LUCIE drink + dine — Restaurant in Boston

tl;dr If you’re considering the Colonnade or its restaurant Lucie for an event, don’t.

I booked the Colonnade as my wedding hotel in October 2023. My stay, unfortunately, was one of the worst hospitality experiences of my life.

For convenience, we decided to host the rehearsal dinner and welcome drinks at Lucie, the hotel restaurant. Between booking and our event, Lucie had a staff changeover and never notified us (we spent several weeks trying to contact a dead email address). The day-of execution of our event was so spectacularly poor, I struggle to find the appropriate words to describe it. Our day-of contact for the Rehearsal Dinner was not present, and there was no hand-off of our event to any qualified staff member. The entire event was seemingly run without an event captain, and at no point were we told that our contact wasn’t even on site. The service was so subpar, it felt like the staff had never worked an event before. As guests arrived, no drinks were served, no orders taken. I brought a special meal for one of my relatives with specific dietary requirements, which we confirmed with our planning contact was something the kitchen could heat and serve, but the staff only brought out half of the meal, the other half disappeared. The dinner was a full hour behind schedule, which meant the rental space could not be turned over for the welcome drinks, leaving our out-of-town guests stranded in the bar with no idea where to go. We had ordered food for the welcome drinks, but it was never set out. When I pointed out the missing food, it did eventually appear, but by that point our welcome drinks guests had already eaten food they ordered themselves. On top of all of that, the amount I was charged was higher than the bill I signed for after the meal. My contact never reached out to see how the event went, or offered an apology for the abysmal service we experienced.

The hotel itself also had many issues. Check-in was confusing - the front desk staff mischarged guests and many didn’t receive our welcome bags upon check-in. When I checked into the rather expensive bridal suite, several of the amenities were either broken or damaged. I was locked out of my room several times (including upon returning to the hotel from my actual wedding) as the keys and replacement keys provided by the front desk continuously stopped working. The suite was never turned over or even tidied at any time. I had arranged a late checkout with my planning contact, but the front desk staff was not informed and told me that I needed to check out by 11am (even as I sat on the floor of the hallway in my wedding dress, waiting to be let into my locked suite). As I mentioned, many of the welcome bags I prepared by hand were never given to my guests, and when my husband and I returned to pick up the extra bags, they had been torn apart by the hotel staff, everything of value taken.

When I raised these issues with the staff at both Lucie and the Colonnade, the staff acted as if this was everyday service, no sympathy was offered, no apologies forthcoming. I was made to wait to hear about what modest recompense they would consider offering for what they called “inconveniences.”

I was and continue to be extremely unhappy with the level of service at the Colonnade, especially considering the extraordinary rates they charge for the rooms and suites, and I would not return again or recommend the hotel to anyone visiting Boston. I especially urge all event planners and brides to steer clear of this place - they are not set up for events and lack even a modicum of understanding about hospitality standards. Find another venue, find another hotel. Don’t make the same...

The best part of this restaurant is the atmosphere and that’s kinda where it stops.

The food was just okay, the French onion soup essentially tasted like red wine, the salads were basic. My friends salad listed it having sunflower seeds but when it came there were none, so we asked for a side of them. It took 20 minutes and asking 3 separate people for them to eventually tell us the kitchen didn’t have any.

The service here needs some major work to match the vibe. It started off okay, but as it got busier it was clear that there was only one server and one bar tender for the whole restaurant, with one woman filling waters and running food. By the time we left the server had at least 10 it more tables at the same time and we even saw her behind the bar pouring drinks as well. Who we assume was the manager was milling around but not doing anything much with any speed or efficiency. Our waters weren’t refilled till we flagged someone down, we had to ask for our check, we got another table’s check, then when we finally got the right one no one was in sight to take it. We’re a patient group, but it took so long we had to go up to the bar to try to pay. Staff was not apologetic about wait times or even acknowledged at all how slow and inefficient the whole experience was.

For the extremely poor service, and just okay food, the prices were definitely not worth it.

I’d skip this place and go somewhere else, we only had two dinners in Boston and this one was definitely a...

This was THE. BEST. BAR. EXPERIENCE. I have EVER. HAD. Jamie, Nico, and the GM Liam made us feel unbelievaby welcome and put on a beautiful show.

We rolled up late, and Jamie kindly and expertly made us all bespoke cocktails while perfectly matching the energy and excitement we came in with. Jamie also spoke together delicious, mind-blowing cocktails whie casually performing brilliantly executed magic. Nico executed a flawless close of their well, all while chiming in with delightful quips, comments, and laughs. Liam told us unbelievable stories, welcomed us whole-heartedly, and has clearly put so much effort into curating a staff that cares so deeply about their time spent at LUCIE.

I'm only in town for a couple nights. As a bartender and performer from Chicago, I could not have been happier about the decision to stop in at LUCIE. This staff, this welcoming environment, the cocktails, everything about this place was entertaining and wonderful beyond what I could have possibly expected. Undoubtedly the best bar experience I have ever had, hands down.

Worth every penny, every moment, and the entire trip. A must-go for anyone in...