When the bustle of downtown Boston becomes too much, it can be nice to have a special place to escape and even rise above it all.
Petit Robert Central (PRC) is that place.
With a pedigree that includes legendary Founder Jacky Robert and acclaimed Executive Chef Eric Bogardus, PRC combines European luxury with urban sensibility and expansive menus with inexpensive prices, making it easy to translate from fine French cuisine to your new favorite meat and pommes (a.k.a., potatoes).
With its giant windows overlooking Downtown Crossing and its many secludable spaces, PRC is a great place to luxuriate in fine French-inspired cuisine or just relax with (or make) friends. While many downtown denizens know PRC as a great place to meet for lunch (thanks in great part to their soup, salad, and sandwich-based “express” lunch menu, that offers fully-cooked and friendly-served meals in about the same time as it takes to stand in line at the taco cart), PRC has been expanding its menus of offerings in order to serve and please even more guests.
The latest addition to the PRC plan is Afternoon Central. From 2-4 PM each weekday, PRC offers a combination of cappuccino, coffee, espresso, loose-leaf tea and special mid-day signature cocktails with PRC’s famed “Bon Vivant” food menu, which itself ranges from fresh croissants and macarons to PRC’s impressive cheese and charcuterie boards. Add free Wi-Fi and PRC becomes the Central place to take a break and get a little space (including their expansive private meeting rooms, which are always just right for any power lunch or PowerPoint presentation) without losing touch with the goings on at the office.
At workday’s end, come back to Central to shake off the dust of the office and to prepare for an evening in the nearby Theatre District or a night on the town. Their Rendezvous menu offers two hours of $5 treats including meaty mussels, wings du jour, and a grilled flat bread that crosses the gastric border into Italy without losing any French flair. To help with the transition from day at the office to night…not, PRC has also recently introduced a $15 flight of bubblies, including an exclusive offering courtesy of congenial and always helpful GM Ricardo Soto. As with so many things at PRC, to be presented with this special treat, all you need do is ask!
In addition to Bogardus and Soto, PRC boasts a France-founded friendly and supportive staff that knows the menu well (lucky folks!) and is always happy to make a recommendation. What makes their job easier is the fact that it is so hard to go wrong! From a raw bar stocked with just-off-the-boat Cape Cod oysters and stuffed Quahog clams, as well as gorgeous shrimp cocktail and tuna tartar, the dinner menu also features such haute hors d’oeuvres as applewood smoked salmon, torchon de foie gras (a.k.a., amazing pate), and flat bread with caramelized shallots and shitake mushrooms. The soup and salad set includes a rich roasted beet and goat cheese combo, a rocket salad with orange, shaved fennel and crispy chickpeas that is out of this world, bacon-blessed sea conch chowder, and, of course, soup a l’onion gratinee (a.k.a., the best French onion soup this side of Provence). Though each of these early offerings is satisfying in its own way, it is always advised to save room for the entrees, which include porc paillard with garlic-roasted squash, duck leg confit with sauerkraut, poached potato and fresh-from-Dijon Dijon mustard, pistachio-crusted salmon, lemon sole, a meat- or wine-lovers beef bourguignon (a.k.a., burgundy wine-braised beef short rib), coquille St. Jacques (a.k.a., poached scallops with creamy gruyere sauce), a half roasted chicken fit for a king (Louis XIV, perhaps?), PRC’s one-of-a-kind quinoa veggie burger, and a truly limited edition rosemary-crusted chateaubriand (a.k.a., extra-thick and delicious tenderloin) for two that is worth coming early for! For those who wish to enhance their meals all the more, PRC also offers such sides as hand-cut pommes frites (a.k.a., “Freedom fries”) worthy of the finest vinegar, sautéed spinach, honey-glazed baby carrots and garlic Brussel sprouts (which they were offering before they became “trendy”).
Regardless of what you enjoyed for your main meal, a trip to PRC is not complete without at least one after-dinner drink and one of the outstanding creations by Pastry Chef Milissa Laurence, a long-time right hand for Bogardus who honed her artistic talents as a chef at the Museum of Fine Arts. From fromage (a.k.a., cheese) to profiterole (a.k.a., ice cream puffs with homemade hot fudge sauce) to mousse au chocolat (a.k.a., amazing chocolate pudding) to made-to-order soufflé (a.k.a., soufflé), Laurence prepares an array of sweet endings that will make your going from her venue as pleasant and satisfying as your coming back!
While the dessert list can make any guest feel like a kid again, PRC is keen to keep the real kids in mind. To this end, they combine their Continental flair and upscale décor with a 10-and-under menu that ranges from local faves like fish sticks to more sophisticated tastes like a “petit” (five ounce) skirt steak and croque-monsieur (a.k.a., grilled ham and cheese).
Speaking of the décor, internationally-known designer and HGTV star Taniya Nayak has put together an intriguing mix of cosmopolitan and comfy elements that make the large space overlooking bustling Washington Street feel cozy and apart and that delight the eyes as much as the food takes care of most of the other senses. With its tweedy booths, curving bars and elegant cookware and homey foliage here and there, it is just as easy to find a new favorite nook every time you visit as it is to find a new favorite dish. While some of Boston’s top lawyers often lunch at PRC, even those who cannot pass the bar are in luck, as they can catch the game while enjoying DIY flatbread combos, escargot and other gifts of la mer, battered Grillo’s pickles and the famed “Horseshoe,” which itself consists of grilled Texas toast with a half-pound sirloin burger and muenster-gruyere sauce over hand-cut fries. Special servings are also available for groups of six or more. Again- just ask!
While this may all sound like too much of a good thing (especially as the allegedly single portions are often enough to share), never fear, for while PRC is the perfect place for a quick (but not rushed) lunch or mid-day break, power meeting, pre- (or post-) theatre treat, or special occasion (including those that the restaurant hosts throughout the year), the Boston bistro truly shines when guests can linger over each course, perhaps enjoying liquid recesses in the form of their extensive wine, beer, and cocktail lists. From the bourbon and cherry combo known lovingly as the Bobby Boucher (name the reference!), the rum, mint and champagne Z’Cuban, the Triple-Eight cranberry vodka and spiced cranberry puree of the Nantucket Red and the signature Central Sidecar that features house-infused Hennessy VS and Clement Shrub liqueur, as well as a wide array of Scotch, small batch bourbon, rye, dessert wines and ports, and eau de vie, the cocktail list is an inventive and intriguing as the food menus. Speaking of menus, PRC’s Capped, Tapped and Corked menu offers American standards (including such local faves as Sam and Bud, as well as NH and VT–bred beers) and European standouts as well. In addition to the special bubbly flight, PRC also has tastings for fans of the red, the white, and the brew, as well as an extensive list of glasses from some of their best bottles (the list of which reads lie a who’s who of vineyard visionaries). As Soto used to work in the wine industry, there is again little chance of a misstep on this menu either.
No matter where or what you eat and drink or with how many, you are sure to experience the fine service and sense of sophisticated fun that permeates every inch of PRC. So whether you work in the high-rises of downtown Boston, aspire to, or thank your lucky stars you do not, drop by Downtown Crossing for a dining experience that is truly magnifique (a.k.a., wicked good!).
Petit Robert Central
101 Arch Street
Boston, MA
617.737.1777