Blu — Restaurant in Boston

After a long day at work that left me with no desire to cook but imparted a hunger-induced catatonia, I decided to redeem my Groupon for Blu Restaurant. Unsure of how busy the restaurant would be on a Tuesday evening, I made a reservation via Open Table. As I later found, this was quite unnecessary. When I arrived, I waited patiently for a few minutes for the host or hostess to seat me, and grew increasingly impatient as no staff appeared. Finally, someone noticed me and took me to my table, my annoyance growing as I realized that only one other table was occupied. With so few diners, why had it taken so long to seat me?

My waiter quickly delivered dinner and cocktail menus and promptly disappeared without providing bread or filling my water glass. Nearly five minutes later, he returned with water and took my food and drink orders, departing once again without providing bread. Then, just as my appetizer arrived, so did another waiter holding a basket of bread.

With eager anticipation, I consumed a few spoonfuls of the wild mushroom soup, thankful to finally eat something. Unfortunately, the soup did not meet my expectations. While the mushroom flavor was strong and pleasing, the soup lacked any depth whatsoever. Another ingredient, perhaps a touch of heavy cream or crème fraiche, would have greatly enhanced this dish by offsetting the boldness of the shiitake mushrooms. Nonetheless, I finished the soup quickly, its nourishment slowly restoring my faculties.

I then took a piece of the focaccia, which happens to be one of my favorite types of bread, and used it to soak up a bit of the soup residue left in the bowl. Yet again, I was disappointed, this time because the bread seemed under-baked and improperly leavened, leaving it both surprisingly sticky and overly dense.

After quite some time, my waiter returned to clear the soup bowl I'd been finished with for approximately ten minutes, refill my water, and gauge my satisfaction with the caipirinha I'd ordered. Concerning this last item, I was disappointed yet again as the drink was both weak and almost flavorless.

At long last, my entree arrived, and by looks alone, it seemed that Blu would redeem itself somewhat with its Pan Roasted Rainbow Trout. While the trout itself was quite satisfying, the bacon vinaigrette that accompanied it was applied so heavily as to ruin the dish's remaining ingredients. Perhaps if the vinaigrette possessed more flavor and consisted of a touch less oil, it would have been a welcome component of this dish, but instead it imparted an oiliness to the Brussels sprouts, spinach, and carrots that I found wholly unappetizing. Making matters worse, the carrots and sprouts were, in most cases, so heavily charred as to overwhelm the vegetables' underlying flavors. A few of the sprouts did, thankfully, escape this fate, exhibiting a hint of rosemary and demonstrating the dish's potential.

Overall, the service was quite slow, my drink watered down, and the dishes artlessly prepared, resulting in a poor experience that gives me little reason to try this restaurant again. I also found Blu's prices to be excessive considering the poor quality of my meal, further condemning this...

I'm sure others have commented on this, and nothing Blu can do about it, but the elevator opens to the reception desk for the Equinox Fitness center. So you may have people pre-post workout with you n the elevator or that you have to navigate through to get to the restaurant.

Once inside Blu, the atmosphere was comfortable and modern. The wall of windows looks out onto the theater district which provides a nice backdrop for dinner, drinks and conversation.

The service was professional and responsive, the drinks were delicious with a small, but interesting mix of signature cocktails.

The food was delicious and arrived without delay, albeit, the pace of food courses was a bit rushed.

My wife and I shared the Tuscan Kale salad which they offered to serve on separate plates. The salad was fresh and very flavorful with a delicious lemon vinaigrette dressing which was offset by the currants and topped off with a generous portion of shaved parmesan. We also shared the Turkey and Quinoa Meatballs which came with a Sriracha aioli. The meatballs were tasty with some Mediterranean seasoning and we both thought they would be a great item to attempt to make at home. Our entrees, Herb Roasted Cod and Braised Beef Short Rib, were both outstanding dishes with balanced flavor and cooked to perfection.

Pricing was reasonable and the value for the quality was excellent. We would recommend Blu for a wonderful dinner out before a show or a relaxed evening with friends. Definitely more relaxed and not stuffy or pretentious. Worth a...

This place seems to be confused as to what it wants to be and who it wants to attract as a clientele.The website photographs displays a sophicated menu with good presentation in an attractive contemporary setting suggesting it might be a good choice for couples to dine pre theatre or for professionals to get together after work.The food we ordered was well prepared and the service was good with a very reasonable priced menu and bar. The disappointment however comes with the recognition that the white tablecloth candleliite tables set by the windows are packed in very tightly and immediately to the side of them is a bar that has most of the clients dressed in their gym wear, tshirts, jeans, and sneakers.The diining ambiance was not enhanced by the woman who chose to wear a wifebeater style tank top displaying large back and full sleeve tattoos seated at the bar. ..The management might do well to consider some type of dress code in the evening more consistent with what might be expected given the ambitious plan to present itself as an upscale and romantic restaurant or to simply expand the cafe and cater to the sports club crowd and folks working on...