South End Buttery

The worst experience.
Having been here maybe a half dozen times before, last night was a real disappointment. Started with the «host» who couldn’t give a rats ass about the guests he was seating — not just us but others before us too. Brought us to a bad table in the hallway in the basement, threw the menus on the table and left.
Lucky for us we got to find the filthy glasses that were left on the table! Maybe if the host had cared a bit more about the job he was doing he would have spotted them but no.
Food was ok, not great. The «devils» appetizer were served so hot (with no warning from the inept bus girl) that I burnt my tongue — they were still hot at the end of the meal. Steak was very tough. The gnudi were ok but swimming in a pool of butter (and not in a good way).
It was ear-​splittingly loud. There was a birthday party in the next room and the girls wouldn’t stop screeching or squealing. Or whatever they were doing. Ditto with the couple next to us. It was like the bridge & tunnel had come to Boston. Or at least the folks from Brockton & Bridgewater.
Strawberry shortcake was good.
We were waiting at the exit for an über while host, staff etc. walked by after our meal. Not a single person thanked us or said goodbye. Speaks volumes.

I came here for Saturday brunch and it really hit the spot! Aside from outdoor seating and some bench/​café type seating on the first floor, there is also a hidden basement seating area. This was where we were seated. Great professional service, in keeping with the trendy area that is Boston’s South End.
1. Huevos rancheros: Delicious! The eggs were nicely prepare, and the tortillas perfectly steamed. The beans were really nice, but what really set this apart were the potatoes. Wow. They were slightly crispy on the outside, and quite soft once you bit into them. They went perfectly with the sour cream.
2. Salmon with eggs: Another well-​prepared dish. They know how to prepare their eggs.
3. Ham and eggs benedict: These were good, but a benedict is pretty much a benedict where you are. The arugula and tomatoes on the side were decorative and slightly comical as to how small they were. However, it was a nice nibble after the eggs.

What a pleasant little surprise. The Buttery is a staple in the south end neighborhood, a quintessential every day type of café, located in the corner of a quiet neighbor street, charming in every way. Good cafes are hard to come by, emphasis on good. I came for the baked goods, but what will have me returning is the food itself.
The menu features sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads, and a variety of sweets. I went with a daily Special of rosemary chicken on a ciabatta. Honesty was not expecting it to be so good. Rosemary aioli, cherry peppers, provolone. Beautifully orchestrated sandwich.
As far as guilty pleasures go, fries are my weakness. I see, I order. So don’t take it lightly when I say the garlic Parmesan fries served at south end buttery has now entered my top 3 fries in Boston, period.
Now on to the real reason we were here, my wife’s endless search for carrot cake. Buttery features the Harriet carrot cupcake. Personally I don’t like carrot cake, nor do I like cupcakes, but I’d certainly come back for the Harriet!
The only thing keeping this from being a perfect outing was the fact that the fries seemingly took forever to come out. I literally finished my entire meal, even stalling, before they arrived.
Note to almond croissant: I know you caught me eyeing you. Don’t worry, we shall be meeting soon
Plea to management: it is in everyone’s best interest if the Rosemary chicken become a feature item lol

I went for brunch at the Buttery on Saturday. The hostess sat as promptly at our reservation time even though they’re tiny and were busy so kudos to her and the host staff for managing reservations well.
The overall space was cramped and not in a cute way. The tables were taller tables which always make me feel like I’m in a pub. The service was fine, a little rushed at our table but not unpleasant. The food was also just fine. The food looked better than it tasted. My boyfriend got the breakfast sandwich and I got the eggs bennie both were just okay. We also got the buttery biscuit basket or whatever it’s called to start. This was tasty, but a little too heavy. My hands were oily after handling the scones.
It took about 25 minutes to get the waiter to pay the bill and leave.
I did appreciate the cute dog pictures around though!
Overall it wasn’t BAD but I also wouldn’t think to recommend this place in the future.

We were in the area so we decided to stop in for a quick lunch. This was my first time to the South End Buttery hut my hubby has been here before. Parking in the South End is terrible (limited metered spaces and most if not all side street parking is resident permitted… There also appears to be a lack of public surface lots).
This is a lively neighborhood joint. You order first and then find a seat. Your food is brought out once it is ready. I decided on the bacon cheeseburger and fries while my partner had the Mediterranean grilled chicken sandwich. He had a bowl of the bacon barley soup and I had the fries. I had a sip of the soup and it was quite tasty. The burger was amazing! It was piping hot and cooked as requested. The fries were good but were coated in salt (not sure if that’s how they are when bought or if the salt and «breading» were added on later). I would definitely get the burger again.
We went next door to check it out. It reminds me of the deli area of a grocery store where one gets prepared foods. There were also some bakery items. I got a chocolate caramel cupcake to go… When I finally had a chance to try it, I was amazed! It was chocolatey and moist (I had prepared myself for the worst after reading that the cupcakes were dry). We also got a mini blueberry pie as well ($ 10!?).
The place is a little on the pricier side but worth it. We would definitely be back if we are in the area (we would not make a special trip here for brunch or coffee given where we live and the parking situation).

I was so excited to try this place for brunch. I had tried twice before without a reservation and couldn’t get in, so I assumed it must be amazing. The pastries were pretty good, especially the butterscotch scone! The rest of the food, however, was nothing special. It all tasted good, but there was nothing I couldn’t easily make myself at home, for a lot less money.

Came here for dinner on a Friday night and sat at the small ~6 seat bar in the back room. The Buttery is better known as a bakery, but their dinner menu is quite good. We enjoyed the bacon wrapped dates and lamb meatballs to start, then shared the pan seared salmon. Everything was well prepared and tasty.
The space is small and cozy (so cozy, in fact, that I had to bother people a couple of times to get in and out of my bar seat, but in a friendly neighborly kind of way). Our bartender, however, was a bit of a disappointment — he seemed aloof and confused, fumbling a bit when asked to make fairly basic drinks. It was also just a little too cold in the restaurant — unfortunately I was sitting under a vent but cold air was coming out on a chilly, rainy winter evening. While it was good to experience the dinner menu at the Buttery, I’m more likely to visit other stellar places in the neighborhood before returning here.

Went here recently for a birthday dinner — group of 7. The food which had been hyped prior to our visit was meh. Definitely not bad, but very run of the mill. The burger, which I’ve heard is incredible looked very basic.
They charge for dinner rolls… 3 or 4 dollars for two rolls… I know there’s a bakery upstairs but come on. They were decent but it’s not like my eyes were rolling back in my head from a bread & buttergasm. I would also definitely pass on the steak frites if I were to go again.
The best part of the meal were the Polenta fries. They were delicious.
The server was very friendly, but I think the place was understaffed. She was the only one for probably 8 or 9 tables and the food took FOREVER to come out.
Date spot for sure with an intimate ambiance but don’t come expecting an incredible meal.

cute location, average food, high prices and the most terrible service ever. If you’re going here, you’ve signed up to be a disrespected – so no one else’s fault when that happens.
Don’t waste your time trying to have a conversation with the owner/manager…they train their staff in customer service.
Have a lovely day :)

Based on the food this is a 4-​star establishment. Everything is quite good, but not quite 5-​star level. The smoked salmon & eggs is very good, the pancakes are well above average, then eggs benedict is very good, and the brunch cocktails are very good, too.
South End Buttery loses a star (and it probably should be more like losing 1.5 stars) on service and pricing. I very rarely complain about portion size, but the portions are very, very small even for city standards, and the prices are outrageous given the portion sizes. Also, the service wasn’t great, as our waitress seemed to visibly dislike talking to us, and provided mediocre service.

My boyfriend and I went here for brunch on Valentine’s Day. We had a reservation for 11:15, and were seated pretty much right away. We sat downstairs, which had a really cool vibe and a great music playlist was playing.
I had the eggs Benedict with ham and cheddar, with home fries. The Benedict was very good (⁴⁄₅) and the home fries were not what we were expecting, but delicious — very crispy on the outside and soft on the inside (⁵⁄₅). He had the crab cake sandwich with the mixed greens which he enjoyed (⁴⁄₅).
I’d love to give this restaurant 4 stars for the food and vibe, but unfortunately the service was pretty bad. Our waiter, Seth, only came to our table twice — once to take our order and once to give us the check. We had to ask for water when we got there, and never got a refill.
Overall, highly recommend the food, just wish the service was a bit better!

Stopped in here for brunch this morning. Prices were pretty reasonable for a brunch spot in the South End. The upstairs is pretty crowded. Luckily we were seated downstairs which has a pretty cool vibe with original stone on the walls. I would definitely recommend having a reservation if you want to stop in for brunch on the weekends.
I got the omelette which was pretty good (nothing amazing — if anything it felt like a pretty healthy brunch choice all things considered). I appreciated the fact that the omelette didn’t come drenched in cheese like omelettes tend to be. It really allowed the herb flavor to come through. My date got the buttery breakfast with a side of home fries. The home fries weren’t what we expected, but were surprisingly good. They are more like an overcooked potato (very crispy on the outside) but nice and soft on the inside. The pancakes were also delicious!
The only thing that was a little off putting about the experience was that our food came out in less than 5 minutes after ordering. We had barely started on our coffee before our food appeared. This was fine, but it made us a feel like we had to rush since it was busy and you could tell they were trying to turn over tables fast (we had to wait 5 – 10 minutes to be seated for our 11AM reservation).
Overall I would come back to try some of the brunch cocktails!

Came here with friends for dinner. We had a group of 5, and were promptly seated downstairs when we arrived. The space is cozy with tables being close together. Tables were full for supper, and atmosphere was a bit noisy at times with friendly chatter.
The parmesan garlic french fries were delicious, but the sticky toffee pudding is a must order.

Stopped in for a cupcake and coffee, and both were delicious. I got a pumpkin spice latte, and it was so much better than the Starbucks version– not loaded with sugar and other crap. I also had a raspberry cupcake which tasted freshly baked and the buttercream was very buttery. My only complaint was that the outdoor seating area is very cramped, so even though there were only two other people sitting outside, I bumped into them trying to get to a table.

Came here for brunch on Saturday! I made a reservation and my party was seated immediately. We were led downstairs to be seated. The place is super cute and honey. As the other reviews mentioned, space is really tight and the tables are really close together.
Our table started off with the pastry basket to share. My biggest peeve is when restaurants don’t warm the pastries… Will I ever find a brunch place in Boston that does so? I had half of a blueberry scone and it was just okay.
I ended up getting the omelette with goat cheese. The omelette was nothing special but I loved the toast that it came with! The tower was perfectly buttered and delicious. The rest of my party got the French toast, salmon eggs Benedict, buttery breakfast, and the salmon and eggs dish. I had a bite of the pancakes and they were so amazing and fluffy. I would definitely get that if I were to come again!
Overall, food was good but nothing special (although I might change my mind if I get the pancakes). You are definitely paying for the atmosphere. Next time I think I’m going to try the café and get one of their avocado or ricotta cheese toasts!

I’m sitting at the bar right now, just finishing brunch. The bartender has C.R.E.A.M. tattooed on her hand. She refilled my almost empty, delicious cup of coffee. I’m eating some seriously fresh fruit as a dessert for myself and sipping on a Morning Buzz cocktail. I had the salmon and eggs breakfast dish.
This is the best first time experience I have ever had. I’m so glad I came here to try it out before my long Sunday. 5 stars all the way. Way up there.

Went here with the boyfriend to grab a bite to eat on a late afternoon. The café was pretty busy, but we wanted to eat in the dining room so we were seated right away.
We were pretty hungry so we decided to start with the asparagus caesar salad. The caesar salad was pretty good, but there was hardly any asparagus and I don’t think it warranted a $ 9 price tag – the croutons were very tasty though.
For our main meal we decided to split the juevos rancheros and the turkey burger with parmesan and garlic fries.
The juevos rancheros were pretty good – and they came with avocado which always makes me a fan. The portion was a decent size as well.
The turkey burger was just alright. It was pretty bland and dry – thankfully there was a lot of green goddess dressing, but it still couldn’t remedy this dish. The fries were also decent, but not good enough to push this meal into the 4-​star category.
Overall, the ambiance was nice and the food came out quickly. Our waitress seemed to be a little green as she was hard to get ahold of and seemed a little all over the place (she forgot to give us a pen to sign the bill). For the pricing, there are definitely better options around the area for lunch.

Overrated and pricey for average food #basic
Went for Sunday brunch, ate downstairs. Eggs benny with ham. Food was good, but nothing mind blowing. Nothing special on the menu too. Annoying that you can’t order bakery goods at the seated tables (unless they are specifically stated on the menu — I think they offer like 1 – 2 scones and a bakery misc basket, but you can’t order a specific muffin or anything)
Would maybe consider going back to eat in the bakery seating, rather than in the seated/​nicer tables. The two places have different menus

Cute café in the South End for a cup of joe or pastries!
Didn’t come here for brunch but there’s plenty of seats with nice baristas!
OJ here was good but I felt like it was sitting out for a bit and tasted a little lukewarm.

The mushroom baguette. It was love at first sight: a huge baguette filled with mushrooms and arugula with truffle aioli. Then it was love at first bite. So warm and chewy and just plain old deliciousness. Of course at the time when I had it I wasn’t thinking that a baguette is worth 95 points on the glycemic index. All I knew was that I wanted this baguette and I was going to savor every bite. To hell with increased blood sugar levels. I mean, I ordered an iced green tea to go along with it. Green tea is always healthy, isn’t it? ;)
Now that I’ve gotten over the honeymoon phase, I have to say a mushroom baguette from this place will have to be a quarterly thing. It doesn’t burn a hole in my wallet, but my body frame could do without the extra pounds. But I will miss you, mushroom baguette. You were good to me.