When I got home from the gym, I was happy to discover a sweet bouquet of sunflowers waiting for me. Sunflowers are my absolute favorite flower and it put a smile on my face as I got ready for the evening.
We decided to try out someplace new for dinner that night and settled on finally checking out the Regal Beagle in Coolidge Corner. The Regal Beagle opened in November and the name along made us curious with the Three's Company throwback. But we just hadn't made the trip over to Coolidge Corner until this past Friday night.
Located on Harvard Street, the Regal Beagle is definitely a small restaurant with dark bistro-like atmosphere. When you walk in, you immediately notice the deep burgundy velvet wallpaper, dark tables and the wooden bench seating that runs across the entire right wall of the restaurant. It had a nice vibe to it, and on a Friday night at 8 PM, the restaurant was definitely packed. The tables were all full and there was a good buzz from the tightly packed crowd in the bar area at the back of the restaurant. The hostess told us there was about a half hour wait for a table but we weren't in a rush. We managed to snag two seats in the front waiting area and were immediately greeted by the most friendly server. She was actually training that night but she seemed like she knew what she was doing. Her service and demeanor were both so pleasant that we immediately felt comfortable.
We checked out the cocktail menu and I was impressed by Regal Beagle's beer choices. After our recent trip to Portland, I was happy to find they offered Shipyard's seasonal on the menu. When I asked what the seasonal offering was, it turned out they had Seadog Blueberry Wheat. As a sidenote, I discovered during my Shipyard Brewery tour that they also own Seadog. Since I adore blueberry beer, I was happy to order the Seadog. B went with a heavier Otter Creek Cooper Ale.
Since we had a half hour wait, we decided to order a bar bite while we waited. We decided to go with the fried artichokes. The fried artichokes were nicely breaded with a crispy fried texture. Some pieces were a little bit greasy but overall they were very light and crispy. Instead of an aioli, the fried artichokes came with a warm blue cheese dip with a drizzle of hot buffalo sauce on top. I was a bit hesitant about the flavor combination but the artichoke flavor actually worked really well with the tangy blue cheese and the small level of heat that crept in at the end from the buffalo sauce. The bar bites were the perfect small plate to tide us over without making us too full for our dinner.
As we finished up our plate of fried artichokes, we were told that our table was ready a good ten minutes before the projected wait time. This was nice because after the delightful fried artichokes, we were definitely ready to try out their menu. While we perused the menu, I nibbled on a piece of their delicious sourdough bread from their bread basket with a nice pat of garlic butter.
Our server told us about a few of their specials and we were definitely intrigued. To start, we decided to split their salad from one of the daily specials. This was a generous mixed green salad tossed in a chili-lime vinaigrette with julienned carrots and red peppers, fresh herbs, cubed organges, sliced avocado and topped with crispy wonton strips. This salad was absolutely huge and it was a good thing we decided to share it. I loved all of the ingredients but the chili-lime vinaigrette really stood out with both its acidity and slight lingering heat. I found the salad to be really refreshing and can easily envision making something similar at home for a warm summer night. I think it is always a great sign when a restaurant inspires you to want to make something similar in your own kitchen.
After a nicely timed wait, our entrees arrived. For our entrees, B went with another daily special - fish and chips. There were generous pieces of breaded and crispy fried Atlantic cod and it came with a side of French fries, a honey-jalapeno cole slaw and slightly spicy tarter sauce. I stole a bite of the cole slaw and I was really impressed at how flavorful it was with fresh cabbage but dressed in a light honey-jalapeno dressing instead of the usual heavy mayo. The dressing was both sweet and spicy, which I really enjoyed.
I went a bit heavier for my meal and ordered the house burger, which I had heard so many great things about. This tasty sirloin burger was cooked a perfect medium and came on a deliciously buttery brioche bun with Vermont cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and a generous helping of house-made pickle chips. While the burger was tasty overall, the brioche bun was a lot of bread and quickly filled you up. Of course I could have just put the delicious brioche bun aside but with my non-existent willpower with bread, I couldn't resist. My favorite part of the dish though were the house-made pickles. The pickles were a not overly sweet version of bread and butter pickles and added the perfect sweetness to each bite of burger. The fries were tasty but not necesarily stellar but they went well with the small spicy tarter sauce they gave me along with some ketchup.
Overall, the Regal Beagle was a great venue for a date night. It had a real neighborhood feel to it but it also felt cozy and intimate at the same time. And best of all, it is really affordable. It is the kind of place that you could go to time and again without breaking the bank. For us, it was a perfect place to have a casual but delicious dinner before hitting up the Coolidge Corner Theatre to see Greenberg (a quirky indie flick that made me love Ben Stiller all the more). My only regret the entire evening is wishing that we lived closer to Coolidge Corner to make date nights at Regal Beagle a regular occurrence.
Regal Beagle is located at 308 Harvard Street in Brookline, MA.
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