
4

"An elevated Fenway bistro from the long‑loved Eastern Standard team, this third neighborhood restaurant quickly won me over with house‑made breads and pastas and a wide range of stuzzichini and antipasti. I like to start with the grilled mortadella skewer ($7)—a delectable, salty‑fatty bite topped with pistachio and chopped olives that works as either one of several appetizers or a post‑martini snack. The porchetta ($36), on the menu since opening and likely to stay, brings tender roasted pork loin and belly over fingerling potatoes with a drizzle of pork jus for a perpetually satisfying dinner. Fall and winter come through in the butternut squash tortelloni ($34) flavored with brown butter, balsamic, and sage. Sundays are chicken Parm night: a $48‑for‑two spread with a hefty portion of crispy chicken Parm in house sauce, Parmesan and garlic bread, a bowl of house spaghetti, and a little gem side salad. With new culinary director Brian Rae (a Rialto alum) overseeing plates like squid ink bucatini, buckwheat pappardelle, porchetta, and lasagna Bolognese, and Jackson Cannon’s killer list of martinis (with sidecars) plus other cocktails to pair, it’s easy to make a full night of it here." - Celina Colby