Our friends just moved to the South End this past weekend and suggested we all go to the South End Buttery – you don’t have to twist my arm! Originating as a bakery & café, the Buttery quickly grew into an all around restaurant serving brunch, dinner, and gourmet take out lunch. We walked through the bakery to the hostess stand (I averted my eyes) and were led downstairs to our table. I was immediately impressed with the décor and couldn’t wait to check out the American/English comfort food menu.
decor
Bread: Served in a small silver bowl were 4 pieces of herb focaccia, with EVOO on the side. A great way to start the meal, and I would have eaten another piece had we not ordered parmesan-garlic fries for the table 😉
bread
Menu: Starters, Mains, and Sides – should be a pretty simple decision, but the side dishes that came with the entrees were controlling me! The turkey burger was topped with guacamole & chipotle aioli, the salmon had a side of tabbouleh, and the hake came with lobster mac & cheese! I realized that lobster mac & cheese is a rarity and went with the Silver Hake. The Spicy Butternut Squash Soup to start was no brainer.
parmesan-garlic fries
Presentation/Taste:
Parmesan-Garlic Fries with truffle aioli: Our friend Sophia asked if we wanted to share the regular fries or the parm-garlic fries – another no brainer! Piping hot and the perfect cut (I don’t like big, beefsteak type fries). Came with chipotle or truffle aioli, we had the latter and was not disappointed.
Spicy Butternut Squash Soup – hazelnut brown butter / ginger crema / crispy parsley: Served in a deep bowl, topped with beautiful swirls of ginger crema and what I believe was sunflower seeds, which was a great addition of texture. I’m not positive what the ‘spicy’ ingredient(s) were, but it added a small kick & distinctive taste.
Chatham Silver Hake – lobster mac & cheese / parsley-lemon bread crumbs / braised leeks: So I discovered that I don’t like hake. I thought I’d be safe with choosing a white fish, but let’s be honest, I really just wanted that lobster mac & cheese! I pushed the fish aside and focused on the main attraction – large fusilli pasta with a light cheese sauce and large chunks of lobster. The portion was so large I couldn’t even finish it, which was a shame b/c it was so delicious.
hake w lobsert mac & cheese
Bathroom: Simple & plain, but I will give them props for the super Dyson airblade hand dryer!
bathroom
Wait Staff: Our drinks took a little longer to be delivered then normal, but otherwise we had a pleasant evening with our waiter.
Overall: Small & cozy, which completely worked for this establishment. I felt like we were in someone’s basement with the leather booths (complete with pillows!) and large photographs of dogs decorating the stone walls. All we needed to do was light a fire & I would have felt right at home. Dinner portions were generous & the prices were reasonable with barely any entrees hitting the $20 mark. I can’t wait to go back for a latte & a cupcake!
The Perfect Bite: I may sound like a broken record but I have to go with the Spicy Butternut Squash Soup.
spicy butternut squash soup
The Perfect Bite, Boston 
Colleen and I stopped here for brunch over the weekend but the line was too long! We’ll need to give it another shot.