I need to find a place that’s fancy without being pretentious, expensive without being backbreaking, and relatively local, though north of the city is OK, too. Parking is a consideration.
It can be Italian, but not North End. It can be French, but not froo froo la-dee-da. No Chinese or Japanese. No meat that might have once been cute. (Duck, veal, rabbit, or puppy.) Seafood should not be the featured thing. Budget should be less than $300, preferably half that. (For 2.)
Clink is out. Aujourd’hui is probably out.
Possibilities include Hungry I, Icarus, Chez Henri, and Dali.
Quick question - are you avoiding restaurants that have any duck, veal, rabbit on the menu at all? If so, that rules out almost all my favorite options, as well as Chez Henri and Dali (haven’t been to your other two possibilities Hungry I, Icarus).
My favorites that seem to fit the bill (provided it’s ok to have duck, veal or rabbit somewhere on the menu):
**Harvest **in Harvard Square. Fine dining without pretension, and with a little more of a laid back atmosphere and dress than L’Espalier. http://www.harvestcambridge.com/
Sonsie on Newbury Street. I used to assume this place must be unbearably pretensious, but then went with friends and found the place nice but not snooty, with very good food. http://sonsieboston.com/
Love, love, love Dali but they don’t take reservations for fewer than 6 people and the wait can be tremendous unless you get there at 4:30pm.
We used to enjoy Chez Henri a lot, but haven’t been back in about 3 years. Not because of any particular reason, just for whatever reason we have been going elsewhere. You have inspired me to take a return trip very soon, though.
Rialto in the Charles Hotel in Cambridge is very nice. The hotel has an underground garage, so parking is easy. You can have appetizers, entrees, dessert, wine, and tip for under $200 (at least you could last time I was there). They do have duck on the menu.
My companion has strong moral objections to those foods, and gets all frowny when I eat them. (Oddly, though, she’ll eat baby bib spinach, the hypocrite!)
It’s OK for those things to be on the menu, but there must be plenty of other options available.
I don’t know what qualifies as “backbreaking,” but I’m a fan on Craigie on Main (formerly Craigie Street Bistrot).
Though the menu choices are smaller so you might run afoul of the “formerly cute” rule.
I also like Radius in the Financial District. They have a bigger menu than Craigie on Main, but I alway order the tasting. I don’t recall the current price (70-80? per person) for a 4 course deal. They have a regular menu too.
Oh, and Icarus (you already mentioned it), is a wonderful restaurant as well, but it is their duck that I love.
Ah, thank you! That was another place we had considered, but I forgot the name. My companion’s coworker and her wife highly recommend it, and we trust their taste.
Oops - I completely missed the parking requirement. We don’t own a car so I am really not sure what parking options are like for most of my choices, though I would guess you’ll need to spring for valet or garage parking.
I say Oleana in Cambridge or Pierrot Bistrot on Cambridge St. between Charles/MGH and City Hall Plaza. Reservations are a must, but I have really enjoyed them both. I don’t know much about parking prospects, though. For Oleana you can usually grab something on the street if you don’t mind some walking.
If you want to drive a ways, the Moody Street area in Waltham has a lot of really excellent restaurants. I also know of a great place in Winchester. PM me for specifics.
Last time I was in Boston, I ate at Rialto (and can recommend it reasonably strongly; the food is good, though the atmosphere and the service are a little, I don’t know, sterile might be the right word) and O Ya, a high-end sushi place. I know you said no Japanese, but this place barely qualifies as sushi; it’s more like “sushi influenced.” Half the stuff on the menu was cooked; a lot of it wasn’t even fish. (Yeah, yeah, I’m from the Pacific Rim, I’m sort of a purist.) It was pretty good, though.
The parking thing could be a real bitch. I’m not opposed to paying for a parking garage, certainly, and downtown has plenty of those.
Another solution would be to find something in the 'burbs, like near Arlington/Belmont, though we’ve already tapped out most of the places in those particular towns.
I’ve heard very good things about Blue Ginger in Wellesely, but I’ve never been. It might be a bit too Asian-influenced for your requirements. They have a menu online.
What about the revamped Green Street Grill? It was really good when I ate there but that was back when it was still Caribbean. I hear they’ve gone upscale local food since then.
I was at a conference in Boston about 3-odd years ago and had dinner at Icarus. It was FANTASTIC! Swank and elegant but still quite friendly. Expensive, but for a once-in-a-blue-moon treat not too bad.
For coffee and dessert, go to Finale. Awesome place.
For restaurant week last Spring, I was really impressed with Henrietta’s Table. Easy parking, decent prices, great atmosphere, and plus you get to support local farms by eating local dishes.
If you like some red meat, I would suggest The Grill 23. Best steak I’ve had in town and not quite as pricey as places like Morton’s, the Oak Room, or Ruth’s Chris (but still pricey). You’ll probably want to valet park if you go there, though.
Hamersly’s in the South End is also very good and in your price range. It’s only a 5 minute walk from the parking garage at Back Bay Station. Best roast chicken ever.
While we’re in the South End, I would also recommend Tremont 647. Good food with no froofy attitude, and definitely the cheapest of the three I’ve mentioned so far.
Belmont is not a dining powerhouse, but Savino’s in Cushing Square is good, and you can find street parking there pretty easy. I wasn’t a huge fan of the menu (really, I just want to get my steak and onion strings :D), but the food was fresh and well-prepared, and an intimate experience. I don’t drink wine, but my companions said they had good stuff.
And in a bit of good news, the chef from that former version of Green Street (which I loved, although it was always unbelievably LOUD) is now at Highland Kitchen in Somerville.
If you’ve maxed out Arlington, then you’ve already been to Kathmandu Spice? Not particularly fancy, but mmm.