Cityside’s dining balcony has been calling my name for months now, but I never had a reason to go. Friday night I had dinner plans with a friend & my boyfriend – we were pondering where we could grab a drink in a fun atmosphere and have a good but cheap meal. After using my iPhone instead of my brain, my “Urban Spoon” app came across Cityside. iPhone, you are BRILLIANT! Located in Brighton’s Cleveland Circle, the open windows and balcony seating provide a view of the busy but not so scenic area. Whether I’m looking at Boston’s cityscape or the Green Line, I don’t really care. As long as I’m outside enjoying the warm weather, I’m happy.
Bread: I honestly can’t for the life of me remember if we received bread. We were all pretty hungry and had our eyes on the prize with the nachos that we ordered.
Menu: I had a very hard time choosing my meal – Pistachio Encrusted Tuna Salad? Build Your Own Burger?? An app & a bowl of Spicy Chili? Decisions, decisions. After I ordered the Tuna Avocado Wrap I realized splitting the Buffalo Chicken Pizza would have been a great idea. Maybe next time…
Presentation: We ordered the Buffalo Chicken Nachos to start – they were piled high and could have easily fed 5 people. Every visible inch was covered in cheese, which was perfect because it provided leftover cheese for the bare chips underneath. One of the best nacho dishes I’ve had in a while, especially with the surprise of shredded carrots and corn! My Tuna Avocado Wrap came halved, with a large pile of sweet potato fries. The wrap was good, but had too much mayo and it was quite drippy. A wet sandwich is definitely a downside. The fries weren’t as crispy as I like, but I enjoyed the few I dipped in ketchup.
Buffalo Chicken Nachos
Bathroom: Clean and had a nice cloth lined basket for the paper towels. The power hand dryer definitely added some points.
Wait Staff: She was nice and present, despite the busy balcony scene. Although, she did forget the lemon for my water. An annoying request I know (and I called myself out for it), but still, I really wanted that lemon. I also want to note that I called ahead and put our name on the list for the balcony seating. When we got there the hostess mentioned that our name wasn’t on the list at all. When she went outside to speak to ‘someone’ I checked the list and not only were we not on it, but it was at least 7 parties long. I already had my speech prepared for when she told us we’ve have to wait to be seated, but she came back and sat us right away.
Overall: I’m excited to go back and try one of their salads… or pizza… or chili! I’m also curious about their weekend brunch. I had a great time on the balcony and the first level seemed like a great place to grab a drink or watch a game. The windows are all open in the summer (a la Brighton Beer Garden) which is perfect for a nice warm night.
The Perfect Bite: Tortilla chip, cheddar cheese, buffalo chicken, shredded carrots. Cheesy, different, and delicious!
The Perfect Bite, Boston 