I liked the place. The food tasted great. You can choose from salad or a warm grain bowl and add there a shish kebab. They have different options for shish kebabs. I ordered a Caesar salad with chicken kebab. It was great. They have a nice drink menu. They even had 3 different options of Spritzes which is nice because I like them. My friends and I had a good time, we ordered desserts. We had Pot de Crème and some kind of donuts. Everything was so tasty. However, our waiter took forever to place our orders each time and to bring our checks. And he was always mumbling something. It was not a great experience. Other than that everything was perfect. There is parking available behind the building. This place is kinda small, I highly recommend making a reservation before you go there.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Peter Zuccalo
Great local place. Small menu but everything on it is good and cocktails are some of the best around. Can't beat the daily $1 oysters.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ben Ginsburg
Excellent selection of food, great cocktails, very kind and informative servers. As a bonus there was live music!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tom kulig
My daughter recently moved to West Newton after opening a catering business on Spencer St. For payment for helping her move, she took me to the Bluebird. After being seated, we waited a 5 or 10 minutes for the waiter to appear and we ordered cocktails. He arrived with cocktails and told us they were on the house because we had to wait. I almost fell out of my seat. Talk about treating your customers like you want them to return. After that we enjoyed a nice meal in a very comfortable restaurant. If you’re in the Newton area, check this place out. I know that I’ll be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Raw Oysters, Mushroom Panini, Ceviche
NatO
A perfect local spot, where the staff is always friendly, the service is welcoming, and the food consistently hits the spot. But what really seals the deal? The unbeatable daily $1 oyster special (3-5 PM). It's the kind of deal that keeps you coming back for more, adding that extra touch to an already awesome experience!
AprelM
Bluebird's brunch menu is outstanding and the service is excellent. Unfortunately the ambience was lacking. Sort of cold and dark inside with 80s rock band music playing. I felt like the brunch experience was a bit of an afterthought as the restaurant prepared for its evening clientele. However, the food was delicious and the service was great. Very attentive and polite servers.
Frankophile
Met a friend for lunch at the Bluebird Bar. The lunch menu is small (not including the numerous drink menus!), but has some nice Mediterranean-inspired options. My friend had a falafel sandwich with french fries and I had a grain bowl. The food was perfectly good and the portions were more than adequate. Our server was attentive, and the lunchtime noise level was perfect for two ladies of a certain age who normally have trouble hearing each other across the table in a restaurant. In fact, the restaurant seemed oddly subdued despite the fact that many of the tables were occupied. As its name suggests, the bar looks to be the real star here, and I imagine the space really comes alive in the evening.
Stéphanie Schneider
Decent place but not family friendly, staff can't handle anything not going perfectly. They seem stressed, not relaxed and fearful of anything. I asked to be seated in an area where I could lock-in my 2 year old toddler and we got a booth. They didn't offer any kid options but they came up with an egg sandwich and I had their cheeseburger. Food was good and my kid and I both ate quietly and honestly everything was fine (no fidgeting, no screaming... solid A+). I was solo with my kid and it was time to head out. I ask for the check and try to wrangle my kid into his coat. He escapes with the "you cant catch me look" and of course dashes behind their bar for a maybe 4 seconds before I get him back. Both the bartender and host (who are also doubling as waitstaff) yell at me that I need to control my kid, that he can't be behind the bar, and its a liability. While all that is technically true, the tone, delivery, uptightness of a stressed waitstaff and outright fear they transmitted was WAY over the top and I felt like the worst mother ever. I lost control of him for 5 sec, got scolded and then was delivered a check with a manufactured "thank you". I told them that I'd get out of their hair and never come back. They say they want to recreate a magical vibe but they are going about this in all the wrong way. They are in a residential family area, they need to calm their waitstaff down and maybe advertise no toddlers if they can. Go here if you are single, couple or a family without toddlers.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Ellen McNulty
Great meal, great service, interesting cocktail menu...definitely worth checking out!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
SuzyQ111
It was cozy and warm and the hostess, waitress and bar tender all checked on us to make sure we had everything. The music was wonderful and sound perfect---a noisy group entered near us and their laughter and talking never were even noticeable although they were close ---the music level is somehow perfect. Drinks were ordered all around and all food was great especially the blue fish pate---we will never NOT order it to share again.
The onion jam that is listed as coming with the burger had not been prepared. The Caesar salad was okay - the lettuce was chopped up small. The service was friendly but we went a long time without anyone coming to refill our empty water glasses.
AndyL
Enjoyed our meal at The Bluebird Bar. For starters we enjoyed the tomato & burrata skillet and smoked bluefish. For our group of 4 we shared the grain bowl with 6 skewers (lamb, chicken, swordfish, steak and two shrimp) plus the potatoes and the mushrooms which were all delicious. My companions enjoyed their cocktails as well - the French '75 and the Jungle Bird. The atmosphere was pleasant - easy to hold our conversation and the service was excellent. Recommended!
Delicious burrata appetizer, asked for more bread and that was ok. Extensive cocktail list! I had a mezcal cocktail that I enjoyed. Sauvignon blanc and shrimp scampi special were both very good although small portion. Music hadn't started ... we stayed until around 10pm and still no music, not sure when live music happens.
Rebecca H
Eat at the bar if you must (which I'm guessing you would when all of the other restaurants in West Newton have a wait and this is the only one with open tables).The waitresses stand by the food runner/expedite area and ignore you to the point where we had to flag down our waitress on multiple occasions (our drink glasses were empty for more than half of our meal). At one point we flagged down the manager because we were given the wrong check (a $332 check for the table of 6 sitting next to us and we were a party of 2) and he didn't even bring the check back to us (our missing waitress did, which is when I noticed the $2 bread up charge).Long story to say if you order the burrata appetizer, which costs $15 and has 4 small pieces of thinly sliced "Iggy" toast, check your bill for the $2 extra charge for extra bread (they are more than happy to offer more bread, but don't tell you about this charge and will tell you it's listed on the menu under sides as a recent change).The steak frites were overly charred to the point of tasting like charcoal and had our waitress even checked on us after the food was delivered I would have been able to send it back! I was hungry and ate around it by cutting the top/bottom.Service is horrible and I would normally overlook that, but the waitress brought the check to me confidently with attitude saying she had to charge me the $2 for extra bread when she did not tell me about this charge, ignored us the entire time, and clearly didn't know what was going on at any of her tables. I won't be back.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
jamarjo
This was our first time at bluebird, and it didn't disappoint. The atmosphere is cozy. The service is great and the food was wonderful highly recommend the steak frittes and the oysters!
I liked the place. The food tasted great. You can choose from salad or a warm grain bowl and add there a shish kebab. They have different options for shish kebabs. I ordered a Caesar salad with chicken kebab. It was great. They have a nice drink menu. They even had 3 different options of Spritzes which is nice because I like them. My friends and I had a good time, we ordered desserts. We had Pot de Crème and some kind of donuts. Everything was so tasty. However, our waiter took forever to place our orders each time and to bring our checks. And he was always mumbling something. It was not a great experience. Other than that everything was perfect. There is parking available behind the building. This place is kinda small, I highly recommend making a reservation before you go there.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Great local place. Small menu but everything on it is good and cocktails are some of the best around. Can't beat the daily $1 oysters.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent selection of food, great cocktails, very kind and informative servers. As a bonus there was live music!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My daughter recently moved to West Newton after opening a catering business on Spencer St. For payment for helping her move, she took me to the Bluebird. After being seated, we waited a 5 or 10 minutes for the waiter to appear and we ordered cocktails. He arrived with cocktails and told us they were on the house because we had to wait. I almost fell out of my seat. Talk about treating your customers like you want them to return. After that we enjoyed a nice meal in a very comfortable restaurant. If you’re in the Newton area, check this place out. I know that I’ll be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Raw Oysters, Mushroom Panini, Ceviche
A perfect local spot, where the staff is always friendly, the service is welcoming, and the food consistently hits the spot. But what really seals the deal? The unbeatable daily $1 oyster special (3-5 PM). It's the kind of deal that keeps you coming back for more, adding that extra touch to an already awesome experience!
Bluebird's brunch menu is outstanding and the service is excellent. Unfortunately the ambience was lacking. Sort of cold and dark inside with 80s rock band music playing. I felt like the brunch experience was a bit of an afterthought as the restaurant prepared for its evening clientele. However, the food was delicious and the service was great. Very attentive and polite servers.
Met a friend for lunch at the Bluebird Bar. The lunch menu is small (not including the numerous drink menus!), but has some nice Mediterranean-inspired options. My friend had a falafel sandwich with french fries and I had a grain bowl. The food was perfectly good and the portions were more than adequate. Our server was attentive, and the lunchtime noise level was perfect for two ladies of a certain age who normally have trouble hearing each other across the table in a restaurant. In fact, the restaurant seemed oddly subdued despite the fact that many of the tables were occupied. As its name suggests, the bar looks to be the real star here, and I imagine the space really comes alive in the evening.
Decent place but not family friendly, staff can't handle anything not going perfectly. They seem stressed, not relaxed and fearful of anything. I asked to be seated in an area where I could lock-in my 2 year old toddler and we got a booth. They didn't offer any kid options but they came up with an egg sandwich and I had their cheeseburger. Food was good and my kid and I both ate quietly and honestly everything was fine (no fidgeting, no screaming... solid A+). I was solo with my kid and it was time to head out. I ask for the check and try to wrangle my kid into his coat. He escapes with the "you cant catch me look" and of course dashes behind their bar for a maybe 4 seconds before I get him back. Both the bartender and host (who are also doubling as waitstaff) yell at me that I need to control my kid, that he can't be behind the bar, and its a liability. While all that is technically true, the tone, delivery, uptightness of a stressed waitstaff and outright fear they transmitted was WAY over the top and I felt like the worst mother ever. I lost control of him for 5 sec, got scolded and then was delivered a check with a manufactured "thank you". I told them that I'd get out of their hair and never come back. They say they want to recreate a magical vibe but they are going about this in all the wrong way. They are in a residential family area, they need to calm their waitstaff down and maybe advertise no toddlers if they can. Go here if you are single, couple or a family without toddlers.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Great meal, great service, interesting cocktail menu...definitely worth checking out!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It was cozy and warm and the hostess, waitress and bar tender all checked on us to make sure we had everything. The music was wonderful and sound perfect---a noisy group entered near us and their laughter and talking never were even noticeable although they were close ---the music level is somehow perfect. Drinks were ordered all around and all food was great especially the blue fish pate---we will never NOT order it to share again.
Restaurantji Recommends
The onion jam that is listed as coming with the burger had not been prepared. The Caesar salad was okay - the lettuce was chopped up small. The service was friendly but we went a long time without anyone coming to refill our empty water glasses.
Enjoyed our meal at The Bluebird Bar. For starters we enjoyed the tomato & burrata skillet and smoked bluefish. For our group of 4 we shared the grain bowl with 6 skewers (lamb, chicken, swordfish, steak and two shrimp) plus the potatoes and the mushrooms which were all delicious. My companions enjoyed their cocktails as well - the French '75 and the Jungle Bird. The atmosphere was pleasant - easy to hold our conversation and the service was excellent. Recommended!
Delicious burrata appetizer, asked for more bread and that was ok. Extensive cocktail list! I had a mezcal cocktail that I enjoyed. Sauvignon blanc and shrimp scampi special were both very good although small portion. Music hadn't started ... we stayed until around 10pm and still no music, not sure when live music happens.
Eat at the bar if you must (which I'm guessing you would when all of the other restaurants in West Newton have a wait and this is the only one with open tables).The waitresses stand by the food runner/expedite area and ignore you to the point where we had to flag down our waitress on multiple occasions (our drink glasses were empty for more than half of our meal). At one point we flagged down the manager because we were given the wrong check (a $332 check for the table of 6 sitting next to us and we were a party of 2) and he didn't even bring the check back to us (our missing waitress did, which is when I noticed the $2 bread up charge).Long story to say if you order the burrata appetizer, which costs $15 and has 4 small pieces of thinly sliced "Iggy" toast, check your bill for the $2 extra charge for extra bread (they are more than happy to offer more bread, but don't tell you about this charge and will tell you it's listed on the menu under sides as a recent change).The steak frites were overly charred to the point of tasting like charcoal and had our waitress even checked on us after the food was delivered I would have been able to send it back! I was hungry and ate around it by cutting the top/bottom.Service is horrible and I would normally overlook that, but the waitress brought the check to me confidently with attitude saying she had to charge me the $2 for extra bread when she did not tell me about this charge, ignored us the entire time, and clearly didn't know what was going on at any of her tables. I won't be back.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
This was our first time at bluebird, and it didn't disappoint. The atmosphere is cozy. The service is great and the food was wonderful highly recommend the steak frittes and the oysters!