Boqueria - the lively Spanish tapas restaurant and bar - opens in Boston’s vibrant Seaport neighborhood at 25 Thomson Place.
Boqueria’s intimate ambiance, simple yet delicious Spanish dishes, and craft cocktails create a transporting experience for the guest. Central to the restaurant’s menu are time-honored classics; think pan con tomate (iconic Catalan dish of grilled stirato bread rubbed with tomato, garlic and olive oil), pulpo a la plancha (grilled octopus with fennel, smoked pimentón and Picual olive oil mashed potatoes), and gambas al ajillo (plump shrimp cooked in chili-laced olive oil loaded with garlic and a shot of brandy for deep flavor and a hint of sweetness).
Paella lives at the heart of Spanish gatherings and no table is complete without one. Boqueria’s signature paella de mariscos is made with saffron-laced bomba rice, a generous topping of fresh seafood (including squid, head-on shrimp, clams mussels, and more), and salsa verde, with a perfect layer of socarrat – the savory, sticky grains of rice at the bottom to be scraped up with a spoon. To finish, there are churros, of course, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and served with rich hot chocolate for dipping. Fresh, seasonal ingredients are paramount and the menu is updated quarterly. The kitchen will be led by chef Arturo Gonzalez, who previously worked at Boqueria’s SoHo location in NYC.
Special to the Boston location will be a curated bar menu running until midnight on weekends, offering pitchers of Boqueria’s famed shishito pepper margaritas and seasonal sangrías, local beers and Spanish wines by the glass, bottle, or porron. Bites include classic crispy patatas bravas topped with a garlicky aioli, a slider-sized burger topped with Manchego cheese and chorizo-bacon jam, and house-made potato chips sprinkled with pimenton. The restaurant is also introducing a centerpiece to their brunch offering: a sharable sangría tower, exclusive to the Boston location, designed to unite the table and create a moment.
The design, led by Boqueria’s founder and CEO Yann de Rochefort in partnership with Mancini Duffy, accentuates the building’s existing bones, including its heavy timber frame and exposed original wood columns that run through the center of the 5,300 square foot, 142-seat space.
Somewhat unconventionally, the bar is located in the central area of the restaurant, anchoring the space and segmenting it into three sections (bar, front dining room, rear dining room) with round corner portals framing each space. The central bar is a flurry of activity, bustling with chefs preparing cheese boards and plates of boquerones, hand slicing Jamón Ibérico while patrons gather to greet friends, clink glasses, and share plates. There are 18 bar seats here, with seating for 12 at surrounding booths. The dining rooms feature a mix of Boqueria’s high-top seating, which places guests and the service team at eye-level, and lower traditional tables. The front dining room seats 38, and the rear seats 68. A semi-private dining table for 8 utilizes the structure of an original brick shaft, partially enclosed with custom steel framed glass.
Built-in shelves line the perimeter, featuring exposed steel and wood, backlit with a perforated metal backdrop, and stocked with timeless Spanish pantry essentials, filling the room with colors and shapes while maintaining a restrained material palette. To ground the 20’ high ceilings, the design team created refined, industrial custom light fixtures hung at a lower level. Boqueria’s signature materials are used throughout: white oak, blackened steel, imperial Danby marble, fire clay tile, rounded profile tambour, perforated metal and minimal brass accents.
Boqueria got its start in New York City, opening its first location there in 2006. Led by de Rochefort, Boqueria is a reflection of his passion for vibrant energy, thoughtful design and authentic Spanish cuisine. There are now nine Boqueria locations around the country: four in NYC, two in Washington, D.C., one in Nashville and one in Chicago, and
the latest location in Boston. They will open a 10th location in West Hartford this fall, with planned openings for 2024 in Philadelphia and Atlanta.
“My wife is from the area so we’ve always felt a connection to Boston,” says de Rochefort of the decision to open a new location here. “We’re excited about being part of the Seaport’s growth. It’s a vibrant area and we’re joining a restaurant scene that already has top-notch culinary talent so we know guests will be discerning and we’ve got to get it right. It’s a high bar. We’ve spent months getting to know the city and developing offerings exclusive to Boston, like our late-night bar menu. I’ve had this restaurant in my mind since long before the pandemic and I’m just excited to see those doors open.”
The restaurant will be open daily at 5pm for dinner to start on Tuesday 9/12, with weekend brunch to launch immediately thereafter (Saturday 9/16) then weekday lunch (Monday 9/18). Reservations will be available on both Resy and OpenTable.
Boqueria
25 Thomson Place
Boston, MA 02210
(857) 491-0857
Hours (once lunch and brunch are both fully launched, as of 9/18):
Monday - Wednesday: 11:30am - 10pm
Thursday - Friday: 11:30am - midnight
Saturday: 11am - midnight
Sunday: 11am - 10pm
Lunch: Monday - Friday, 11:30am - 3pm
Brunch: Saturday - Sunday, 11am - 3pm
Bar Menu: 3 - 6pm daily, also Thursday - Saturday 9pm - close
Dinner: daily, 5pm - close
News and information presented in this release has not been corroborated by WTWH Media LLC.
