Restaurant Review: Del Frisco's

Del Frisco’s  

Del Frisco's of Boston
250 Northern Ave., Suite 200
617-951-1368

Having discovered Liberty Wharf, the new Boston destination for fun dining, when visiting , it was serendipity (and “Beef, It’s What’s for Dinner” as our mantra) bringing us back to visit restaurant neighbor Del Frisco’s. Temazcal and Jerry Remy's, alas, will have to wait for another day.

Somewhere in Texas there’s a law stating, “When you visit Dallas, you must eat at Del Frisco’s.”  Nary has a Texas local missed the opportunity to take me (never kicking and screaming) to Del Frisco’s.

Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse opened in Dallas more than 20 years ago. They strive to be a “fine American steak house,” serving great food (aged USDA Prime Beef), super wine (Wine Spectator Award Winning) and with impeccable service.

Boston is known as a seafood town, with a growing list of “beef” places to choose from. Abe and Louie’s, Morton’s, Capital Grill, the Palm, Smith and Wollensky, and Grill 23 all offer great choice for beef, with Morton’s and Capital Grill offering multiple locations. Somebody in Boston is eating beef…and so Del Frisco’s joined the party.

The Boston location is the chain’s ninth, opening April 23. It’s a large place, at 14,000 square foot, with a 400 seat restaurant, a 40 seat circular bar and lounge area, 70 seat outdoor veranda, and three private dining rooms. General Manager Gregg Rinaldi leads the Boston expansion, having completed a three year tour of duty as general manager at another Del Frisco property, Sullivan’s in Raleigh NC. He spent a year as GM at Ruth’s Chris Steak house, and five years as general manager of Wolfgang Puck Spago in Las Vegas.

The entry is a little odd. Sandwiched between JERRY REMY’s and the street is a revolving door. Enter through the door, and a hostess quickly invites you to climb the stairs to another hostess station. There, your reservation will be reviewed, and you can visit in the bar.

The views are spectacular, and what we are expecting from a Liberty Wharf establishment. It was a beautiful night, and the restaurant is set up stadium style…with every table having a water view. There is also an outside terrace….with limited seating.

The menu is what you would expect in a fine steakhouse, with a nice mix of filet, sirloin, veal, Porterhouse and lamb. Sides are extra and portioned to share. At this point, one of our companions commented, “If you covered my head and walked me in here, it could be like any other steak place in Boston.”

Except for the view. The other steak places tend to be dark, very dark, unless you are sitting by a window. Heck, we call Morton’s in the Back Bay "the bomb shelter," as it is below grade. At Del Frisco’s Boston – the light is brought in, “a first for Del Frisco’s” beamed one of the assistant managers. While the clientele was all upscale, with suits and sport jackets, it doesn’t have the feel of an exclusive men’s club like some other steak joints. A lengthy discussion ensued about the benefits of having natural light with the meal.

We started with apps of a salad wedge and crab cakes… all very fresh and tasty. We followed with a Bone in Sirloin (Del Frisco’s signature steak), a rib eye, and a trio filet tasting. Suffice to say, the steaks were all perfect.

One in our party declared Del Frisco’s his new favorite steak house in Boston, and another said he would return again soon.

We finished dinner with chocolate mousse and one other item. The mousse presentation was more like a layered cake, and while tasty, not what we expected.

Service was impeccable. Our waiter started out with a lame rhyming introduction…we later sat him down at the table and challenged him on the introductory rhymes. “Our Double Eagle steak is so good it’s not Legal,” in an obvious swipe at neighboring Legal Harborside. “Staff are encouraged to personalize their introductions,” explained this former Morton’s waiter who continued, “I really like it here. The steak seasoning is special, and the views are spectacular.” Since his service was exceptional, we let him off on a rhyming warning. 

His service was very good. When each course arrived, the table was quickly swarmed with additional servers so everyone got served at once…and the same thing happened at the end of the meal. Nobody sat with dirty dishes in front of them.

The tab was very pricey at $850 for three, including before/after dinner beverages and two $115 bottles of wine. Clearly, fine dining at Legal Harborside was more cost effective.

When the evening was over, the three of us decided to enjoy the evening in the area. We tried all three floors at Legal Harborside and the place was packed. Billy Costa was on the third level hosting a private event, and the other floors were packed. Ditto Jerry Remy’s, although we did get to admire how nearly every vertical surface in the place had a monitor on it. What to do? Return to Del Frisco’s, where Nicole again greeted us and cheerfully provided closing libations as the sun set.

We booked our reservation through Open Table, and used the valet parking. All in all, a perfect evening.

Del Frisco’s of Boston gets a

       Green Light – Go and enjoy

About the RAG scale:

       Green Light – Go and enjoy

       Amber Light – Use caution

       Red Light – Save your time and money

The Author

Gary Kelley has lived in Westborough since 1994. His reviews are what he would tell friends, and are not an academic analysis.