Parish Cafe is an American restaurant located in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood, offering gourmet sandwiches invented by local chefs as well as an abundant collection of beers, wines, and cocktails.
Parish Cafe
Overall Rating: ★★★★ out of 5 stars
Address: 361 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116
Neighborhood: Back Bay
Perfect For: Unique sandwiches in a leisurely and casual atmosphere
Hours: Sun – Wed 11:30am – 12am, Thu – Sat 11:30am – 2am
Reservations: No
Parking: Street, Garage
Links: Website, Menu
Cost: $40 per person (food only)
Parish Cafe has ample indoor and outdoor seating as well as a full bar that stretches the length of the restaurant. Despite its casual ambiance, it’s a sit-down restaurant with table service, not an order-at-the-counter type of cafe. They also have late hours compared to most cafes, opening until midnight or 2am depending on the day of the week.
Parish Cafe is unique in that its menu is mainly composed of gourmet sandwiches created by local chefs. The restaurant’s owner approached some of Boston’s best chefs and asked them to each create a sandwich for Parish Cafe. The result is twelve interesting sandwich creations, from Eggplant Milanesa (fried eggplant and avocado on torta roll) to The Hajj (grilled lamb kofta on toasted naan) to The Bondir Brisket (slow-roasted BBQ brisket on sesame bun).
The sandwiches are on the expensive side, about $20-$25 each, but they are large and hearty enough to be shared between two people, especially if appetizers or sides are also ordered.
The menu also includes a limited section of soups, salads, and comfort food entrees such as mac & cheese and bolognese pasta.
I ordered a “Le Mistral” sandwich as well as a half order of onion rings (photographed above).
“Le Mistral” was created by Chef Mitchell Randall of Ostra, featuring medium-rare beef tenderloin, caramelized onions, mashed potatoes, arugula, bel paese cheese, truffle aioli, and crispy onions on ciabatta bread. This was a very dense sandwich bursting with flavor, very tasty but sometimes feeling a bit heavy or repetitive at times. The ciabatta bread was delicious, with perfect texture and softness.
The onion rings were beer battered and served with a chipotle aioli dipping sauce. They were very fresh and crispy with a beautiful golden brown exterior, but understandably a bit oily and messy to eat. I wish the ratio of onion-to-breading was a bit higher, as I felt like I was mostly eating the breading and not getting enough onion.
Service was a bit lacking. Despite visiting the cafe during a quiet time, service was slow. It took 15 minutes just for someone to stop by my table to take my order. I also had to be vigilant about getting my server’s attention in order to ask for my check to avoid further delays. If you’re looking for a quick meal, I recommend ordering takeout instead of dining in.
If I returned to Parish Cafe, I would be interested in trying out the Eggplant Milanesa sandwich, Back Bay bolognese, or the white chocolate bread putting.
