This new restaurant offers delicious food and a relaxed atmosphere

When someone suggested that we go for dinner at The Biltmore, we were skeptical having recalled driving by this neighborhood bar many times at 1205 Chestnut Street in Newton Upper Falls. As Boston’s Hidden Restaurants says, “For those of you who remember the old Biltmore Cafe…a few years back and beyond, get ready to be shocked.” And, shocked we were. The Biltmore reopened last winter under new owners who have transformed it into a delightful “upscale bistro.”

According to Wikipedia, a gastropub is…”a British term for a public house (pub) which specializes in high quality food a step above the more basic ‘pub grub.’” Indeed we would agree. We started with the Farmhouse Platter - a tasty selection of fried green tomatos, pickled peaches, kalamata olives and capanata ($12). For the main course, most in our party had the special: Grilled Swordfish with Sicilan capanata and a lemon herb pasta ($20) which was cooked to perfection. Someone had the Half Chicken Under a Brick with rosemary, lemon and garlic ($16) and someone else had the Biltmore Burger ($10). Everyone was very pleased with their choices.

Sheryl Julian, food critic for the Boston Globe, wrote in her review, “…the menu here is terrific…[they] are compulsive about fresh ingredients…produce comes from A. Russo & Sons, meat from John Dewar & Co. and fish from Captain Marden’s Seafoods — some of the best suppliers in town.”

The atmosphere is casual. We sat at a high top table in the first room where there is a handsome mahogany bar. Here we could keep track of the Red Sox game which was on all three flat screen TVs. The second room has a combination of booths and tables and is a little quieter.

As The Biltmore website suggests, go “…for drinks after work, dinner with the kids, or for a night out with friends — you’ll be a regular in no time.”

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.