Bon Savor

I’m sad to see that this restaurant has closed (place was empty last time I walked by). The owners had to sell the place… I will really miss the quality and service they offered

I am utterly heartbroken to learn of Bön Savor’s closing. All the best to Ibonne and Oleg. May your path find you back in Boston so you can gift us with your brilliant talents. Your brunch was the best I’ve ever had — ever — anywhere, and the atmosphere was perfectly warm and charming with a wonderful creative twist.
I’m so sad.

Baaahhh…
We came in with a much too high expectation on this one. Were only two tables in the rest but the service was kinda hurried.
The Croissant we ordered is kinda burnet and tough to eat. Could be better.

Oh YES! This is my favorite restaurant in JP! I’ve had brunch there several times, and have never been disappointed.
Haven’t tried the dinner there, but i can’t imagine it would be a let down either. Not sure why the menu changes constantly, but its not a bad thing… menus get boring every now and then.
I love this place.

I write this having been to this restaurant and had numerous consistent good experiences but not as of late.
I am not sure if ownership has changed or the kitchen staff but the menu certainly has.
I would usually get a pretty standard omelet with vegetables on the side, potatoes and veggies being the standard two options.
This is what happened last time I ordered the same thing…
Went on a Sunday morning without a wait for a seat. Service was amiable but very slow, with tables arriving after my party receiving their food first.
My omelet was perplexing — first it was burned on one side– like all the ingredients had been left to cook to long before flipped. The eggs were not beaten but rather there was a hard yolk on the inside of the omelet like a regular cooked egg. Plus, there were potatoes inside the actual omelet although I hadn’t ordered them and they were the size of the potatoes on the side.
The veggies and meat inside the omelet were not cut for omelet size but rather large making for an unwieldy mess.
Although I have enjoyed many a time at bon savor, I’m afraid their service and food has taken a nosedive and I sadly won’t be returning.

Hands Down, my favorite restaurant in JP. The food is great, the service is great, it is not absurdly difficult to get a reservation. The menu changes often which is both a good and bad thing. It is sad when things you love disappear (bring back spinach salad!), but there is no shortage of great choices. I’ve had the roast chicken, the steak Argentina, the crêpe. All were good. I’ve also had the prix fixe a few times and it never disappoints. There have many good affordable wines as well. A tip — do not overlook deserts. They have delicious deserts. yum.
In a tragic move Bön Savor is now only open for Brunch. Delicious Dinner is no more. In a stalker-​esque move I spotted a Bön Savor waitress working at The Mission (two-​timer!) and asked her why they closed (begged her to reconsider) She said something about the owner being out of the country and not being able to manage it anymore. Heartbroken.

Great birthday brunch, and mimosas too.
I hate walking through basement storage to get to the bathroom.

came here for brunch yesterday. I loved the atmosphere. it’s a small space but feels very personal and ‘lived-​in.’ the staff was friendly and warm. the prices were oh-​so-​reasonable. the coffee was good and plentiful.
on the food: I had the croque monsieur with some grilled tomatoes on the side. the croque monsieur was okay, but could use a little improvement. personally, I prefer them open-​faced but I can deal with a two bread version. the main flaw was the sauce. though I’ve usually had bechamel, it was bearnaise, or so they claimed. it was kind of an odd orange-​ish color, was too thin (it should be thick enough that it’s a blob on the sandwich, not running off), and was too salty. it was still edible and not horrible, but not as good or elegant as it should be. the tomatoes on the side were mushy and flavorless. they should probably be a seasonal feature. my boyfriend loved the eggs benedict, and noted the crêpe they came with was tasty.
I would also like to see a fruit salad on the menu. a seasonal variation would be a lovely compliment. for winter, a citrus mélange (oranges, red grapefruit, maybe tangerine) tossed in a light fresh int simple syrup.
I really do mean my criticism to be constructive as I want to like this restaurant even more than I do. I’ll still go back to try dinner and again for brunch with the hope of finding something else on the menu that is a notch up (perhaps the crepes?).

How I’ve managed to let this establishment fly under my radar for so long is mind blowing, but at last I’ve made the jaunt over to the corner of Pond St and Centre, and much to my delight! Serving both French and South American fare, Bön Savor is both exquisite and unpretentious. The food, while being complex is simple and flavors are exceptional. Portion sizes are customary with cuisine not typically found in your run-​of-​the-​mill strip mall corporate restaurants, yet hit the spot every time!
The staff is friendly and helpful and the open kitchen allows you to sneak a peak at what gastronomic goodness will be arriving to your table. If that isn’t close enough for you, pretend that you need to use the restroom and you will be pointed to the loo which allows you direct access through the kitchen. All in all, BS is a deliciously wonderful option for brunch or dinner, and with prices that are moderate to standard, there’s no reason not to make the trip!

Bön Savor has a cozy-​romantic atmosphere that is at once good for a tasty brunch without a line and a relaxed late-​night dinner over candlelight.
They bill themselves as French-​South American, though I’m not sure how my creamy risotto with squash fits in that category. No matter — it was excellent.

I thought while at Bön Savor tonight that the only ways in which it falls short, are the ones that are totally irrelevant to its being a good restaurant at a reasonable price.
Sure, the service isn’t five star caliber, nor is the ambience swanky, but the price is totally a bargain for how amazing the food is.
Some of my most memorable meals of the past year were at Bön Savor. The Peruvian mussels are rich and unique, the pork Bourguignon was one of the most perfect dishes I’ve had in Boston, and the steak Argentina never disappoints.
The wine list is very basic (if a bit overpriced), but has a nice pairing by the glass for each dish on the menu. I’d like to see a $ 1 price cut on glasses across the board to bring them back to comfort range.
The fact that Ten Tables is two doors down and always packed, while Bön Savor is nearly empty is astounding to me. Not only does the food at Bön Savor wipe the fucking floor with Ten Tables, but it does so for less, and you don’t need a reservation or have to wait an hour.
I’d actually say that Bön Savor is the best restaurant in JP, and I see from the Improper Bostonian 2010 survey that others agree. Hopefully I’ll still be able to get a table here in the future.

I have no reason to give this establishment anything lower than 5 stars. I was happy each time I went, so far once for dinner and once for brunch.
The food was prepared well, clearly made to order and very tasty. My tummy was happy.
I would describe the food as French-​American-​South American fusion and I believe the main chef is of South American descent and the owners take inspiration from their travels to that region.
The waitstaff were friendly and attentive both times, service with a smile!
The prices were acceptable for the service and quality of food you receive, but you will spend a pretty penny.
The atmosphere is quaint and sophisticated, while warm and welcoming. It is small though — be ready to play Tetris with your water glasses and and knock chairs with neighbors.
I am waiting for a reason to go back!!!

Eh.
I was really excited to try this place, since I haven’t found any brunch places in Boston that I’m in LOVE with. We drove out to JP for weekend brunch. We had to wait about 10 minutes for a table which wasn’t a big deal– the place is pretty small. The menu looked amazing so we were pretty excited.
I ordered the French Breakfast Combo, which is «a glass of house wine or champagne, small french press coffee, homemade croissant and Eggs Benedict with Canadian bacon» for $ 14.95 (pretty amazing price-​wise). My friends ordered the veggie omelet and the Eggs Benedict.
We ended up waiting FOREVER for our meal. When food came out of the kitchen, we would all perk up, and stare at it, hoping it came our way, which it didn’t for a pretttttty long time. However, the champagne was amazing. I switched out the french press coffee for hot tea, which was really good as well.
When the food finally came, they were out of croissants so she gave me toast instead (with no butter, jelly, etc. on it or on the table). I asked her for some jelly and she kinda acted like I was being high maintenance. I had also asked for the hollandaise sauce on the side, because I’m not supposed to eat dairy. However, the sauce was spread all over the Eggs Benedict. There wasn’t tons of it and I scraped most of it off, and I was too hungry at that point to send it back and wait for a new one. My friends cleaned their plates but were also mostly «eh» about their food. The waitress then took forever to bring us our check.
It was also weird when we went to use the bathroom at the end– you have to walk through the kitchen (literally), then go down these weird steps that were steep and had a low ceiling, so I had to duck pretty low about 3 times on my way to the bathroom. I understand they are working with tight space, but it was pretty awkward.
The atmosphere was cute, the food was good and it was on the cheap side of Boston. However, the service wasn’t great and the brunch food wasn’t anything too special.

This modest, tiny little French-​South American bistro out in Jamaica Plan was definitely worth driving out to as two of my buddies and I saddled down there for a nice dinner.
We proceeded to sit down despite the restaurant being mostly empty. Next to us, a tower fan ran at high speed and create a nice little breeze. We decided to get a bunch of appetizers to start and share them, tapas style, along with some wine to start. We got the charcuterie plate, which, that night, featured some amazing, thick roasted pork belly. We also had a salad which had pecans, cranberries and a sunny side up egg and a simple mixed green salad. We were also brought some bread. Everything was very simple yet very intricate and delicious flavor-​wise. It tasted awesome.
I then proceeded to order the Argentinian steak, which in this case was flank steak, which came with some Chimichurri sauce. It was cooked to order, a beautiful medium and was delightful. The spices and the sauce were wonderful, along with the sides of potatoes that came with it. My dining companions also throughly enjoyed their entres and we then decided to order desserts; we split a Dulce de Leche crêpe which was wonderful as well.
Although the concept of French & South American fusion is not common, Bön Savor manages to pull it off quite well and I was very impressed by the quality of the food that they churned out for us. The menu is diverse and they have a bit of everything on there; enough dishes to please any palate. The prices are pretty good as well, and they even have a $ 26, 3 course prix fixe offering; As far as the service goes, it was spot-​on; not too visible but there when needed.
Do keep in mind that space is very limited and I wouldn’t try and step in there with a group larger than four people, at least not with a reservation. This experience I had there definitely has opened up my eyes as to what Jamaica Plain restaurants could offer and I’ll be exploring more of that neighborhood in the future for sure.

We used to love this place till not too long ago when they changed the chef. We were never let down by the food before, but during our last meal we left feeling disappointed (and sad). The menu changed and the food itself was bland and not prepared with the same care as before… well except for my crêpe that was basically tomato paste with a few pieces of chorizo over mashed potatoes– it tasted like something, too bad it wasn’t something good!
Perhaps it was a bad day? Perhaps it was because the new chef spent all of the time we were there talking to another couple and not in the kitchen? and the crêpe I used to love so much? Now it’s smaller, and they serve it with prefrozen berries on top (or at least they tasted and looked the same as when you buy frozen berries and let them thaw).

Jamaica Plain will most likely be my new neighborhood come September so I decided to explore the area a bit after an apartment showing. Next to a solid comic shop was this gem. I must say, I found it a little odd but funny that a comic shop would be sandwiched by two high end restaurants. Apparently JP is known for having many restaurants on the higher or lower end but not much in between.
Anyhoo, I was greeted by just about everyone on staff that night. The chef had just started there no more than a month ago and was quite friendly. I almost declined eating here due to the pricing/​ambiance since I had just gotten off from the gym and didn’t feel I was dressed appropriately but everyone was so welcoming I couldn’t say no. I sat at the bar so I could chat with the staff. I began with an Argentinean white wine that was very smooth. It was recommended by my server Alex. The chef surprised me with a special concoction of truffle mushrooms and gruyère cheese with toasted bread slices. So delicious!
I chose for the entrée the Chili Papa Rellena, a vegetarian option. (I’m not personally a vegetarian but sometimes like to pretend: P) The pepper was very fresh and had a nice crunch. The tomato fondu that lined the plate was slightly savory and complimented the fresh pepper nicely. A satisfactory dish but I probably would have been satisfied with a whole plate of the truffle mushrooms from before. I finished the meal with a cappuccino but was once again surprised by the chef with a sample of their mock Crêpe Suzette. The crêpe had a perfect consistency and the blending of the sauces were very tasty.
I was quite excited to learn that the place I will most likely be moving into is just a few blocks down from this place. I will surely be coming back for the brunch! :)

Not impressive. Nestled among so many other great places to eat, why would you bother with this place? To sum this place up: Forgettable.
Must admit, I logged on here expecting to see other reviews echoing my negative vibes and was surprised to find a majority of likers present.
Visited this place previously for brunch and found the portions to be very small, menu quite limited, prices too high, and the atmosphere somewhere between average and forgettable.
This time, the selection of restaurant being outside of my control, I expressed my apprehension. I nevertheless wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and give it another shot.
This time, I found the waiter to be condescending and pretentious. He acted as though we would need help interpreting the menu and asked us twice if we had questions instead of just taking our drink order. No, really, its only one page, I think I got it thanks… but can I get a beer or something?
When I wanted to substitute fries for a salad, I received a lecture about why these fries weren’t actually fries, but something drastically different than fries. I gave up and said «ok, I’ll take em’»…only to learn that they were basically just fries?
Or when someone had to send their food back to be cooked more? Or when I basically ate a raw tuna steak? Cook your food please, considering how much it costs.
And so, 2 strikes and I’m not coming back to this place.

Gahh I waited too long to write this review. Now, almost three weeks later, I can’t remember a lot of what we ordered. I’m definitely losing «useful» points here, but I’ll try to do my best!
First of all, Bön Savor is tiny. Like down-​the-​street Ten Tables tiny. We ordered an appetizer to share, and for entrees we ordered Argentinian steak, seared tuna, and two others that I can’t remember. Everyone loved their dishes, and sharing was a whole lot of fun, too!
For dessert, we had the bread pudding (I –love– bread pudding) and I have to say, among the dozens of restaurants where I’ve ordered this dessert, Bön Savor’s was the absolute best. Hands down. It was very moist, not overly sweet, and it was just perfection all around.
I also have to mention the service, which was really great. Our server was attentive, brought us everything we needed, made us feel comfortable and was pretty much a pro.
I definitely recommend Bön Savor for a date — very intimate, but bustling and lively at the same time. Excellent, excellent food.

This place totally changes my perception of what JP has to offer. In short, Bön Savor was amazing, simply, and utterly amazing. I mean how many places out there describe themselves as French & South American Bistros? If you said more than none then you need to stop your sassy mouth and realize that it was a rhetorical question (I’m just trying to set the mental mood for this delicious adventure you and I are about to embark on).
I went here with my friend E.T. (pronounced like the little alien that had a propensity for touching young boys – which makes me her Drew Barrymore) after a trip through the Arboretum and this was the only place that wasn’t so packed. Immediately I was drawn to the fact that it had wine and beer, and not just a bottle or two, but a selection. I love a place that is serious about their wine, and this place is so serious in fact that their French Breakfast comes with a glass of wine and a cup of coffee (as well as food, but we’ll get to that later).
I think the hardest part about this place is picking what to order. The menu reads like a Julia Child wet dream (yeah, I’m sorry for that simile – it wasn’t even a particularly good simile, it just gave me a chance to use Julia Child and wet dream in the same sentence). Watching the crepes and omelets come out from the back really didn’t help make my decision any easier. I settled on the Croque Madame ($ 7) which was out of this world while E.T. had the Portobello Hamburger ($ 12) which had some kind of chickpea and broccoli purée which I think is going to replace ketchup for me on all future things that require ketchup (side note – eggs never require ketchup, so don’t do it). I’ll definitely need to come back to try the french toast and the Calentado.
The inside is clean and sleek with a café or coffee shop feel, but don’t be fooled, it’s a restaurant. Space is rather limited so I don’t think I would roll up with more than four people unless you are willing to wait and perhaps push some tables together.
Bottom Line: Great for that awkward preliminary «are you a crazy ax murderer?» (a.k.a. getting to know you) date.
(A/​N special shot out to the waitress who told us to go to the Milky Way for their Saturday night RECESS and then didn’t show up herself – It was still totally worth it.)

One of my favorite restaurants just got better with the addition of several new vegetarian & vegan options! A whole page of the menu for them, in fact!
I had the new soup — a hearty corn, tomato, & cilantro delight with an avocado & corn «tower» in the middle. beautifully plated, slightly spicy, and truly delicious. my mouth watered at the thought of their new portabello cap stuffed with pumpkin risotto — just in time for fall :)
Last time I was here, I thought I noticed something different, but couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I just read on the website that every month the rotate out a featured local artist’s work — that must’ve been it! Yay for supporting the community and local art.
Since my first review, we’ve also been back for brunch. Splurging slightly on their french breakfast, the bf and I leisurely enjoyed each other’s company and the beautiful Sunday afternoon over eggs benedict/​an omelette, seasoned potatoes, french coffee, and champagne. They were out of croissants, so they subbed crepes w/​a drizzle of syrup + dusting of powdered sugar — yum!
The experience made me:
1. Want to move to Paris
2. Inspired to start using my own french press again
3. Want to update my Unilocal review, stat!
And now they have a frequent flyer card! $ 1 = 1 point, 250 points = $ 15 gift card. Um, I’m pretty sure we’ll blow through that lickety split, haha.
I love love love love Bön Savor :-D