The best steakhouse in Boston is . . . Grill 23 & Bar (again!)

Profiles

For over 40 years, the majestic Back Bay establishment has been a model of consistency, excellence and perfect meat.


Himmel Hospitality Group President Chris Himmel has worked at Grill 23 since he was a child. / Photography by Ken Richardson.

BEST GRILLING

Grill 23 & Bar

Chris Himmel’s earliest memories are of the dining room at Grill 23 & Bar, the majestic Back Bay steakhouse that celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. The second-generation owner was five years old when the restaurant opened; 20 years later, he took control of day-to-day operations and today serves as president of the entire Himmel Hospitality Group, which also includes Harvest, Bistro du Midi and Banks Fish House.

Along the way, he worked as a bartender (at about eight years old, don’t tell the board), cleaned grills, scrubbed grout from restroom floors, and performed just about every other dining room task imaginable and in restaurant cooking. “I think the staff was trying to show me that there’s more to restaurants than just putting on a suit or a chef’s jacket,” Himmel says. “There is a lot of blood, sweat and tears in everyday life. » Clearly, the hard work has paid off: While in 2020 Boston there seems to be a steakhouse on every block, Grill 23 hasn’t given up its reputation as the best restaurant around. (In fact, he has won this award two dozen times.)

The restaurant’s success can be attributed to a delicate balance between adapting to the modern dining scene without changing too much. At first, Grill 23 inhabited the same type of fine-dining space as restaurants like Jasper’s, the high-end seafood destination of the late Jasper White, and Seasons at the Bostonian Hotel, under executive chef Lydia Shire, explains Himmel. “But I think what threw us off track was (Grill 23’s) energy,” he says. “It was the space, the high ceilings and the ambience of the steakhouse itself that imparted a higher energy than most Boston restaurants at the time.”

COURTESY PHOTO

Over four decades, the physical space has expanded with a whole new floor, plenty of space for private dining and a brand new kitchen. The menu, which initially consisted of classic meat and potatoes, is now broader, with plenty of options for raw bars and other seafood dishes. The award-winning wine list, meanwhile, Wine spectator‘s Grand Award since 2017 – is nearly 100 pages long, with a table of contents alone taking up an entire page.

Yet some things never change. The crispy hash browns, luxuriously coated in duck fat, are the same since day one, Himmel says. Other early dishes occasionally reappear as specialties. And even though the team was approached for opportunities to become a channel, it always fell through. “We felt like the project (for Grill 23) was important enough to the city, how could you do another one? What we feel is overwhelming loyalty.”

161 Berkeley Street, Boston, grill23.com

First published in the print edition of the July 2024 issue as part of the Best of Boston 50:Dining package.

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