"Booze In Boston"

Check out our latest review on Booze In Boston!

Neighborhood: Beacon Hill
Address: 75 Chestnut Street
Website: http://www.75chestnut.com
Date of Visit: Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Server Name: Osmar

The Vibe

Situated just off of Charles Street on quaint and romantic Chestnut Street in Beacon Hill, 75 Chestnut is truly a neighborhood treasure. Owned by the same fine folks that oversee the Hampshire House and Cheers, the family atmosphere was apparent as soon as you walked through the door. Chestnut is a small yet cozy restaurant with low lighting and a casual yet classy feel. The other patrons enjoying dinner or drinks on Valentine’s Day were all friendly and chatting with one another and the restaurants staff, all while nibbling on a community cheese and fruit platter situated near the door. 75

The servers were quite knowledgeable about both the menu (despite it being altered for the occasion), as well as the wine and cocktail list. Our waiter was able to offer quick suggestions to us upon request, and was quite attentive throughout the entire evening. The food here is reasonably priced and quite frankly, delicious! There were only a few things that we were even somewhat put off by. The first bring the annoying telephone that rang constantly throughout our dinner, and the subsequent answering machine recording that played each time the hostess/manager/maybe owner missed it. The other aspect that we were less than enthused by was the “Yule Log”-esque fire being displayed on one of the television screens, and the weird assortment of music. We’re not sure if these are common to the everyday operation of 75 Chestnut, so we’ll give them the benefit of a doubt. Another great thing about 75 Chestnut is that many of their cocktail and wine are “green,” and they even host Green Thursdays weekly – check out more info here (along with other special events). We will definitely be back!

The Drinks

Valerie’s Drink of Choice: St. Germain & Pineapple Cosmo
Ingredients: Homemade pineapple infused vodka, St. Germain, pineapple juice, fresh lime juice
Cost: $12.00

Review: Although perhaps not the best pairing for the amazing steak I ordered, this Cosmo was very good! You can definitely tell the difference with the homemade infused vodka as the flavor was much sweeter and natural. The vodka, paired with the pineapple juice gave this drink a distinct pineapple flavor, but when cut with the St. Germain (an elderflower liqueur) it was well rounded. I would order it again, but there were also other drinks on the menu I’d love to try! Also…I loved the glasses.

Cheers:

Eric’s Drink of Choice: Local Flavors Martini
Ingredients: Berkshire Ragged Mountain Gold Rum, New England Corn Whiskey,apple cider, local maple syrup, fresh lemon juice.
Cost: $12.00

Review:
This cocktail was loaded with layers of flavor, each one developing as I held the first sip in my mouth. The flavor profile was simple, but the way the flavors seemed to come in waves made this yummy libation oh-so-complex. The maple syrup paired with the lemon juice and cider gave the drink a smooth, sweet flavor with a bite at the end, which offset the whiskey. The local rum was surprisingly good (I don’t know why, but I don’t usually think New England as a rum haven), but seemed to lack the usually spice or sweetness I’ve come to expect. My only wish was that the bartender used a bit of simple syrup (or a bit more), just to level out the mouth feel a bit. Other than that, this cocktail was a pleasant surprise for a bar not widely known as a cocktail haven!

Cheers:

The Stats

Wine Prices: Twenty one whites and thirty red wines are available. Most are by the bottle only for $26 to $95, but select varieties are offered by the glass for $7.50 to $11 each. Six champagnes & sparkling wines are also available. The full wine list is online here.

Beer Prices: We didn’t see any beers listed on the menu in the restaurant or online, but we did see some diners drinking it…unfortunately we don’t have any information to provide!

Other: 75 Chestnut has 14 drinks on their cocktail menu (they also have eight brunch drinks!). While the prices were not listed on the menu, our guess is that they’re mostly around the price of our two, which was twelve dollars. Other options include the “Boston Dirty Water,” a Chai Toddy, and a Rye Manhattan. While their “green cocktail” list seems to stay the same, the martini list changes seasonally. The full cocktail menu is online here.

Here’s a picture of the DELICIOUS Raspberry Creme Brule Cheesecake we had for dessert: