The reservation was at 7:30 the unlimited steak and frites was what we wanted and somewhat go. The waitress was relatively nice. Our initial first plate came out fast and good. The second plate was around 10-15 minutes. After that it took 30+ minutes for 3-4 pieces. The person handing out the steak deliberately ignored my party for an entire round. Thats what caused the third round to take so long. Costed $50 per person. Would not recommend. read more

Haters gotta hate? Maybe I'm a low expectation customer, but I throughly enjoyed the pace, service and food. Oysters before six pm - yes Wellfleet please. Onion soup and charcuterie on a cold fall day. Yum. And the wine of the month was new to me, and lovely. Slow down beantown and enjoy. read more

My family and I decided on Batifol for Thanksgiving this year and it did not disappoint! The selection of dishes for the buffet were excellent, and inviting for those with dietary restrictions. Every dish was delicious even down to the desserts. The apple cobbler was especially amazing. The service was quick and the staff was very welcoming. My family and I enjoyed the warm and lively ambiance. It was a wonderful place to celebrate. I couldn't recommend more! read more

Batifol - Femme Cocktail - French Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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Magnifique! Had Sunday dinner with friends here and had one of the best meals. It started with 1664 Blanc on tap, which after an excruciatingly hot week in Paris one July has become one of my favorite beers. It is delicious but not filling and best on tap. I had the unlimited Steak frites - which was like being at one of our favorite restaurants in Paris. The steak was tender, the fries were like McDonald's fries from the 1980s, and the sauce was spectacular. Be warned, this version is only offered on Sunday nights. All of the rest of our food was excellent as well. My wife was talking about her Sole Meunière hours later. Also the service was cheerful and pleasant, and it has a nice atmosphere, an all around great experience. Can't wait to go back! read more

This was a solid lunch spot in the Kendall area. The salad was delicious and very generous. The French onion soup was a bit heavy, but when is it not?! My only suggestion would be to make the dining room a bit cooler. It was very warm inside and it was 80 degrees outside so we didn't want to sit out there either. I would come back and try it again! read more

Food was fresh and affordable! I mean $1 oysters, take my money! My son and I were visiting Boston and had just finished up our Charles River Boat tour, and this seemed like a great spot for dinner! Staff was great and attentive! We ended up sitting outside, because we wanted to be in Boston bustle! read more

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Overall, Batifol is a very pleasant French cafe to have dinner. Really enjoyed the outside seating but the decor inside is quite nice also. I had the lamb shoulder which was tender but lacking in flavor. However, I enjoyed the polenta that came with the meat. Staff provided quick service and the manager made room for the many outside requests on a beautiful day. The bread at the beginning of the meal was very fresh. read more

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Came here for a date night and, I'll start off by saying, the servers were very friendly and welcoming. Everything else was a disaster, unfortunately. Our starters were fine, but we had staff coming by our table trying to clear plates after only taking a few bites. This happened multiple times. Then our mains came out within minutes of getting our starters. The Coq a vin tasted like a grocery store rotisserie chicken that had been sitting under a heat lamp for hours. No seasoning anywhere in the dish. My date got the sole and it had the consistency of mashed potatoes. Again, no seasoning anywhere. The end of the line was seeing a member of the kitchen staff come out of the stall in the bathroom and not wash his hands. We really wanted to like this place because it's very charming and has a friendly staff, but way, way too many issues. read more

Nice location and easy to get to. The food was not the best, the steak I had was tough and smaller portions. The service was a little slow for a Sunday evening with a half full restaurant. read more

Four of us went for brunch - the first time for three of us. Each person ordered different dishes: Salad Nicosia (good), steak tartare (a small serving and somewhat unexpectedly not mixed), Croque Monsieur (reasonably good), a salmon eggs Benedict (probably the best dish of the lot) and French fries. The place is well designed and comfortable. Our server was pleasant and efficient. I would come back to try the dinner menu which looks good. read more

Batifol - Restaurant interior - French Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

The servers were wonderful. We went for the unlimited steak frites. They asked how we wanted our steak cooked, and it came out great. I could've done with less sauce on the first plate. Afterwards, a server went around with a platter of steak and sauce, and again with fries. All the steak on the platter was rare -- it was super disappointing. I imagine that few people like to eat their steak rare, so fewer people will partake. I would only return if they cooked the steak on the platter to a medium rare. read more

Cool new French restaurant in Kendall square! We went for Saturday brunch around 2pm and was fairly empty. It's a really nice large space, great interior decor, and also a decent sized outdoor seating. Hubs ordered the cat's meow IPA which he thought was alright. For food, I ordered the onion soup (without cheese) and it was delicious. The hubs ordered the ratatouille and burrata croissant - it came with fries and a salad. He enjoyed it. Service was attentive, waters were filled adequately, food came in a reasonable time and staff was friendly. Will definitely be back to try out some other dishes on the menu! read more

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It was pretty good overall. Service would fluctuate a bit between attentive and forgetting about us but we did appreciate being told that oyster happy hour was still on. The gin cocktail was nice but I feel like the pretty rose shaped ice cube both made it hard to consume and took away some actual drink cuz it was added so much weight. The roast chicken was delicious along with the mashed and garlicky spinach. Prices are ok, maybe a couple bucks too high. A hot baguette would have been nice but no one likes to give bread anymore. I'd prob come back but not rushing. read more

Batifol - Cocktails - French Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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Extremely Misleading "Bottomless" Brunch - Beware! I'm extremely disappointed and frustrated with my recent experience at Batifol in Cambridge. We came in for what was clearly advertised as a Bottomless Brunch Buffet (as printed on their receipt) expecting it to include everything typically associated with such an offer--especially mimosas, which are a common staple of bottomless brunches. To our surprise, after ordering seven mimosas, we were told they weren't included in the bottomless brunch. This was never communicated to us up front. There was no signage, no clarification from our server, and the word "bottomless" is boldly printed on their receipt, which is incredibly misleading. We were charged $91 for the mimosas on top of the buffet cost, which felt like a bait-and-switch tactic. If you're going to advertise a "Bottomless Brunch," it is your responsibility to clearly state what's included--and more importantly, what is not. This kind of ambiguity is not only bad customer service, it's deceptive. It felt like a deliberate ploy to upsell drinks under the guise of an all-inclusive brunch. I wouldn't return, and I wouldn't recommend Batifol to anyone unless they fix this misleading marketing and communicate with honesty and clarity. Customers deserve better. Also not a lot of options for food choice, I guess I over expected read more

Batifol - Receipt showing the charges for mimosas. - French Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

I visited Batifol on a Thursday night at 8pm for drinks. It was fairly busy, but there was plenty of room at the bar. Happy to see they were doing well, especially since it's a relatively new spot. Shortly after sitting down, one of the bartenders came up to my party and said he made two extra drinks and offered them up to us, free of charge. I can safely say this isn't something that I've seen often, so it was a pleasant surprise! I sampled the Barbès and Bastille, both of which I enjoyed. The Barbès was your fairly classic bourbon drink, which I'm not usually a huge fan of, but it was pretty decent. The Bastille had a strong mezcal flavor, which I enjoyed. Major props to the Batifol staff for serving us the drinks, rather than letting them go to waste! While we didn't try any of the food, everything being brought out looked pretty delicious. I'd go back for the great ambiance and service! read more

Batifol - Barbès Bastille - French Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Food was delicious. Restaurant week menu is great... tried Escargot, Cod and Cream Brûlée ... all were very tasty ... Service is excellent. Ambiance is lively with lunch crowds read more

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I have been here for both dinner and brunch- and this place is amazing for both. Great service, great attention to detail and great food Drinks are great as well. Pricier than others but love it! read more

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Would not recommend for brunch! I've been here in the evening for drinks, and I always loved the vibe and enjoyed the delicious cocktails. However, my husband and I tried their brunch yesterday, and we will never be back. First, they kept the door open the entire time, so there were bugs all over the food that was laid out for hours (and also flies everywhere in the restaurant). Second, the food was sitting out for so long that none of it was fresh. In the hour and a half we were there for brunch, the only thing they brought out fresh was a new batch of French toast (which was delicious once fresh). The crepes literally sat out on a counter for over an hour, no hot plate or covering, and all of the cheese sat out on a cutting board with no ice underneath, so half of it was melting. I honestly am not sure how this "brunch buffet" would pass any food inspection. The only silver lining was that our mimosas were good. read more

They should be embarrassed to run a restaurant this way. We ordered the unlimited steak frites. The first plate arrived with cold fries, but the meat was good. We then waited 20ish minutes for the next bit of steak that was cold, no fries. 15 minutes later, still no fries and no refills on drinks. I spoke with the manager about the upsetting experience thus far, and he offered to give a 50% discount. 15 minutes later still no fries or refill. That is when our waiter informed us that they had been out of fries the entire time! A few minutes later we finally got a refill and a bit of beef that was at least warm. I will not be returning. read more

TLDR super slow service, poorly shucked oysters, inconsistently cooked NY strips, and failure to follow the "how it works" explanation we were given on rounds. So why 2 stars and not 1? Well it was edible and the restaurant was decorated well I guess I've been debating how to write this for a while now... me and my partner arrived without a reservation around 5:45 driven by the AYCE steak! The $1 oysters were just a bonus! They were not too busy but it still took a while before any staff seated us. It was almost like none of them wanted to seat us because a several of them would say someone will help us shortly but then no one would come back. Eventually the first person who approached us seated us at some high tops by the window. After a few minutes with the menu we knew we wanted a half dozen oysters (maybe more if they had more than one type) as well as a drink for me and at course the AYCE steak. So we waited... and waited... eventually we tried to waive someone down to order because no one came to check in but we got ignored every time..... Eventually a server came (we made a mental note that it looks like there were only 2 servers and the rest were only cleaning tables and occasionally serving food) and we placed our whole order. We were asked how we liked our steaks cooked and told round 1 is a whole steak with fries, round 2 will be 4 pieces, and every round after would be 2 pieces until we say stop! This was the first AYCE steak place that wasn't BBQ cook yourself or Brazilian (walking around with meat on sticks ready to carve) so we were excited to give it a try! Not too long after placing the order I got my drink which has a slight mistake so the waiter corrected it. No biggie. But after 20 minutes and seeing everyone else around us get their drinks and apps we started getting frustrated. Where were the oysters?? We also noticed a fly that just kept buzzing around which didn't help the mood. 10 more minutes and someone served us complementary bread -- something we should've gotten when we first sat down.... So we ate the bread and chatted and still... no oysters. We finished the bread and had been waiting forever already when the server checks in and asks "did you get your oysters yet?" While waiting a third server comes in and get ready for work so we hope maybe service will get faster from here! FYI.. it didn't. After she returns to the kitchen and few more minutes go by, our oysters finally come. Honestly the probably just shucked them when she reminded the kitchen... we noticed there were 7 instead of 6 but started eating regardless. What's another $1 if they end up charging us for it? We did go back and forth for a bit on who should have it tho... over all, they were fine tasting. Some sweetness but one had brown shell bits in it and none of the ones I ate were properly separated from the shell... I had to do it myself which was annoying. And so back to the waiting game as we chatted and waiting for our steaks. Eventually the server returns to apologize for the delay of the oysters and says she tossed in an extra as an apology.. cool I guess that's why there was 7. But it took so long and it led us to the "you should have the extra" "no you" "no you" dance it didn't improve our moods at all. Eventually our steak and fries come! Before I could ask for ketchup the staff is gone again. But we were starving so YUM! The fries were cooked perfectly and eventually I am able to waive someone down for ketchup. The steaks (NY strips) however were a huge let down... they didn't taste freshly grilled and were over cooked... (asked for med rare, got med well with some well done parts). We ate anyways but struggled the cut the steaks with the butter knives they gave us... later we notice everyone else was given steak knives!! We flag our waitress down and ask for some steak knives. When we got them we sighed thinking finally a proper knife! Well mine wasn't very sharp so our table just rocked as I tried to gently cut the steak.... and now staff just keep coming asking if we want more even tho we just started... When we say we're ready for more they start placing slices of steak on our plates. What's the problem? We were told round 1 was 4 pieces and they asked how we wanted the steaks cooked in the beginning. *sigh* I was given 6 pieces and my partner was giving 4. They didn't confirm how it should've been cooked and I got pieces ranging from medium to rare.... The next rounds were 3-4 pieces rather than 2 and yet again.. randomly cooked pieces.. we even got a borderline blue piece which my partner ate anyways. Fry refills were also inconsistently colored which didn't help the mood either. I did notice the kitchen is small and there were only 2 chefs... Overall would NEVER return and NEVER recommend read more

We came here for HH oysters and they were nice and cold, delicious, and tasted super fresh. I believe the limit is 20 oysters pp. We also tried their drinks and my favorite was the passionfruit mimosa. Its $18 but you also get a side car of champagne! Will definitely come again next time I'm in boston. Staff was also super friendly even though our group ordered sooo many oysters read more

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I cannot be more disappointed by the food. The Profiterole is two slices of bread with store-bought ice cream inside and regular chocolate glaze. The pastry part was so hard, I try to cut it with the little spoon and my friend's spoon flew away because of how hard to cut it was. The fries were so soggy, I picked it up and it banded over. Tasted like socked in oil for two days. Over salted mushroom risotto. The salad's green was so bitter my friend couldn't take a third bite and took it home to make soup instead. The only thing that tasted good was the appetizer tiny plate of pasta. The price was not reasonable for how bad the food was. The service was very friendly. But the restaurant was so crowded, they try to fit in as many tables as possible in a small space. Servers constantly bumped into our chairs, same as other customers. And the acoustic is the worst, it was so loud I cannot hear anything my friends said during the dinner unless they scream. It was a very cold day but they still give people tables outside. Seeing people suffering in cold and sipping on icy cocktails is so unpleasant. read more

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We first tried Batifol for their Easter brunch buffet, which was one of the most impressive buffet spreads I've experienced - when scrambled eggs are so good you go back for more and the coffee is the best in the Boston area. Beautiful smoked salmon, breads, etc. And we both didn't have to get the buffet - my husband ordered eggs benedict off the menu and was very happy. We went back last night to just try their regular dinner and once again were thrilled - he had the beef bourguignon and I had the rib eye steak frites - excellent frites (they came with the eggs benect too) and a steak that was more flavorful than most steak houses in a simple pan sauce with a nicely dressed green salad. If only they featured desserts from their bakery next door... read more

We got the nougat de Brie. It was horrible. Tasted like blue cheese and generally felt like they just threw a bunch of ingredients together and made it look pretty. read more

Batifol - Nougat de brie - French Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Driving into Cambridge n was dinner time and we were hungry. As always turned to Yelp n found Batifol in Cambridge. Nice clean restaurant n found parking across which was v convenient. Friendly staff. We ordered the wild mushroom Vol au vent n the salad frisée. The mushroom Vol au vent was so delicious w generous portions of mushrooms. And the salad was good too. For entrees we had the mushroom risotto n cashew crusted perch. The fish had a thai red sauce w bok Choi. They were so delicious n just the right portions with not one morsel left. And we topped it off with the crème brûlée and chocolate mousse. The deserts were to die for. The choc mousse just melts in your mouth. Thank u Batifol for a great dinner. Will certainly come back when we r in the area . read more

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Excellent food and service. The maitre d Maxime was so sweet. Go you will love it!

Not bad, not great either. I'll preface this review by saying we went for brunch; the dinner menu may be better. My mushroom and chive omelette was extremely dry. Like a sponge sitting in the sun dry. I doused it in no less than three sauces to even out the texture and add some much-needed moisture (hot sauce, some sort of purplish aioli, and ketchup). In true French fashion, they brought out the sauces in these teeny tiny thimbles - did I feel barbaric in consuming all the ketchup in two bites? Yes. The best part of the dish were the French fries, though there were definitely a soggy few in the bunch. Should have gone with my friend's ratatouille and burrata croissant. We also got the pastry basket, with plain croissant, chocolate croissant, and brioche. I had a bite of the plain and it was also dry (not stale exactly, just lacked the crackly crust and chewy innards that I associate with an excellent croissant), but this was fixed by the accompanying fig jam and butter. Lots of seating inside, as well as a beautiful outdoor area (now that it's nice and warm out, I'm sure that outdoor area is going to get plenty of foot traffic). The parking around this part of Kendall Square isn't bad. I nabbed a spot a little further away on Roger Street but there were more than a handful of open spots. read more

We came to Batifol because of a very misleading video from someone calling themselves "zackaryeats." In this clip we see a buffet line with raw oysters on the half shell, crispy bacon and an abundance of food in numerous well-stocked platters and 6 domed chafing dishes. On our visit today, there were no oysters, an utter lack of replenished platters, sad and wan bacon slices that barely saw some heat, greasy sausages cut into 3/4 inch pieces (really?), French toast cut into bite-sized pieces (yes, really) and in need of replenishment. On my second trip to the buffet, I was able to try some of the larger pieces and found it to be delicious. The chocolate mousse, unavailable at first, made it to my second plate, but was still thawing in the center of it; even the sides were way too cold such that the texture was hard and somewhat devoid of its flavor--so much for a gossamer foam that defines the name of it. The "charcuterie board" seemed to be prepared by a nearby all-you-can-eat buffet at a budget hotel chain, consisting of really ho-hum-looking pepperoni, salami straight from a supermarket, and what appeared to be a good quality prosciutto that was seemingly cut by a child with a butter knife (cured meats so rich need to be sliced thinly). The cheeses weren't remarkable and nowhere to be found in the area was a cracker of any kind. The croissants were a little too blonde and evidence of the need for a bit longer bake was found in their greasy mouthfeel. The pancakes...well, I needed a magnifying glass to see them since they were more like quarters than silver dollars. A dish labeled "rillettes" (I'm expecting duck, rabbit, pork) was really made with salmon. While this is classic French, I can't really say if I saw "salmon" on the tag, so my expectation was duck but the rillettes was OK. Once again, no crackers in the vicinity of the rillettes. There was a nice platter of very good quality smoked salmon but nowhere near it were the usual accompaniments (capers, red onion, cream cheese and/or crème fraîche) or a bagel because that was with the pastries. The entire buffet line was a bit of mishmash lacking cohesive placement for efficient selection by the customers. Cost for this folly was $38pp and parking in the area was just as much since the garage (Laz) I had to use didn't offer weekend rates. Save your money and look elsewhere even if it's walking distance for you. read more

I genuinely feel bad for the owners of this restaurant. As someone who is VERY familiar with the restaurant industry, the service here was unacceptable. We were ignored from the second we sat down. Ended up just walking out. Save yourself a trip and don't bother going here. read more

Quality food, but new restaurant that's still working things out. We ordered 2 appetizers and 2 mains and they were both fantastic! Having eaten this kind of French food before, their dishes are on par or better quality than others in the area. My favorite was the coq au vin with its tender chicken, rich and complex sauce, and chewy noodles. However, service was not as good as desired. We went on a Saturday night and they did not interact with us unless we flagged them down or when they were bringing our food. It took them 10+ minutes to ask us what we wanted to drink and they were clearly serving tables next to us. Besides the service, food, price, and ambience were great and portion sizes were large! I would love to come back later when they've worked out the new restaurant kinks. read more

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Very nice interior. Food was very good, and feels more upscale- good for dates or a fancy meal out without spending $100 each. Our server was incredibly friendly, and we loved our experience. read more

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Love this cute little wine bar. Pierre was a fabulous server all afternoon. My friend and I were there for happy hour and got the oysters deal. The ones from Duxbury were amazing. read more

$8 for a tiny cup of orange juice with no refills. That pretty much sums up this place + ambience + food was pretty good (omelette, fries, watercress salad) - - was extremely expensive even for boston read more

Batifol - This orange was $8 - French Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

We had a 530 reservation but they took us early as we had gotten out of our prior engagement earlier than expected. Host was knowledgeable and incredibly helpful with menu choices. We had a dozen oysters, the 20 oz steak frites, and the Coq au Vin, followed by the crème brulée. Everything was absolutely delicious. The steak was perfectly cooked and the Coq au Vin was tender and delicious. I will say, however, the dessert was the absolute star of the show. It was so light and perfectly textured, not too sweet, and paired well with the lovely cup of coffee I ordered. Our compliments to the pastry chef! We will definitely be returning when we are in the area again. read more

Poor service - so slow. took 25 minutes to get drinks. Worst meal I've had in a long time in Boston. preset menu was pre-cooked and microwaved. cordon bleu extremely dry and unflavorful. Stay away from the rice pudding, it was very bland and mushy. It drastically lacked flavor and seemed like stale oatmeal. Had to ask for check after 20 minutes of no service. Perhaps stay away during "dining week" read more

I'm hovering between 3 and 4 stars for this place. Mostly I really like the staff and the drinks, but I've had a few occassions where the food was not up to snuff. I'd say Batifol is one of the better places in Kendall to visit. The bartenders are all really knowledgable and it's one of the few places I've seen with such a wide array of French aperitifs and liqueurs, such as Suze, Green and Yellow chartreuse, Pastis, etc. They also carry a ton of Italian stuff, like Cocchi Americano if you want a proper Vesper. Pierre's one of the most approachable and friendly bartenders I've met, and makes an excellent cocktail. I just wish that they would incorporate more of these unique liqueurs into their main menu. They do have a clientele to cater to, but something like a classic french cocktail menu would be nice as a reference. I can only memorize so many without it being my day job. Then there's the food, which is why it's dinged about 1 star. The bread is great, dollar oysters are a great way to get people out, but some of the mains are disappointing. Granted the prices are quite fair, but the portions are rather small..... if you walk across the bridge to Beacon Hill, Ma Maison would blow the beouf bourguignon out of the water. The duck confit was also truly awful. It was anemic... all of the life in that duck leg was gone, and left was a crispy, shell of what could have been a nice dish. It was super dry, which I have no idea how the heck you do that with duck confit. The other dishes I've had, the moules frites were okay, and the salad nicoise was fine as well. For now, I'd say it's a nice place for casual drinks, but I'd skip it for any mains. Still would be a staple and go-to place for me around Kendall though. read more

I had dinner at Batifol early in the evening on a hot summer day. I started with the brown butter old fashioned (fortunately, no butter was involved in the making of the cocktail), which was excellent, and had the coq au vin for my main. The coq au vin was perfectly tender, with excellent roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes. I thought it was quite well done. Sitting on the patio was a mistake for me - at that time of day, the sun was shining right in my eyes. Our waitress was incredibly thoughtful, though, and moved an umbrella into position without me needing to ask. I would not hesitate to return. read more

Great spot with a Parisian metro walls, a mix of modern & vintage style! We stop here frequently for lunch and we always enjoy the freshness and the flavors in the dishes! Highly recommend the Beef tartare and the Steak Frites! Devine with a glass of wine! read more

Batifol - French Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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I came here for their happy hour on oysters which are only a $1 everyday from 4-6pm. The service was great, aesthetic was upscale, and food was delicious. For such cheap oysters, they were full, juicy, and satisfied my cravings. Other than the oysters, they have a wide menu with reasonable prices. I will be back for their happy hour and to try their other items read more

Batifol - Oysters - French Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Service was good, super vibey restaurant with really pretty interior but I wish the food lived up to the vibes. HH $1 oysters were mediocre: not really meaty and the oysters weren't that sweet (I think there are better spots for $1 oysters in Boston). The dinner menu was alright: we tried lamb shank (which needed more sauce and seasonings - my favorite thing in this whole dish was the crispy brussel sprouts). The fettuccine was very al dente and just very rich. Actually really liked the arancini - it had some drizzle of honey on top but not worth the price. The escargot was eh. Overall very very mid experience at $65/person read more

Batifol - TWIN TRUFFLE ARANCINI Bacon Cream and Brussel Sprouts Fettuccine - French Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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