Aquitaine Boston

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

French Restaurant, or Italian restaurant wanna-be? First a disclaimer: I used to live and work in France. I know a french restaurant when I see one. Aquataine, frankly, is not one. (I should have known by the "chicken salade" on the menu.) I had lunch there yesterday with two colleagues. Between us, we had Croque Monsieurs, French Onion Soup, Tomato Soup and Salad, and Steak Frites. The tables had a bottle of San Pellegrino - an Italian sparkling water, so I could tell we might be in for trouble. The staff didnt speak any french and werent familiar with Poutine, that national food of Canada, that my colleague asked for. The lunch menu offers a special having soup, sandwich, and soda/coffee for $12.95. It doesnt mention that its only half a sandwich. When I asked the staff what they did with the other half, they told me they save it for the next customer who orders the special. That means that half the time youre eating somebody elses warmed leftovers. They should suggest that to McDonalds - not what youd want or expect from an expensive French restaurant. The French onion soup was fantastic, melted cheese, rich deep flavor, and the expected floating piece of bread. Kudos on getting that right. They never brought bread to our table, which was a surprisingly un-French thing. My friend asked for mayonnaise, and, on a whim, I asked if they made their own or bought it. Turns out they use Hellmans. Again, not what youd expect from an expensive "french" restaurant. The greatest sin was the croque Monsieur. It was NOT a croque monsieur. It was a panini. It was a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Every french child knows what a proper croque monsieur looks like with the cheese and sauce on the top of the bread broiled to a nice crisp. The taste was ok for a panini, but somewhat greasy. The accompanying salad was of a single green (arugula?) had a vinaigrette dressing and was ok, but not memorable. The accompanying "frites" were your run of the mill ore-ida french fries, not the thin, crisp and delicious fries youd find. My friends steak was slightly smaller than a Herseys bar, and was passable, not not memorable. We arrived at the start of lunch and were the first seated at our booth for the day. The greatest problem was that, after the meal, my friend noticed something "squishy" under his foot at our booth. He looked down and there was a pile of leftover food there, that must have been from at least the day before. After we pointed it out to the waitress, she said shed clean it up after we left. After all the great reviews of Aquataine, I was truly enthusiastic to go. Now, I can say, Im just as enthusiastic to never return. The good: Great french onion soup. Excellent location. The bad: Uneducated wait staff. Not a French restaurant. Sanitation problems.

PA

Paul Meijer

Aquitaine – Boston, MA – 8/1/2016 This is my fourth Aquitaine group restaurant location visit. Each locations décor is a bit different however one common thread shared by all is exceptional customer service and Attention To Detail… At this point I have a certain level of expectation and these people exceeded it. The Boston location just underwent a major renovation. As you walk up to the front of the restaurant you see a beautiful building. The glass front showcases the spectacular interior… A large bar on the left side with lots of shimmering glass and beautifully set white linen table service runs front to back… I was greeted at the front by manager; Anthony who showed me to my table. My server tonight was Jon, a 16 Year veteran with the group… Jon was extremely personable and made some recommendations... Soon after seating Jon brought out the fresh from the oven warm cheese puffs… I could eat a case of these they were so good! Next out a mini warm loaf of bread… although everyone in the Boston metro area seems to get their bread from Iggy’s, theirs tends to have a uniquely Aquitaine shape… Ill give up other carbs during the week to make up for what I had here this evening. Its that good! The Chef sent out an Amuse Bouche for me… Seared Scallop… Cauliflower Puree… Maitake mushroom… to name but just a few of the wonderful ingredients. The flavour was matched by the plating… Spectacular! Based on high recommendations I had the She-Crabe Bisque… it was like a creamy broth loaded with the primest of prime chunks of Crab meat… Just the right amount of everything… Cream Sherry, Saffron, “Old Bay” & local Jonah Crabe… The main this evening… The Duck A L’Orange over a Cauliflower Mousseline, Swiss Chard and Sauce Big… Perfectly prepared and nicely plated… So much so I almost felt guilty taking it apart… Fork by fork…Its one thing to prepare delicious tasting food but when the chef combines flavour with artful food sculpting, now theres talent! Although I wasnt planning on having dessert, Jon’s passionate portrayal of the Crispy Chocolate Bread Pudding made it impossible to say no. The only way I can describe it is to relate it to the diner scene in “when Harry met Sally”… OMG! You need to watch it on YouTube to understand if youre not old enough to remember the movie! And as with all my dinners, I finish with my signature Cappuccino… This, like everything else was yet another perfectly executed endeavor. Aquitaine… Impeccable service… scrumptious cuisine, visually and flavorfully choreographed into something really special... These are two of the reasons I love coming here. Ive just added it to my “must go back to” list! You will love it!

MI

Mia Petkova

My first time here was on a Thursday night in October and it was great. My friend and I sat at the small bar to have some drinks. We received some great tips from the girl behind the bar who was very friendly and polite. My second attempt at coming here was nowhere near as pleasant, perhaps because it was on a Saturday night when the host showed no regard for whether he retains any customers or not. Again, a friend and I came in and asked to have some drinks. The host told us a couple of seats were about to be freed up so we waited right in front of him. The seats freed up and since he did not clarify whether we would have to wait for him to seat us we kept waiting. At this point two gentlemen came in, and after a brief encounter he told them it was ok to take those two seats we were waiting for. When I asked him about it, he said it was open seating, first-come first-serve, and we could have two seats in the corner, where we (being petite girls) could have barely fit in comfortably. The host in no way made it clear that seats were first-come first-serve when we first walked in, did not seem to feel bad in any way for giving away seats he implied we could take and just had a rude unprofessional attitude I would not want to deal with again. This place just came off my list of places to go out to in the neighbourhood. If you want a stress-free night I would suggest going somewhere more relaxed.

A

A Private User

50 minutes for a salty soup and a soggy panini? Our party literally ordered soups and sandwiches and it took over an hour to get all our food. There were three people in the kitchen and its not clear that they were actually cooking anything. One harried waiter apologized while another person -- didnt look like an actual employee of the restaurant, but maybe a friend who was bailing someone out -- came by once to refill our water after we asked. The hostess apologized to a couple nearby who left in disgust after telling her it was the worst restaurant experience theyd ever had. Another couple had to beg for their credit card back after the waiter disappeared with it, never to return. Which I will not be doing either.