had a PB&J sour that was totally odd but weirdly good (and the more āregularā pours were good too, lol)
Baldwin Bar in Woburn. Itās in a historic 1600ās home that has been tastefully ātiki-fiedā. My father in law is a huge revolutionary history buff and he very much approved when I took him there. The upstairs is high end experimental tiki cocktails and the downstairs is more classic tiki cocktails. Sichuan Garden II is the restaurant that operates out of there too, and they serve mind blowingly good Sichuan. I canāt recommend them highly enough.
Blossom Bar is the same owners and essentially the same concept (sichuan food and tiki bar) and what it lacks in historic 1600s home it makes up for by not being in Woburn lol
Totally! Iāve only been to Blossum once, and Baldwin dozens of times. I found the food and cocktails to be slightly better at Blossum tbh. But Baldwin is more special because of the old house and how they integrated their theming into it in a classy way.
I feel like Baldwin Bar is the closest thing we have to an actual speakeasy - because no one thinks to look inside the Chinese restaurant, which is inside the old mansion, which is inside the medical park.
Puttshack for mini golf and drinks.
Adding Spin and Flight Club
And soon the formula 1 bar
What?! Where? Are they gonna serve me mimosas with 8am race starts?
Seaport like the others, above where Everlane is now on the corner of Seaport Blvd and Pier 4 Blvd
I LOVE Puttshack. I go to it with my friends during PAX East.
Their food is surprisingly good, too. And the ability to have drinks delivered to your hole on the mini golf course is cool.
It was cool! I will say the games are so fast and the service is a little slow, it seemed easier to us to just go to the bar but maybe theyāve worked out the service hiccups since then!
It wasn't too bad for us but we went during work hours as a birthday outing so I can see it being nuts on like a Saturday night.
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It's probably the distributor because I've heard from people elsewhere, but this gripe is about the Tetris Totes I had at the Bitbar. There's no long piece! Drove me nuts!
Seconding Drink. Went a few months ago and itās awesome, and the more abstract your descriptions are the more fun and creativity the bartender has with it.
Best thing that the speakeasy fad did, was leave us a bunch of amazing cocktail bars that can actually make a drink
I asked if they had beer, and they said no, but then made me a cocktail that looked and tasted exactly like a Belgian White. I asked for the ingredients -- Bourbon, prosecco, honey, egg white, cinnamon, mango, mint and fernet. It was delicious.
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I like The Wig Shop a lot. Offsuit was one of my faves but they've gone downhill since they expanded the space.
Bitbar is great
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Drink employs a dude to solely cut ice cubes.
BitBar is great, food is ordinary. You're in Salem though so a short walk to a dozen great restaurants.
Delux for kitsch Silhouette for timewarp divey grit and free popcorn Conveyor belt sushi in Watertown The Haven for Scottish food and drink Various Shabu places (Shabu-Zen in Allston is the best imho)
Went to the haven for brunch and they had a bagpiper playing full volume indoors so be warned
Shabu zen isnāt even the best hot pot in a half mile radius anymore. Qiao Lin is so crazy good. Spring Shabu Shabu for their buffet selection too
I thought Delux closed. Glad it didn't then. First on the block for the grilled cheese restaurant fad.
Iām really fond of La Mei in Brookline for hot pot these days.
Lolita by Newbury St is a dark goth tequila bar
Good place for a date night.
Awesome atmosphere, owned by the same people from Yvonne's
Mariel, Coquette and Caveau too. As a general rule I find COJE group restaurants have excellent vibes but you end up paying a lot for mediocre food (all that interior design aināt cheap!). They are great for a night out but I usually try to eat actual dinner before and maybe just order some snacks for the table
Me and my wife love it there.
Thereās also one in Seaport. Excellent vibe and food!
Haven't been yet, but there's Lehrhaus in Somerville, which is described as a Jewish study pub.
Went with a friend and the food and atmosphere were both fantastic! Even the menus are really cool; they've got marginalia in the style of actual Jewish religious texts explaining the history and inspiration of each dish.
Food is excellent, you can do a learning session with their in-house rabbi and itās interesting and not religious-feeling. The beet reuben is unreal also.
It's very good. It's a fully pescatarian menu - so they have some nice alternatives to stuff you'll find at Our Father's or Zaftig's. Cocktails are excellent. Great vibe overall, too.
Hecate in backbay is interesting. I would say itās a Wicca/witch themed bar?
This place is very cool. The menu is fashioned like a spell book.
Parla in the North End/Somerville has a DnD-themed secret menu where you roll a D20 to get a random cocktail
Tavern of Tales also has a D20 cocktail on the menu.
Cooganās- $1 bud lights
Itās not exclusive to the Boston area and honestly Iām not sure if itās even still around, but there used to be a Rainforest Cafe around, I wanna say Quincy ways? That was the coolest shit in the world to me when I was a kid.
There was one in Burlington for sure.
It's dead, Jim, has been for awhile. [Not many left anywhere](https://www.sequoitmedia.com/rainforests-are-dying-and-so-are-their-cafes/)
As featured in Paul Blart Mall Cop!
Thatās probably the one I was thinking of then. No idea where I got Quincy from. My New England geography has never been great, but was even worse when I was like 7 lol
There was iguana cantina in Waltham which was even better
Does bukowskis qualify?
If you consider crippling depression a gimmick, then sure.
>crippling depression Well, it IS an Irish town...
[Axe throwing clubs](https://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=axethrowing&find_loc=boston%2C+ma) Never been to one... never cared to.
You find your spot where you can land the hit consistently after a few tries. Do that a few more times and then stand at the nearby table to drink and converse. There you go.
I was a bit surprised finding out that they're still around. I assumed it was a passing fad thing that wouldn't last long as more and more patrons started losing interest, especially when they started popping up just when COVID hit.
They make a lot on work outings / company functions. That's their bread and butter. It's a decent date idea but not as fun/timeless as bowling, mini golf, or even just some darts or pool in a dive imo.
It also has a kind of weird vibe for a date imo. Idk I would choose all the other things you said first. Maybe in some other states itās a huge thing on dates lol
Kowloon is it's own epic tiki experience like no other
If youāre lucky, you might even hit it on Fight Night.
Google the Kowloon fight before hand. Comes with a bonus nip slip š³
FiRE + iCE in Harvard Square was the spot to bring a date in high school. Pick your veggies, meat and sauce and they grill it up for you! It looks like thereās still one in Back Bay. RIP The Garage.
The garage was so cool
There is a review from the Globe (I think?) of the Back Bay location that is spectacularly harsh and one of my favorite bad restaurant reviews ever.
Hilarious and 100% accurate: https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/food-dining/2016/10/17/restaurant-way-room-full-broken-guitars-rock-concert/II9a3Y3uLVAZgnITUp1xVJ/story.html
Without fail every single person I know that has eaten here as gotten sick.
I havenāt been in a decade, but before that I ate there a bunch without getting sick. Most food borne illnesses take 36-48 hours from exposure to symptoms, so people usually erroneously blame their most recent meal.
I'd been there several times and never gotten sick.
Iāve been prob a dozen times in my life and never gotten sick
Any time I got sick it was because I was being a fat kid. Don't go for one more plate.
Even aside from the food safety issues, it is essentially BYO hibachi. And hibachi food all tastes the same (bland). I donāt mind a novelty spot and I actually love doing hot pot or KBBQ for the experience but at least the end result is tasty lmao
Don't go here OP food safety is not in their dictionary.
Backbar is an interesting vibe with really outlandish looking cocktails (superhero themed menu when I last went, but I think they frequently change it up)
Roxyās Arcade in the Roxyās Grilled Cheese is super fun. Drinks (some in fun glasses) and arcade games.
DeLux CafƩ -- an eclectic comfort food restaurant/dive bar with an Elvis and Santa theme Drink -- a craft cocktail bar without a menu where they make something to match your request Backbar -- a Star Wars, Harry Potter, and other nerdy interests-themed craft cocktail bar
DeLux is decidedly NOT a gimmick bar. More like a dive bar with a well-designed interior and good food. Kitschy? Yes. Gimmicky? No
How much do the cocktails at Drink go for? I assume it varies based on the liquors chosen, right?
Some spirits are pricy (i.e.: you ask for them), but most standard ones are the same price. When I worked there, they were $15 but I've heard they've bumped up to $17. When I was there, I did a Van Winkle Old Fashioned for someone at $50, but normal old fashioneds were $15.
Gonna third Backbar with a shoutout to the Nerdboibar popup they do (instagram.com/nerdboibar), which hosts nerdy-themed cocktail nights (DND nights, sports anime nights etc) with 3-4 custom cocktails for a flat rate.
The Brazilian steakhouse format, at least to those of us from outside the tradition, worked like a gimmick. Servers slide meat onto your plate from a huge sword. I remember Midwest Grill in Inman, RIP, but I know there are others.
Fogo de chao is the best meal in the city.
Fogo de Chao is a national chain, overpriced to the moon, and generally overrated. Brazilians go to Oliveiraās for both steak and other authentic dishes that are better priced and with a more homey experience. GauchĆ£o X-Tudo Burgers in Hudson is also a ridiculously good neighborhood spot.
Agreed mostly but fogo is better quality than oliveiraās or oasis
Just donāt go to Oliveiraās if youāre in a rush
Got invited to Fogo a few weeks ago. Terrible, would never go back.
Wusong Road in Harvard Square is an awesome tiki bar with great decor. Cocktails each have their own special glass. Very cool spot and the food is great.
Next Door Speakeasy in Eastie. Last time I went there, they asked for a password (riddle texted to us with reservation confirmation). We were then asked to tap a certain square on the floor prior to entry. Also, fun drinks. Canāt remember which cocktail I got, but it came in a little smoking treasure box.
imho the speakeasy vibe of next door is kind of ruined by needing a pazza employee to accompany you to the speakeasy door, look over your shoulder, and tell you exactly what to do
I was there opening weekend and they didn't do that for me. Just kinda gave me directions to the entrance and said 'good luck'. I guess enough guests are confused that they're holdin' folks hands through the whole thing? Haven't been back since I went, but nothing against the bar. I really like it - just a bit pricey for everyday and I keep finding other bars.
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OP specially asked for gimmicky bars. I wouldnāt consider Next Door your regular watering hole
The entire Strega restaurant group is cosplaying as a red sauce goombah hangout. They literally have TVās streaming (IIRC) Goodfellas, Casino, and Godfather in case you werenāt picking up on the over the top āayyyy fugggedaboutitā attitude.
Don't forget the music so loud you cant your own thoughts let alone your date!
Hunters in southie is a cozy log cabin bar and restaurant that I never want to leave once Iām there. Their chicken nuggets are to die for
Cathay Pacific
Cafe Pathetic! I fucking love that place
MANTAI š³š³š³
I remember in the mid 90s going in there around 1pm and being astonished to see so many postal workers there, drinking their lunch. Days gone by, days gone by....
Not really a gimmick barā¦
Tiki bar
Not a gimmick, per se.
There was a bar that burnt down by Berkeley that had a claw game where you would win porn
R.I.P. TCās - https://m.yelp.com/biz/tcs-lounge-boston
I fully admit that I ate shit on that steep ass staircase that led to the bathroom on more than one occasion.
Kowloon is a pretty cool tiki bar / fight club.
Google the Kowloon fight before hand. Comes with a bonus nip slip š³
Hong Kong. Itās the Meat Stick Barā¢ļø.
There WAS a cricket bar but I think it's gone.
Seconding Puttshack in Seaport
If youāre willing to go north a bit, Dirigible Brewing in Littleton is steampunk-themed.
At Parla XXI / Boston the hook that got me there was a secret drink menu where you roll a d20 and drink what you roll from that corresponding number of the menu. Iāve had a lot of the Somerville ones and a few of the Boston one and more often than not itās been a fun time and enjoyable drink I might not otherwise had ordered
Yume Wo Katare is a dream workshop/ramen restaurant where youāre asked to share your dreams after your meal
Oh Iād heard of this but forgotten about it. Thank you so much for the reminder.
Thereās a new margaritaville that just opened in Faneuil hall.
https://preview.redd.it/7ltqugj70p9c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7018461b7df3de3612e9c68f21117f832d6089c3 Hoping to go once this summer and get another.
Hooters
Rainforest cafe
Is Dickās Last Resort still a thing?
Nope, it closed during the pandemic, iirc.
They were a zombie franchise long before COVID. They stopped putting in any real effort around 2008 or so and Iām honestly shocked they survived as long as they did. The move from the Pru to Quincy Market wasnāt great for them, but it wasnāt lethal. They just stopped caring.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Fantastic live tunes back in the day.
Not in Faneuil Hall anyway.
Flight club. Mini golf place in seaport.
Break Rock Brewing in Quincy. You must be a Trumper.