Parish Cafe

12/20/08

Worst Treatment Ever Experienced at a Restaurant

by LindsayPaige at Citysearch

This is the first time I have ever posted a review. I am also about to call the manager. Last night, my boyfriend and I were trekking through HUGE snowstorm in Boston to try and find something to eat. We had been to Parish before and its wasn't bad so we thought it would be a good option for us. We were tired, hungry, freezing and somewhat disheveled from the storm when we arrived. You know what we were told? The overly inflated, horrendous bouncer told us we were too drunk to come in. Really? We hadn't had anything to drink. Rather than argue (mostly because we were so humiliated), we left. But I will NEVER set foot the Parish again and I will tell everyone I know in the area about what happened.

• Pros: Food is ok.
• Cons: Worst treatment I've ever seen from a restaurant in my life.

One of the Back Bay's most popular patios and an affordable menu of designer sandwiches make for a crowd-pleasing spot.

by Eric Grossman at Citysearch

In Short
Parish Cafe's primary draw is its patio, which provides prime people-watching along upper Boylston Street. A relaxed crowd camps at the bar to enjoy an impressive list of beers and martinis. Straightforward starters are overshadowed by an assortment of signature sandwiches, all of which were designed by local chefs. Examples include Ana Sortun's "Oleana" (beer-battered mussels, hot peppers and Turkish tartar sauce) and Jasper White's "Summer Shack" (pan-fried haddock, homemade seafood salt and tomato remoulade).

07/21/08

Atrocious Service; Great Sandwiches

by Quayle at Citysearch

Incredibly good sandwiches, but the surliest waitresses in Boston. I had the same experience as a previous reviewer -- I requested potato salad; I got coleslaw. When I politely asked for what I ordered, I got attitude. That said, the sandwiches are great, especially the Zuni Roll.

• Pros: Sandwiches
• Cons: Service, ugly waitstaff

07/08/08

The WORST service in Boston

by mlbrander at Citysearch

Went on a weekday at about 2 pm. It seemed as if the hostess wait staff went out of their way to be extremely surly and rude, it was if they were doing me a favor by letting me eat there. I made a point to say twice no tomatoes on my sandwich as politely as possible, but of course my sandwich had tomatoes. When I asked to have it remade without tomatoes the waiter and kitchen looked at me as if was my fault. The food was decent, I had the meatloaf sandwich, the bread was over toasted but it was pretty good. The one decent waiter in the restaurant did make an effort to reconcile the fault by comping the sandwich.

• Pros: intresting sandwiches
• Cons: Service and attitude

06/04/08

Are you kidding? Why do people go there?

by tpweez at Citysearch

Just an all around bad experience, I really don't understand why people bother.. Service was REALLY bad, waited 5 minutes to get seated in a half empty room. And the food is a JOKE, I've had better prepared sandwiches at Subway. They seem funky and different on the menu but they come bland and boring, one could eaasily make better at home. And I'm sorry but if I spend $12 for a sandwich I'd like more than a handful of potatoe chips. Overpriced and Over-rated - STAY AWAY

• Pros: location
• Cons: service, food

11/11/07

Great food, great beer selection, nice servers

by katiequack at Citysearch

I love this place. The food is always great, and is very reasonably priced for what it is. Appetizers are awesome - get the white bean hummus for an app or the vegetarian potstickers - both are yum. And the sandwiches are eclectic and interesting. The beer selection is second to none in Boston, and the service is unpretentious, laid-back, and quick. I love to bring out of towners here for a late afternoon lunch. Also good for after work drinks and apps. Don't bother to wait for an outside table during the summer, but watch your bags if you do get one - it's a busy street corner, and I've heard of several people whose things were lifted while they sat on the patio.

• Pros: nice servers, great food, incredible beer selection
• Cons: outdoor seating is crowded and wait for it is looonnngg

10/08/07

good food, better people watching

by trailmonkey at Citysearch

Very creative menu, loved the corn cakes. We both had sandwiches which were very good. Service was excellent. Overall, a very good experience and fairly inexpensive.

09/05/07

Overrated. Ridiculous policies. Unfriendly servers.

by wendyroberts617 at Citysearch

This place used to be great --- fun, friendly servers, lively atmosphere, and prompt service of delicious food. Not so much as of late --- the servers are poorly trained, rude, and slow. Atmosphere would be better if the servers would start off on the right foot. Last time I tried to go there, I was able to put my name on the list for outside, but then when I asked how long the wait would be, the server said "I can't give you a time estimate unless your entire party is here." What kind of sense does that make? Their signature serving style of "all servers are yours" has really fallen apart --- you're either bombarded by too many people or ignored by all.

The food is pretty consistent, but the menu needs some major updating --- the seasonal menus are the same year after year, especially the sides. I'm sick of their potato salad and cole slaw. Another drawback is that a majority of the sandwiches are meat, with bacon, and I'm not even a vegetarian, just tired of all the red meat options!

• Pros: consistent quality of food. good beer list.
• Cons: stupid policies. Bad servers.

08/04/07

Always a good time...

by quixotic28 at Citysearch

I am "The Bostonian." I've lived here my entire life and rarely do I find a restaurant or bar that is consistently great. The Parish is one of the few that make the grade. While I've been a fan of the "Regal Regis" and the "Lemondrop Martini" for years, there is always something new and exciting to try. They also make the only potato salad that I'll eat in the city. I recommend the Parish to all my friends and everyone brings back rave reviews. Thank you Parish Cafe for being such a huge part of the Boston industry scene.

• Pros: Yum

07/09/07

Innovative sandwiches, GREAT drink menu!

by ijdatz at Citysearch

We really enjoyed our visit to this restaurant. We were kind of afraid of the service being unnatentive after reading some reviews, but our service was fantastic. We even had to tell her (our server) to go away a couple of times (because we were talking too much to make dining decisions!) The drink menu was very fruitful and we really enjoyed the Mango Mojito and the Hada (a FANASTIC Pear martini) The sandwiches that we chose were realllllly good (though a few of the sandwiches on the menu did look a little scary.) I will definitely be going back.

• Pros: Food, Bar