Asta
New American restaurant · Back Bay
47 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA 02115
Highlights
New American fixed-price tasting menus in minimalist setting
New American fixed-price tasting menus in minimalist setting
"Asta leverages a good mix of tried and true and experimental without being too esoteric, creating an adventurous culinary experience. Chef Alex Crabb, spent two months apprenticing at Noma absorbing agrarian tactics and Danish aesthetics creating his own take on ingredient-driven dishes with whimsical presentations. It's upscale, but not pretentious. Just as for Shish and trust her pallet. They offer a tasting menu-only: three-course ($45), five-course ($70), and eight-course ($95), to which wine pairings may be added. The only requirement is that you must pick one. Little fun fact, Amalgam's founders met at Asta in the winter of 2015 to discuss founding the company over dinner. It's a must for foodies looking for something distinctive." - Amalgam
"Asta doesn’t have an a la carte menu, but the six-course tasting menu for $125 should keep you occupied. The optional beverage pairing comes in at $75. As with many of the tasting menus on this map, diners won’t know the exact dishes ahead of time, but sample dishes have included halibut with grapefruit, bok choy, and mussels, plus rutabaga with pickled rose and puffed wild rice. A few extras like seared foie gras round out the menu for an additional cost." - Celina Colby
"Why is Ryan Gosling hanging out in the bathroom of Asta on Mass Ave? We’re not sure we’ll ever find out since he exists only in movie poster form, but we suspect he likes it because it’s the rare fine dining restaurant that also feels casual and cool, just like him. This is a tasting menu place with dishes like peaches and beets with smoked fish relish and striped bass. And while it’s correspondingly expensive (seven courses for $120), it manages to feel like a comfortable neighborhood spot thanks to walk-in-ability, a lively counter overlooking the kitchen, and playful touches like aforementioned Gosling poster and a mural of Thor in the dining room (the real one, not the Hemsworth one)." - joel ang, dan secatore
"Tasting menus are rarely a last-minute thing. On the contrary, they tend to be more of a book-a-month-in-advance-and-pray-you-don’t-get-sick-when-the-day-arrives thing. But Asta in Back Bay is a tasting menu place that’s both easier to get into and a more casual than spots where you may have to pause in the middle of your seared foie gras to applaud the couple who just got engaged at the next table. It’s pricey (a seven-course meal with things like melon, lobster and rabbit with rhubarb and huckleberry will run you about $120) but if you need to impress your boss who just flew into town from headquarters, this is where you’ll want to go." - dan secatore
"Pricey tasting menu places aren’t always cool. But that’s to be expected from restaurants that treat their food like museum pieces, where everyone around you is so quiet that you half-expect to see Tiger Woods trying for a birdie putt from the kitchen. But Asta in Back Bay is different, as you’ll be able to tell from the Ryan Gosling posters in the bathroom and lambskin-covered benches in the dining area. Come here when you want fine food like rabbit confit or seared foie gras with sunflower, but want it in a place that feels a bit like a bar." - dan secatore
