Apocrypha

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craig_schmidt

Joined 8 years ago

Best restaurant in Needham, maybe the western burbs. We had a great dinner at Apocrypha this weekend. The food was excellent., with the pear souffle a particular standout. They prepare some food tableside, like the Caesar salad and a roast chicken. It was easily up to standards of our favorite places like Upstairs on the Square and Salts. The chef worked at the Inn At Little Washington for 3 years, and obviously knows what she's doing.

They have a really interesting cocktail menu. They do regular and funky versions of drinks, or "canonical" and "apocryphal" in the menu's terminology. Try the apocryphal sidecar, with pear brandy :-).

The room is nice and quiet, with the tables nicely spaced for privacy. The crowd was pretty dressed up, definitely out for a "fancy" dinner.

The wait staff was very professional. All in all, a really good experience, with all the little details handled nicely. Good value for money too, compared to Boston restaurants.

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Editorial Review. Eclectic, upscale restaurant provides Needham Center with a stylish spot in which to enjoy modern interpretations of classic French and Italian fare.

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bostondiner77

Joined 8 years ago

A Wow!. My husband and I went to Apocrypha on the recommendation of some friends to celebrate our anniversary. We knew that we would be in for something special, but our experience definitely exceeded any expectations that we might have had. The service was more than accomodating and the food outstanding. We especially enjoyed the tableside presentation of the Caesar salad. The chocholate souffle was also a must! Our meal was accompanied by a special bottle of champagne that their sommelier guided us to which also happened to be from the same year that we were married making our evening even more special. good food and wine aside, we felt as though every other detail had been seen to. glad to have such a great hidden gem here in the boston area.

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mssrvaldemar

Joined 6 years ago

Definitely a Find in Needham. My girlfriend & I ate at Apocrypha last night. We did the 7 course tatsing menu (paired with "libation"), which was a treat because there were actually 16 different dishes (the only one that was the same for both of us was the amuse bouche - a tempura brook trout with a pancetta fondu). The highlights for both of us were the cured mackeral, gnocci with shaved truffle, risotto with cabbage, lamb, and rabbit. The pairings were a bit different too - in addition to a bunch of wines I never heard of the trout got paired with a small champagne-like cocktail and the mackeral with a belgian ale. Servers are very knowledgable and the room really romantic. We'll be going back soon

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sjbrinker

Joined 6 years ago

South of France meets New York City in Needham. My wife and I had dinner at Apocrypha Restauraunt in Needham last weekend, and it was one of the best meals we've had since moving to the area. It's like a cross between a family bistro in the south of France and a gourmet New York restaurant.

We started with a couple of their "apocryphal" cocktails at the bar, inventive twists on standards such as Side Car and Martini. When we were seated, our server brought us a seared scallop with a delicious dipping sauce as the "dalier", compliments of the chef. We then had the tableside Ceasar salad for two, which was a great production to watch. A segue between our salad and our main course was another compliment of the house, a lemon "snow cone" for me and a sampling of frozen fruit for my wife. I then had the lamb, which was out of this world, while my wife had the pheasant. Great flavors! For desert we shared the soft sherbet, which was better than any ice cream I've ever had.