My first time at the Butcher Shop but I've had many recommendations. Fantastic experience all around. Great food and solid wine knowledge when it came to pairing it with the food.
Brett C.
Pass. This restaurant used to be special and now it is over priced and mediocre. They tried to charge us $30 for kids pasta. They used to have bread with honey and salted butter. It also used to have butcher shop charm and they renovated to remove the charm.The food and service weren't good. Had been coming here for 18 years. Won't be back.
Willie R.
I came here with a friend who was visiting, and I was excited to try one of the last Barbara Lynch restaurants that I had not yet been to in the Collective. Unfortunately, our visit overall was quite average and wasn't reflective of what I am accustomed to from No. 9 Park, Menton, Drink, or even the more casual Sportello. That said, it was a beautiful day and the huge windows were open, giving it a nice semi-outdoor vibe. Our server, Shauna, was super friendly and helpful, offering a tasting of one wine that she described as grassy and earthy--and she couldn't have been more spot-on with that description. I opted instead for a Bordaeux, in a glass of Château Haut Queyran, which was less tannic than expected but enjoyable.My friend and I both ordered the tagliatelle bolognese, which was fine but perfectly middle of the road. The dish just didn't see mto have much flavor to it, which was strange for a BL restaurant. The visit overall was a 3.5, which I am only rounding down to 3 because of the high standard I hold the Collective to. That said, I wouldn't be against visiting again; I think I would just order another dish.
M. T. M.
Service was great, attentive, professional and informative. I ordered the bolognese a $30 entree with a small portion that wasn’t particularly hot when it arrived. I actually chuckled to myself when I saw it! Ok for me but I wasn’t impressed. If you try this restaurant you’ll need an appetizer to go along with dinner this is a minimum $85 per person restaurant.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 5
Menze Heroian
I made a reservation for Sunday Brunch. When we arrived at the restaurant at 10:30 the only person in the restaurant was the bartender and a couple at the bar we were told by the bartender that the server was running late and that we could sit at the bar and order drinks until she showed up I asked why could we not sit at a table and have her take the order she made up some lame excuse that she would not be able to provide the same experience as them server I’m thinking what experience the server is hnot there and you aren’t serving guests we sat for 30 minutes and still no server We ordered a coffee and a juice which never came we cancelled the reservation because we had a flight to catch that evening (sarcasm)The bartender said Barbara Lynch was opening another restaurantMaybe she should mind the ones that she has open or else any future restaurants will suffer the same fate as this oneIt’s a matter of time before this one goes under Thank goodness there was a restaurant next to hers called Bistrot Parisienne where we were able to grab brunchWe also saw a group of 5 which the bartender turned away because they had no staff to serveEmbarrassing and pathetic experienceStay away
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
JeanneS
Extremely annoying reservation process, stipulating all kinds of rules about length of stay, time of arrival, grace period, charge for cancellation, etc. However - once there, the service was consistently gracious, everything easy-going and the food exquisite. No one was hustling us out the door! One of the most pleasant dining experiences we have had.
Michele Rovello Visco
Awesome cocktails, appetizers, mains and desserts and great service! We loved it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
GeorgeK
A warm welcome, good service, and cozy surround could not overcome our impression of undeservedly aggressive pricing and at best mediocre food. Despite its good reputation, we will not return.
KristinK
We ate at the bar and the bartender took very good care of us. Our only regret was that our meat was cooked more well-done than we had requested and that the bar menu does not yet include "regular" alcohol. (Only beer, wine and a few unique cordials were available. )
jcwalla
To be honest as often as the place is booked up and the price of the food I expected a lot more and the overall experience left a lot to be desired. The appetizers were very good and unique specifically the fried green tomatoes. The steak tartare was also good and one of the better versions we've had in the South End. The service was fair at best - for the price of the overall experience I would expect the service to reflect as such. It wasn't that the service was terrible it was fairly attentive but for a $250+ meal I would expect some engagement or overall interest in the menue. For a restaurant who's name sake would insinuate that the steak would be great was one of the worst steaks we've had out to eat not only in Boston but actually ever. The duck was decent flavor but also over cooked. I'm honestly not sure we'll be back for the price of this meal.
Service was way, way below par. For the most part, the people working chatted with each other behind the bar and ignored the customers. I know it's hard to hire people -- and I suppose that any Barbara Lynch restaurant is having a hard time attracting workers and customers these days -- but when you sit in a restaurant for ten minutes before anybody coming to your table, despite four employees on duty with only two tables to wait on, you know something has gone terribly wrong. We did not feel welcomed in any way. The food ranged from OK to pretty good. The snap pea salad was tasty but was really just an enormous pile of cut-up snap peas with almost no other ingredients; too dense and heavy to qualify as a "salad." The beet salad was more successful. The bolognese was pretty good, and the gnocchi were outstanding (soft and pillowy, delicious pesto sauce, excellent morels with just a little bit of "crisp" to them). The cocktails were mediocre. We wouldn't come back any time soon. I hope they get their act together and figure out how to train and manage their staff to provide an excellent and welcoming dining experience. The menu is promising but the overall experience just is not there.
Sam18Wil
Beautiful Saturday night in Boston sitting by the open window with delicious food - steak tartare, duck, bolognese - and cocktails served by an attentive but not intrusive waitstaff. Perfect!
FoodMom
Wonderful service and food was 10/10. I ordered the pasta which I thought wouldn't be amazing since it's know for their meat, but it was probably one of the top 3 pastas I've had.
Bronwen
Food was very good (but wish some smaller meat portions were offered) , service ok , but ambiance not good enough to warrant a return trip. Table too small for 4, room felt cold (door to outside kept opening), and way, way, way too noisy. Disappointed
The diners who remember the « old » Butcher Shop will be happily surprised by the decor, an updated cool version of its old self. But they will be disappointed by the menu. At lunchtime there is a meager offer on the carnivorous side. Steak tartare was small but well executed. Wines by the glass are a ripoff but then this is now the standard in Boston. My friends you have lost your way.
My first time at the Butcher Shop but I've had many recommendations. Fantastic experience all around. Great food and solid wine knowledge when it came to pairing it with the food.
Pass. This restaurant used to be special and now it is over priced and mediocre. They tried to charge us $30 for kids pasta. They used to have bread with honey and salted butter. It also used to have butcher shop charm and they renovated to remove the charm.The food and service weren't good. Had been coming here for 18 years. Won't be back.
I came here with a friend who was visiting, and I was excited to try one of the last Barbara Lynch restaurants that I had not yet been to in the Collective. Unfortunately, our visit overall was quite average and wasn't reflective of what I am accustomed to from No. 9 Park, Menton, Drink, or even the more casual Sportello. That said, it was a beautiful day and the huge windows were open, giving it a nice semi-outdoor vibe. Our server, Shauna, was super friendly and helpful, offering a tasting of one wine that she described as grassy and earthy--and she couldn't have been more spot-on with that description. I opted instead for a Bordaeux, in a glass of Château Haut Queyran, which was less tannic than expected but enjoyable.My friend and I both ordered the tagliatelle bolognese, which was fine but perfectly middle of the road. The dish just didn't see mto have much flavor to it, which was strange for a BL restaurant. The visit overall was a 3.5, which I am only rounding down to 3 because of the high standard I hold the Collective to. That said, I wouldn't be against visiting again; I think I would just order another dish.
Service was great, attentive, professional and informative. I ordered the bolognese a $30 entree with a small portion that wasn’t particularly hot when it arrived. I actually chuckled to myself when I saw it! Ok for me but I wasn’t impressed. If you try this restaurant you’ll need an appetizer to go along with dinner this is a minimum $85 per person restaurant.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 5
I made a reservation for Sunday Brunch. When we arrived at the restaurant at 10:30 the only person in the restaurant was the bartender and a couple at the bar we were told by the bartender that the server was running late and that we could sit at the bar and order drinks until she showed up I asked why could we not sit at a table and have her take the order she made up some lame excuse that she would not be able to provide the same experience as them server I’m thinking what experience the server is hnot there and you aren’t serving guests we sat for 30 minutes and still no server We ordered a coffee and a juice which never came we cancelled the reservation because we had a flight to catch that evening (sarcasm)The bartender said Barbara Lynch was opening another restaurantMaybe she should mind the ones that she has open or else any future restaurants will suffer the same fate as this oneIt’s a matter of time before this one goes under Thank goodness there was a restaurant next to hers called Bistrot Parisienne where we were able to grab brunchWe also saw a group of 5 which the bartender turned away because they had no staff to serveEmbarrassing and pathetic experienceStay away
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Extremely annoying reservation process, stipulating all kinds of rules about length of stay, time of arrival, grace period, charge for cancellation, etc. However - once there, the service was consistently gracious, everything easy-going and the food exquisite. No one was hustling us out the door! One of the most pleasant dining experiences we have had.
Awesome cocktails, appetizers, mains and desserts and great service! We loved it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A warm welcome, good service, and cozy surround could not overcome our impression of undeservedly aggressive pricing and at best mediocre food. Despite its good reputation, we will not return.
We ate at the bar and the bartender took very good care of us. Our only regret was that our meat was cooked more well-done than we had requested and that the bar menu does not yet include "regular" alcohol. (Only beer, wine and a few unique cordials were available. )
To be honest as often as the place is booked up and the price of the food I expected a lot more and the overall experience left a lot to be desired. The appetizers were very good and unique specifically the fried green tomatoes. The steak tartare was also good and one of the better versions we've had in the South End. The service was fair at best - for the price of the overall experience I would expect the service to reflect as such. It wasn't that the service was terrible it was fairly attentive but for a $250+ meal I would expect some engagement or overall interest in the menue. For a restaurant who's name sake would insinuate that the steak would be great was one of the worst steaks we've had out to eat not only in Boston but actually ever. The duck was decent flavor but also over cooked. I'm honestly not sure we'll be back for the price of this meal.
Restaurantji Recommends
Service was way, way below par. For the most part, the people working chatted with each other behind the bar and ignored the customers. I know it's hard to hire people -- and I suppose that any Barbara Lynch restaurant is having a hard time attracting workers and customers these days -- but when you sit in a restaurant for ten minutes before anybody coming to your table, despite four employees on duty with only two tables to wait on, you know something has gone terribly wrong. We did not feel welcomed in any way. The food ranged from OK to pretty good. The snap pea salad was tasty but was really just an enormous pile of cut-up snap peas with almost no other ingredients; too dense and heavy to qualify as a "salad." The beet salad was more successful. The bolognese was pretty good, and the gnocchi were outstanding (soft and pillowy, delicious pesto sauce, excellent morels with just a little bit of "crisp" to them). The cocktails were mediocre. We wouldn't come back any time soon. I hope they get their act together and figure out how to train and manage their staff to provide an excellent and welcoming dining experience. The menu is promising but the overall experience just is not there.
Beautiful Saturday night in Boston sitting by the open window with delicious food - steak tartare, duck, bolognese - and cocktails served by an attentive but not intrusive waitstaff. Perfect!
Wonderful service and food was 10/10. I ordered the pasta which I thought wouldn't be amazing since it's know for their meat, but it was probably one of the top 3 pastas I've had.
Food was very good (but wish some smaller meat portions were offered) , service ok , but ambiance not good enough to warrant a return trip. Table too small for 4, room felt cold (door to outside kept opening), and way, way, way too noisy. Disappointed
The diners who remember the « old » Butcher Shop will be happily surprised by the decor, an updated cool version of its old self. But they will be disappointed by the menu. At lunchtime there is a meager offer on the carnivorous side. Steak tartare was small but well executed. Wines by the glass are a ripoff but then this is now the standard in Boston. My friends you have lost your way.