Estragon Tapas — Restaurant in Boston

The welcome was exceptional... seated in the lounge area in back... seated on the comfy sofa to eat tapas was the best! We had... (1) fried chick peas (delicious! ...but I think they are a wee bit overpriced for the size bowl you get), (2) shishito peppers (well cooked, but not well seasoned... some got hit with salt, some not), (3) tomato/garlic toast (really shouldn't buy tomatoes out of season, and they were under-seasoned... the toast was really good - in spots - some parts of the bread were yummy, other parts kind of plain), (4) garlic shrimp (cooked perfectly, great garlic sauce with a little heat in it), (5) vegetables with romesco (hit and miss again on the seasoning of the veggies, and the eggplant was kind of rubbery/chewy... the romesco sauce was delicious), (6) patatas bravas (I liked them, my wife thought the sauce tasted too much like spicy catsup), and chicken empanadillos (with the shrimp, one of the two best dishes if the meal). Given the notes... nothing was bad, but the seasoning of the food was uneven. For example, in the veggie/romesco dish, one slice of squash was fantastic, the next one, so-so. We will go back and try some other dishes, and either avoid the ones we were conflicted about or - in the case of the veggie dish - ask for it to be made to order (without eggplant). Mostly, I just would like too see better attention to making sure that all of the food is seasoned evenly. One more thing... the guy working the front of house (damn, forgot his name)... really excellent work, and I'll never want to sit anywhere but on the sofa in back ever again (thank you...

Came in for a bachelor party over the weekend. The food was good for the most part. However our server did not write anything down, and as most of our 11 member party has service-industry experience we had serious reservations about his abilities to get our orders correct.

As the food began to come out it became quite obvious that there were major issues with multiple items being brought out on one plate, like 3 orders of croquettes and no explanation that this was intact the case, or food dropped at the wrong guest, or multiple peoples items plated on the same plate and nobody being informed of this. So, some people sat there waiting for their items while the were on someone else's plate. It was all just a bit disorganized.

Additionally, there was a bit of confusion over the bill and tip as our expectation was that there would be an auto-gratuity added as is generally the case for parties of 6 or more. We did attempt to rectify the situation after our server came outside and aired his grievances over the amount that was left for him. Once his tip was increased to a more than reasonable amount considering the quality of service he again voiced his concerns.

If the expectation is that the server is going to receive a 20% as a minimum there should also be an expectation that everyone at the table will get what it was they had in fact ordered. The food was delicious, the vibe was chill. Writing down peoples order is a basic step of service that avoids this...

To put this review in to context, I’m comparing to the other major tapas bar in Boston:

The food is incredible. The star of our experience was the toasts, of which we got 8 (all options) for 5 people. The best were the blood sausage and the mushroom.

The fish of the day was monkfish and was great, the octopus was miraculously tender!

The shishito peppers were as they should be, the croquetas were fine. Patatas bravas, while good, were not as good as Barca wine bar’s.

We got the pitcher of hibiscus Margarita and it blew me away! So great, and reasonably priced! Would order again in a heartbeat.

Ultimately, the food here was incredible and the experience was pretty upscale. The ambiance was just alright, nothing to write home about.

Dessert was good, but not great- olive oil mousse was super interesting. Would not recommend the peach sorbet (we got chocolate sorbet, which was great but a weird choice for peach. Another flavor could’ve been better)

We all wound up decently full and had one drink, paid around $50/pp. For the price point, 4 stars. Otherwise easily 5 star food!

Highly recommend as a date spot and definitely don’t skip the toast :)

If you’re looking for some grub at a cheaper price point, Barcelona wine bar is a decent...