We were visiting Boston during one of the “Free Days” at the Museum of Fine Arts. They had a long line to get in, seems like lots of art lovers were trying to take advantage of the free day. It is a nice, large museum with many different kinds of art pieces from all over the world. It is a great place to visit on a super hot/cold day or rainy/snowy day for sure. With the size of the museum, you can spend almost the entire day in there, getting lost in the masterpieces… And if you are going to spend a long time in there, you are gonna have to eat! They do have a few cafés in casual settings, like the New American Café by the Lime Green Icicle Tower by Dale Chihuly. I really love his hand-blown glass artworks! But, after reading reviews of these places, we decided to go with a different option.
They have a restaurant on the second floor, in more formal setting called Bravo. This restaurant might be a bit more pricey than the others, but offers dishes with sustainable, local ingredients. They have entrance/exit from both end, making it more convenient to enter the restaurant.
We got there towards the end of lunch hour rush, so about the time we were done, it was nearly empty. But, even when it was more busy, it was still nice and quiet, peaceful and relaxing. Since it was the Free Day at the MFA, there were many family with children. And little children can get bored and fussy after a couple of hours of museum walking… It was good to get some peace and quite away from screaming children for a while…LOL.
They had a small bar towards the main entrance, a good option to have if you are dining alone and don’t want to be seated at a table. The restaurant had modern, classic decor. I liked how it had a good amount of space between tables to allow personal space around you.
They also had Al fresco dining on the patio, looked beautiful with some flower arrangement. It was cold and cloudy/rainy day so no one was sitting outside. It might have been closed due to the weather.
We were promptly taken to a table by a staff after we walked in. Shortly after, a staff brought us their complimentary bread, and they came nice and hot! Butter was almost whipped butter, creamy and soft. Bread was hard on the outside but nice and soft and fluffy in the inside. I usually prefer soft bread, but when it comes out hot with fresh out of oven feel, I don’t care what kind of bread it is…they all taste great!
They had quite enticing cocktail menu, so decided to order some cocktails to go with our lunch. The first one was Passion Fruit Mojito ($14), made with Bacardi, Mint, Passion Fruit Purée, Simple Syrup and Lime. It had brilliant lime to yellow color. It was not very sweet, just the natural sweetness from the passion fruit. Good flavor, strong and refreshing adult drink.
The second one was La Mora ($14), made with Ketel One, Blackberry Purée, Lime Juice, Simple Syrup, Blackberries and Mint. It had beautiful deep purple color with blackberries on top. This one was sweeter than the mojito. Very fruity and can taste the real blackberry which was nice. They were both pretty good drinks, strong and high quality. The portion was good too, the size of the glass was just right.
For food, we went with Mussels and Scallops. The Steamed Mussels ($17) comes with Roasted Pearl Onion, Chourico, Saffron Liaison, Herbs and Grilled Bread. It came in a large plate with mountain of mussels, with bread sitting atop like a golden crown.
The addition of onions and spicy chourico to this dish was quite nice and flavorful. The sauce was creamy and kind of sweet, nice balance against the spicy chourico. The mussels were cooked well, not fishy but plump and flavorful. The bread was flakey and fluffy, we used it to soak up the sauce. It was tasty and well crafted. The portion was good too.
The second dish was Pan-Seared Scallops ($29), made with creamy spinach, crispy Brussels sprouts, sweet corn, and Romanesco. Not as big of a portion, but for scallop dishes, it is the average portion from my past experiences at other places.
Scallops were not as plump in texture as I like, but nice size. Brussels sprouts had some kind of acidic flavor. Corns are sweet and plump. With everything mixed together, it does offer balanced flavor. Still a bit strong on the acidity flavor though… Didn’t really taste spinach from the creamed spinach, which was a bit sad. Edible flower petals added extra color and fancy plating, I thought that was a nice touch.
We also had a side order to share, Garlic Wilted Spinach ($10). Now, I think the price tag is a bit high for a side dish, and for the portion. BUT, it was super delicious! It was juicy and packed with flavor. Very garlic-y which I love! I might have enjoyed this better than the scallops dish…
After the meal, we decided to get some coffee and desserts. Well, we got into the museum for free, thanks to their Free Days, so why not splurge in here to give back, right? We got some Cappuccino ($5) to go with our dessert. They were strong, real coffee with nice light foam on top. It was actually bitter than I am used to, but that is ok with sweet desserts.
For desserts, we went with Warm Brown Sugar Pound Cake ($10) and White Chocolate Coconut Mousse ($10).
Warm Brown Sugar Pound Cake ($10) comes with Grilled Pineapple, Whipped Cream, and Rum Caramel. It was sweet and made with fluffy warm pound cake that was more like moist and dense bread. Quite tasty. Caramel sauce around was really good too. This dessert was more on the very sweet side, which went perfectly with bitter coffee. It was filling and satisfying!
White Chocolate Coconut Mousse ($10) is made with Coconut Macaroon, Mango Compote, and Dark Chocolate Sauce. It had coconut meat on the bottom, which is the coconut macaroon I assume. Interesting way to turn the macaroon into the mouse base. The mousse was creamy and fluffy, with little mango bits on top to dress it up. It was light and elegant, fruity and tasty.
We had a nice lunch here, our waiter Jebin was very nice and friendly. He took a good care of us. It is good to have a peaceful place to eat inside the museum. The food at the museum is often compared to airport food, since they are not very good and pricey. But, I can say we enjoyed the food from Bravo. And the price point (other than the side dish) was not that high in my opinion. If I go back to MFA in the future, I would choose Bravo over other dining options there for sure. Bathroom is located outside of the restaurant, just around the corner from the main entrance.
Bravo @ Museum of Fine Arts – 465 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115