Sel de la Terre

07/05/10

Service questionable

by gregd on cs , Citysearch Contributor at Citysearch

I want to write a good review for Sel de la terre, and maybe after another visit I will.

We arrived with a reservation and were seated promptly. We were served water. Then, we waited, and waited, and waited. After 30 mins of being ignored in the middle of fthe dining room I asked a server if he knew who our server was. He said that he could take our order, so we ordered.

Our appetizers arrived after a while and I requested bread since none was brought. SDLT is known for their bakery, so you would think bread would be automically served.

As we were enjoying or appetizers, but clearly not finished, our main course arrived. Everything took forever, except when it should have had some leisure.

Our server did ask if our food was good, and that was the only real attention we received.

After finishing our meal we sat with dirty dishes and our flatware at the 5 o'clock position signifying that we were finished for probably 15 minutes.

We viewed the dessert menu, and when we planned to leave without dessert the server offered it to us for free. We were never apologized to for the initial wait, but the free dessert must have been the apology.

Overall the food was good, not outstanding, and the service polite when we finally received it.

I like the menu and will try them again. If you want to impress someone go somewhere else.

• Pros: Food once served is good
• Cons: Service, Price

06/03/10

Great for lunch: entrees and price

by trishofthetrade , Citysearch Contributor at Citysearch

I'm going to preface this review and say while I have been going to Sel de la Terre for a couple years, I've only been here for lunch.

I think this place is pretty tasty. I don't usually get an appetizer but the eggplant goat cheese with walnuts goes great with their house bread.

For a main course, I usually get a special or the house burger. It comes with rosemary pommes frites which are always a win. The burger says it has spicy aioli, but for those mild kids out there I hear ya and you shouldn't be scared. Not a huge fan of their salads and their pastas/risotto can be a little heavy for luncn.

As for dessert, everything does look mouthwatering but the chocolate fondant molten cake with homemade marshmallows and graham cracker ice cream is tops.

Everyone is always friendly although I'll be honest and say service can seem a little slow. It's a toss up really whether or not it's slow because I know I need to be somewhere or it's slow because it just is.

The closest T is probably Copley station but if you caught an E train and got off at Prudential you could work through the mall to get to it.

• Pros: House burger, desserts
• Cons: Occasionally slow service

04/02/10

Not your typical hotel restaurant

by JustinCanCook , Citysearch Contributor at Citysearch

Located in the new Mandarin Oriental Hotel in the Back Bay, Sel de la Terre is not your standard stuffy hotel restaurant. Fantastic burgers and great rosemary fries compliment the casual French menu. All you can eat charcuterie on Wednesday nights, and the occasional $1 oyster specials prove that good value can be found at even the swankiest hotel. Try the carrot cake with cream cheese ice cream.

• Pros: Great bar, Charcuterie, Rosemary Frites

02/09/10

Had Better

by Brandy RRR at Citysearch

I went here for dinner one night and it was not anything to write home about. The food was okay and grossly overpriced. The service was okay as well. When he interacted with us, he was good. The key word here being "when". The food I wanted to order was no longer available (on their regular menu). They said they were "sold-out" for the evening and it was only about 7 pm on something like a Tuesday. The decor is very nice. There are some nice points about this restaurant but I think my biggest hardship was when I asked the hostess if they special had a certain ingredient in it that I was highly allergic, she made us wait to check and then came back and said there was none. When we sat and tried to place our order where I restated my allergy, the waiter went and checked again and said I could not have it due to my allergy. The food was good but I am sure this place could do much better.

06/03/09

Great Food and Sketchy service

by meatfenway at Citysearch

I have never been at the location on State St, but I hope it has better service than the one on Boylston. While the food is excellent, the service was pathetic. You don't know who really your server is because everyone does its own thing in MANY different ways. You can tell some servers have some experience and others have absolutely no training at all. The restaurant was not busy at all and the food took forever. The server kept disappearing and at one point we finished the bottle of wine before the entrees arrived. I had to stand up to get the hostess and asked her if she knew how I could get a glass of wine that was order over 25 minutes ago (while my dinner was getting cold). The glass finally arrived after 30 minutes so I drank it with my COLD food. The presentation of the food was very nice and most of the dishes were very well balanced and tasty. However, I don't think the OVERPRICED wine list and the POOR service may entice anyone to go to this place. Save the aggravation and go across the street to Atlantic Fish of the Italian Steak house.

• Pros: Great Charcuterie plate and bar open late (until 1:00 am)
• Cons: Service is terrible and very informal