How does Fenway Eventide stack up to the original?

The brown butter lobster roll at Eventide Fenway tastes just like the one at the original Eventide Oyster Co. in Portland, Maine: gobsmackingly good.

It comes on a Chinese-style steamed bun, which has the mild sweetness of white bread but its own compelling chew. The roll is served warm, the brown butter the lobster is tossed with a richer, deeper substance than the drawn butter that accompanies summer’s steamed lobster. That’s a dish for carefree frolickers. This is a lobster roll for the complex soul: the poet, the self-taught tarot reader, the rucksack traveler. Eating it is contemplative, a Zen koan of the mouth. A bite, and then enlightenment! (It’s still really good with beer.)

Eventide Fenway a sleek setting for seafood lovers

Sleek and spacious, with floor-to-ceiling windows and light blue walls — on approach, you’d swear you were entering the Apple store. Stools and counters overlook bustling Boylston Street; there are also a few longer tables and stools without views. Order from a series of flat screens at the entrance, beneath which a friendly server stands, device at the ready, to take orders. You’ll receive a text when your food is ready. Pick everything up at a rock-walled counter topped with oysters on ice, and then relax: There’s mellow guitar music on the speakers, and you’ll (almost) forget the bustle on the other side of the glass.

Tables: Openings, Closings, and Chatter from the Restaurant Scene

Big Tree Hospitality — the group behind Eventide Oyster Co., one of the most beloved restaurants in Portland, Maine — has confirmed it will indeed open a location in Boston (1321 Boylston St. at Yawkey Way) sometime in 2017, says a restaurant rep. Eventide Fenway will offer a “concise and creative seafood menu in a casual counter-service setting,” according to a release. Big Tree also runs the ever-crowded Hugo’s (New American) and The Honey Paw (funky noodles) in Portland.

Portland oyster bar lovingly tweaks Maine’s classic dishes

Jonathan Levitt

Kitchens here were once flush with emblematic dishes — chowder, baked beans, fried whole belly clams — elemental foods prepared for generations in the same way. Not anymore. These days a trip along the coast in search of real cooking is too often met with overcooked lobsters, fries from the freezer, and chowder as thick as mashed potatoes. But times are changing. At Eventide, a new oyster bar in the Old Port here, the good Maine food is once again made from scratch.

Cart (0)