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The Federal

4.2 (215 reviews)

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THE FEDERAL ATMOSPHERE

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Moderate noise
Trendy
Intimate
Romantic

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Salmon
Kristi B.

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

The best sangria, flank steak and truffle fries!
Pam D.

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.

Courtney F.

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.

Clam chowder
Amanda R.

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.

Susan D.

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).

Swordfish with shrimp spinach
Jannet C.

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!

Bar
Jay B.

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.

Sweet Potato Cheesecake

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3 months ago

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

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Ask the Community - The Federal

What is the attire/dress code?

Dress is business casual.

How do you manage food allergies? Our party has someone with a shellfish and another person with a nut allergy.

Ann, Thank you for contacting us. The Federal has a very strict allergy policy in place that all staff gets trained on and must sign off on upon completion. Guests with… Read more

What gluten free menu items are there?

Kristin, It is easier to list what you can't have. Crab Cakes, Clams Casino, Calamari, Beet & Fried Goat Cheese, Clam Chowder, Panko Crusted Haddock, Baked Stuffed Shrimp,… Read more

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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I hadn't been to Sweet Basil in a while and my friend and I decided to give it a go. I had…read moreforgotten how beautiful the decor and ambiance was. We sat at the bar and were warmly greeted by the host as well as Caroline, our bartender. She made us two perfect martini's to the rim, and brought us out a complimentary dish from the chef which was fantastic (I think it was fried chickpea flour in the shape of a very thick fry. They also brought us out complimentary bread and focaccia as well as home made pesto. We ordered the meatballs (the best I've ever had, and my wife is Sicilian). We then shared the Chicken Parm which had the most amazing chunky sauce packed with flavor along with homemade rigatoni! This by far was one of the best meals I've had in a while! Sweet Basil will now go in our rotation of weekly restaurants to visit.

I had been to this restaurant's location in Needham numerous times and always enjoyed it. We…read moredecided to try this location for a celebratory occasion. This was clearly a very Special Experience! I have been talking about it fora few days. The ambience is beautiful, warm and comforting. Our server was sweet, efficient, thoughtful and prompt. The food was, as always with Sweet Basil, excellent. It was well prepared, plentiful and also pleasing to the eye. We all really enjoyed our meals. We even received a complimentary birthday dessert which was offered when our waitress overheard our discussion about this occasion. I could continue with my praises, but it is clear that I have already recommended this restaurant to many and I look forward to returning. I prefer this location now to Needham , because seating is less cramped and it is quieter, although the food is equally good. It is important to note that it is expensive, but well worth it for special occasions.

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Best fish moily and tadka daal Love this place, best to go…read morein person for their beautiful presentation. It's a bit too pretty to take out :)

We got takeout from Rassa with some friends, and I was very impressed by their spread of northern…read moreand southern Indian dishes. I am by no means an Indian food connoisseur, but I was glad to see a variety of more typical dishes like butter chicken, to dosas (gluten free!), idly, and specialty dishes from different regions. They were also able to accommodate a number of dietary restrictions in our group (gluten and dairy free, nut free, vegetarian, vegan), so it was a win all around. For my family, I ordered the sambar vada (gluten free lentil fritters), palak paneer (spinach and paneer cheese), Kerala fish pollichatthu. The fritters were a hit with the little one and came with a tangy sauce (sambar). The palak paneer was a very good version of this classic dish. The Kerala fish entree was my "why not" dish, mostly chosen since I know some folks from Kerala. They weren't around to give me the heads up that it would be a whole small fish cooked in banana leaves, though. I was a little surprised, but it was rather tasty, even if there amount of meat was a bit limited. I'll need to include them in my regular takeout roster in the future, and I'd love to dine in sometime too. The interior looks gorgeous from the pictures.

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The Federal - steak - Updated May 2026

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