The Elephant Walk
Boston, MA 02215
Phone: (617) 247-1500
- Price:
- $$$
- Cross Street:
- Park Drive
- Best of Citysearch:
- Vegetarian Food 2007
- Hours:
- Mon-Thu 11:30am-2:30pm, 5pm-10pm, Fri 11:30am-2:30pm, 5pm-11pm, Sat 5pm-11pm, Sun 11am-3pm, 5pm-10pm
Message from The Elephant Walk
Innovative New Cambodian and French menus in Boston and Cambridge
- Large Vegetarian Menu
- Full-Service Catering
- Sunday Brunch
Paid advertisement by The Elephant Walk.
Editorial Review for The Elephant Walk – by Citysearch Staff
The Scene
A colorful crowd of food lovers make the trek to sample hard-to-find Cambodian dishes and non-fussy French fare. Attentive young servers and colorful, eclectic dishes provide the bright, upbeat dining room with plenty of atmosphere (there are also many elephant images, for good luck). Libation lovers have a menu of fruity house concoctions to select from, as well as an exciting wine list that's full of rare, international varietals.
The Food
Wise diners mix and match the menu's endless assortment of French and Cambodian dishes. Must-try starters include devilishly fun Nataing (ground pork-coconut milk dip that's served with crunchy jasmine rice cakes) and Leah Chah (steamed mussels in a savory Asian basil broth). Among the Gallic options, a smart choice is the Porc Diplomat--grilled pork tenderloin with a creamy mushroom, garlic and black pepper sauce. Leave room for light, pleasing desserts like white-chocolate mousse with tart raspberry coulis.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
Insider Tips
ParkingGood luck finding parking in this heavily residential area (forget about it when the Red Sox are in town). Fortunately, there's an on-site parking lot that is free for lunchtime patrons and costs $7 (valet service) at night.
Know Before You GoWord to the wise: unless you have an iron tongue, order the Cambodian dishes on the mild side and ask for a dish of hot sauce (spicy here means more than a pinch of curry powder).
Save MoneyA four-course tasting menu, served Sundays through Thursdays, costs only $29.95.
User Reviews for The Elephant Walk
01/14/2008 Posted by mitcoffee
When it comes to French-Cambodian cuisine, there are very few restaurants names in Boston that come to mind besides the Elephant Walk restaurants in the back bay and Cambridge. With this in mind, we went specifically for the change in palate, and what a surprisingly nice dinner it was. The back bay restaurant is discretely located on the East end of the BU campus- not too flashy from the outside, but upon entering- the ambience is pleasantly fancy. It accommodates to a wide variety of clientele- business partners. first dates, girls' parties, family dinners and local restauranteurs. We went on the night of a big Patriots game; yet it was rather packed! The staff was friendly, attentive- yet not overly in-your-face. As for food- the menu consists of cambodian and french cuisine- which was actually to our surprise since we'd expected the trendy 'fusion-cuisine.' Both of us went with cambodian- starting with spring rolls and a raw tuna/avocado salad- both of which was quickly yet delicately prepared- not too salty but flavorful, and furthermore: unusually generous in portions! For entrees- we went with the traditional braised/steamed seafood stew and the sea scallops- both of which were nothing like what we could've ever imagined! Delicious, not too salty (which is unfortunately the case for many restaurants!), delicate balance of different flavors, well-portioned, and beautifully presented. The mashed edamame that came with the scallops was particularly memorable! We indulged so much in the appetizers and entrees that had no room for dessert ! This restaurant comes well-recommended. Another note: for the food quality, service and ambience- this restaurant is not over-the-top in prices!
Pros: Ambience, Service, Unique cuisine
Cons: You might need to make a reservation!
05/07/2007 Posted by meemz
After waiting a long time to find the time to go to this highly recommended restaurant, we were utterly disappointed. Service was ok at best with the waitress not being knowledgeable of any menu items to recommend. My dish was described as "Signature Cambodian dish", but fell short of being even close to average. The seafood was overly fishy and the flavors were unpleasantly pungent. My bf's lamb was ordered medium rare and came out borderline medium-well done. Prices were insanely overpriced and the authenticity of Cambodian food was far from met. We have had a lot of great, authentic Cambodian food in Long Beach, California for half the price, which leads us to ascertain that Elephant Walk is an overly hyped, overly priced, mediocre restaurant claiming to creatively infuse French with Cambodian food with absolutely no success. Perhaps they should try to master Cambodian food and French food individually before attempting to infuse the two together. I would not recommend this place to anyone.
Pros: easily accessible
Cons: pricey, overrated, mediocre unauthentic food.
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