Gargoyles On The Square

04/28/10

High-class food for a nice night out

by gethebassics , Citysearch Contributor

I came here to celebrate my 19th birthday a few years ago, and it was definitely a great place to do so. The decor is really cool, gothic almost, and the food was top-notch. We had a tuna appetizer - usually I'm not a fan of appetizers because they cost a fortune at nice places like these, but this tuna was worth it! It is SUPER pricey so take a date that you want to impress ;-)

• Pros: Fancy food, great service, fun decor
• Cons: Pricey pricey pricey!

05/10/09

very disappointed

by dunger

We had high expectations for our Mothers Day Brunch. Two of the four meals were very cold. Egg whites were substituted for scrambled eggs and the portions were very tiny, these folks went away hungry.

Coffee was cold, and didn’t like the “self serve”

08/19/08

Outstanding flavors, weaker service

by perchdogg

I went to Gargoyles with my girlfriend on a Saturday night and neglected to recognize that Boston's Restaurant Week was in full swing. The place was very crowded and although we had a reservation for 8 pm, we weren't seated until 8:30. We passed the time with cocktails and had to stand in a very crowded bar area that overlapped with a dining area. The hostess seemed incredibly flighty and naive to the preferences of a more expensive restaurant's clientele. I heard another patron complain very vociferously about the rudeness of the maitre d'.

Once seated, we were thrilled with the menu and choices. Our waiter was very friendly and attentive without being over-bearing. For appetizers we had baked figs and the tuna poke which were both great. The figs may have been a bit too filling for a first course but this was forgivable because of the flavors. The tuna was excellent with simple flavors that accompanied each other extremely well without creating an overwhelming effect; a strong first dish. For entrees we enjoyed the duck confit and bbq pork loin - both were very good, well-seasoned and plentiful. Finally, for desserts we tried the panacotta and chocolate cheese cake; while the panacotta was solid, the cheese cake was a stellar dessert. I should also mention that we tried Gargoyles' take on sangria, which bore minuscule resemblance to its inspiration and should probably be skipped.

Though the wait for a table was long, the food was more than I hoped it could be. You may just need to pad your schedule a bit if you think of coming here on a busy night. We would go back.

• Pros: FOOD -
• Cons: Crowded and noisy, and we did get hints that service is generally sub-par though our experience was acceptable.

07/29/08

good date restaurant

by dizzy02138

I love that Gargoyles has a seasonal menu and uses local and fresh produce. From my two experiences it can be a little bit of a hit-or-miss with the flavors, at least for me. I've been underwhelmed by a few of the appetizers although the presentation was beautiful. But, my entres were both great. However, it is always interesting and I have had some great dishes... so I'm happy to experiment. My only complaint is that both times our table was very close to the neighboring table so it was difficult to tune out their conversation or feel that I could converse freely. Otherwise, the lighting is low and the ambiance is romantic.

• Pros: original dishes
• Cons: close seating

11/11/06

Great variety

by spollock4

We've eaten from the regular menu and the bar and found both to be terrific. Definitely recommend Gargoyle's as a first stop for the night as well as the main event.

• Pros: reasonably priced bar menu
• Cons: crowded on weekends