Joy G.
Yelp
Sycamore knocked my socks off. Chef Dave Punch has a winning streak of fantastic restaurants in Newton, otherwise known as the holy trinity in Newton Centre (Jinny's, Big Little Diner, and Sycamore) - I believe he used to helm Buttonwood in Newton Highlands before he sold it, which has a similar vibe and menu to Sycamore. Of the three, Sycamore is pricier and a bit more formal. The menu focuses on only a few starters and mains, which updates every few weeks (days?) to focus on seasonal ingredients.
I loved the falerno! cocktail to start, nice blend of tequila, grapefruit, some chili spice, and hellfire bitters.
Everything under the starters section looked intriguing but we went with the grilled shrimp ceviche and kale + farro salad. Salads tend to play second fiddle to other dishes but this one may have been my second favorite dish of the night. The combo of pine nuts and farro and pomegranate was genius, a great blend of texture and flavor. Definitely order this. The table next to us got it as soon as they saw us digging in.
My favorite was the tandoori spiced swordfish. I'm a sucker for anything remotely curry-flavored and this one, with squash and chickpeas, some sort of yogurt, and ginger on top (come on, just look at that ingredient list), was A+. Swordfish, in my experience, is tricky to cook just right - overcooking makes the texture all stringy, undercooking turns it into rubber. This was THE most tender piece of fish I've ever eaten. It was like fish pudding. My husband's cod cakes were excellent - they had just added it to the menu the day before, to rave reviews - but I preferred the swordfish.
We were too stuffed for dessert but Josh was super kind enough to bring us two house-made beignets to sample. They were delicious, as fried pockets of dough are wont to be, but I'd slather that milk caramel/butterscotch sauce over anything and everything.
Service was a highlight! Came by often to check in on how we were doing, if we wanted another drink, brought more water, etc. I didn't see any of the issues in other reviews. Josh and the others were more than happy to move customers over to other tables from the windows, which were drafty. A reservation on Thurs-Sat is a must, you can't really blame the restaurant if you're a walk-in and they only have certain seats left.
Abundant parking in the lot a few feet away, free after 6pm.