Beacon Hill Bistro

Mixed feelings are the words I would use to sum up my first experience at Beacon Hill Bistro this Sunday.

A belated birthday celebration for my friend Raija, dinner was a long-awaited occasion, and once we were settled at our cozy table, decided to toast with some bubbly.

I ordered one of the wine specials, a sparkling rose of Malbec. Our waitress seemed a little surprised by our order, despite the fact that there were only three wine specials, and I think we were the surprised ones when she returned, unable to find the wine.

She had the manager come over to awkwardly suggest something else for us. In this situation, I would have thought an apology or even the offer of a more expensive option at the same price of the missing wine would have been a nice touch. It just felt very awkward.

Mumm Napa Brut

We decided instead on a bottle of Mumm Napa Brut, a favorite of mine since our first visit to Mumm. Cheers!

A basket of bread and butter made it to our table, and I decided to pass it up, anticipating the appetizers ordered.

bread and butter

First came the mussels: Steamed Maine Mussels with Leeks, Roasted Tomatoes, Stella Artois and Herb Aioli. I usually don’t order mussels out because I can make them so easily at home, but I snagged one and it was plump and perfectly cooked.

mussels

I was more excited about the special we ordered, fondue. A pot of hot cheese arrived with a plate heaped with crusty bread, boiled potatoes, cornichons, carrots, and greens.

fondue

I ate  LOT of the fondue, especially with the dressed greens and cornichon. I loved the tangy pickles with the creamy cheese. I could have eaten the entire pot of fondue, but I saved some room for my entrée, seared scallops with duck confit.

AMAZING. There were so many flavors on this dish, and the duck confit and scallops just worked. I very rarely clean a plate, but other than the few bites I shared with my friends, I ate every last morsel and wanted more. This definitely rates up with some of the best dishes I have ever had.

scallops

My friend Meghan ordered the steak frites, and while I passed on the steak, I helped myself to the perfect, crispy frites.

steak frites

Raija had the tagliatelle with braised chicken, mushrooms, and kale. The pasta was everything it should have been, and the rich chicken sauce made it a wonderful wintry dish. Why does my pasta not turn out like this? Sad smile

tagliatelle with chicken

Throughout the meal, the service was just a little odd. Our server was flippant and a little brusque, definitely not the friendliest service I have experienced. There were also a lot of children in the restaurant, several who were running around which I thought was strange.

Overall, I would definitely return to Beacon Hill Bistro for the exquisite food and comfortable bistro setting in the heart of Beacon Hill.

Have you ever had a weird or uncomfortable experience with a waiter/waitress or other guests at a restaurant?

Beacon Hill Bistro on Urbanspoon

Tags: Beacon Hill, Beacon Hill Bistro, Boston, chicken, Dining out, Fondue, Food, mussels, Restaurants, scallops, tagliatelle

  1. Megan’s avatar

    At least the food was good! I’ve heard good things about the food there but hadn’t really heard anything about the service until now. I had an awkward experience with a host at Towne, which I’ll be posting about soon.

    Reply

  2. Brian @ A Thought For Food’s avatar

    I went here with E a few years ago and we enjoyed our meal. The service wasn’t memorable, but certainly not as bad as you describe.

    Reply

  3. A Boston Food Diary’s avatar

    So glad to hear such great things about the fondue! I love the BHB- and have always had pleasant experiences there- I hope that your concerns with the service were a fluke!

    Reply

  4. Elizabeth’s avatar

    I pass by there whenever I’m in Beacon Hill and I’ve always been curious about it. Funny service can totally put a damper on the meal. That pasta does look good though.

    Reply

  5. Daisy’s avatar

    don’t you just hate how awkward service interrupts the flow of the meal? glad the food was good though.

    Reply

  6. Michelle’s avatar

    I think you should return to BH to visit me but going back to BHB is another good reason!

    Reply

  7. Kelly’s avatar

    Lol I kind of laughed out loud that they didn’t have the wine/were surprised when you ordered a wine on THEIR menu!!! Furthermore, they only had 3 wine specials?! You’d think they’d actually have them.

    Wow, but the food does look good, so I may go there anyway haha

    Reply

  8. Meghan’s avatar

    The steak WAS delicious though – nice to see such a lovely pic!

    Reply

  9. Meesh’s avatar

    I recently ate at beacon hill bistro and had mixed feelings about it as well. its like trying to be this amazing fine dining experience, and some aspects of it are, but the attention to detail that would really make it memorable just isn’t there.

    I hate kids running around in restaurants more than ANYTHING.

    Reply

  10. alicia’s avatar

    The food looks great – its a shame that the service had to turn the experience to just OK. I hate when that happens!

    Reply

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