Next up was Kaia. We went on a rainy Thursday evening. Traffic and parking were both challenging, counter to our experiences so far. Rain could explain the traffic, but parking?
Our first time to Kaia. The room feels more like a lounge. Most tables have a banquette that looks sleek but my spouse found uncomfortable (and she usually prefers banquettes to chairs). We started with zucchini “chips”, lightly battered and fried rings that were addictive. We each had the “gift from the sea” trio, consisting of a crab claw, scallop crudo, and an oyster. The accoutrement were inventive and delicious. Moving on we had an assortment of shared plates, a cucumber salad with watermelon gelee, a “spinach pie” that was a version of spanakopita in your dreams, light, flacky layers of pastry alternating with feta and spinach. A spanakopita mille feuille? Also octopus with artichoke heart and crispy lentils, a lamb neck “gyro” with zuchinin “pita”, and a whole (filleted) sea bream, dressed with olive oil and lemon and dappled with some sort of fermented seaweed or estuary plant. The flavors in all the dishes were bright and savory, with the octopus being the lone exception. It wasn’t terrible, it just wasn’t up to the “I’ll have that again” level of the other dishes.
Deserts were somewhat less inspiring though they were inventive. A goat milk gelato with rhubarb compote, coconut cake with Greek yoghurt and plums, and a “baklava” of three layers, best shared and eaten as separate layers.
The wine list is exclusively Greek (and dominions). Our waitress expertly steered me to two different dry whites made from grapes I’ve never encountered. It seems one could dedicate a serious amount of time and effort to exploring the wines of Greece.
All in all this was one of the more fun outings of the summer, but it was also the most expensive, by a sizeable margin. The place was packed, and my spouse commented it doesn’t seem the Boston economy is suffering…yet.
