Flavorful Latin inspired seafood in Back Bay
Welcome back everyone! Today, I will introduce you to a great Latin inspired restaurant. Do you ever struggle with finding a great spot for delicious food and great drinks that is pretty laid back yet has that perfect ambiance? PURO ceviche bar in Back Bay has it all. It’s great for a date night, going out with friends, or after-work drinks.
Puro Passion martini
first impressions
PURO is located on Newbury Street in Back Bay. If you have lived in Boston for a while, you might already be making judgments based on what you know about that area. Maybe you think PURO will be another tiny restaurant with too expensive tiny portion dishes with overpriced drinks that only spoiled rich “kids” would enjoy before heading out to the bars and clubs nearby. I say this only because I would have thought the same thing when my friend and I decided to give it a try. Before you pass any judgement, let me change your mind.
The restaurant has patio seating during nicer months, but on that chilly and rainy night during New England fall, I had to walk downstairs and find the entrance. When I first walked into the restaurant, one of my fears came true. The restaurant seemed small and there was no waiting area (I REALLY didn’t want to wait for my friend for 20 minutes in the rain). Luckily, a very helpful host found me a seat at the bar and I was able to order a drink while I waited for a table which would be ready in 30 to 40 minutes.
The dining space was surprisingly larger than what it seems from the front door and even the bar was packed. Next to the bar you could see the raw bar where the oysters lay on ice ready to be shucked and eaten. The lighting was dim and the murmurs of conversations around the restaurant was quiet enough to be able to talk to your friend without yelling or nodding and pretending you can hear them. Overall, the ambiance, decor, and service was great from my 2 minute experience in the restaurant
food and drinks
Since I had a bit of a wait, I decided to order a Puro Passion martini ($12), which had stoli citron (citrus vodka), st-germain (elderflower liquor), passion fruit purée, and cava (spanish sparkling wine) in it. It was a perfect Friday night drink after a long week. The tart and fruitiness was refreshing. Cava was a great addition for balancing out the bold flavors to make it not too sweet or sour. They also served a good selection of New England craft beers, which is always a plus in my book.
As soon as we got seated, we were given the menus and a side of tortilla chips and salsa. This was perfect as all the waiting had made us hungry. We quickly devoured the snack sized portion and asked for some more.
Between two of us who were both hungry by then, we ordered 3 dishes to share: Red snapper ceviche ($15), sea bass ceviche ($16), and grilled octopus ($16). At first, we were concerned as we thought maybe that wouldn’t be enough food, but by the end of the meal we were glad that we didn’t order more. The portions may look small at first, but we realized that was more than enough food for us.
The both of the ceviche dishes (pictured below) tasted very fresh and bright. The chopped fresh fish were covered in citrusy sauce which packed a quite of bit of flavor. Even the slight heat from the pepper was just enough where it didn’t overpower the subtle taste of sea bass and red snapper. The actual chunks of fish themselves were very tender and the sweet potato and plantain chips were the perfect accompaniment (or a shovel?) for them. The tortilla chips on the side were the true heroes of the night as we ran out of the sweet potato and plantain chips half way through.
Sea bass and red snapper ceviche
Finally, the grilled octopus (Pulpo a la Plancha) was a great dish to complement the rest of the meal. Between tartness and slight heat coming from the bites of ceviche, we were able to cleanse our palate with the subtler flavors of the cilantro and slightly charred octopus which was tied together with a hint of lemon. It’s very easy to cook octopus in a way to make them tough to chew, yet PURO has succeeded in making them extremely tender.
Pulpo a la Plancha (grilled octopus)
final thoughts
PURO had everything I would look for at a good restaurant. The service was great from the host, bartender, and the server. The ambiance was amazing as expected from a restaurant in that area of town. The menu items, whether it was food or a drink, packed a lot of flavors as you would expect from a restaurant serving Latin inspired cuisine, but also had a good balance of all those flavors.
This would be a great restaurant to visit in Back Bay for a happy hour after work, a semi-casual date night, or for a night out with friends. I would recommend that you order about 2-4 plates to share between two people depending on the hunger level. Also, if you visit on a Friday night during dinner time, expect a bit of a wait at the bar while the tables free up.