Bang Bang into the room!!!
Bang Bang Shrimp all for you!!!
Okay, I’ll stop now…
But honestly I had that dang song stuck in my head last week while I was checking out the newly opened Bonefish Grill in Waltham, a suburb of Boston. I’m such a dork!
It was just such a great night so I was in a fun, silly mood. That’s what happens when you are enjoying fantastic food and drinks. (Plus, a solo night our it hard to juggle at times so this felt extra special that we worked it out on a night when Price had a Conservation Committee meeting with the city.)
Ultimately, you really can’t go wrong having a delicious dinner in brand spankin’ new restaurant. The best yet is that the Waltham location features their brand new design concept. It’s stunningly beautiful with rich woods, cool lights, and fun decorative features.
Prominently featured at the entry of the restaurant is their elegant wood backed bar. And opposite that is a feature wall that divides the bar area from the dining area that serves as wine bottle storage and display. Flanking the central wine storage section are fun lighting features that are reminiscent to the mangroves in their previous design style.
And the best yet is that the bar creates fantastic cocktails that can kick off and end your meals. I highly suggest the espresso martini to end your meal, like how we rounded out our dinner. (more on that later!)
Our group had the pleasure of sitting in one of their private function rooms that can accommodate a variety of seating arrangements to seat 12 people at a large table all the way up to having 80 people at a party.
It was a great space with a Westerly view that is fantastic for sunset watching. Just ignore the Costco in the foreground. Luckily from my seat I couldn’t see it, only the vibrant pinks and purples that streaked the sky.
Dinner started with Bang Bang Shrimp and Lobster Flatbread served as passed hors d’oeuvres. These were accompanied with a glass of sparkling wine. The perfect way to kick off our evening. Or you could visit yourself to share some apps with some friends while sitting at the bar enjoying a glass of wine.
Bang Bang Shrimp is their most popular dish. It outsells everything else. It wasn’t one of the menu staples when they first started but over time it was created and people became hooked. The numbers magically averages to 3 orders per table. That’s insane, but I can totally understand.
The addicted shrimp is coated with a seasoned breading mixture, and then are deep fried, before being served to you they are tossed in a creamy, spicy sauce. The sauce is killer. It’s like a spicy mayo that is served in sushi, but that isn’t even the best way to describe it as it’s way more than that. But the heat of the sauce grabs your attention and the crunch of the breading has you grabbing one after another after another!!
The Lobster Flatbread is another one of their Signature Starters.
It’s a wood-grilled flatbread that is topped off with pieces of cold water lobster, mozzarella, and red peppers. That is then drizzled with a with lobster-infused sour cream and a generous sprinkling of chopped green onions is tossed on top. Lobster on lobster goodness. It’s not overpowering but well-balanced.
Next we enjoyed their fish taco. Their Blackened Baja Fish Tacos is a hearty dish composed of three fish tacos and a side of greens. The filets of blackened fish are nestled in warm tortillas and then finished with shredded fresh romaine and mango salsa. Drizzles of lime crema + fresh herb pesto finish the dish.
I felt my taco had a teeny bit too much herb pesto so it was a bit drippy and messy, but the flavors from the salsa were great, so it was an acceptable ‘issue’. The blackened fish had so much flavor, a spicy, smokey flavor, which went well with sweetness of the mango salsa.
The thing that really impressed me with Bonefish Grill was their history and their approach to dinning. They really try to make the night out feel like a night out, and not like you are dining at a chain, it just so happens that they have over 200 locations. Even then, the organization has a limit of how many restaurants they will open in a year allowing for attention to really be paid to each location, making it perfect for that community.
While we enjoyed our different courses we enjoyed 2 different wines that were paired with them. We first started with Masi Masianco, a Pinot Grigio and Verduzzo from Italy, then went to Conundrum, a red blend from California, as the dishes got heartier with spices and sauces.
The next small plate was a mini version of their Cilantro Lime Shrimp Salad (full sized featured above). The mix of greens with roasted corn, black beans, grape tomatoes, red onion, and feta cheese goes really well with the cilantro lime vinaigrette that lightly dresses the salad. The whole thing is topped off with 5 grilled shrimp.
The salad was great but the real show stopper is how it’s platted, brought to your table, and then presented. They put a clear open bottom cylinder in the bowl, layer all of the salad ingredients into it, and, of course, topping off with the fanned out shrimp. This is then brought to your table and when it’s presented to you the server removes the cylinder and your salad perfectly spills out into the bowl. Loved watching that presentation.
The Surf and Turf was the main for the evening.
While some people might overlook poultry, pork, and beef options, but they really need to consider them as great options for dinner as Bonefish Grill does such an amazing job wood-grilling their fish that they put that very same effort and skill set into their other meat options.
The Surf and Turf plate came with Ahi Tuna served with their Pan-Asian Sauce, Chilean Sea Bass with Mango Salsa and Filet Mignon. Each were utterly amazing in their own right, but my hands down favorite was the Ahi Tuni. The doneness of the tuna was spot on with a muted violet center and charred grill marks on the sides. There are several sauce options but I think that Pan-Asian Sauce was paired perfectly with it. The thing that I loved most was the buttery texture of the fish, it flaked apart so I didn’t even need a knife and it was buttery and tender. A real winner and something that I would order again.
The dinner ended with a Pumpkin Creme Brule. It was perfectly fall themed. It was a great way to celebrate the season with the rich pumpkin and spices mixed into the creme brule.
And they use freshly whipped whip cream. That is one of those minor things I judge a restaurant on. I just appreciate the extra effort they put into it than using a canister system. It’s inconsequential, but I always take note of it.
One of the diners has an allergy to cinnamon so they substituted her Creme Brule with their plain one, which is a menu staple. As well, there were 2 other guests with different allergies and the staff easily accommodated for their meals. There is an area of the kitchen and grill that is reserved for preparing and cooking for people, whatever their dietary needs may be.
The Creme Brule was incredible, but the real star of the show was the Espresso Martini.
An espresso is brewed for each martini order so it is really fresh. So fresh that I didn’t experience any bitter old coffee flavor that I sometimes get when I order an espresso martini. They also infuse their own vanilla vodka. It all was just wonderful and the best way to end the meal. A sip of the cocktail and then a bite of the creme brule, repeat.
It was a wonderful night out allowing me to meet new people, check out a new restaurant, and have a wonderful meal.
I know I’ll be back for the Bang Bang Shrimp!!! Especially on a Wednesday night when you can get the appetizer for just $6. yyyyyeeeeeeeessssssss!!!!
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While I was invited to attend this event to experience the new Bonefish Grill and share about the dinner, all opinions are my own.
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And now let’s get to the fun stuff…. THE GIVEAWAY!!!!
Bonefish Grill is giving away a $50 gift card so you can have a great meal out at one of their 215+ locations.
JUST ENTER HERE!!!!!
open to US residents. giveaway runs until 10/17/15 @ 12am
