Tosca, Hingham

As you know, I am a big fan of day trips, road trips, and exploring new towns, mostly for the purpose of eating at new places. There’s usually some sort of other activity in there too, like hiking or wine tasting, but food is often the catalyst.

On Saturday, before we headed to the Hull Harbor Illumination, we traveled to Hingham for an early dinner at the bar at Tosca.  We love taking drives to Hingham to eat at The Lobster Pound and to walk at World’s End (and to dream about having a waterfront house with lots of land and its own deep water dock), and Tosca is an old favorite for a delicious, romantic night out.

Located just a block from the water, Tosca occupies a large, open space with a kitchen that’s front and center. All of my photos of the space had people in them, unfortunately, so you will have to take my word for it. The main dining room is very large while the wine room is cozier, a little darker, and my pick for a date night.

After arriving at Tosca, we read through the lengthy cocktail menu and decided on our first cocktails. I love that Tosca uses locally made spirits in many of their drinks, so I went with the Privateer, made with Privateer rum from Ipswich, MA, and a lemon, thyme, and rosemary syrup. 

While I wished the rosemary came through a little more, I loved this icy, lemony drink. It was so refreshing!

While we decided on dinner, we were given bread and a lemony chickpea spread that was surrounded by a pool of fruity olive oil.

These crispy, cheesy flatbreads were also placed in front of us and devoured immediately. I must find a way to make these at home for our own cocktail hour.

For my second cocktail, I ordered the Sicilian Orange Soda. This was a dangerously delicious drink that tasted just like orange soda but was made up of Grey Goose orange vodka, aperol, and San Pellegrino Aranciata. Yum.

We started with oysters. If they’re on the menu and local, there’s a good chance we’re getting them. I added some Tabasco from the mini bottle to mine and loved the spice with the brininess.

For dinner we shared the Angry Lobster: (spaghettini, Calabrian chile, crushed tomato, sweet corn) and the Panzanella: (grilled fireking bread, red onion, cucumber, tomato, caciotta cheese & peppadew dressing). Both were absolutely perfect. It was a rainy night, and the Angry Lobster definitely provided a warm and cozy kick. The Panzanella was full of crunchy cucumber, sweet tomatoes, and a tangy cheese. I don’t think I have had caciotta before, but we both really liked it.

Hingham is definitely a fun place to visit in the summer time, but Tosca, with its cozy wine library and wood oven, is a destination year round, definitely a place I think of when I am in the mood for a little getaway close to home.