I don’t see much mention of Alcove on this board, so starting a new thread. First off, I had no idea what Lovejoy Wharf was. It turns out it is a new development tucked in between the Garden and the North End right on the waterfront, between the Zakim and Charlestown bridges. The location was nicer than expected and offered a unique view of the Zakim bridge. Alcove was opened by Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli who we first met when he was a bartender at Craigie and then later moved on to be the opening GM at ICOB in Kenmore, among much other experience in the Boston restaurant industry. Tom gets hospitality so I expected Alcove would deliver.
The restaurant is definitely millennial, and I don’t mean this in a pejorative way. Many of the patrons are on the young side, it is casual in both design and atmosphere (but not food and drink) and yes, it is loud, however there are ways to avoid the noise. Alcove offers a large and lovely patio weather permitting and there are tables tucked in back near the raw bar and charcuterie station that are shielded from the noise. It’s an open design intelligently done. We ate in the dining room on our visit, but I look forward to returning to the patio and also dining at the ample bar area.
Cocktails are excellent as expected given Tom’s pedigree. Our party sampled all manner of specialty cocktails, everyone raved about what their selections and ordered several more rounds than I think they had initially anticipated. The food was excellent without any misses. Oysters, charcuterie, small and share plates were all excellent. This isn’t a great place to come with people who want their “own separate order of ginger prawns”. I didn’t order an entree, but everyone seemed to enjoy those as well.
Restaurants are evolving whether we (I) like it or not. Alcove manages to stay grounded in things I enjoy about a meal, while catering to what the market apparently now demands. Alcove is not inexpensive, however in a refreshing change I felt fairly priced for our meal. Everyone in our party raved about the overall experience and I know several have returned already.
We greatly enjoyed our only trip to Alcove. WE met Tom as a bartender at Eastern Standard where he got me to drink gin again after a terrible college gin experience. We also love Hugh, the bar manager whom we also knew from ESK. We mirrored your experience in both food and drink, though we’d have loved to sit at the bar, we ate at a table, and when the bar opened up later we sat and had a few more drinks so we could talk to Hugh. We don’t venture that way often, but I’m looking forward ti trying it again soon.
Thanks for the reminder, we had wandered over one Sunday afternoon while waiting for our train. Its a really nice spot and we discussed returning.
Sounds like it would be worth it!
Oh, thanks for the reminder. Our family (five of us) spent Christmas Eve at Alcove and really enjoyed it. A friend gave me a gift certificate that I haven’t used yet. Now that the warm(!) weather is here, we’ll head there one of these lovely nights. I remember that parking was pretty tough so the T is probably the way to go. Does anyone have any parking secrets in that area?
Coincidentally, I just recommended Alcove to my hubby who was meeting a friend for lunch on Tuesday. They always default to Tip Tap Room so they wanted something new. They work at MGH so it was about a 10 minute walk for them. B said the space was nice and The New Order song playing overhead as soon as they walked in basically hooked him. Not busy at all at lunchtime - easily got two seats at the bar. B went very light and got a fennel salad which he says was good but a little overpriced for the portion size. Our friend got the porchetta sandwich which B took a bite of and declared he might get that next time (as you can tell, they’re very good friends - we all are). Both guys said they would go back. Good beers on draft helped the cause.
My husband and I have been taking friends and recommending it to anyone who asks us for food recommendations. The friends go back and thank us.
That Porchetta sandwich is addictive and we’ve had some excellent soups. Dessert is a highlight. This is a place you could visit for dessert when you are disappointed by the offerings elsewhere. Excellent pastry chef. Also try the Miles Collins if you prefer a Mocktail at lunch.
Thanks, Uni. They do recommend parking at The Beverly. We had a hard time figuring it out, but will check it out next time we’re in the area when we’re not rushing for a reservation.
