M.C. Spiedo

Weekend brunch is awesome, best in Boston. $ 25 per person is high but kids are free and the seating is relaxing and quite. Nice to enjoy an extra coffee with a second helping of eggs.

My coworkers and I came in for breakfast before making the trek to Hartford last week. The restaurant was surprisingly slow for 8am on a weekday. The staff was extremely fun and friendly, the atmosphere was really nice and the food was fresh and of good quality. I enjoyed an egg white omelette with tomatoes, mushrooms and feta with a side of fruit — so tasty and a great way to start the morning!

Always read the fine print. It is just good sense in the business world, or more like, in the world of doing business. And I didn’t come out here with one of those voucher with all those restrictions on time and minimum expenditure and required number of people in the party and what-​not. I came for Summer Dine Out Boston.
Imagine my surprise when my server mentioned that I could choose two out of the three courses. How did I miss this when perusing the Restaurant Week menus online? Fortunately, they had wi-​fi (the restaurant is located in the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel after all), and once I showed her the menu as listed on the BostonUSA website, she checked in with the manager and confirmed my three course work day RW lunch for $ 20.
One benefit of dining at a restaurant housed in a hotel in the Seaport — I was not the sole solitary diner. In fact, we outnumbered the larger parties of two (which were but two), by two-​fold.
The first course ended up being my favorite despite, or perhaps because of, its utter simplicity.
. Spit Roasted Beet Salad
Watercress, Whipped Ricotta, Honey Vinaigrette, Hazelnuts
I didn’t particularly notice the honey vinaigrette nor the hazelnuts, but the freshness of the roasted beets made the dish. The pink beets were my favorite.
I came expecting to order the Marinated Shrimp Pizza (Mozzarella, Zucchini, Upland Cress, Lemon) as my entrée, however, I allowed myself to be swayed by my server as she described the pizza as slightly spicy and the bolognese as delicious, huge, and the pasta as homemade. Yes, that final tidbit did the majority of the convincing in my case.
The pasta was nearly half meat and half pasta. Though good, the flavor didn’t exactly excite my taste buds. I can’t help but wonder what the pizza would have been like… or perhaps even the veal burger.
Given the generous portions of the first two courses — perhaps because they were initially sized for a two course meal — I was taken a back somewhat by the petite nature of the Sweet Corn Panna Cotta (Caramel Corn, Grated Pistachio). Although I did wonder, perchance they made me a special mini version as an off menu third course? I certainly hope so, since last impressions are what diners tend to be left with.
The primary note of sweetness of the dessert was surprisingly from the caramel coated popcorn. If it weren’t for the name, I would have considered this a custard rather than a panna cotta. The custard itself was nice, but tame. If there was pistachio in this dessert, it was completely lost on me.
Despite being housed in a hotel, M.C. Spiedo rated its own bathrooms, which were located past the bar, where I noticed a blackboard emblazoned «Suckling Pig Saturdays.» Yes, that caught my eye.
They roast a whole suckling pig in house and serve it during dinner time on Saturday till it is gone. $ 26 along with an accompanying side. Interesting…

After A few failed attempts findings a table around the seaport area (large crowds from inbound conference) we figured we’d just try the hotel restaurant where we stayed.
Both my wife and I were very pleasantly surprised. Her sangria was awesome to start and my old fashioned was ok.
The bread chip, crusty things were weird and kind of lacked flavor.
Dinner though was amazing. I don’t even remember what my wife ordered because the carbonara I was eating was so perfect I was blown away. Lobster, bacon, poached egg, etc. Unbelievable. If I had any criticism it was a little heavy on the green onion garish, so I pushed those aside.
All in all one of the best meals we had during our week there. Will absolutely go back!

Went with family after sons graduation ceremony at Blue Hills Pavilion. Restaurant opened during their off day to support the event. Despite not yet being open, the staff was cool with us arriving a bit early to sit in the lounge and get drinks. The site was clean and trendy with funky music playing, not too loud.
Friendly staff, great drinks, and the service was prompt and professional. Food was delicious and very hot. Menu was thoughtful and focused. We were very glad to be there. Family said it’s the best pasta they’ve had. Better service here than I experienced at a supposed-​five-​star restaurant in Copley Square for ¹⁄₅ the price. I’ll definitely be back.

I came here last week after finding MC Spiedo on open table. I was a little surprised when we arrived and a tad disappointed that it was the bottom of a Marriott. I travel for work a lot and I was not looking for a hotel restaurant. I left being pleasantly surprised at the food quality though. Upon first entering there was no mistaking the Marriott scent — fellow travelers will not what I mean. The restaurant had a lot of character though and we opted for a seat outside. Our server was nice, offered great opinions, and brought out a cake with candle in it per my request for my friend.
We started with the burrata — it was very fresh, and I loved that it was in spices and olive oil. For dinner I had the short rib over polenta. The polenta had a great consistency with gooey cheese. The short rib broke apart nicely and was full of flavor. The carrots were way too sweet for this dish. Overall It was a great dish though. My friend had the Spiedo chicken and it was fantastic — cooked perfectly and full of flavor. For a drink I had a sangria which was believe it or not a little too strong — so much I could not finish it. The desert the server brought out was decent — a torte, but I would not order it again. I am not sure if they convinced me to come back with so many other options in the area — but I did find it better than I would have expected.

A small restaurant with an odd menu. We ate four meals here as it was close to the conference. As stated the food was odd… the flavors were off and the textures we just as off.
Lastly: the ice cream was freeze dried! Yes I stated freeze dried!!! Yuck!!!

Apparently this place gets 5 stars for being the most hit or miss restaurant in Boston. Unfortunately, mine was a miss.
Honestly, my biggest issue was the food. The service was not great either, the server seemed to not speak much English, which is a bit difficult for communicating. It also seemed like it was his first day and they just set him free to serve on his own. He was nice, just clueless. The food was just incredibly mediocre for the price. I got the pesto pizza and it was essentially crummy pizza dough, store bought pesto slathered heavily across the pie with speckles of cheese. Instead of pesto pizza, it should have been called «subpar pizza crust with overcooked pesto and maybe a little cheese»
The other reviews are either great or terrible and not much in between. I’m not sure what’s going on, but when you have endless choices in the Boston area, who wants to play Russian Roulette when you can have a guaranteed good meal (for less money) somewhere else?

My second visit since opening and a marked improvement. While service has some room to improve the food was terrific. No Arrows for sure but the food was well prepared and swordfish cooked to perfection.
Side of Brussel Sprouts and Cauliflower were amazing
Deconstructed strawberry shortcake was a nice way to round out the meal.
Keep it up! I will definitely make a return trip.

A little surprised to see some of the low reviews on here. I was here over the weekend and was impressed. I initially balked at the prices (the area restaurants do tend to be pricey, but I always value a good bargain) but there was a lot of food for the money and it was tasty! A lot of nicer restaurants will charge a lot for good looking but tiny tiny portions, and this was not the case here at all. Both my partner and I had enough left over for a small lunch the next day. The pizza was very good, and my partner said the lobster carbonara was good as well.
The atmosphere was very warm and inviting. The only thing was that it took a reeeeeeally long time to get our food, even though it wasn’t at all crowded. I recommend sitting at the bar (which they call the «mozzarella bar») where you can watch the chefs prepare the dishes.

Enjoyed the brunch and atmosphere. They forgot to come over to give us water but the food and variety was amazing. Recommend to try

What an extremely heavy meal. We were a party of 2 guys, 2 gals, and we weren’t able to finish the entrees.
To start, we ordered Leonardo’s Notebook Salad. It’s light and delicious, plus easy to share amongst 4 people. Highly recommend for an app. The bread that comes with the table is extremely salty. I managed a few bites because I love salt, but I couldn’t do much more than that.
My girlfriend and I shared two entrees. The lobster carbonara and bolognese. Yes, I know both are heavy dishes, but I wasn’t expecting to leave so much behind. In fact, one of the guys ordered the LC and only got through half. Together, the 3 of us could have split this dish and left feeling full. I liked both; neither was spectacular. The bolognese is very comfort-​foody so I recommend that if you’ve had a tough day.
For sides, we ordered the brussels sprouts, the cauliflower and baked fennel. The brussels sprouts were done well. The cauliflower came out looking like broccoli because it’s covered in pesto. The coloring really threw me off… enough that I had to tell myself I was eating broccoli. The baked fennel looked like potato gratin; it was smothered in cheese. It was the least favorite dish of the night.

Note: Went for Restaurant Week (or «Dine Out Boston»)
Meal: Dinner on a Tuesday
Good: Interesting drinks, good selection, something for my taste profile for sure. My dessert was a chocolate mousse of sorts, and it was quite yummy.
Bad: All the food except dessert. Man, I was so bummed, and starving hungry, and was so sad to get a terrible appetizer (octopus and bean salad — flavorless and hot/​cold combo was really off-​putting) followed by a gross pizza (Clams on a fig/​arugula base… I love salty sweet, but this was really monstrous. I pulled all the clams off).
Go for: A drink or two. Maybe some dessert. The atmosphere was kind of cool, I would have to see it on another night.

Let me start of by saying I would up my rating to 3.5 stars but that is not allowed. Two other friends and I were trying to find a place near the seaport and it was one of the few places we could get a reservation a few hours in advance. Maybe that should have been a warning sign? We booked it and headed over a few hours later. We got there and found out it’s attached to a hotel. The restaurant was busy but not that busy for a Friday night.
Our waiter came over and took our drink orders and then proceeded to take our apps and entrees. Not a large menu but easy to find something for everyone. The apps came out quick; we ordered the Polenta Parmesan Fries & the Burrata. The Polenta fries were good but under seasoned. My issue with them was that after about three I sort of got sick of the taste, but they were good. I didn’t try the Burrata but I heard it was good, the bread was fresh and doughy and the cheese was creamy.
For some reason in between apps and our entrees we had to wait close to 40 minutes without explanation. When our entrees arrived our waiter apologized and then what was most likely the manager came over and apologized too. For entrees we ordered the Short Rib, Lobster Bucattini and Leonardo’s Favorite pizza. The short rib was very rich and juicy. The creamy polenta was cheesy and heavy; tough to finish. The pizza looked dry but heard it was good, nothing too special. I had the lobster bucattini which was fantastic. The lobster was fresh with a good amount of food. It was rich and heavy and also a little oily for my tasting but very good.
Even though we were stuffed we ordered the Apple Cider «donuts». They were ok, onlg got three and they were small. They were airy and felt undercooked in the middle but not quite sure. The amaretto caramel was too sweet.
All in all it was a good meal that cost us more than I was expecting but the portion size made up for it. I would recommend trying it once but not sure I would return.

Three words:
Upscale. Comfort. Seafood.
I was in Boston for business, a deposition in fact. I was exhausted from a week of document review, 20 hours of preparing my lead examination, and 8 hours in my deposition. I had an iPhone rolodex full of restaurant recommendations, but zero energy left in the tank to go to those restaurants, and in fact, do anything other than to work out in my hotel exercise room and then hit the restaurant at the Renaissance. And I’m glad I choose eating at MC Spiedo rather than ordering cold room service. If you’re a business traveler staying nearby the Renaissance or at same, I recommend MC Spiedo for a large portion of delicious seafood.
I ordered the Brussel Sprouts appetizer and the Halibut on a bed of Beluga Caviar Lentils. Both were excellent. Other entrees looked delicious and honestly, I had difficulty deciding whether to try the lobster carbonara, braised short rib or the Halibut.
If I’m in Boston for work, I’ll almost certainly stay at the Renaissance. And if work is demanding, I’ll be back at M.C. Spiedo for upscale, comfort seafood. And honestly, what could be better than upscale, comfort seafood?

I dined at MC Spiedo the other night solely based on weather. We just hiked from South Station to the Renaissance and were refusing to go out into the cold again for dinner. Therefore, we dined at the hotel’s restaurant, MC Spiedo. We were greeted after a minute by the hostess and seated at a little two person table by the windows. Normally this would be fine with me, very cute, however it was freezing cold and those windows are not forgiving. I had to ask the man who poured our water if i could move. He moved us to a booth in the middle, which was still cold but a little better and I wanted to get along with dinner.
After we received water we waited for awhile until the server came over. They weren’t packed but maybe understaffed or who knows. The server was pleasant and he took our drink order. Then disappeared and took an even longer time coming back. There was a large party going on which may have something to do with us, but again I’m not sure. I saw the manager (or someone who looked like the manager) catch us out of the corner of his eye and noticed we both looked bored (rightfully so I was hungry and ready to head back to the room). He came over with our wine and poured both our glasses — great, Houston we have wine. The pinot noir was actually pretty good, a little acidic but not overly so.
A little while later two more people joined us at our table which was a surprise. The waiter came over a while after that to take their drink orders and finally take our dinner order. I was told the soup was quite big so all I ordered was the soup and my partner got the veal burger with polenta fries. My soup, the eggplant purée soup with mint, was okay at best. It was almost too salty and more like gravy than anything. I even found a piece of smoked meat in my soup. I’m not a vegetarian AND it tasted better than my soup so I wasn’t discouraged but if I was a vegetarian I’d be pissed. I heard the pizza was good but I can get pizza anywhere.
My partner had the veal burger which was bland and I ate two out of the 5 – 6 polenta fries. They were okay.
That was dinner.
For breakfast on Sunday morning I actually enjoyed the food. However, all I got was the (cheaper option) breakfast buffet, with coffee and a juice for $ 16. This included fruit, smoked salmon, brie, bagels, capers, onions, toast, cereal, hot oatmeal with golden raisins and brown sugar. The more expensive breakfast buffet includes bacon, sausage, meat and waffles /​pancakes. In my opinion you can get everything you need in the cheaper option unless you’re really the mood for pancakes with blueberries on top…
A coffee will run you $ 5 so it makes sense to get the breakfast buffet given most of the other options are $ 14 — $ 21 + coffee separately at $ 5.
There are other options for food in the seaport so I suggest only going here if you’re limited to dining inside the hotel.

I ate here in September a couple of times and again last week (visiting Boston for work). The first time I ordered an amazing dish that effaced the very slow service from my memory (temporarily, I guess). It was gnudi with a butter sauce and pickled raisins that was not on the menu in January. Honestly one of the best Italian dishes I have ever eaten. The second time I ordered take-​out as I was staying in a nearby apartment. I ordered a cheese and meat platter because I wanted something simple. Unfortunately they forgot the bread which made it difficult to enjoy the platter. The latest time was for dinner last week, my co-​worker and I ordered two pizzas (one was fig and prosciutto and one was artichoke). The pizzas were delicious and inexpensive.
The service all three times was slow. It often seemed like they forgot that I was a customer or that I existed. They seem to have a team setup that doesn’t work in favor of the customer as no one particular person is on top of the latest interactions. Last week our waiter practically ran away after telling us about the available appetizers. What this means is it took longer than necessary to get the food, and way too long to get the check.
I love the inside of the restaurant — it’s gorgeous. It doesn’t make up for the snail-​like service, however.
The prices are bipolar. Pizzas are $ 12, but a meatless pasta dish may run you $ 24.
Overall, it is probably worth trying. Be forewarned of the slow service, and consider ordering your food to-​go if you are alone. They are not good at timing service and they’re even worse if you’re eating alone.

Came here on Saturday night with a group of 8 for dinner. We were able to get a reservation (unlike other Seaport places like Row 34 which do not even reserve for large parties) however the place isn’t up to par with the rest of the places in Seaport or the rest of Boston for that matter.
The waitress (red haired, dangly earrings, not sure of her name) was not very good. She took out drink order and after about 30 minutes of waiting for the drinks she came back to let us know that the beer we ordered no longer was available. She wasn’t too apologetic and simply said «Do you want a different one?» even though it took her a long time to even tell us in the first place.
The service was SLOW. It was nice in a way because we could enjoy our time together as a group but still, not on par with the rest of Boston service. The polenta fries, brussel sprouts, and the clam/​white fish entrée was pretty good. My friend thought the fish was too dry though.
Negatives:
–no hard cider offering
–the floor is SUPER slippery (almost ate shit like 10 times on the way to the bathroom!)
–not very much «ambiance» in that there was no music and its in a deserted, far away part of Seaport (Reneasaince hotel).
Pluses:
–pretty good food (standard Boston fish food)
–not terribly expensive
–large portions (if that is your thing).
–quiet
Will not ever come back here again but decent for a large group to get in and have a quiet, relaxed time without feeling rushed by management to leave.

I went to M.C. Spiedo on a Saturday night with a large group. We had no trouble making an 8 PM reservation, which honestly made me a little nervous.
The restaurant is right off of the Renaissance Waterfront Hotel and is very large. The ceiling are incredibly high and adorned with huge chandeliers, tapestries and curtains. The color scheme was made up of mostly black and reds — I wasn’t crazy about the atmosphere, it was a little too dark and vampire-​esque for my taste.
The menu is fairly small and offers small plates and charcuterie to start, and salads, pasta, fish and meat as entrees. We all started off with wine and cocktails. I ordered a signature cocktail off the menu that was made with gin, prosecco, limoncello and cucumber. It was refreshing but very strong.
A few of us started by ordering the Chef’s selection of charcuterie and cheese. The board had 3 tiers and came with a decent amount of food for it’s $ 35 price tag. Unfortunately no one explained to us what was on the board, so we were left guessing for ourselves. For my entrée, I ordered a half portion of pasta: squid ink macaroni with charred octopus and house made sausage. I liked the pasta, but I didn’t love it. I felt the pasta itself was cooked a bit inconsistently, and the octopus was a little tough. The sausage on the other hand was amazing. This dish was very, very filling so I ended up taking most of it home with me.
Some of the table favorites were the tagliatelle bolognese, the salt crusted dorade and the ricotta gnudi.
Besides the lack of charcuterie explanation, the service at the restaurant was pretty spot on and it was great that our group of 13 has our own private section in the back of the restaurant.

The Seaport gets a little bit of ornate Italian amidst the smattering of waterfront beer bars and seafood options. The space at MC Spiedo is all Medici lush red velvet drapes and Renaissance grandeur. It boasts a cavernous dining room with semi-​secluded leather booths lining the wall. It felt a bit cold to me and I felt like the service was cheerful and well intentioned but still working out the kinks.
The market cart idea is unique– a roaming appetizer cart with some of MC Spiedo’s favored starters and small plates. However, some of the options may have been better if they were straight from the kitchen.
We split many of the smaller plates as well some entrees during our last trip, and on the whole things felt lackluster. The pasta section reads like food porn but the reality just didn’t live up to the hype. I mean, split roasted suckling pig with macaroni, with a farm egg on top? That shit needs to be amazing. But it isn’t. And neither was the M.C. Tagliatelle Bolognese. Or the Swordfish special. They weren’t bad, they just over promised and under delivered.
Certainly worth another peek once they get their sea (port) legs, but nothing got me too excited.