Boston's Sonsie Restaurant: Trendy but Traditional Boston Staple

Sonsie restaurant, at 327 Newbury St. in Boston is one of the most popular and enduring restaurants in the Back Bay area of Boston. Founded in 1996, Sonsie, like Boston itself, somehow is both trendy and traditional. The location, near the Massachusetts Avenue end of Newbury Street, is perfect for people watching and represents a great meeting place for an after work drink, a night on the town with friends, a business dinner or a romantic dinner for two.

I recently visited Sonsie and was surprised to see that the décor hadn't changed much since my last visit nearly four years ago and yet the restaurant and the entire scene both seem as fresh and vibrant as ever.

Sonsie features a large bar, where many congregate before dinner, or simply to enjoy cocktails and perhaps some appetizers at the bar. The seating at Sonsie features basically two options: closer to the back of the restaurant for larger parties or near the front of the restaurant with French doors that open up during nice weather adding a whole other dimension to the Sonsie experience.

One of the few changes to Sonsie over the past several years has been the addition of a Wine Room in the basement. There, the restaurant offers a fantastic wine selection as well as a sampling menu. This room can also be reserved for special events and private functions and can accommodate groups of up to thirty eight people. The Wine Room is open every night but Sundays.

The service at Sonsie, like the restaurant itself, is both relaxed but professional. I have eaten here more times than I can count and I have never had anything but top flight attention from a pleasant and eager to please wait staff.

Of course, the décor, atmosphere and people watching are all great features of Sonsie, but the bottom line must be the quality and value of the food. And I can tell you, Sonsie doesn't take a back seat to anyone in the area when it comes to their chef and the food preparation.

Sonsie's menu is probably best described as 'contemporary American'. Quite a few of the entrees are Italian influenced and, this being Boston, after all, a good selection of fish and seafood is available.