dbar

The dinner menu hasn’t changed in a couple of years. I used to look forward to the seasonal changes and specials. Still has good drinks and the patio is great in the summer.

I had heard good things but had a very bad experience in reality. The waiter came to our table at least twenty times with a phony sincerity, constantly pushing something – drinks, dessert, and eventually when we had stopped ordering brought the check without us asking for it basically pushing us out. Nothing great about the food and the entertainment was Karaōke with obvious regulars. I am not going back ever.

Sigh. I am torn about my review of dbar. This place has been a family favorite for years. We usually come for birthday celebrations/​graduations or just when we want to grab a quick bite to eat. Unfortunately I feel it has gone a bit down hill lately.
You usually can’t go wrong with ordering the scallops or chicken under the brick. They also have a great patio for the summer.
The last two times I went I was not impressed. There brunch is sub-​par in comparison with their dinner selection, so if you are going to try dbar for the first time definitely go for dinner instead of brunch. I ordered the grinder for brunch and felt it didn’t have much flavor. My date got the 3 egg breakfast which was fine, but nothing you couldn’t get down the street a diner for almost half the price.
We went for dinner the other night and were surprised to find the place was so dark (even at 530!) I had to take out my phone to read the menu (even though I have great eyesight). I commented on this to the waiter but he didn’t seem to think it was dark even though you could barely see anything. We ordered the ceviche for an appetizer which was good. I then ordered a Caesar salad. The waiter asked me if I wanted steak on my salad (I hadn’t asked about steak) and I said okay because I figured why not (assuming it would be a bit of an up-​charge). The Caesar salad literally came with two pieces of long leaf lettuce, some cheese and steak. It wasn’t really a salad. He ended up charging me the same if I had ordered the steak entrée. If I had known the up-​charge was going to be that much I would’ve just ordered the steak dinner! Part of this is my fault for not asking, but I kind of felt like he swindled me in the way he asked (and how little salad I actually got).
Overall dbar is fine. I just feel like its popularity its pricing has gone up, making it less of a value that it once was.

A hidden jewel with no boston attitude. All the perks of a swanky boston restaurant but with FREE parking. Get there early though. It fills up fast. Try their amazing cocktails. My pick for food is the chicken ceaser salad or the comfort of the chicken under a brick on a cold night. The restaurant turns into a club around 10 pm. Never a cover charge

never a bad meal, never bad service, always, always the best
fair price. been there 20+ times
never disappointed

Love this place! We go at least once a month… best restaurant in Dorchester. Their chicken under a brick entrée is my favorite. They use local and organic ingredients mostly and have a roof top garden.

I visited dbar on a Tuesday night in December because they play showtunes every Tuesday night. I got a seasonal martini that was absolutely delicious, and the three friends I came with loved their drinks. We also had an order of French fries that were wonderful.
The waitstaff, similarly, was courteous, friendly, and uninvasive.
The main problem was the volume of the music. The selections were varied and wonderful, but I was absolutely unable to hear my friends without screaming. Admittedly, we could have spoken up about the volume, but I couldn’t think of a kind way to say «please turn it down!» So I didn’t.
Overall, I’d recommend it again, but maybe try a quieter night if you hope to have a conversation. The noise level on Tuesday nights is much closer to that of a club. However, the potables are potent, the edibles are delectable, and the service is fantastic.

Good burgers, sour dough bread, fries, salad, and Malbec at this upscale neighborhood DOT restaurant. Good service too! I will return in January!

Been to this place a hundred times until… What a sad day when my partner and I are refused service after two drinks each, as well as dinner. Bartender seemed to have it out for us, and manager (Craig) never was interested in our opinion — told us not to come back. Very sad to be losing this neighborhood spot, but do yourself a favor and try someplace where the staff and management know how to run a restaurant.

I stopped by Dbar last night after reading favorable reviews here on Unilocal.
Per another reviewers recommendation, I had the «Chicken Under a Brick», accompanied of course by my favorite gin martini.
The chicken was perfectly prepared, cooked crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. It came with asparagus and mashed potatoes. The asparagus was great (but really, how can you screw up asparagus?) but the mashed potatoes could have used a little something more. I’m not sure if they were just whipped too fine, but they seemend to lack the typical density that mashed potatoes are known for. The portion size was spot on.
My martini was well balanced, decently sized, and disappeared quickly.
The ambiance at dbar is hip and cozy. The colorful wall sconces and other ambiant lighting offer a great contrast against the dark backdrop. Also, I don’t recall seeing a television in the place. That made me happy.

Just had one of the best Sunday Brunch steak and eggs in a very long time. Bloody Mary’s also great. Great service, thank you John P.

Excellent service
Well seasoned food
Delicious drinks
Everything you want in a dinning experience. Absolutely no complaints here.

By far the best atmosphere and food we had while in Boston. We went on a Monday night and a new server was being trained. He was nervous and a bit clumsy at times, but overall, both he and the guy training him were great.
We started off with the beef carpaccio which was delicious and the aioli that came with it just made it that much better. I then had the scallops which were bordering on overcooked, but weren’t chewy enough to deduct any stars. The flavors were on point and they were still tender, but teetering on the point of turning rubbery. My fiancée had the salmon which was cooked perfectly and seasoned very well and the fries we shared were delicious.
Overall, this is a great little restaurant and I can’t comment on the club aspect since we went at 5 — 6 pm on a Monday, but I would imagine it’s just as solid.

I love dbar! As do most of the people who dine there on any particular evening. dbar never fails to impress.
It is not exactly a neighborhood friendly restaurant and having grown up in Dorchester blocks from dbar I would consider myself a «wicked hardcore» townie. and not necessarily the demographic that dbar shoots for. But drink and especially food being what they are I buck the trend and walk right in the door. I will say it is nice to have very local restaurant and fantastic restaurant with a high end fell to call on when friends from the west coast visit.
Dorchester is glad to have you dbar.

This is now our brunch spot. Three blocks from our house with a great service team and French Toast my husband considers the «Best in Boston.» Add an outdoor patio and a great diverse crowd and this has to be the best brunch spot on earth. I do everything from the Bene to the Steak & Eggs and all are good dishes. Like most breakfast places ask for rarer meat then you are looking for to get your desired results. OJ is out of the box but the Bloody’s & mimosas are fun. The service is great! They get slammed so you be nice to them! Much love to the DBar! We will eventually make it in for dinner.

I’m really excited to have finally tried dbar. Another one of those «once the weather gets nice enough to walk there» places. Totally worth the wait. We each got two cocktails. I started with something with raspberries and blackberries and vodka, which packed a good punch, then opted for the white sangria. Both great, both diesel. My husband had a Negroni (gross I know but he loves them) and a whiskey sour. We also split the asparagus and prosciutto salad, which they were nice enough to plate separately for us. Not quite enough meat or asparagus for my taste, but still very good. Can’t wait to have a full meal here!

I’ve driven by Dbar numerous times and never thought twice of it. The outside sports a very divey bar but inside is a different atmosphere. The nice part is that they have a limited parking lot on the side of the bar right under the huge billboard sign.
Our host was very nice in terms of helping us get a reservation for the busy Friday night and suggested we wait at the bar. The ambience was dark and very romanticized.
My only thing with this place was that within 5 minutes of entering, I had about 3 – 4 waiters walk right by us and about 2 bartenders look at us and NONE said a word or even asked us for anything. I figured at least a bartender would acknowledge and let us know that he’ll get to us asap? When we finally got a seat at the bar, the bartender then was attentive and helpful at times. Meh not the first thing you want to deal with when you’re trying a new place. Food was alright, nothing special and a bit overpriced. We tried the calamari, too greasy and it had this weird sweeten aftertaste to it.
At the end of the night and after a drink, I was ready to head home with no urgency for another drink. Maybe I caught Dbar on a bad night.

I like DBar. It is refreshing to see a nice establishment that isn’t in the middle of everything. I don’t think there are too many places in Dot that I go to hang out with friends. D-​Bar definitely is an exception.
The place has an ultra cool vibe. Although very tiny — the owners have made the most of the space at their disposal. I’ve had dinners here over the years and the quality of food is good. My favorite though is the brunch. Their brunch menu is superlative with enough options to choose from. The dinner menu is good too but there is something about the brunch that is more appealing — to me at least. Do I go to DBar to eat primarily? Negative. That has to be once in a blue moon affair.
The bar — that gets super crowded on Fridays /​Saturdays, is manned by very efficient bartenders. Over the years, there has been significant turnover in bar staff. I had my favorites who aren’t there no more. But it’s all good.
I’ve never been to any of the Tuesday showtunes. So cannot comment anything about it. The Friday and Saturday night DJs have been fairly decent. Sometimes the set list is pretty much the same — I mean there is only so much rotation when it comes to the 80s music beyond a certain point really. But nothing can beat the tiny eating space transform into a dancefloor after a certain hour at night and to see the drunken bodies of all shapes, sizes and kinds doing what they do best — when drunk! Dance. Depending on my mood — there have been times where I have been one of those drunken bodies, while other times I resort to watching the fun unfold — from the sidelines. It is fun! I like it!

I really had no desire, whatsoever, to go to a gay restaurant/​bar in Dorchester. I had the idea that it would be a cheap Club Café clone in the middle of nowhere. Uhm… wrong. First… I would never have thought this was a gay bar. It seemed to be an urban cool restaurant/​bar that I would have found in New York, honestly. The staff and clientele alike seemed to be dressed cool and seemed pretty hip.
The place is gorgeous… warm, rich and the seating is close but nobody is sitting on top of anyone. Oh, the lighting is amazing… awesome place for a date!
The menu is not expansive, but there is plenty to choose from. So far, the food has been really quite nice; in particular, I’ve enjoyed the Bolognese. I noticed one review mentioned tiny servings… I have no idea what that meant. I’m over six feet tall and 230 pounds (don’t tell anyone about my weight) and I walked away too full for desert.
The thing that really stood out for me is the service. The wait staff is readily available but didn’t haunt the table. AWESOME date place, by the way! My date and I were there for almost two hours and there wasn’t one little hint that we should leave. (Though, I did look around to make sure there were open tables so we weren’t being total creeps.) I couldn’t have been happier. I’ll certainly be back for more!

I’m hesitant to write too many 5 star reviews, but my 2^nd (or maybe it was 3^rd) visit to dbar showed that the place puts out consistently great, thoughtfully unique meals, delicious fun cocktails, and absolutely stellar service.
I’ve only eaten outside on the patio, and only for dinner. I can’t say anything about the atmosphere inside, and I look forward to when I can leave a review about their brunch.
dbar is now a close enough neighborhood local spot for me, and I’ve been so impressed each time I’ve been.
oh — and gotta love a place that has a few parking lot spots!

I came in last week for show tunes night on Tuesday. I thought it started at ten but it was actually at nine so that was a nice surprise.
My friend and I sat at the bar with Finn who was really fun and helpful with deciding on our food.
I started with the blue and greens (?) salad which was greens, blue cheese, pear and some other situations. It was a fantastic and flavorful starter with beautiful presentation. My friend and I then shared goat cheese figs with prosciutto which of course were to die for, as well as the tuna tartar — delish.
Drinks were fantastic and fun. Very summery.
Show tunes night on Tuesdays. Yes. There is a VJ playing videos on the big screen and TVs of live stage recordings, music videos, film adaptations, etc of show tunes. It is so much fun and was loud enough for my friend and I to sing along the whole time.
After Finn moved to the other side of the bar we had Anthony who never let our drinks run out and wasn’t afraid to sign along a bit with us.
We had a great time and will be back for more great drinks and fantastic food