Boston Restaurant
 

Hi,
My son, a student at BU, is turning 21.
Any suggetions for a fun rest. in or around Kenmore Sq./ Back Bay that I can take him for a birthday dinner?
Thanks for any advice.

Take him on a short trip to Spain. Tapeo on Newbury Street. Sit/stand at the bar and order a series of tapas with fino and/or Rioja and pretend you're in Sevilla for the evening.

There is a place near the Prudential called Dick's Last Resort - my 18 year old son and 16 of his closest friends went there several weeks ago - it sounds like the kind of place they loved, but I would not.

Basic American food, lots of somewhat off-color jokes, semi-rude waitstaff (like Durgin Park, but for much younger crowd). Others may have more info - again, he enjoyed it, I would not.

The ELEPHANT WALK, on Beacon Street, features amazing French-Cambodian cuisine as well as a great atmosphere.

I bet it has a website; why don't you google it and see what you think?

The barking Crab on the waterfront. And the summer shack on Dalton St(off Boylston)

Great Bay in Kenmore Square

I, too, enjoy Great Bay in Kenmore Square but I think to call it a "fun" restaurant is a bit of a stretch. For something quite a bit different, and actually fun, why not try the brand new Kings? It's a bowling alley. Seriously. Here's what www.digitalcity.com/boston has to say:

Kings
10 Scotia St.
Boston, MA 02115
617-266-2695

It takes a certain amount of entrepreneurial moxie to open an upscale bowling alley on the outskirts of the Back Bay, where the very mention of rented shoes is enough to make most locals choke on their mojitos. But one look at Kings and the see-and-be-seen crowd was converted -- due in no small part to the involvement of Patrick Lyons, whose real estate group also owns Sonsie, the evergreen hot spot on upper Newbury Street. Though certain elements of Sonsie have been imported to Lyons' latest establishment (including its sous chef, Art Welch, who created the menu in the 160-seat DeVille Lounge), the ambience at Kings is more Rat Pack cool than post-millennial chic. From the gleaming black-lit runways of the 16-lane bowling alley to the film-noir lighting of the space's scattered bars, lounges and conversation nooks, this place is designed to make the statement that bowling is no longer the province of those partial to polyester. In imagining the defunct Cheri movie theater as a 25,000-square-foot theme park for adults, Lyons envisioned an oasis that was equal parts old-school (kitschy bowling pin lamps, vintage wood salvaged from the wreckage of the Wal-Lex lanes) and high-concept (murals inspired by Andy Warhol prints, computerized consoles allowing bowlers to log scores and order drinks). Considering the fact that a visit to this subterranean hive combines bowling, billiards, dining, styling and cocktails, most patrons consider Kings the ultimate merger of retro and right now. -- Julia Clinger

Restaurant
American

******

I haven't been here so I can't personally recommend it. But it sure sounds fun!

Hi,
Thanks to all of you for the input!
I will check these out.