Branch Line — Restaurant in Watertown

I’m writing this review in context of my wedding, but I’ll preface that I’ve come here many times prior to choosing it as the special spot for our big day. I’ll speak on the food part first so folks can benefit from that strictly on food/ambiance. Food: extremely accommodating BOH team. We love going for brunch (chicken and waffles and chicken banh mi are both sooo good), and they now have tacos on Mondays that are killer. Great cocktails, but the thing that I think about all the time is the creme brûlée and pot de creme desserts they have. Insane. I will say that I don’t feel like their menu changes all that often, and sometimes it would be nice to see a few new things. But on the whole, their staples are great. Oh, the crab cakes are also delightful! Ambiance: Ambiance wise, I like both indoor and outdoor options (though the last few times I ate outside in summer, there were a lot of wasps that wouldn’t leave us alone). Not a deal breaker and just the general con of eating outdoors. The inside is lovely and can feel a bit more intimate with the bench seating. Music is never too loud. They also have a covered patio with heaters so it’s nice to eat outside even on chillier nights.

Parking is plentiful bc there’s a lot you can use that’s free, and honestly there isn’t much wait when I’ve gone bc it’s a bit off the beaten path.

Choice as a wedding venue: probably unlikely that you’re reading this review for a wedding but in case you are...this location and the team is INCREDIBLE. Restaurants are SO UNDERRATED when it comes to weddings and I don’t understand why. The food we knew was going to be awesome, but it was extra incredible bc the chefs worked with us consistently to make our ideas come to life. I worked in restaurants and my dad owned a restaurant, so the food part of the wedding was so important to me. It honestly felt like a lot of pressure bc my friends know I love to eat, so everyone was like “well we know your wedding food will be great since you’re a foodie*”. Triggered. My anxiety was through the roof to make this perfect. Luckily, the team at Branch Line did not disappoint me AT ALL. Deena and Teagan kept me honest every step of the way, put my incomprehensible word vomits into concrete ideas & helped parse through panic decisions vs rationale ones. My guests dietary restrictions included gluten free, vegan, allergies, and BL tackled it all. I think I told them I loved them? I still mean it. (In case you’re wondering, my guests STILL rave about the food and it’s been a month. PHEW!). Restaurants just make sense. They execute service FLAWLESSLY. They have the plates and supplies so no extra rental needed. They know the drill, they know their venue space inside and out, and the location perfectly blends indoors and outdoors. Probably the only complaint I’d have (no one has complained to me personally) is that I couldn’t fit everyone in one space. We awkwardly split folks up during the sit down meal, but since my wedding was a brunch wedding without dancing, it honestly didn’t feel that weird. If you have a bit of an unconventional wedding like mine, restaurants are way more accommodating to things that suit your style. For instance, I made it pretty clear to Deena that I didn’t intend on having dedicated dancing. She made me feel at ease and said “no problem, we have corn hole and we can set up other games, or you can connect with these entertainment services I’ve worked with” (we didn’t end up doing that since my fiance and I made a bunch of table activities and iSpy games that people enjoyed). It just felt like I kept hearing “yes, and” instead of “no we don’t allow that”. Additionally, they helped walk me through all the decor changes I could make (it was thorough), and even let me keep some of their flowers on the tables.

Overall, the entire Branch Line team really put in so much effort to make my wedding work out, and I am so incredibly thankful for them. If you’re looking for a venue for your special day, I HIGHLY recommend them!

*to be clear, I do not claim being a...

I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt by emailing my concerns but after not getting any response, I’m now making my review public.

On Sunday 3/21/21 at around 4:45pm, I called to make a reservation for two adults and one toddler for 5:15pm. I told the host that we preferred to be seated on the patio. When we arrived and were brought to our table, the hostess did not offer us a high chair so I asked if we could have one; I also told her we have a booster seat in the car and I could get it if a high chair wasn't available. The hostess said something along the lines of "We have them but they're scattered all around" and she suggested I grab our booster seat. I did take a look around and from what I could see on the patio and inside, I didn't see any high chairs being used by any other party. I did end up grabbing the booster seat from the car as I didn't want to be any more of an inconvenience to the hostess.

We then waited and saw servers attending to all of the surrounding tables and we were never even offered water. I'm not sure how long we were waiting, I want to say it was between 10-15 minutes at least when I waved down the hostess and said that no one greeted us and we were ready to order our food. Since we had our 15 month old with us, we had looked at the menu earlier so that we could expedite ordering so we could get home in time for our daughter's bed time routine. While waiting for our food, a female server with red curly hair dropped off utensils and plates but didn't say anything to us. I have no idea if this was our assigned server. Our food was brought over by a female who I assumed was a manager. She was friendly and she engaged me in a short conversation about our babies. At some point the hostess came over and asked how our food was, before I even took a bite.

Later in our meal, a male server came by to check on us and I asked for a box and the check since I was worried if I didn't speak up at this time, it would be another 20 minutes before we got anyone's attention. Again, I have no idea if this was the server that was assigned to us.

I have never ever tipped less than 20% especially during COVID but I could not bring myself to leave more than a 10% tip because I still have no idea who's section we were seated in. I will say the level of service we received was absolutely not worth the money that we paid...

We’re literally in the midst of a summer heatwave. It’s 6:30 PM and the “feels like” temp is 90 degrees. It’s been a 10-hr day working with 3-yr olds…but being the good wifey that I am, I hustled over to Branch Line to watch my hubby play live music w/ a jazz trio. Needless to say, it’s time for this Preschool teacher to eat!

There was a busy, yet fast-moving line to the host stand. Turns out that there was a decent wait if you didn’t make a reservation. Fortunately for me, I’m flying solo for dinner, so I played the “my husband’s in the band” card. I was seated immediately, yay!

Travis was my waiter, and he was very friendly and welcoming. I placed an order for the “Butterfly Effect” mocktail and the “Roasted Brick Chicken.” My drink and entree came out in a very timely manner. There was no complimentary bread and butter, which was totally fine, as I was here to eat my weight in protein, lol! (It’s chest day tomorrow and I need that extra strength when I hit that bench!)

The mocktail was refreshing and just sweet enough to satiate my craving for an actual boozy cocktail! The brick chicken did not disappoint - perfectly cooked - tender, juicy, and topped with chimichurri. The dish also came with crispy feta potatoes that looked amazing, but I boxed them up and saved them for my husband. The only thing that could have made this meal possibly better would be air conditioning…and I was ever-so-grateful for the occasional breeze that came my way.

The guests were a mix of young and old, including couples, and families with young children. The vibe is chill, and the dress code is casual. The staff is friendly and accommodating. There was a free parking garage across the street with plenty of space.

In conclusion, I highly recommend Branch Line for anybody looking for a good-quality and tasty meal, in a...