Shōjō Boston

While there were a few highlights, I was overall disappointed. The good spots were the burger, the shadowless fries, and the cocktails. But there were several big disappointments as well. Service was slow. The popcorn chicken was awful (overcooked, cold, and no basil, despite being marketed as such). The stir fried veggies were also bland. And the chicken dumplings were mediocre at best. I came in with high expectations and left overall disappointed.

The wife got hungry a couple hours before our flight to TX. A friend recommended we try Shojo so we decided to go. Was super busy and parking was a nightmare but as expected for valentines day. Fortunately the vibes and service made up for the chaos. We didn’t know what was good on the menu but our server Matt helped us pick out some “must tries”. We ended up getting the wagyu dumplings (the wife absolutely loved it) and crab rice. We ended up leaving very satisfied with the food so thanks again to our server!

I really wanted to love this place as everything on the menu sounded great. The staff were kinda mundane and service seemed unusual slow. We try many different dishes and honestly they were fine just nothing really stood out as great. The portions were relatively small but probably fair for the price. Overall maybe I came on the wrong day, but I won’t be visiting again.

Was here last in 2022 and food was genuinely good. Not sure what happened, but it has gone off the rails. Got the fries and popcorn chicken. Both were limp- not crisp at all. Oil wasn’t hot enough so they had just absorbed oil instead of frying properly. Chicken had a weird aftertaste like it was straight up old and spoiled. Should have sent food back but never feels good to send food back to a kitchen. Service was perfectly nice, but even poor service is not an issue for us if the food is good. Ambience is fine- gives late night vibe with loud hip hop (but they close at 8:30). Value for money is simply not there. NA drink was mid, $9 and literally three sips of liquid. Won’t be going back here.

Went here on a rainy afternoon the day after I arrived in Boston. No problem getting a table but did get very busy about 15 minutes later. It has more of a bar vibe than restaurant but that was fine. Had a decent variety of dishes and they were all fantastic. The unique drinks were inventive and tasty. Will definitely be back next time I’m in Boston.