By Jillian Dara Boston’s historic Irish roots shine this month as two new Irish pubs enter the scene, alongside a new—and much anticipated—Greek island-inspired concept from Xenia Greek Hospitality, a Seaport debut of Levain cookies, and a health-centric, fast-casual menu at Chestnut Hill. Here are Boston’s newest eateries that we can’t wait to try this month. Xenia Greek Hospitality, the team that gave Boston its Greek dining scene with Bar Vlaha, Greco, Hecate and Krasi Meze & Wine, unveils their newest restaurant this month.
Called Kaia, translating from Greek to “pure earth and sea,” the South End venue is inspired by the Greek Isles, with everything on the menu dedicated to the raw abundance of this culture and their rituals of foraging and fishing. However, there’s also an East Coast thread that ties both maritime locales together thanks to culinary director Brendan Pelley and executive chef Felipe Goncalves (formerly Menton) who researched and discovered endearing parallels between New England’s region’s plentiful marine ingredients and the Aegean techniques that Kaia’s dishes draw inspiration from. The menu opens with caviar service (starting at $28) before smaller plates or “gifts of the sea,” including crudos starting at $20 and preserved items using sea vegetables like sea rocket pods and samphire (a salt-tolerant succulent).
There’s an entire section dedicated to daily-rotating whole fish (market price) presented as innovative cuts, lik.