Bar Dining at Sorellina, Back Bay

Sorellina – View from the bar

I have been working so much lately I have barely had time to think about my blogging and writing about the wonder that is food and wine.  I work, get takeout, occasionally go to my local and that’s about it besides trying to grab some sleep here and there.  I cant even remember the last time I cooked dinner.

When my friend, Stacey suggested dinner the other night, I said that I wanted to be inspired so she suggested Mistral.  Well, you know how much I love this restaurant, especially the thought of their tuna tartare, but, and this is a very small but, I have talked and written about Mistral many times.  However, I realized I had never written about Sorellina, a sister restaurant of Mistral so that became our destination.

We decided bar dining was the way to go.  It often is for me as I love being able to look around and feel a part of the atmosphere of both the bar and restaurant.  Beautifully elegant and oh so chic, Sorellina welcomes its patrons through large double doors into a small vestibule area washed in light cream decor and white curtains.  Their bar curves just slightly around the left side of the restaurant as you walk in, part of which is cordoned off by standing shades, while the other is open to the gorgeous clean looking restaurant.  Luckily there were two seats closer to the restaurant, which my friend procured just in time for my arrival.

The menu is on the shorter side and rich with interesting choices and on the pricier side.  This is absolutely a treat of a restaurant if you want to go for the full dining experience, which we were ready for.

Starting with a crisp glass of Sancerre we both made some decisions on our appetizers.  I felt compelled to go with the Tuna.  While Mistral stands out as truly THE best tuna tartare in the world – seriously, Sorellina’s is absolutely worth of a big shout out.  A huge amount of chopped fresh tuna mixed through with mustard and resting on a surprising hot bite of chili vinegar, which worked wonderfully well with the tuna, especially on a salty chip.

TUNA
raw, hand cut, sushi grade, spicy mostarda aioli and chili vinegar – $19

Stacey ordered the arugula salad.  As simple as this salad is, she raved about the delicate truffle dressing and sharp cheese, which made this appetizer something more special.

ARUGULA
truffled pecorino moliterno, pine nuts, lemon vinaigrette, matsutake – $16

For my main I decided on the special of Wild Boar Stuffed Tortellini.  Lovely aldente tortellini filled with strong flavored salty fabulous boar in a heady rich marsala reduction.  As much as I wanted to continue eating my dish, we had made the decision to swap meals half way through given that we both wanted the same thing but decided on something different so we could get some different tastes.

SPECIAL
Wild boar stuffed tortellini In a Marsala reduction

Stacey picked the Scallops.  Just perfect small, plump and juicy scallops topped with a the right amount of bacon to compliment the scallops.  This dish is surprisingly rich so it was a great idea to swap dishes.

SCALLOPS
“melted” brussels sprouts, butternut squash, Zoe’s bacon – $36

I can normally make a little room for something sweet, however, neither one of us could do it.  Instead another glass of Sancerre was ordered and we spent the rest of our evening catching up.

One thing we did find a little odd was that no sooner had we ordered our appetizers they were at our table, literally a minute later.  While I have absolutely no doubt at all the food is fresh and it was, it made me wonder how long these dishes had been hanging out waiting to be delivered to the first person that ordered them, rather than being made to order.  Not a big deal given how amazing our dishes were, but something we did both comment on.  That all said, Sorellina is a wonderful dining experience with friendly service, delicious food and an easy unrushed atmosphere.  Dine at the bar with friends or in the restaurant for a romantic dinner for two or something special for the holiday season with family.  I had a super time.