Incredibly expensive for tiny serving sizes. I was expecting each dish to be twice as big based on the cost. The food flavor was just ok, drinks were good (but also small). I found this place from reddit and I think it's very overhyped. We ended up leaving dinner early and eating the rest of our meal from somewhere else
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Yana Pikman
This is Newton center’s hidden gem! Delicious food and wonderful atmosphere. we sat outside on a beautiful night. The octopus was divine! loved the tomato salad, risotto, rosti. They closed at 9 but let us stay much past, without feeling rushed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Pamela Zhou
the food here is great! i highly recommend the bluefin tuna if you like acidity, the risotto, and the zucchini a la plancha. since it’s small plates, prepare to order 4+ per person. the ricotta cheesecake was fluffy and perfect! however, the service could use some improvement. during a busy weekend night at the dinner rush there was only one server attending to the whole patio area. additionally, the dishes took a bit to come out. we waited 20 minutes for the shawarma chicken to arrive and when it finally did there was a long hair in it and we had to send it back. the hostess apologized and asked me if we would like a new one, which i appreciated. the food was good but for a price point like this i would expect moderately better service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Joyce K
Food is a mixed bag. Some dishes are excellent; the beet salad, lamb meatballs, and risotto. The broiled oysters, though, were a complete fail—the large oysters were not really broiled so much as warmed under a broiler so they were just warm, large, raw oysters. Focaccia was ok. Pavlova was another fail; the meringue was bland, hard rather than crisp, and the bit of rhubarb on top had none of the bright flavor you might expect. Service was excellent and they have a nice selection of wines available by the glass.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Gabrielle Lopez
Love the ever changing menu and simple concept. No frills, just quality.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Anthony Pannozzo
I wasn't expecting to be blown away when my friend suggested Thistle & Leek. Good restaurants are a plenty in this area, but multi-layered flavor experiences are rare anywhere. This place combines friendly, 'everyone knows your name' service with a menu you would expect from a Beard nominee in some hip downtown neighborhood. What to try? Everything. Pretend you are a food critic and visit several times over the course of 2-3 months to check off each item...but start with the mushroom ragout....that alone is worth the visit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Donal Waide
Top notch experience. Great service and some nice wine glass options.
Parking: Street parking to 6 p.m. opposite and outside restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mushroom Ragout
David Jones
first visit thought the food and service were both great. didn't love the chef table but understood that is what we could get. would definitely go back
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nick Citrone
Nothing was stand out. Some dishes didn’t work, like the cabbage, which is one of those dishes that’s in vogue right now and often executed well. Swordfish was overcooked. Potato confit was dry. Focaccia was served cold. Very limited wine offerings, standard cocktails. Dessert was the biggest miss. The chocolate cake was more of a spiced fruit cake than what you’d want to receive when ordering chocolate cake. Staff was friendly, no issues there. Atmosphere was probably the lowest point. Pea soup green walls against brown wainscoting with generic food based prints on the walls. Lights cranked up too high, music clashes with the perceived effect they are trying to achieve. Hard rock posters in the bathroom add to the confusion. Worst part? $500 bucks for four people. Usually I head into Boston or Cambridge to take my folks out for X-Mas, but I thought I’d opt for a quicker drive based on the reviews, but my mistake. Could have driven farther, and spent the same on known quantities like Sarma or Alden & Harlow and had a great meal. A real bummer.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 4
Leslie Lai
The atmosphere is warm and inviting, and the service is top-notch. The staff was incredibly patient and helpful, making us feel welcome from the moment we walked in. The owner even went the extra mile to ensure our young child was comfortable and entertained. But the food? Outstanding! Every dish we ordered was delicious, together a fine curation. Highly recommend!
I love everthing about this incredible gem in the heart of Newton Center.
Gigi Gigi
I love everthing about this incredible gem in the heart of Newton Center.
Justin Snider
Great restaurant and great vibes. Really good food served in small dishes. Loved the tartare, cabbage, potato salad, really everything.
Kind of restaurant that more places should aspire to be. Can't wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Robin R Johnson
Outstanding. Rivals Sycamore in flavor and creativity, and surpasses in atmosphere and service. Bravo!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Adam Rasmussen
An awesome tapas style restaurant. Staff is super friendly and knowledgeable. Expensive, but worm it. Will come again. I want to try everything
house baked focaccia, sesame, olive oil- Very fresh and good quality. It did come plain and lacked flavor focaccia usually has.wish it did come with some herbs or something on it. 3.5/5
smoked bluefish, new potatoes, pickled habanada peppers, crispy potatoes Very tasty. A cold Dish. Dish was very fresh and had strong flavor. The roasted potatoes inside and the crispy potatoes on top added great texture 4.5/5
mushroom ragout, chanterelles, maitake, poached egg, celery root Very savory dish. Mixed the poached egg on top which added a nice creaminess to the texture The mushrooms were perfectly sauteed and also had great texture. 4.5/5
lamb meatballs, tomato & ginger curry, garlic flatbread Star of the show. Meatballs are so tender and have so much flavor. The Curry is so savory and only adds to the lavor. And on top of that you have garlic flatbread, which was so fluffy and crispy 5/5
rice pudding, charred figs, toasted coconut
Creamy and tasty. The figs are poached in red wine and adds a nice boozy flavor 4/5
Incredibly expensive for tiny serving sizes. I was expecting each dish to be twice as big based on the cost. The food flavor was just ok, drinks were good (but also small). I found this place from reddit and I think it's very overhyped. We ended up leaving dinner early and eating the rest of our meal from somewhere else
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
This is Newton center’s hidden gem! Delicious food and wonderful atmosphere. we sat outside on a beautiful night. The octopus was divine! loved the tomato salad, risotto, rosti. They closed at 9 but let us stay much past, without feeling rushed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
the food here is great! i highly recommend the bluefin tuna if you like acidity, the risotto, and the zucchini a la plancha. since it’s small plates, prepare to order 4+ per person. the ricotta cheesecake was fluffy and perfect! however, the service could use some improvement. during a busy weekend night at the dinner rush there was only one server attending to the whole patio area. additionally, the dishes took a bit to come out. we waited 20 minutes for the shawarma chicken to arrive and when it finally did there was a long hair in it and we had to send it back. the hostess apologized and asked me if we would like a new one, which i appreciated. the food was good but for a price point like this i would expect moderately better service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Food is a mixed bag. Some dishes are excellent; the beet salad, lamb meatballs, and risotto. The broiled oysters, though, were a complete fail—the large oysters were not really broiled so much as warmed under a broiler so they were just warm, large, raw oysters. Focaccia was ok. Pavlova was another fail; the meringue was bland, hard rather than crisp, and the bit of rhubarb on top had none of the bright flavor you might expect. Service was excellent and they have a nice selection of wines available by the glass.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Love the ever changing menu and simple concept. No frills, just quality.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I wasn't expecting to be blown away when my friend suggested Thistle & Leek. Good restaurants are a plenty in this area, but multi-layered flavor experiences are rare anywhere. This place combines friendly, 'everyone knows your name' service with a menu you would expect from a Beard nominee in some hip downtown neighborhood. What to try? Everything. Pretend you are a food critic and visit several times over the course of 2-3 months to check off each item...but start with the mushroom ragout....that alone is worth the visit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Top notch experience. Great service and some nice wine glass options.
Parking: Street parking to 6 p.m. opposite and outside restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mushroom Ragout
first visit thought the food and service were both great. didn't love the chef table but understood that is what we could get. would definitely go back
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nothing was stand out. Some dishes didn’t work, like the cabbage, which is one of those dishes that’s in vogue right now and often executed well. Swordfish was overcooked. Potato confit was dry. Focaccia was served cold. Very limited wine offerings, standard cocktails. Dessert was the biggest miss. The chocolate cake was more of a spiced fruit cake than what you’d want to receive when ordering chocolate cake. Staff was friendly, no issues there. Atmosphere was probably the lowest point. Pea soup green walls against brown wainscoting with generic food based prints on the walls. Lights cranked up too high, music clashes with the perceived effect they are trying to achieve. Hard rock posters in the bathroom add to the confusion. Worst part? $500 bucks for four people. Usually I head into Boston or Cambridge to take my folks out for X-Mas, but I thought I’d opt for a quicker drive based on the reviews, but my mistake. Could have driven farther, and spent the same on known quantities like Sarma or Alden & Harlow and had a great meal. A real bummer.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 4
The atmosphere is warm and inviting, and the service is top-notch. The staff was incredibly patient and helpful, making us feel welcome from the moment we walked in. The owner even went the extra mile to ensure our young child was comfortable and entertained. But the food? Outstanding! Every dish we ordered was delicious, together a fine curation. Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I love everthing about this incredible gem in the heart of Newton Center.
I love everthing about this incredible gem in the heart of Newton Center.
Great restaurant and great vibes. Really good food served in small dishes. Loved the tartare, cabbage, potato salad, really everything.
Kind of restaurant that more places should aspire to be. Can't wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Outstanding. Rivals Sycamore in flavor and creativity, and surpasses in atmosphere and service. Bravo!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
An awesome tapas style restaurant. Staff is super friendly and knowledgeable. Expensive, but worm it. Will come again. I want to try everything
house baked focaccia, sesame, olive oil-
Very fresh and good quality. It did come plain and lacked flavor focaccia usually has.wish it did come with some herbs or something on it. 3.5/5
smoked bluefish, new potatoes, pickled habanada peppers, crispy potatoes
Very tasty. A cold Dish. Dish was very fresh and had strong flavor. The roasted potatoes inside and the crispy potatoes on top added great texture 4.5/5
mushroom ragout, chanterelles, maitake, poached egg, celery root
Very savory dish. Mixed the poached egg on top which added a nice creaminess to the texture The mushrooms were perfectly sauteed and also had great texture. 4.5/5
lamb meatballs, tomato & ginger curry, garlic flatbread
Star of the show. Meatballs are so tender and have so much flavor. The Curry is so savory and only adds to the lavor. And on top of that you have garlic flatbread, which was so fluffy and crispy 5/5
rice pudding, charred figs, toasted coconut
Creamy and tasty. The figs are poached in red wine and adds a nice boozy flavor 4/5
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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