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Parker's Restaurant
Rating Details »
Category: American (New)
Neighborhood: Downtown60 School St
(between Beacon St & Chapman Pl)
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 227-8600
- Nearest Transit:
-
Government Center (Blue, Green)
State (Blue, Orange)
Park Street (Green, Red)
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
15 reviews for Parker's Restaurant
I had my birthday dinner here last year! The restaurant is very elegant, with chandeliers and fancy decor. My travel buddy and I showed up about an hour before close, definitely not dressed formally, but we were welcomed right away. We enjoyed some Parker House rolls (not sure what makes them special) and fancy-looking entrees. There were virtually no vegetarian options, which was disappointing.
Our waiter, Francesco, absolutely made the meal, though. He knew all about the city, the hotel and the dishes in the restaurant. The way he described food was almost poetic. Toward the end of the meal, we realized the restaurant was closing, but Francesco insisted we stay a little longer to enjoy some Boston Creme Pie on the house with a candle on top. How sweet!
Overall, it was a great experience!!
This was our favorite spot for breakfast, and since we were staying in the hotel, it was also the most convenient. I liked the fact that I could order one egg benedict. The service was very, very good, and the setting is very relaxing and comfortable. The only negative is that the orange juice did not taste like it was hand squeezed here.
Bland. Bland. Bland.
The Parker House hotel is famous for inventing two well-known foods: the Parker House roll and the Boston Creme Pie. Otherwise, it's known for serving traditional foods from New England and beyond inside a beautiful early 20th century dining room. It features a menu that is charmingly outdated by contemporary standards but that necessarily isn't a bad thing.
I grew up with traditional New England food: boiled dinners, roasts, Beach Plum jelly and the like. It's thoroughly unpretentious but with unassuming simple clean flavors, but with a purity and honest authenticity you don't get often in a world overtaken with processed foods from laboratories.
But claiming tradition, as Parker's Restaurant claims, does not excuse poorly executed food nor does claiming devotion to tradition excuse a complete and utter lack of passion. I should get the one thing I enjoyed about this meal out of the way: The Parker House Rolls. Warm, moist, and with an absolutely perfect texture and a hint of sweetness. These were among the tastiest dinner rolls I've ever been served. Truly. But they must have been from another kitchen.
I was horrified by the tasteless Sole Francaise and the glutenous New England clam chowder, I have a hard time believing the kitchen has the ability to serve palatable foods any other week of the year.
For dessert I had the Boston Creme Pie (What else?), and I was flabbergasted by how mediocre it was, despite a very elaborate presentation of drizzled chocolate and raspberry reduction which tasted exactly like a Tootsie Pop. Hardly high-brow. Like the rest of the meal, the pie was utterly tasteless and lacking in character. The vanilla custard was sweet without the remotest vanilla flavor. The cake was dry, spongy and bland.
This place just strikes me as a slowly dying relic living off of the glory days. Tradition absolutely doesn't have to be tasteless and frankly shouldn't be; neither does a place like Parker's need to impress us with reinvention, fusion, or being "inspired". But commercial kitchens need to show a passion towards their food some kind of tangible excitement that passes along to the customer who is enjoying it. Here I found none. Even the icons that put the Parker House on the map, like the Boston Creme Pie, are underwhelming at best.
This is seriously the kind of place you'd expect to see on Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. So much potential, and so full of FAIL.
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Anybody who complains about the Omni Parker House's restaurant should stick to Applebee's or Hot Pockets. This is classic american Hotel food
from the pre-Alice Water's period. You will not find anything wasabi-crusted here.
You don't come to Parker's for creativity or interpretation. You come for the execution of very solid and well made american/new england dishes such as baked scrod, served with lots of tasty rolls.
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In 3 words: old school charm.
I've had lunch with some (much older) alums from my college during the week here a few times and it has always been pleasant. The service was friendly albeit somewhat slow (I think they're aiming for unintrusive). The decor probably appeals to an older clientele and to a complete lack of surprise, the clientele is substantially older. Finally, the food was good, though not amazing. Fortunately, for such a historic place (I forgot what the story is...), they don't charge you too much of a premium for your meal.
Parker is a good place to bring your parents/grandparents when they're visiting, but I probably would not find myself here for dinner regularly.
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Walk through the doors and you will find yourself in another world. Beautiful dark woods and gold laminated doors are everywhere. Walk past the Last Hurrah and the reception desk to Parker's, home of the Original Boston Cream Pie. Hand over your jacket to the nicest host ever, as he leads you into a beautiful dining room, where more dark wood is in abundance. Gape at the huge ceiling and feel slightly embarrassed that you are only wearing jeans....until the tourists come in wearing shorts?
Fill up your water glass? Sure
Wine menu? Of course! However, they are incredibly limited in glass options, so choose wisely.
Since it was Restaurant Week, we opted to get one of each item and split it....
The crab cake was delicious, the clam chowder creamy, however I could have used more clams.
The Caesar salad had an anchovy on top, and I made the mistake of eating it whole....
Rainbow trout with crab meat? Yes please!
Veal cutlet? Superb.
And now......the most important part of the night.....DESSERT
Apple crisp and Boston Cream Pie:
The Pie was placed in front of me. I didn't want to eat it at first because it looked so pretty. That ended pretty quickly and I dove in. REAL frosting! Not that crap that comes off in one piece. REAL moist cake, not sawdust. REAL custard, not Jell-o from a box. I swooned, I could never go back to any other Boston Cream Pie.
The Apple Crisp was amazing as well, huge chunks of apple and a delicious crust right on top.
Parker's is a great option for Restaurant Week, especially since their normal entree prices exceed $25.00. But it is definitely worth it, the service is exceptional, and I'm sure the rest of the food is equally exquisite. This place should definitely NOT be reserved for just tourists, all Bostonians need to experience Parker's.
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I picked Parker's Restaurant as one of my restaurant week meals because I wanted to have Boston cream pie at its birthplace. There's really not too much to say about this restaurant. It's a typical old school American restaurant with traditional American food. That being said, everything tasted good but was nothing special. Normal menu is very expensive but the wine list, surprisingly, had a lot of affordable choices. The service was some of the best I've had in the city. So, overall, not a bad place to take the grandparents for a nice celebratory meal but definitely a little too traditional for date night or girls' night out. As for the Boston cream pie? It was good but I think I actually like the Boston cream pie cake at Mike's Pastry more.
Here's the restaurant website for more info on the restaurant and hotel as well as the receipe for their Boston cream pie: http://www.omnihotels....
Summer Restaurant Week 2008
I was a bit trepidacious about a hotel restaurant, but hey, it's Restaurant Week--a great time to try new places. Plus, they invented the Boston Cream Pie and that was on the Restaurant Week menu!
As soon as we were greeted by the gracious host and led into the elegant dining room, I knew I made a good decision. The atmosphere was refined, but not stuffy or snobby. Throughout the meal, we found the service to be well timed and very attentive.
I had the gazpacho to start--which isn't normally a favorite of mine, but this was very fresh and had great flavor. The bonus of Restaurant Week here is that you actually get 4 courses for the prix fixed price, so I followed the 'starter' with an appetizer of a little crab cake. It was crispy and fried on the outside and gooey and crabby on the inside--almost more of a crab croquette than a crab cake.
The main course for me was the petite fillet--prepared perfectly at medium rare. I might have wished for the steak to be a tad warmer when it was brought out, but I guess that's the trade-off for the perfect level of done-ness. Along with the steak arrived creamy mashed potatoes and absolutely delicious grilled asparagus.
I wrapped it up with, of course, the Boston Cream Pie. It was more cake than pie (my first time trying it), but the cream layer was very yummy. My husband got the chocolate dessert and I preferred that one a bit more.
Overall, I was completely impressed with my "hotel restaurant" experience from the moment we walked in until literally the moment we left (we were looking for the restroom on the way out and were helped by a very friendly hotel employee). It was a great experience for Restaurant Week, but it definitely seems like a special occasion spot normally, given the regular menu prices. There were reasonably-priced options on the wine list though, which I always appreciate (e.g. bottles under $35).
Our group sat at the table where John F. Kennedy proposed to Jackie. Well not at the same table as it had been replaced, but in the same place where their table was. At least this was the legend and we bought into it. Had a great filet and of course the Boston Creme Pie for desert. Funny thing. I've had a lot of Boston Creme Pies in my time and they were all wrong as this place has the original and the others I had were nothing like it. This one was very cool. Great service. Great food. Great restaurant.
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I ate dinner here on a Wednesday night, while I was staying at the hotel. The restaurant was nearly empty. The waiters were attentive without being all up in my business.
The rolls were, of course, fabulous. The wine list was impressive and well organized. Their list of wines available by the glass was varied and respectable.
I had the chowder (excuse me, *chowdah*) and it was great. I had a peppercorn crusted steak, which was good but I thought there was too much pepper (and I am not overly sensitive to pepper). I thought it made the flavor of the steak less pronounced. I took some Boston Cream Pie to enjoy in my own hotel room.
Everything that they did was straightforward. The menu didn't really show any creativity, but all of the food was done very well. It didn't have the *wow* factor that I require in a 5 star review, but I have no outright complaints. Everything was good, it just wasn't fantastic.
Fancy Schmancy. At least to me. After hearing about Mandah and Joe's restaurant week experience I wanted to try this place out myself. I had an opportunity for a business dinner, so I decided on Parker's. Usually hotel restaurants aren't all they are cracked up to be. Overpriced, not as good quality. Parker's was good, but I felt it fell into some of the hotel restaurant traps.
I believe what you pay for is the location, ambiance, and prestige that comes with the Omni Parker House Hotel. The hotel is gorgeous, for sure, as is the restaurant, but if this restaurant wasn't connected to the hotel would it be as successful? I am not sure.
So, why do I give it 4 stars? Well, because I don't have much experience with restaurants of this caliber, and to me it seemed pretty good.
The decor and ambiance suggest the Victorian era. Classical music plays, the glass chandeliers, the mahogany wood everywhere, the carved details of the wood, and the details of the ceiling. Definitely feels like another era. The feel of the restaurant is also consistent with the feel of the hotel.
The service here is stupendous. Fernando (I think that was his name) our waiter was entirely attentive, pleasant and informative. He was not overly obnoxious but paid us just the right amount of attention.
For a meal, I got the calamari appetizer. The calamari was good, pretty standard, but I liked how they garnished it with green olives. Being an olive freak I was almost more excited about the olives than the actual calamari. The fianc got the clam chowder, which was creamy and delicious. Being a native New Englander I can sniff out bad chowder, but this my friends, was good chowder.
For the entre I ordered the shrimp and crab. Now, I thought I was a fan of crab, but remember once I got my food that I wasn't. The presentation was very nice, and the food very good (if I enjoyed crab a lot, I would have loved this). I don't hate crab all together so I did eat some. The veggies were a little skimpy, and I wished there were more.
For dessert: famous Boston Crme Pie. Now, the waiter didn't tell us that this pie came with coconut around it. It was a round piece of Boston Crme Pie with said coconut around the outside. I hate coconut. Despise it. So, I didn't enjoy this pie, but as with the crab, if I liked coconut this would indeed be a unique and tasted way to serve Boston Crme Pie.
The prices here are steep. I probably wouldn't pay out of my pocket to come here. But, if this is standard for you, and you want to try it, I would go for it. But, if this is steep for you, then wait for restaurant week.
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I had lunch here on a Saturday and I enjoyed it. The food was great. The menu is basic New England fare, but that was perfect for the cold day outside. The rolls were great! My dad loved his cheesesteak sandwich, fries, and chowder, and my baked scrod was delicious. Service was good, but not friendly. I didn't feel I could ask the waiter any questions - he was quite short with me. The decor was very old fashioned - scrolled woodwork, wood paneling, chandeliers. I would definately go back if I was in the area.
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We had breakfast here 3 mornings in a row. Aside from the slowness of the waiter, we had booth duty to get to, the atmosphere and the food here were both pretty good. We shied away from the buffet although it looked well stocked with lots of food options. If you are staying here, it's a great place to grab a bite. But if you are staying elsewhere, I wouldn't come here just to eat.
I went here for Restaurant Week lunch. The dining room was old and beautiful, but empty. Food was so-so, some of my courses were cold. Nothing to write home about.
The food was just "eh." It's a super duper conservative fancy restaurant and serves the usual chicken, duck, fish, pork dishes and they prepare them pretty well. But there's definitely nothing that sets the cuisine apart - nothing unique at all. It actually kinda reminded me of cruise ship-type of food. The food comes out with those metal covers. The wine list is also ok. Again, the restaurant is VERY conservative - definitely a traditional old men's club type of place. In fact, everyone in the restaurant was over the age of 50. Though the service, I'd have to say, was excellent.
