Post 390

Several months ago, I was super excited to walk past a construction project near my office building and to see that a new bar and restaurant would be coming into the neighborhood. I work in the Back Bay area of Boston, and while it is centrally located, we often have a hard time deciding where to go for drinks or dinner after work. A new place would definitely be welcome.

And when I found out said place had a fireplace, I was sold. Where my husband is from in Ireland, just about every bar, restaurant, pub, even many cafes, have fireplaces, and while they definitely need it with the raw weather that they get, so do we! Post 390 gets two thumbs up for that alone.

I apologize in advance for the Blackberry photos. Just means I need to return to Post 390 soon with a real camera!

The decor is just my style, dark woods, wide open spaces, a long bar, floor to ceiling windows, and of course the fireplace. It is called an “urban tavern”, and it definitely has that feel, very comfy, understated, but still chic. We arrived just after work so it was early, and we were given a choice of sitting upstairs or downstairs. Since it was our first time dining here, we had no choice, and the hostess seated us by the windows overlooking Stuart Street on the first floor.

Our server, Ben, was friendly and attentive. He dropped our menus off and gave us some time to look over the wine, beer, and cocktail lists. Post 390 has an extensive beer and wine list with wine and beer from all over the world. I chose a glass of Laetitia Pinot Noir, and it was an excellent choice. A dark ruby color, and a nose of dark berries, it was smooth and warming, a nice contrast to the blustery, dark-too-early evening outside.

While we waited for our meals, we were brought a little paper bag with a hot, house made baguette and a little dish of butter.

Apparently a lot of things are house made at Post 390. They have a smoker to make their own bacon, smoke salt for cocktail glasses, and to make smoked salmon and chicken among other things. They also filter Boston water and serve it in sterilized bottles. The bread was crusty and delicious. We finished it off quickly.

For my entree, I ordered the native sea scallops with succotash and hubs got the fish and chips with house made chipotle ketchup and bay shrimp tartar sauce. My scallops were a little overcooked for my liking, but they had great flavor. The succotash was outstanding! I normally expect this to be on the bland side, but it was so flavorful with fresh corn, lima beans, and potatoes. I ate every last bit of it. The fish and chips dish was incredible, especially the tartar sauce which had chopped shrimp mixed into it. The chipotle ketchup was smoky with a good level of spice, perfect for the well done, skin on chips.

We were pretty full by the time our entrees were done, but we still took a peek at the dessert menu. Post 390 makes their own root beer for root beer floats, and I definitely want to try that next time. We opted for a butterscotch sundae which came with fresh whipped cream, chopped peanuts, and creamy vanilla ice cream. The butterscotch was served on the side, warm, in a little pitcher. It was sooooo good! Buttery with that almost burnt sugar taste, warm enough to slightly melt the ice cream so that it blended deliciously with the butterscotch. And not so bad by itself 😉

Overall, Post 390 is off to a great start with excellent service and food. I am pretty sure that it will become a standard after work drinks spot for me and my colleagues, and with winter right around the corner, it has perfect timing.