Alchemist Lounge

I was glad that my friend suggested to come here because they will be closing after next weekend. We all checked out their website prior to coming; but it turns out useless because the website is out of date. Their menu is seasonal so we did not get to try what we had in mind. Boo for that.
Fortunately, we decided on our plates from the current menu and was not dissatisfied at all! hands down to the chef! We shared a Old Bay Calamari which was bland — could not taste the Old Bay Spice. Over all, the calamari was tender and fried to perfection. I had the spaghetti bolognese which was meaty and flavorful — the way it should be! The portion was huge. It didn’t even look like I made a dent after I was full.
Complementing my meal was the Blood Orange Cosmo. Very tasty and not overpowered with alcohol. A good balance of flavor and alcohol content. Even though I drink vodka on the rocks, I like my «weaker» drinks to be balanced and not super «strong». If I wanted a strong drink, I’ll just drink vodka straight. Thumbs up for the bartender.

This is more of an update to those that really like this place and those who have never been… After a few years of quality food and service, the Alchemist is closing on 5÷31÷10 and giving way to the building’s next incarnation. The owners of Coda and Common Ground will be moving into the neighborhood jaunt with an emphasis on craft beer and locally produced foods; not too shabby… stop in while you can to say goodbye to a JP icon!

Stopped in here after visiting someone in the Medical area, for lunch.
Bartender Scott did a fine job.
Food: unimpressive. That was kind of a surprise. The folks I was with got steak tips and fries, and a buffalo chicken sandwhich. Neither were impressed. My California chicken sandwhich was OK, but that was it.
The beer selection however, was damn good. They had Arrogant Bastard and Rapscallion, good ones that are carried near me at The Fat Cat. They also had one from HaverHill with a cool wooden factory shoe template for a pull tap.
I went with the bartender’s personal choice, «Stone» something, tasty with a 9% kick.

They also had an interesting selection of bottled beer, including Bar Harbor Blueberry, which was different than Wachusett or Ipswich.
So: very good brew stop, acceptable food stop.

I have only been here twice so I am not sure if I can fully review it– but I will say that I had breakfast here last summer and it was pretty delish– nothing out of this world, but still good.
A few nights ago I went again for a «middle school dance» event because a friend was DJing. Quite interesting to say the least. Too much 90s paraphernalia that night. felt like I was on an episode of Fresh Prince. That’s cool though.
I am liking the bar though because the bartender gave me a Stella and I told him I had to run to get cash and he said «it’s cool just give me whatever you’ve got». What a nice dude.

Was here on Friday to see Iyeoka & the Rock by Funk Tribe, showed up early so we could eat good grub and get good seats. Had to wait twenty mins for a table, but was appeased by a $ 5 pint of Hoegaarden. The service was, as always friendly, responsive and speedy.
Between the four of us, we ordered two turkey burgers, two vegetarian edamame burgers, and the goats cheese & eggplant fritters. The fritters were, simply put, amazing. I’m asking my man to make them for me for my birthday. My edamame burger was easily rendered excellent by giving my ginger to the other edamame burger-​eating patron at the table, who’d already ordered his with EXTRA ginger so its hardly an across-​the-​board criticism. The other two diners with us enjoyed their turkey burgers well enough. I also enjoyed the vegetarian minestrone soup.
I’m not sure what their exact thoughts were, but my dining companions also ordered an assortment of cocktails that they enjoyed well enough. In general, I’ve eaten here four times I think and always walk away full and content.

Upon a visit to Boston in June ’09 to visit an dear college friend, Unilocal Elitist Molly S., her and Matt M. (…let’s be honest, in Unilocal Land, we have to stick to our «first name, last initial» handles) and I ventured to Alchemist for an early dinner. I trust my friends unequivocally.
I walked into a nice dining area. The darkness of the inside contrasted well with the vast amounts of light coming in from the entrance and front windows. We got a nice booth and, for the first time in my life, I was (wo)man enough to try mussels. Though I abhor most any kind of seafood short of crab cakes and Bumblebee tuna, these mussels were a revelation! Almost chicken-​like meat, garlicky, citrusy… I went into a bit of a whirl. I ordered some drink… I believe it was the Fine & Dandy. It was short, delicious, and moderately overpriced, as most designer drinks are. I can’t complain. I knew what I was getting myself into. My friends got their lovely beers and drank away contently.
My meal was good enough. I got the Herbed Turkey Burger. I was expecting turkey breast but got ground turkey instead. I was a bit disappointed in that by itself, but the burger was tasty. The sweet potato fries were passable, but I’ve had better. But did I finish them all? Damn straight I did!
I had a pleasurable enough experience there. If I visited Molly and she wanted to go back, I would. Would I make it a destination for when I visit Boston? Mayhaps not.

Late on a Wednesday night (and by late, I am of course referring to the grand scheme of food service time in the context of the city of Boston, which puts us at about 9:20pm), we rolled into Alchemist aiming for a solid bite to eat, a couple of drinks and ample conversation. What we got was… exactly that. Shocking!
Though the reviews are riddled with examples of exactly the opposite, perhaps we’ve figured out the secret to sweet dining times here: come on an off night, later in the evening and expect the reasonable: good drinks, a solid beer selection and above-​average, reasonably priced pub food.
After promptly ordering some alcohol (a belgian beer, a take on the aviation with chartreuse and a rum swizzle), we shared the calamari (crisp, not greasy, served with olives and fried jalapenos) and ordered the ribs (slathered in BBQ with a slightly spicy tang and a side of slaw), the chowder (in a bowl big enough to swim in) and the fish & chips (crispy, flaky, huge) – all delicious. The food arrived in a timely manner and the portions are incredibly generous for the price… the ribs were substantial enough to be qualified for an entrée portion.
Though it was hardly busy (a few tables, singles, couples and occupied bar stools), the service was smooth. To add to a delightful evening, a band cooed some Kings of Leon along with a few original numbers. It was all just what we needed after a long night of board games, beer and Wii bowling!

I have yet to try the food here. I’ve been here a couple times to see Iyeoka’s poetry/​funk shows.
They have a pretty decent variety of draft beers. I love IPAs and they had a decent selection of IPAs and other beers for decent prices (5 – 6).
The bartenders don’t play around. They are pretty prompt and knowledgeable about the menu and selections.

I like this place enough. They have a fantastic beer selection. I’ve also eaten here once or twice, and while the food was fine, I wouldn’t say that it was in any way particularly memorable.
The policy concerning only being allowed to sit at a table if you are ordering food is complete crap. I would be a bit more understanding if the place was packed full of dining customers, but typically there are more than enough empty tables in which I could sit with my friends and have a quiet conversation while running up a hefty bar tab. Stand around your overcrowded bar room with the awful acoustics because I don’t want to eat? No thanks– I’ll go hang spend my money at one of your competitor’s establishments instead.

Been here twice so far for dinner with friends and it’s a great, laid-​back spot. The steak tips are very good and they have one of the better beer selections I’ve seen in Boston. Prices aren’t bad at all and the service has been prompt on both occasions.

Their menu changes, but they usually have more than a few vegan or vegetarian options. Last night I had an amazing vegan edamame burger and a winter sangria. Mmmm. All while enjoying use of their complimentary wi-​fi as well. :)
One of the things I enjoy about the Alchemist is that they have different musical nights during the week. One of my favorites is their open mic on Monday nights. If you’re feeling ambitious, bring your instrument (or a joke) and do your thing.

I can only review this based on the atmosphere because I came for their live music on Friday night. Very very cool but then again exposed brick makes me squeal in delight. Drinks are very reasonable — a well gin and tonic only set me back $ 6. The music was AMAZING and I will definitely be back for the music and to try the food. The only negative was that I stuck out like a sore thumb because this place was über hipster but I had lots of fun people watching.
Btw the DJ was HOT. Just thought you should know. ;-)

Where have you gone Triple D’s?
I think I might be at a loss on desriping the Alchemist. On the menu, it appears interesting, but when your food comes, it simply falls flat. I’ve had the pulled pork, some of their flatbreads, and a burger, all of which I would say were sub-​par. But something tells me they can really come around — I really think they need to re-​tool their menu and streamline it so that they do fewer items, but get them right.
The last time I gave the Alchemist another chance, I wanted a little snack. So I order some fries. Less than 30 seconds later — NO I AM NOT KIDDING. Out comes my order of fries. My friends, guess what? They were soggy and cold. And gross. I don’t even want to guess where they were sitting prior to their arrival– because they all make me sick.
The bartender saw that I was pretty disappointed and politely asked if I wanted another order, or something else to eat. But with how this situation went down, I had no confidence in that kitchen. I told the bartender no (I really think he knew something was very wrong when those fries were brought to me by someone else that quickly) he then bought me a drink, and that made me smile.
I am giving it 2 stars because the staff that have served me were very nice and professional. If not for that, I would have said 1.

I’ve been to The Alchemist Lounge several times and I do prefer it in the summer months when one can sit outside and enjoy the weather. Although, the other night, the frequent buses really did make it difficult to hold a conversation without yelling «WHAT!?» after each bus accelerated through the intersection or after it allowed it’s weary commuters to embark/​disembark on their way to their evening activities. We were there shortly after 5:45pm or so.
We just had a couple of drinks and it was enjoyable (aside from the buses), they have a decent wine selection as well as cider for others who are inclined. Parking, at least in the early evening, was easy and the server was quite pleasant, even though he didn’t seem to know his wines all that well. Ah, it comes with time.

Drinks here are amazing. They must travel to NYC to get their recipes. The food… eh. I’m not sure if it’s because I go there often, but I’m bored with the new menu.
Nightlife is fun. Waitstaff is awesome. They are all party animals!
Jeparody is fun.

This place seems to get a lot of shit from people for various reasons, but the two times I’ve been, it’s actually been good for me. Plus, «alchemist» anything always helps the cause in my book.
So, yeah, I’ve had the portobello burger and the marinated steak tips with mashed potatoes and asparagus on my two visits. Both were great, with an attentive and accommodating wait staff. The atmosphere is cool with me, too. The tunes were classic rock «album tracks» which I dug. The décor is various shapes of burnt orange/​purple and that type of shit (which I found out from the owner, who overheard my wife and discussing the paint, said was an attempt to match the tones of the brickwork).
My wife didn’t dig her meal as much as mine. Of note was the jicama salad she got on the side which had a jicama/​carrot ratio of like ²⁰⁄₈₀. But shit was all set with my meal. Good for fucking me!
I will say, the BBQ sauce they serve on the side with their steak tips does taste eerily familiar to the BBQ sauce you get with McNuggets. But honestly I kind of like that McSauce actually.
Other than that, the place is also a bar too. We could tell as the hours grew to double digits, the clientele increased and were more spirited and on their way to drunk street. So, yeah, I’d like to check it out in a non-​meal-​eating setting at some point.

3.5 stars
This was a fun bar to visit during my Boston trip. It was before Halloween, so they had it decorated for the season. I had a hard cider on tap — yum! Once the live band started, this place got mad packed. They played several covers, and played them quite well, although quite LOUD. Trying to talk to the people I came with was pretty much pointless. Eventually when we left, it was near impossible to get out the door with all the bodies in the room.
But I think if I lived in the area, I could see going here on a regular basis.

Ok.
Perhaps my last update wasn’t fair.
So let me be more specific:
The staff and owners are really awesome.
But the consistency of food and service is not worth it.

I was impressed, though that might be because we came directly from the Sam Adams Brewery tour and I am much more forgiving when my belly is full of beer.
We rolled in at around 4 on a saturday, so it was pretty empty. I was deciding between the Alchemist Pale Ale and the Leather Lips IPA, went with the former but the keg was kicked so she brought a sampler of the latter, which I thought was a mark of a damn good waitress. We had prompt and accomodating service for the duration, but it was super early in the evening and no one else was there, so that may have had something to do with it.
I mostly stuck to beer, but had some of the mushroom flatbread pizza, which was phenomenal. I enjoyed the atmosphere — I’d definitely consider coming back.

It’s really not fair to hate on a place because you feel nostalgic for times past (Triple D’s). Alchemist is solid in it’s own right. The ambiance is relaxed, cool lamps, nice warm tones, booths are comfy and the place is spacious. They’ve got a decent selection of beers on tap, and even their own brew courtesy of Sam Adams, which is quite good.
The prices are reasonable and the eats were toothsome. Nothing fancy, but extra plus for whole leaf Ceasars, delicious bread and warm olives. And being generous with the latter two. My baked penne was simple yet tasty and had a nice dusting of breadcrumbs on top. I wished there were more sundried tomatoes. Though I could have been assertive and asked for more. The lasagna and flatbreads were equally pleasing and at $ 10 – 14, we were content.
The service was absolutely outstanding. All of our servers were friendly and attentive. When a dining partner ordered a white Russian with whipped cream and their electric mixer had broken, the barkeep whipped it by hand! Now that’s serious dedication to your customers. High five, Alchemists!