Baleia
Portuguese restaurant · South End ·
Portuguese seafood restaurant with duck rice and octopus carpaccio
Portuguese seafood restaurant with duck rice and octopus carpaccio
"Modern Portuguese restaurants are on the rise in Boston, and Baleia is one of the buzziest new entries in the genre. Start the night with an order of puffy Portuguese sweet rolls and then make your way through the seafood-laden menu, which spotlights dishes like the salt cod bolinhos (savory, deep-fried fritters) dipped in a saffron mayonnaise, and punchy grilled sardines with a bright turmeric chermoula and preserved lemon." - Erika Adams
"Ring in 2025 with a Portuguese twist at Baleia. The prix fixe menu offers three courses for $100 with dishes like white gazpacho with cucumber and piri piri, a caldeirada, or Portuguese fish stew, with monkfish, shrimp, and clams in a saffron-fennel broth, and pastéis de nata. Reservations can be made from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m." - Erika Adams
"Brian Samuels also pointed to a new project "from The Coda Group" as part of the trend of local groups expanding, noting his overall excitement that local chefs and restaurant groups are doing well." - Erika Adams
"This Portuguese restaurant is in a big space that used to be Area 4 in the South End, filled with comfy yellow booths, netting hanging from the ceiling, and a bar spanning the back wall. It’ll probably be packed when you’re there, but there’s usually a bar seat available, and it’s an excellent place to get down with some incredible seafood dishes. Go for the paper-thin octopus carpaccio with some crispy potatoes on top, head-on shrimp swimming in spicy mozambique stew that you’ll want to drink, and a hearty plate of fried rice topped with buttery, rich duck. We’ll be back to try the rest of the menu soon. " - tanya edwards
"Taste the bounty of the Portuguese coast at Baleia, a new restaurant from the same team behind Italian restaurants SRV, Gufo, and the Salty Pig. The bifana sliders on puffy, housemade Portuguese sweet rolls are a must, and the punchy sauces and spreads paired with the seafood are scrape-the-plate worthy." - Erika Adams, Nathan Tavares
