Baleia

Our first time at Baleia, and we’d absolutely recommend it and return. The savory cheese tarts, Portuguese sweet bread, and Whole Roasted Fish were the stand outs for us. In general, everything was cooked to perfection. The Mozambique Shrimp were the definition of succulent. My husband is not a huge fan of saffron, so the sauce wasn’t to his taste, but I found it delicious. The octopus carpaccio was bright, acidic, and so tender. A glass of Vinho Verde made for a well-rounded dinner. The restaurant is beautiful, but it can become rather loud due to all the hard surfaces. We arrived at 6, but when we left at 8, the volume had increased significantly. Just a note for any of those that may need or prefer a quieter space.

It is a great dinner for my wife and myself. The food is amazingly good, even more authentic and refined than we had in Lisboa (Lisbon). The service is also great. All people were enthusiastically helping us to order the dishes, soup and wine. Within ten years, we visited Boston many times. Baleia is the best. I believe this restaurant will win the Michelin One-Star very soon.

Reviewing primarily on value Went here the night before valentines and did the tasting menu- for 70 a head it was a good amount of food! Appetizers Sweet rolls: 10/10 - flaky, salty, sweet, decadent Scallops: 10/10 - delicate, refreshing, apple spheres were a lovely touch, tangy, all around the best thing we had Fish fritters: 5/10 - not particularly notable. A little flat and more dough flavor than fish. Didn’t do well without the sauce Cauliflower: 8/10 - crispy and soft at the same time, citrus kick, great sauce. A little too oily for a 10/10 Mains Cod: 9/10 - fish was slightly less delicate than I’d have preferred. Potatoes were perfect, pea based sauce was incredible. Chicken: 7/10 - was fine, but chicken and fries really felt like it took away from the upscale vibe of the meal.

Shrimp Mozambique was our favorite! We could not let them take the remaining chili lemon broth (because SO good) so we soaked that up with some extra bread. 10/10 recommend! Other favorites were the grilled cabbage with white beans and breadcrumbs. Curried eggplant with spiced cashew, thai basil. And the duck rice. Raphael was our server at the bar and he was fantastic.

Creative fusion dishes - favorites were sweet rolls, shrimp mozambique, and piri piri chicken! Octopus carpaccio was good, but felt the octopus itself was too overpowered by sauce. Similar thoughts for the duck rice, but it was tastier. Eggplant salad can be skipped. Service was great, staff are friendly!