Contessa

A restaurant that understands.

A restaurant that has a lot of hype around it tends to worry me in that I might be setting myself up for disappointment. There have been too many places I have tried because of its current popularity and the experience doesn’t live up to it. Contessa is one of the most popular restaurants in Boston at the moment, after its Summer 2021 opening. Contessa’s fame started before it even opened as it stems from a prevalent restaurant family, Major Food Group, the owners of Carbone and Parm to name a few.  With all this notoriety surrounding Contessa, I am happy to say it went beyond my expectations.

The journey begins at the practically hidden entrance sandwiched between two luxury stores at the end of Newbury St. The experience starts immediately as the coat checker greets its guests and takes away the heavy winter jacket out of their hands. As I headed down the narrow, and somewhat chilling, hall toward the elevator my initial feelings are adjusted. The artwork and wallpaper are so lively and unique, that I stopped and grabbed a pic, changing my mood. My first ride up to the actual restaurant is filled with so excitement to finally see the place everyone else seems to be talking about. 

The images online of the actual restaurant do not accurately represent what Contessa feels like. Yes, it is absolutely gorgeous inside with its overall design taking after high-class eateries blended with obscure yet appealing choices of visuals. The back of the dining room is lined with floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing the Boston skyline.  All this information however is available by looking up Contessa in google images, but the feeling is what makes it even better. I felt as though I was walking into old-money New England where each person in the restaurant had at least one role of significance. I’ll be honest I had no idea who any of the people were in the restaurant, but everyone felt like a celebrity that night.

Before even my first bite of food, I had already fallen in love with Contessa. The waitress came around and took the order that I had planned weeks ago from my TikTok research; squash carpaccio, funghi pizza, and butter chicken sostanza. Shortly after a runner came to our table with a wire basket lined with Contessa-marked paper and inside was a selection of focaccia, olives, and parmesan. I didn’t realize that a free bread service could be so tasty, but the fluffy focaccia paired with the hard yet perfectly salty parmesan started my Italian feast off right.

Shortly after we had finished our bread, the large plate blanketed with thin slices of roasted squash and dollops of ricotta cheese with sprinkles of pumpkin seeds finished off with a dressed pile of arugula comes to the table. The plate looked so good I almost didn’t want to take a bite, yet I knew better and dove right in. The tender and slightly sweet squash paired amazingly with the lush ricotta and the salted crispy pepitas. The entire dish was brought together with the tangy arugula that mellowed out any other flavor that was too powerful. At that point I was ok with leaving then and there, Contessa was already a win in my book.

The next course in the lineup was the funghi pizza and it arrived perfectly timed with just the right amount of minutes to let the squash settle. Taking my first slice, I folded the pizza like one does in New York as the fresh mushrooms tried to slip off. The earthy mushroom complemented the velvety fontina cheese atop a fluffy but still crisp pizza dough. One thing I remember most from the pizza was the salt but in the best way possible. As a child, my favorite kind of pizza was literally just cheese and crust, finished with salt. Somehow, this elevated pizza was able to bring me back to the pizza I used to enjoy on Friday nights in front of a movie. 

After these two stars, I couldn’t imagine it would get better and once again Contessa one-upped itself. Butter Chicken Sostanza is a popular dish in Florence, Italy, and isn’t typically seen on American menus, after tasting it though I have no idea why. In essence, it is a breaded chicken with a simple butter sauce on top.  The chicken is extremely juicy, probably the best-cooked chicken I have ever tried. The sauce may be simple but it allows the chicken to shine, demonstrating Contessa’s chef’s cooking techniques. 

The overall progression of the meal felt right, showing that the experience of eating at Contessa is more than what you order. If the chicken had come before the pizza, I know it would have barely been touched.  If there wasn’t proper time between courses I would have felt too full to continue. Contessa understands the type of experience its guests are looking for by curating every meal based on the items ordered. This type of meal made me take a second before leaving to just sit and appreciate the meal and place I was in. For a moment, I felt sad to leave the comforting but elegant atmosphere, but I realized it was just the motivation I needed to make my next reservation.