I’d do Oleana in the summer as well. Still good in warmish fall times in the garden. I love Sarma and we go for special occasions, but it is crowded, can be loud, and feel a bit rushed.
Yes! This is exactly what I’m doing, and your response is exactly what I wanted. Thank you! Sycamore’s in the mix.
I loved your extensive writeup, though on this one I’d love to hear answers even if it’s just the name of the restaurant. I just want to hear what HO users would pick in this instance.
digga, this is a good thought and thanks–but part of the idea for this outing is to take them to a restaurant. There’s 7 year old son who is often around when we all hang out & I want to have it be a night out of the house for them. The gf & I are not yet set up to host! 
Got it! Just be sure to pay the babysitter - in GBA, the going rate is usually $15-$20/hour.
heh, this is what the sister-in-law is for!
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We haven’t been to Oleana yet, but we actively disliked Alden and Harlow. The place was just too noisy, and the food not good enough.
Your post got me thinking of what seems to be a paucity in Boston of restaurants with good food served elegantly in a really grand space. I’m thinking of NY restaurants such as Del Posto, The Modern, EMP, etc., with impressive rooms (high ceilings a must), space between the tables, and really polished service that pampers you. Biba, back in the day, was something like that, especially if you got a table by the window.
What’s like that in the Boston area these days? We do not eat out as much others here might, so its entirely possible that there are several such places of which I’m unaware.
Oddly, a couple of places where the space fits the bill, the food does not: Changsho has a nice, high-ceilinged room, but the food’s often mediocre and just decent at best. Ditto Helmand (where I think the food has declined – but I’ve not been there in a year).
And, on a recent visit to Cafe du Pays, my wife and I found the service absolutely top-notch, and worthy of the best restaurants we’ve eaten at, but we were not entirely blown away by the food. There were a couple of knockout dishes (pea soup, brussel sprouts caramelized to the extreme) but others were often just too salty or not well conceived (sour pickled mushrooms with foie gras, for example). Plus, the rooms are small, and the upstairs dark.
For me, Upstairs on the Square had many of those celebratory qualities. On that note, what is Parsnip like? Anyone have any experience there, good or bad?
The bar on the 3rd floor has fantastic cocktails and atmosphere. The food is nothing too memorable. It’s a great spot for a pre dinner drink if going somewhere in Harvard Square.
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Personally, I’d do the omakase at the sushi bar at Cafe Sushi. If the food is the focus, it cant be beat and I would pick it over Uni or O Ya 8 days a week. The atmosphere isn’t special occasion, but the food is.
Another great option is the Tasting Counter, a truly special unique and memorable meal. We have only gone as a couple, but it would be fun with a larger group I think.
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I don’t know if it is special enough but my current favorite spot is SRV, with their Arsenale tasting menu. Their back patio really does feel Venice-like and their interior is pretty and comfortable. I have always experienced amazing service there. I find the food consistently wonderful.
I was tickled to learn recently that my friend’s son who is a chef (Menton in the past, Wood’s Hill Table in Concord now) says it is one of his two favorite restaurants in the city (Bar Mezzana being the other).
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I haven’t been back in at least six months - I feel like my first visit was my best, too. Sorry to hear it hasn’t held up 
Sorrellina has that vibe for me. It’s probably the only place I’ve been to in Boston that does though. Maybe Mamma Maria? I haven’t been in at least a year though.
I almost said SRV too. We had another excellent meal there a few weeks back. Again I’m mostly focusing on the food, but the atmosphere and design are very nice there as well.
Special occasion dining has changed, I suppose there is alway L’Espalier for a white table cloth kind of place, though I have not been there in ages. Before it closed I would have recommended Hammersley’s (sniff). Sorrellina and Mistral are always impressive to visitors, though their menus have not changes in a decade.
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I don’t know why I didn’t think of that, it is truly an amazing experience every time. Make reservations well in advance.
With the greatest of respect, I have to slightly disagree. The food is certainly superb, the fish impeccable, the sequencing beautifully thought out, and the presentation lovely. But my experience is that there are shortcomings. One is common to all “bar” experiences: the linear arrangement of diners makes conversation difficult between diner 1 and diner 4. The kind of dinner p_thru has in mind would seem to want conversation (but I might be wrong).
The other shortcoming is that Cambridge/Boston diners don’t always take Cafe Sushi seriously. I’ve sat next to people who needed to be babied through every step and who declined certain courses because “they don’t eat that,” and others who were know-it-alls who insisted on hand-rolls and such like to be inserted between courses. The space itself, at the far end of the counter in a noisy restaurant, doesn’t quite have the atmosphere (for me at least) for a special occasion, as opposed to just a delicious meal.
heh, this made me think of the one time I went to Aujord’hui in Boston, where I was such a rube I didn’t wear a jacket and they had to give me a loaner. Really does seem like that kind of style is totally a thing of the past.
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For me it would be, hands down, Il Capriccio in Waltham. Excellent sommelier. Superior food.
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If you’re considering special occasion restaurants in Boston you really should include L’Espalier.
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I was thinking about this place on my way to work this morning. Seems like they are missing a trick by not making this place a high end Chinese banquet spot–the inside decor would work fine for it, and given the population of Chinese students in the area who have parents coming to visit as well as the hundreds of Chinese tourists I see in Harvard Yard every day, it seems like this would be a sure thing.
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