Date Night at 75 Chestnut

To me, Beacon Hill is the most underrated neighborhood of Boston.

The Back Bay has its shopping, restaurants and Newbury Street.

The North End is bustling with people, bars, restaurants and festivals.

While it seems like the rest of Boston is geared towards the tourists, Beacon Hill feels like home.

And dining at 75 Chestnut was like eating in the family dining room.

To start our evening, David and I went to Smith & Wollensky for drinks with some of the local concierge crew. I had my usual gin/ginger beer/lime concoction. Each summer I seem to go through a drink phase. Last year it was Malibu and Diet and this year I am all about the mule drinks. We were there for about 30 minutes before walking up to Beacon Hill.

Our reservation was sat immediately and I quickly went over to the table at the front that had crackers and sharp cheddar cheese. I loved the “home” touch! It’s like they were saying “Welcome to our home! How’s about some cheese and crackers?” I could not get enough of the cheese. We split two plates.

To start, I had a Malbec wine. The taste and texture were perfect, and I was able to keep it to one drink for the entire meal. David and I did share a pineapple drink during our dinner as well.

For an appetizer, I chose the Boston Bibb salad with goat cheese, apples, cranberries and roasted pecans in a light vinaigrette.

This was probably one of the best side salads I had ever had. The toppings weren’t overly abundant, nor were they lacking. And the dressing coated every single piece of lettuce, without saturating. And for $5 as a side, the price was not bad either.

My main course was the filet mignon, topped with chipotle butter, with fingerling potatoes, veggies and onion strings.

On the positive notes, the steak was cooked perfectly and the sides (besides the strings) were perfectly portioned. The one thing that I did not like about this meal was the overabundance of seasonings on the steak. When I have steak, I like to taste the meat. This was, for a lack of a better word, slathered in salt and seasonings. I could only manage a couple of bites. David had the tenderloin tips, and at 4 tips, the size was severely lacking as well. (David later brought this up with the manager and apparently when trying to keep the size at 8oz, the dish looks rather short changed. He mentioned that David’s observation was not the first time he had heard it). I liked the taste of his better though; it was more chargrilled.

Overall though, we really did enjoy our time at 75 Chestnut. The service was great, the ambiance was laid back yet romantic and we were able to have a conversation without shouting. This is definitely a place where I would return to.

The dinner at 75 Chestnut was complimentary, but these opinions are that of my own.

75 Chestnut is located at 75 Chestnut Street in Boston, MA.

Tagged as: Beacon Hill, dinner, romantic, steak