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Sel de la Terre

255 State St. (Atlantic St.) Send to Phone
BostonMA 02109
617-720-1300 | Make Restaurant Reservations
This waterfront slice of Provence offers some of the city's most thoroughly adult culinary pleasures.

Cuisine

Open

Lunch Mon.-Fri., Dinner nightly, Brunch Sat.-Sun.

Features

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In Geoff Gardner, L’Espalier restaurateur Frank McClelland has found the perfect chef for this slice of Provence. Just as the Peter Niemitz-designed dining room near the Aquarium blends country-inn coziness with urban cool, so the seasonal menu layers très français subtleties over bold, Mediterranean-bright flavors. A fine meal here begins with a memorable bread basket accompanied by the signature petit goûter---an eggplant-goat cheese purée with toasted black walnuts. From there, while it’s hard to go wrong, we’ve found that Gardner is a particular whiz with soups, seafood and fruit-based desserts---never pass up a rhubarb confection. What’s more, while it’s really too swanky and too oddly located to qualify as a neighborhood place, it’s admirably accessible in all other respects. The in-house boulangerie opens at 7:30 a.m. on weekdays to serve breads and sandwiches---we especially like the black-olive and fig-anise loaves. And the luxe, leather-furnished bar draws a crowd from happy hour until well after midnight. Also located at the Natick Collection, 1245 Worcester St., Natick, 508-650-1800; and 774 Boylston St., Boston, 617-266-8800.

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