Note: Review is for their excellent Sunday Lunch, a $52 (at this point) rotating set-course menu…read more As it rotates (you can check their Instagram for weekly menus), the only courses that are the same are the bread and the pancake add-on.
I had been to this New England-style seafood place twice, but never for their regular dinner, unlike many of my other reviews. The first time was for a Mythily pop-up back in early July (congrats on her new restaurant), and the most recent time was for their Sunday lunch the previous week with three others. Their lunch runs from 12:00 to 3:30 and is $52 for 5 courses, consisting of bread, a smaller appetizer, a larger appetizer, and a main with a side. The menu rotates weekly, except for the bread and pancake add-on. Aside from said pancake, there were two other add-ons available as well: the lobster roll and a rotating dessert. The inside was dark, resulting in rather poor photos, and the servers were friendly and gave good suggestions for wine and other options. We sat in the back, which had much better lighting than the front.
To drink, I had a $19 Tokyo Iced Tea, which, as the name suggests, is a mix of liquors similar to a Long Island Iced Tea, along with sake lees. It was tasty, with more sake flavor than others, though I could vaguely taste rum and perhaps gin and something else. Two others enjoyed a glass each of the Julian Haart Riesling "1000L" 2025, a dry, minerally wine that was $17 a glass. The following courses were portioned per two people, outside the add-ons, of course.
The first course was the only thing on the main dinner menu. This was the Anadama Bread with seaweed butter, which was typically $9 (or $18 for the two portions). The bread recipe was based on an old one from the 1800s and included rye flour, cornmeal, and molasses. It was a nice sourdough with a good crust and a bit of sweetness, which paired perfectly well with the slightly salty seaweed butter. This was tasty, and while I usually did not like paying for bread, this would have been worth it during dinner.
Next was the Tuna with juniper, pear, and lime. The portion was plentiful, with 8 pieces of raw tuna enveloping some sliced pear. This was easily the most refreshing course we had, as the richer tuna was balanced by both the sweet pear and the citrus. I saved a bit of bread from the previous course, and it was tasty dipped into the refreshing broth on the bottom.
Our next course was our first of two add-ons, the $24 Buckwheat Pancake with smoked bluefish, scallions, and maple. The dish had a nice mix of sweet, salty, and savory flavors. I liked the crisp on the outside of the pancake, but found the dish a tad messy to split, as the bluefish was on the bottom. You could also get it "Neptune Style" for $60 more with a large dollop of caviar, but no thanks.
The most filling course was the Squash with seaweed beurre blanc and wakame. The squash was roasted, leading to a pleasant char, while the beurre blanc was rich and a bit salty. Personally, I did not mind the saltiness, as I thought the dish might have been a bit too sweet from the roasted squash, but others found it a bit too much. The wakame added a nice crunch.
The main dish, served with a side, was a bit smaller than the previous appetizer. This was the Grilled Red Shrimp with almond and braised greens. The shrimp were perfectly prepared with a nice bounce, though I wished they had kept the heads for additional flavor or extra texture. The braised greens reminded me a bit of collard greens or something similar, and had a mild, pleasant bitterness. Otherwise, the sauce had a mild pepperiness and was lighter than the other dishes.
The side was Roasted Tomato with anchovy vinaigrette and shredded filo. The vinaigrette added a pleasant saltiness, while the tomatoes were perfectly prepared. I usually did not love roasted tomatoes, but they worked here, with the toasted filo adding a nice, unique crunch on top. It also paired well with the shrimp, as the side had a bolder flavor overall.
While we were already quite full, we decided to split the rotating dessert. This was the $19 Paw Paw Ice Cream with rum meringue. The paw paw, which was apparently the largest edible fruit in North America, was custardy with an overripe banana flavor, which I enjoyed a lot. The meringue was slightly sour and paired nicely with the sweeter ice cream. There were also some tuiles of meringue.
Overall, we enjoyed our meal a lot. There were plenty of interesting flavors, the proteins were all cooked well, and the sauces enhanced the flavors of the various proteins without going overboard. If you are open to not knowing exactly what you're going to get early, I would recommend it.