Restaurant review: Boston Chops

Photo from Boston Chops facebook page

Boston Chops is described by owners, Brian Piccini and Chef Chris Coombs, as an urban steak bistro with a casual but refined twist on the traditional steak house. It has been a hot spot in the neighborhood and destination restaurant since it first opened four years ago in the Penny Savings Building in Boston’s South End. It is beautifully decorated (not at all stuffy like many steak houses) with a beautiful 20+ seat bar that runs the length of the restaurant and a small street side patio with doors that open to the street from the dining room.

Boston Chop’s Crab Cake shown above is $19

The Boston Chops menu obviously has many cuts of steak but the restaurant’s raw bar is excellent and there are many alternatives if you want something different. For example, Sergio opted to start with an order of Crab Cake. This is one of Sergio’s “go-to” orders and is large enough that it can double as a filling snack if you want something to eat but aren’t in the mood for a full meal.

Following in Sergio’s footsteps I ordered one of Boston Chops’ sides, the Eggplant Rollatini, as a first dish. The eggplant is sliced incredibly thin and stuffed with tomato, mozzarella and herbs. It is a great dish to share and I think often overlooked by many who come to the restaurant.

Boston Chops Eggplant Rollatini above is $12

For dinner Sergio continued with an unorthodox choice for a steakhouse, ordering the Pappardelle Bolognaise. Sergio loves a good bolognaise sauce and he tends to either order the Filet Mignon or this plate when we have dinner at Boston Chops. The pasta is fresh and comes with the hearty sauce made with beef, veal and pancetta in a creamy tomato sauce and fresh herbs.

Boston Chops Pappardelle Bolognaise is $22

Unlike Sergio, I always order from the Steak Frites menu which dominates the center of the restaurants dinner menu. All orders from this section come with an arugula salad served on the side and quite possibly Boston’s best french fries, that are regularly refreshed by staff from a warm copper bowl, ensuring you will over-indulge on the salty treats. Below is a photo of my skirt steak cooked exactly as I asked. I snapped this photograph before the french fries were added to make it look like a healthier option than it was in reality.

Boston Chops Skirt Steak with peppercorn sauce and arugula salad $25

Although I’m not much of a dessert person, our waitress, Melanie, who provided flawless service throughout the dinner suggested we try their warm chocolate cake.  Melanie’s subtle suggestion was all the push we needed apparently, because we ordered the cake with barely any discussion. The cake was served warm and was devoured within minutes of its arrival at the table.

Boston Chops warm chocolate cake $12 was devoured within minutes of its arrival

Boston Chops has announced plans to open a second location in Boston’s DTX / Theater District in the space previously occupied by Mantra so look for more updates on their newest location but until then my recommendation would be to visit the Boston Chops South End. The staff and kitchen consistently provide an excellent dining experience that many restaurants claim but few actually offer. Dinner reservations are strongly recommended, but dining at the bar is available on a first come, first serve basis.

BosGuy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars, Wicked Awesome.

Boston Chops (South End)
1375 Washington Street  ||  (617) 227-5011
bostonchops.com