Sadly they've closed this location From their site: THE FEDERAL IS CLOSED We would like to thank all of our guests for their support over the last seven years. Unfortunately we have made the difficult decision to close the restaurant permanently. The current economy and ever increasing costs make it impossible to continue. We will continue operating our sister property, Stazione di Federal and will honor all outstanding gift cards there. read more

The Federal - Closed 4/3/26 - Steakhouses Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

Casual Class. Tucked behind Not your average Joe's. Best to park in larger lot then walk between both burger locations. Hosts were friendly but overkill for mid-week. Didn't see the need to have 3 ladies standing in one spot at 6pm mid-week, looking bored at best. Plenty of high top seating in the lounge or on bar side for 2-4 people. Great place for a quick bite, after work meet/up (or even a romantic dinner if you reserve the high table near the fireplace). Waitress was very nice and attentive. Great cocktail & wine selection. Crab stuffed shrimp and an entree is plenty for 1 person. Rib eye was phenomenal. Sauce wasn't needed. Crab cakes were just ok. I didn't understand the chip like flakes that were added on top. Small portions, but yet filling. I couldn't finish the large tiramisu which was also very good. The added morsels gave it a nice touch. Overall, good for locals, nearby employees or shoppers. read more

The Federal - huge tiramisu - Steakhouses Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

For a delayed family birthday party, we celebrated at The Federal in Waltham. The route to get there at least for us was pretty winding and odd, so just trust your Maps even if it seems like you're meandering around near all these office/apartment(?) buildings next to the highway. Inside of the restaurant is quite spacious and full of dark wood and neat decorations and pictures, my kind of atmosphere. We were seated at a large corner booth area and had alright service, with a very nice primary waitress. It was slow at times but it seemed busy and a large interior. Multiple of us remarked how the food was quite salty, so bear that in mind if you're thinking of visiting. The menu is pretty impressive, with a lot of Italian options and different kinds of cuisine available. My veal with tagliatelle and cheese was good, though like I said quite a salty sauce. Someone did have to send theirs back but got a replacement meal quickly and it was much better. I tried some of the bolognese which was solid. Our cannolis for dessert was excellent, probably the highlight of the night. Overall I'd recommend visiting The Federal if you're curious, and not expecting the world. The menu has a lot of interesting choices and the average person is bound to find something they'd really want to try I'm sure. 3.5/5 read more

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We arrived on a Wednesday evening around 7 o'clock and were greeted promptly. They do have more formal sitdown dining, but they also have a more casual dining experience in their lounge area. We opted for the lounge and are really glad that we did. Our server Grant, was exceptional! Great hospitality! We got the goat and beet salad. The golden beets were cooked perfectly. The regular beets could've been cooked down some more . My husband got the NY sirloin with the garlic polenta. He said it was good. Steak was cooked great. He did mention the polenta could have used a bit more salt. I got the salmon. Really great cook on it! The mashed potatoes were excellent as well. We would certainly return to this location if we were in town again read more

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Nice restaurant, modern decor. Would saybtheir target audience is likely the surrounding businesses / business dinners & meetings. We went right for the main course. NY strip, delmonico ribeye, and the Saturday special Beef Wellington. Everyone enjoyed their steaks, the delmonico (which I ordered) wasn't as high quality as I was hoping. Whipped potatoes, butternut squash, and asparagus as sides. Sides were smaller than I anticipated, in particular the asparagus. Conversely, dessert portions exceeded expectations. Tiramisu was enough to split between three of us. Moreover cheesecake was incredibly creamy. Out waitress was very friendly & attentive. The support staff was also top notch. read more

The food was great- oysters Rockefeller and the crab stuffed shrimp were delicious. Portions were decent, service was a bit slow on a Wednesday night. read more

We had an early Easter dinner in the lounge area. Grant was our server and he was attentive and wonderful. The guys had the filet and said it was perfect. I always love the truffle fries and cocktails. The three lovely staff at the hostess area were quite helpful and very accommodating. It's one of our go to restaurants. read more

The Federal - The best sangria, flank steak and truffle fries! - Steakhouses Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

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My mom and I were staying in the area for the night and got in late - this seemed to be one of the only spots open and serving food past 8pm. We walked in and were surprised that it seemed like a nicer place, but they didn't even bat an eye at us in casual clothing. We sat at the bar and had fantastic service all night. Both bartenders tandem served and it made for a great experience. They have an amazing wine menu, if I wasn't driving, I would have stayed for a couple more glasses. The bartender seemed knowledgeable as well. We shared a cheese board and it was so much food, we were pleasantly surprised. It was super high quality cheese too. We also got a strawberry pistachio dessert and it was top notch. Their pastry chef is very well trained. We had such a great time, I would highly recommend it. read more

The Federal - Steakhouses Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

Food was awful!!! All except the French fries that tasted like McDonald's for $44 haha!

Made reservations about two weeks in advance for Valentines. What a waste of time and money. They sat us in front of the world's draftiest window, so I froze the whole time. Three tables open right in front of us, but yes, please squeeze us in between two couples so we can't talk without having a group conversation. Please see menu pic, that's how close the two tables were on either side. Awesome. Super romantic. The chowder was watery, two clam pieces in the whole cup. The food was bland and the service was minimal. We ordered a bottle of wine, Thank God, because getting water was like asking for a diamond ring. No bread to start, and the lobster risotto special was gross. Bits of dried up, over-cooked, lobster in the blandest risotto ever made. When she came to clear our plates, finally, the waitress asked, would I like a box? Um, no thank you. I didn't eat it while I was here, why would I eat it later. She checked on us twice, once to take our order and the second time when she came to clear the dinner plates. And I already had my credit card ready because I thought, I'm never going to see this girl again. read more

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Had dinner out to catch up with a friend. Nice vibe- there was Christmas music playing. Our first time dining here- beautiful restaurant. Decorated Christmas tree near the hostess stand. Energetic bar area. The server and other staff we interacted with were friendly and attentive- lots of refills on our waters without having to ask. We always appreciate that. My friend had a beautiful beet salad and grilled shrimp skewers that she said were excellent. The rainy weather had me ordering onion au gratin soup and then the bolognese. Both were very good and I'd order again. We enjoyed lemon sorbet and cannoli (4 per serving) for dessert. Will definitely be back. Looking forward to trying Stazione (sister restaurant). read more

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Clearly, this place has its acolytes. I mean, you read their page on Yelp, see the 4.3 star average at the time of writing this review, and think.."Yeah. This place looks like a high quality fine dining experience." While not all bad, I'm here to tell you that the fine dining tier here is.....complicated. We'll start with the service. Our waitress was...fine, overall. Like, she got us all our orders within a reasonable enough time, for the most part. There was just something....off...about her personality. There would be these brief periods of awkward silence where she would stare at one of us as if waiting for a signal to speak or something. I felt like Po in The Force Awakens when he goes, "So...who talks first? I talk first? You talk first?" But otherwise, the service was fine. To briefly discuss the atmosphere and decorum, let me issue a caveat: bring a flashlight. Because this place is dimly lit. And I'm not talking about the cleverly dim romantic lighting you see done well in other fine dining restaurants. I'm talking darker than your closet full of skeletons. You can actually see examples of this in the pics I took. Those all have the brightness cranked up to max after the fact, btw. Still dark as shit. I speak no hyperbole when I say literally every other customer had flashlights hovering over their dimly illuminated menus. I've had more lighting in caves. If they kick the lights up about 2 more notches, I think they'd have the perfect amount of lighting for what they're going for. Now, the part everyone cares about - the food. The apps here were....a roller coaster of dining, to say the least. First thing we tried was the chilled lobster tail. This thing was a train wreck. Not only was the lobster about as rubbery as an eraser, but also bland to boot. And no, the cocktail sauce didn't help it any either. Needless to say, we sent this one back. 1 out of 10, #stopovercookingyourlobster. Next, we had the shrimp skewers. These things were a total surprise to everyone at the table. Because they were phenomenal! The scampi sauce was especially delectable. 10 out of 10, this one's a must try! Naturally, I also had to try the clam chowder. This one was....okay. Which is frustrating because it *could* be great. From what I understand, this one doesn't always seem to come out consistently. I've seen other pics of the chowder on this page. Sometimes it's creamy. Sometimes it's watery. Tonight....mine was a bit thinner than I prefer. Combined with the fact that it was also under seasoned, I'm gonna give this one a 6 out of 10. At least they give you plenty of clams. Now, we gotta talk about the main courses and dessert. Because this is where it gets interesting.. Wifey gets the duck whilst I get the halibut. I will tell you...I was actually somewhat impressed with the halibut. I say "somewhat" because whilst I appreciated the crispy sear on the top of the fish as well as the flavor from the lemon butter sauce, it still could have used more seasoning. Same goes with the fusilli. Luckily, this place actually keeps salt and pepper shakers on the table. So, after adding a little, this dish was a 7 out of 10 for me. I sampled the wifey's duck and....uh...okay. I need to preface this by saying I've never had duck breast until now. And I gotta say...far as first impressions go, this isn't a good one. At all. The duck was criminally under seasoned and chewy. Is duck supposed to be chewy? I dunno much about delicate poultry.....other than the fact that it shouldn't wear out your jaw. I must've spent 10 minutes trying to pick out the rubbery fat from my teeth. I guess they don't do crispy skin here. My bad! 3 out of 10 for the duck. They tried (I guess). Look, I know this must sound like a real downer of a review. But I'll end this on a surprising high note, then carefully explain my rating. The Tiramisu....is to DIE for! I have no words for how incredible this dessert tasted. Everything blended together perfectly and melted in your mouth with a silky finish. 10 out of 10, everyone needs to try this! Guys, I struggled between a 3 and a 4 star rating for this place. Ultimately, what it came down to was this: if your best dishes of the evening are an appetizer and a dessert, whilst your main courses range from slightly above mediocre to downright inedible, then I struggle to go past middle of the road. It's even tougher, considering I also need to rate them by fine dining standards. In that regard, The Federal in Waltham is worth 3 silky Tiramisus melting in your mouth out of 5. read more

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This place is truly amazing! They have got it all, the seafood dishes are fresh, flavorful, and plentiful. We started out with oyster rocafella, then seared salmon with mashed potatoes and asparagus , sword fish topped with jumbo shrimp and spinach , and grilled halibut with roasted carrots. We also got a coconut cream brûlée for dessert. The service was helpful and friendly. The place is a nice, casual elegance fell. I really look forward to go back again soon! read more

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Every single morsel was good. So much better than your average steak house. Prime NY strips Duck 2 ways Braised beef short ribs French fries Creamed spinach Such a beautiful green salad (with exotic watermelon radish) that we order a second one Huge well made Manhattan Everything was perfect. For my daughter's birthday we hit it last night. Everything was stone cold perfect. The French Fries may be the best I have had in the last several years. The steaks were cooked to perfection as was the duck two ways. Really impressed across the board! read more

Ordered bottle of wine, bartender made a mistake , tried my best to explain to manager who was rude and abrasive. Never recommending or returning read more

As a group of regulars, we gathered for some holiday cheer on a Wednesday night. Mariah was the reason we stayed. Erica was the reason we were going to leave and never return. I'm giving 4 stars because one bad apple shouldn't spoil the bunch. An angry bitter manager is a bad look. tis the season to be jolly afterall Food, drink, service are always excellent otherwise. read more

My husband and I went to the Federal in Waltham for the first time on Tuesday 10/28/25 for our anniversary dinner. Our waiter, Grant was just marvelous! He was attentive yet not overbearing. His countenance was friendly and energetic. The food was terrific and made even more special by Grant's welcoming touch! We will come back in January for my birthday. Thank you, Beverly & George read more

Lovely place to have dinner, excellent service (thanks Kyle and Dan). Welcoming staff, with a calm atmosphere. Pear Cosmo and Double Expresso Martini are excellent drinks. Will definitely go back, very highly recommend read more

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So, for starters, this is my first ever 1 star review. Not because I didn't like the food, which is very good. I've been coming here with my friend once per month and we sit at the bar. The service and food have always been 5-Star. Last week was different... We started like we always do with bread service, Clams Casino, and Fried Calamari. All were on point. We ordered a steak to share which was also great. My friend asked if he could have a taste of two different red wines to accompany his meal, which by the way, no restaurant has ever refused. The Bartender stated that she could not accommodate as it was house rules, and also that it screws up the bottle for future pours????? My friend stated that in his 40 years of dining out, no restaurant ever refused a tasting of a wine. Her response was, "I don't make the rules". She was completely unapologetic. We didn't make a scene and he just ordered one of the wines. At the end of the meal, we met one of the owners on the way out. My friend relayed his displeasure at how he was treated and the owner seemed uninterested in hearing about his experience. In a city where there are so many different choices, we will not be dining at the Federal ever again, nor their sister restaurant, Stazione de Federal. The customer service was horrible and the whole situation made for an uncomfortable evening. You are a fancy restaurant in the upper end of $$$$, you need to do better if you want to survive in this saturated industry. Good luck, I won't be visiting again... read more

This is one of our go-to places to go to dinner. We always sit at the bar (shout out to AJ!) and meet interesting people. The steak frites is always my order, and is cooked to perfection. My only complaint with it is that there is tarragon in the butter placed on top. My friend has had the ragu several times and raves about it. The only downsides here is that it can be a bit noisy and you sometimes have to go over to market basket to park. read more

Came on Thanksgiving, and was surprised. I've been here a long time ago when they opened, I never came back. Decided to come for Thanksgiving, since it was just the hub and me at home. Pleasantly surprised! Jeff was a great server, winds by the glass Are very promising and approachable - little overpriced, but quality wines. The steak tartare is phenomenal, can't go wrong with the escargot and I really enjoyed my veal tortellini in a very light brodo. No gobbler tonight, other than myself, stuffing my face with the bread and the super garlic butter from the escargot. Happy camper! read more

Terrible service. We were seated to next two couples with young children. The children ran up down the Opening. It was a disaster. Won't. be back read more

Food comes out piping hot. Servers are very attentive to your needs. Nice booths My wife & I will continue to eat here. read more

After my first review, I had no particular plans to come back, but my parents wanted to come here for my Mom's birthday dinner. It was overpriced sub-par food. Now let's start with the appetizers...we got some raw oysters were fine. We also got Clams Casino (meh, the large amount of bacon overpowered all the other flavors, needed more of a balance), Steak Tartar (pretty good), Oysters Rockefeller (90% spinach, not very good). Our waitress was nice, but wrote down the wrong order for my brother - he asked for the dry aged steak, medium rare, and got the au poivre steak instead. When he asked for the steak he actually ordered, it came out in like 5 minutes, which you would think is good...nope, no way a medium rare steak of at least 1" thickness can be cooked to that temp in 5 minutes. He got it and cut into it and it was blue rare. My husband got the same steak and ordered it rare, but it came out blue rare too. At home he even reheated it in a pan and cooked it for a long time and it was still rare! The funkiness of the dry aged steak almost tasted like Blue Cheese. We have both had good quality dry aged steak in the past, and that is not how they're suppose to taste. It was horrendous. I got the Delmonico Steak and it was at least cooked correctly, but it was nothing special. Everyone else was satisfied with the steaks over all, fortunately. The sides were fine, but so expensive for such a small portion! There was 5 of us, so we understood we would each get a smaller amount, but it was such a small quantity of food for its price. They also tasted meh to me. Au Gratin was cheesy but flavorless otherwise, Mushrooms and Broccolini had decent flavor but nothing special and not with $12/$13 for how little you get. Creamed Spinach was tasteless. Best part were the Truffle Fries and that's only because they were crispy and had truffle oil in them. Since it was my mom's birthday, they gave her some birthday cannolis, which was very sweet, but when my mom had them later, they weren't even filled all the way through. Just a little filling in the ends and nothing in the middle - terrible. Our bill was over $600 for 5 people and I do not recommend going here and will not ever recommend this restaurant to anyone. I could recommend way better steakhouses in the area. I went to the restaurant that use to where the Federal is now, and it was also a steakhouse (called Flank), and I'm confident the ambiance is exactly the same (I looked it up and it is). I guess whoever bought the restaurant saved a lot of money on not redecorating... read more

The Federal - Delmonico with Béarnaise - Steakhouses Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

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Not bad. This place screams "old money" vibes with the dark wood paneling on the walls and leather seating. I came here for a family dinner with my husband, my parents and my in-laws... We ordered a few different apps to start: oysters rockefeller, steak tartare, shrimp cocktail and raw oysters. I was excited to see steak tartare on the menu as it's not easy to find and this one did not disappoint! It was served with crusty bread, a quail egg and pickled veggies, which were a perfect pairing for the tartare. My least favorite app were the oysters rockefeller as I felt they tasted very dry. For my entree, I ordered the filet mignon, medium-rare. My husband got the bone-in NY sirloin, also medium-rare. We both thought our steaks were overcooked and came out more on the medium side. However, I do think that my steak reached med-rare in the very middle, rather than throughout the whole thing. The garlic mashed potatoes were perfect; great creamy consistency and amazing buttery-garlic flavor. I could have eaten the whole bowl! At this price point, I thought the food overall was good, but not great. I expected a bit more flavor and precision in cooking with the steak temps. I still prefer any Boston steakhouse over this one, however if you absolutely cannot get into the city, this is not a bad alternative. read more

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First time at The Federal and I was pleasantly surprised. The server was extremely helpful and knowledgeable about wine and what items on the menu to get. I had one drink and it was pretty strong. As for the food, I can't complain! The oysters were great starters. I was shocked at how good and fresh the beef tartare was. It is considered a starter but the portion was so big that it was like an entree. The veal bolognese wasn't my favorite but that was due to me being filled from the beef tartare. I took the bolognese home and it was still delicious the next day! read more

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I was pleasantly surprised by The Federal. I have been to restaurants in this plaza and always skipped The Federal in favor of Ruth's Chris just up the road, when I wanted a nice steak. I finally tried The Federal and I'm very happy I did. Food: The appetizers are so good. Fresh tuna and nicely golden, crispy calamari. All in all, very impressed with that course. The swordfish was perfectly crisp on one side and cooked to a moist and yummy temp. The steak was pretty good, although not quite Ruth's Chris level, still good. The potatoes were a 'must have' though. I loved the roasted garlic flavor. Dessert Tiramisu was excellent. A huge piece too! You can see how good it looks in the pics. It tasted even better. Service: Waiter was on point! Just top notch all around and super friendly. OVERALL: Definitely a good spot to grab a nice meal, with an upscale interior and menu. You won't be disappointed. I very much enjoyed the visit and will add The Federal to my list of business dinner locations. read more

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I was impressed by the variety in the menu. I ordered the salmon, which was delicious by the way. Crispy on the outside - retained its outer crispness to the last bite - and tender on the inside. And very tasty. I will come back for the rabbit next time (I grew up having my mom's excellent rabbit dish). The talk about rascally rabbits did not appeal to my spouse, so that needed to be postponed. The coconut crème brûlée was quite good. The espresso martini with the Bailey's went down well. read more

The Federal - Grilled salmon with broccolini and mashed potatoes. - Steakhouses Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

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Visit this place for my wife's birthday service was excellent. The food was prepared to perfection and presentation was exceptional. A great place for a date night. Wonderful ambience, great drinks definitely recommend it will definitely visit again. read more

This has become one of our favorite steakhouses near the Boston area!! I actually have found the service and food so much better than some of the best rated steak places in downtown Boston. The service is top notch!! We literally never have to wait for drinks and the servers are really personable and attentive. I get the filet usually and my husband normally gets the beef Wellington or pork chop and we never have an issue with the food. The food is always so good. The mashed potatoes are always amazing and so flavorful, I definitely recommend those as well as the spinach. The starter bread is also very very good! We have started coming here 1-2 times a week now and it's definitely our go to spot when we want to stay close to our house and not drive far. We always know we will get amazing service and food here. read more

I enjoyed a delicious dinner outdoors at the Federal. The patio is attractive, although the noise from Route 128 can be overwhelming at times. My shrimp skewers, steak fries, and coconut creme brulee were delicious. Hubby liked his side of carrots followed by pasta Primavera. The service was adequate but not attentive. read more

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Really good steak restaurant that we stumbled upon on our way home from New Hampshire. We always see this restaurant on the highway passing by and we have always wanted to check it out. So glad we did tonight. We snagged two seats at the bar and our bartender was phenomenal. He suggested a really nice Prime sirloin steak for us to split as well as wine suggestions. We also shared the Parmesan polenta and asparagus. We enjoyed both very much! Everyone was super friendly and we really enjoyed our evening here. We definitely will be back for the summer months to enjoy the patio and fire pit outside. Definitely a place to bring a bunch friends too. Everyone would enjoy this restaurant and location with plenty of parking on site! read more

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The atmosphere is great. The staff was friendly and nice. The food was so delicious. We went there with friends and my husband. We started with Calamari, Steak Tartare, and Chowder. The serving of food looks great. For the main dish I had Pork Chop, my husband ordered Roasted Rabbit, and our friends had Vongole. The Pork Chop was good. I tried a rabbit and I could tell you that it was the best dish so far. All the rabbits I tried in other places were dry but this one was great, it was delicious, soft and it was not dry. i will order it next time for sure. We also had desserts, we ordered Tiramisu and Affogato. Tiramisu was great. But my #1 is Affogato. This is the best ice cream. It was seasonal gelato with biscotti and Espresso. I will go back for this one al well. It was so good. I had the best food experience in this place. read more

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Ordered bottle of wine, bartender made a mistake , tried my best to explain to manager who was rude and abrasive. Never recommending or returning read more

Food was good, nothing crazy. Service was good, the water was always flowing. Ambiance was above average but the ceiling was an eyesore. I advise all restaurants to stop using straws! read more

I would recommend this place I loved the southern fried chicken and the tomahawk was delicious. There was not 1 scallop on my sampler but bet it was delicious other wise, also the dressing for the salad was amazing, read more

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Will return and love this place. Clean fast. Greta service and phenomenal bartenders!!!! read more

The Federal - Caesar salad, steak, tartar, sautéed mushrooms, clam chowder, potatoes, au gratin, iceberg salad - Steakhouses Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

Amazing staff cool vibe trendy high end ambience tasty food and worth every penny. We needed a place like this in Waltham. I would like to try their sister restaurant on Moody St next. 2 thumbs up read more

We go here often because of its consistency. No matter what you have in mind seafood, stake or pasta it's always a home run . The staff is friendly/ professional with a Casual vibe . If you are into wines , they have a great selection . We have friends that are vegan and they had a great meal with us too . Dinner can be as simple as a great Caesar salad with white Anchovies and great ( non thick full of flour ) New England clowder sitting at the bar . Locals and travelers are always at the large bar and normally very friendly . You can't go wrong read more

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We had a small function post a meeting and it was great. The room was perfect and the food outstanding. A special shoutout to our server, Heather. She was professional and thoughtful going beyond most. When you are hosting 20+ guests, it can be a lot and her support took all my concerns away with her attentiveness. read more