Anyone planning to check out Eventide when it opens this weekend? Looking forward to reports on the new service model. Though my SO and I greatly enjoy Eventide-Portland, we think it’s been graded on a curve, and doesn’t outshine Row 34. Will be very interesting to see how it’s received here.
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Eventide in Maine and Row 34 (the Boston and Portsmouth, NH locations) have made us happy as well. I’ll also eagerly await the first report about Eventide in Boston if anyone checks it out soon-ish.
Love their (Eventide Portland) cool queuing app that let’s you know in real time where you stand. Wonder if they’ll use that here?
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I went for lunch on Sunday and enjoyed it. Without incident (or lines - it wasn’t too busy because of the rain), we ordered, paid, found a pair of seats, and received a text indicating the food was ready about 10-15 minutes later. We had to carry the food to our seats, but during the course of the meal servers came to check on us. Everyone was knowledgeable about the menu and we were able to get help in retrospectively identifying which shell belonged to which oyster type.
We split a few things - two of each of the 6 types of oysters available, clam chowder, lobster stew, and a lobster roll (total was $80+). The oysters and accoutrements were, of course, wonderful. The salt pork in the chowder (itself a nice balance of lightness and rich flavor) was a highlight as well, meltingly tender and full of the flavor of the clams. The lobster stew was interesting if rated as American food, but would be perfectly ordinary at a Thai restaurant, though I do prefer the pairing of coconut milk with seafood to the more common dairy versions. As for the lobster roll, the Asian-style bun was well-conceived as its lightness ensured nothing was taken away from the fresh, buttery lobster meat itself. However, I couldn’t help thinking the same $19 would buy far larger rolls with heftier chunks of lobster at, say, Beal’s in Maine, without much (if any) difference in taste.
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Thanks for the report. Are crudos on this menu? They said it would be an abridged version of the Portland menu. Beverage selections?
Yes, they had two crudos that day, one salmon and one tuna (these may change day-to-day), but we didn’t try them because we’d done a crudo-heavy meal the previous night. I believe they have beer and wine. FYI the Boston menu is now online.
Great, thanks. It looks like the menu is not greatly abbreviated from Portland.
My wife and I decided to stop in for a quick lunch at Eventide Fenway on Sunday. She is from Maine, and we are big fans of the Portland restaurant. The menu is slightly smaller than the Portland one, with only 6-8 oyster choices. We got a half dozen (3 types), some tuna crudo, two Brown Butter Hot chicken buns, and two beers, a Trillium for my wife, a Narragansett for me. As in Portland, the food was uniformly excellent. Well shucked oysters, and we love the ices that accompany them (we had horseradish, and pickled red onion). The chicken buns were good, but I actually prefer the pastrami bun in Portland. The beer was beer. It’s expensive (on par with Portland) with all that costing just under $70, but with the counter service there isn’t any tipping. I didn’t even see a place on the electronic bill to add one. I don’t love the self service, however. I much prefer sitting down and being served, and am happy to add 20% tip for that privilege. We won’t rush back, but if you’ve never tried the Portland outlet, then the Fenway one is an apt substitute, except for the excellent cocktails in Portland (beer and wine only in Fenway), and of course the excellent service.
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Thanks for that kimfair. My SO didn’t love the casual seating in Portland and will love the self-serve in Fenway even less. At that price point we’re loving the crudo at Legal Harborside, Little Donkey, Waypoint, …
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Finally got around to trying the Fenway Eventide. I will echo what others have said about the food being comparable to Portland. The counter service is competent and I think their policy of adding a flat 5% and not asking for additional tips is fair.
Oysters were all perfectly shucked, with every drop of liquor preserved and pristinely fresh. Both crudos were delicious. In a world filled with the ubiquitous tuna crudo, this is one I could eat again. As far as the lobster roll, I know it is blasphemy but I really don’t prefer it. For my taste, brown butter is completely unnecessary with fresh lobster. All the roll tastes of is the butter and the bao it is served in is too squishy and just serves as a sponge for the butter. Also, the portion size of the large roll seems to be just undersized enough to create additional margin. This is one of my least favorite lobster rolls. It’s not bad per se, just not to my taste. I’d go back for oysters and crudo if I was in the neighborhood.
Speaking of the neighborhood I think the way it has developed is a missed opportunity. It seems like a cousin of the seaport with little character aside from the ballpark. Even on non game days, it is a choke point for traffic. Blah.
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Thanks for that uni. I’ve been wondering what’s wrong with me that I don’t feel inclined to wax poetic about their lobster roll. The crudo and oysters are enough to bring me back.
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