Bouchee

A beautiful summer day, perfect for a stroll down Newbury Street in Boston. A bit of shopping, some people watching and lunch. For lunch, I decided to check out a new restaurant, Bouchee, that I had not yet visited.

Bouchee is a French brasserie. Tim Partridge, the former chef and owner of Perdix, is the executive chef. You can dine inside the restaurant, which has two floors, or you can sit outside on their patio. As it was such a nice day, we chose the patio. Their website states their second floor is for a more upscale feel while the first floor is more casual. I could see the bar from the patio and it certainly was appealing, with its mahogany panels.

The wine list is very impressive, with an extensive and varied selection of mostly French wines. There are around 40 selections available by the glass with prices ranging from $6-21. Prices per bottle vary from less than $20 into the hundreds. There are plenty of affordable selections. I had a glass of the Chateau Pesquie Les Terrasses Rose ($7.50), a fine Rose with nice subtle fruit flavors, especially strawberry. The wine arrived nicely chilled.

The food menu is actually fairly extensive with Hors d' oeuvres. Flatbreads, Entrees, Sides, Sandwiches, Salads and Fresh Shellfish. A nice selection of foods, including many traditional French dishes. There were many items I wished to try. Prices were generally reasonable with almost everything under $20.

We started off with some bread. We had a choice between pieces of baguette or slices of some type of oatmeal/grain bread. We had the baguette which was very fresh and delicious.

We started our lunch with the Baked Raclette ($10) with port poached pear and baguette slices. This was a a pan of melted Raclette cheese atop a pear with slices of fresh baguette. You could smear the cheese and pear atop the bread. It was very tasty and the pear added some sweetness to the dish. A very good dish.

My entree was the Croque Madame, which has smoked ham, gruyere, Dijon aïoli, béchamel sauce and a fried egg ($12). I had them omit the Dijon which was not a problem. The sandwich came out basically open faced. There was plenty of ham and the bread was thick, as well as very fresh. It was a good sandwich, though not as good as the one I had at L'Express in NYC. The sandwich came with frites or a salad, and I chose the frites. They were thin and had potato skins on them. They were very good. My wife had the Lobster Salad Sandwich with truffled vinaigrette, crispy smoked ham, arugula and tomato on a fresh croissant ($17). This was also a good sandwich with a decent portion of lobster.

Service was very good. Our waiter was personable and helpful.

Overall, I was pleased with my lunch at Bouchee. I certainly will return to try some of their other dishes. It is reasonably priced with a nice French wine selection. Take a chance on Bouchee!

Bouchee
159 Newbury St.
Boston, MA
Phone: (617) 450-4343