Grotto is one of Boston's best-kept dining secrets, mainly because its location on a Beacon Hill side street is desserted after the State House workers go home for the evening. The tiny restaurant is tucked below street level on Beacon Hill, easily missed until you notice the warm glow of the signage hovering just above knee-level. Those who are fortunate enough to chance upon it, or hear about it through word-of-mouth, discover an intimate setting for fabulous food. Inside, Grotto's red walls and seemingly-haphazardly-propped paintings give the appearance of a sophisticated boho apartment, a laid-back and sensuous respite from the tony buttoned-up neighborhood.
Chef/owner Scott Herritt's menu is Italian-inspired bistro menu is full of stews, pastas, and marinated meats, culling bits and pieces from all over Italy, and then some. Fontina cheese fondue with tenderloin tips. Crab ravioli with pistachio nuts and saffron. Semolina crusted trout with bacon gnocchi. Atkins and cholesterol be damned. As the red walls seem to say, life is too short to forgo a little hedonism.
On to the tasting menu. The starter I chose was the baby spinach salad with incredibly juicy beets and raspberry vinaigrette. I’m not normally a salad orderer, unless I feel weighed down by whatever I had the previous day, but this was simply amazing. Next was the main course, potato gnocchi with braised short ribs, mushrooms, and gorgonzola. The gnocchi and ribs are cooked so perfectly that they simply melt in your mouth.
And speaking of melting, for dessert, the piece of melting chocolate cake shared by my neighbor was incredible. Still, my own dessert was better: a banana bread pudding topped with butter pecan ice cream that puts other bread puddings to shame.
Herritt took time away from his kitchen to come by the table and thank us for coming. Although the restaurant has been running for roughly a year and a half, it was still fairly empty for such a high-calibur restaurant, even for a Wednesday night. We had to admit to him that we had only heard about it recently ourselves.
"It's the neighborhood, I guess," he said. "I've sort of been relying on the devoted food fanatics who come and seek us out."
We'll spread the word, we promised.
Grotto - 37 Bowdoin St., Beacon Hill
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