The Sail Loft

The Boston Sail Loft is a nautical themed bar and restaurant located on the Waterfront on Commercial Wharf North.

I've been in a number of times for drinks and the occasional bite to eat since living in the neighborhood for the past two years. This waterfront gem serves average seafood and bar grub at a decent price. Last night Adam and I were in the mood for some drinks. And we were not in the mood for cooking. Probably because there is nothing in the apartment to cook. Unplanned Wednesday nights out excite me, deciding which bar we should grace with our presence is half the fun, as is the anticipation of what food, drinks, and atmosphere will I get to capture on camera next.
Since we hadn't payed the Sail Loft a visit in awhile we decided to check in. We strolled down to the wharf and entered the establishment to find our choice of tables or bar stools. We took a seat at one of the empty wooden high tables which line the wall across from the bar.
It might look empty now, but don't be fooled. The Sail Loft packs em in every night of the week, with a line of peeps out the door, looking to get rowdy on Fridays and Saturdays. One of the great things about this place is the variety of the crowd it draws. On an average weeknight you've got Gram, Gramps and friends dining in the corner, Financial District YPs sipping martinis at the bar, tourists who've wandered over from Faneuil Hall, North End locals (that'd be us!) and the folks fresh off a day on the boat. Salty wet hair, sunglasses on head, reef sandal-boardshort-waterproof sailing coat attire present. Ug. I wish I could go boating on Boston Harbor all day.....on a Wednesday.

I digress. We were greeted immediately by our friendly waitress named Caroline. She introduced herself and took our drink orders right away. You can't go wrong with a Harpoon UFO ($5.25) on tap. They don't have a large draft selection here. Along with the UFO, they offer Harpoon IPA, Guinness, Bass, and Stella Artios. The rest of your standards including Bud Light, Coors Light, Sam Adams, Corona, Amstel Light and Heinekin come by the bottle.
In my mind the Sail Loft is more of an appetizers joint. Order some of their clam chowder, a bunch of apps to share, and you're golden. We didn't order chowder tonight, but sharing a bunch of appetizers we did do. To start the Steamed Mussels ($9.95) hit the spot.
Nothin' fancy about em. Just a heaping plate of mussels served with a side of melted butter and a ton of extra white wine, garlic, and parsley sauce. Caroline also delivered bread for additional dippage.
I was impressed by the quantity of mussels on our plate. They came out almost immediately, still steaming and very fresh.
We debated ordering the Fresh Calamari Rings ($7.95) hand cut, lightly breaded and deep fried or the Cajun Popcorn Shrimp ($7.25) small shrimp deep fried with Cajun spices and served with spicy cocktail sauce.
The Cajun Popcorn shrimp won out, reason being we remembered the last time we were in we had the Calamari. (It was good! Just wanted to try something else.)
These shrimp were also really tasty. Plump juicy morsels with a crispy spicy kick. In addition to the cocktail sauce, a zesty tartar sauce also accompanied the dish.
And lastly but not least, the classic app Boneless Buffalo Wings ($8.25) boneless fried chicken tenders smothered in hot sauce and served with celery and a side of blue cheese rounded out the meal.
Spicy-hot and tender, these were excellent quality wings. On the side were two medium size pieces of celery. Normally I'd prefer a few more, but with all these apps at once, one celery each was plenty. After we housed the three plates, it was time for dessert.
The Sail Loft keeps a jar of Oreo cookies on the bar. What goes better with Oreos than a nice cold glass of milk.

And Vodka. And Kahlua.
White Russian ($6.25)

Perfection.

We finished off a round of Bud Lights and then hung out on the wharf for a few before calling it a night.

The Boston Sail Loft with its picturesque waterfront views, consistently fresh food, reasonable prices, and great service, has never let me down. They are also open for lunch. Consider paying them a visit if you find yourself in the area.