Elephant Walk (Waltham) Review

Overall Rating: 50

Food Rating: 50

Elephant Walk (Waltham): Not sure what's happened to them

We've been eating at Elephant Walk for many years, both in Waltham and in their other locations, but hadn't been there for a while for no particular reason. I saw a Groupon for them a few months ago and purchased it. While sometimes Groupons are a marker of restaurants to avoid, we were happy to have the discount, and we finally made it there on a recent Saturday night as the Groupon was expiring.

The Elephant Walk restaurants have always served off a Cambodian menu and a French menu. The original version of Elephant Walk in Waltham only had the Cambodian menu and was called Carambola (if memory serves me correctly), but it became "Elephant Walk" a number of years ago and picked up the French menu as well. It's a casual restaurant, with a much less fancy/happening feel than the Boston version, near enough to the Landmark Cinema to walk on a nice evening. Parking is also easy.

On this recent visit, and though others also likely had expiring Groupons and it was Saturday night, the restaurant was only about half full. Despite this, service was surprisingly slow. We were seated in a location where intermittent blasts of air were hitting us seemingly from the ceiling, though I had trouble telling if this was from a fan or related to the door opening and closing. They also changed the layout of the menu, making it extremely confusing. Dishes are repeated in multiple sections (Cambodian, Vegan, Gluten Free), and overall it's just hard to figure out what's available.

We ordered some drinks to start that were okay but nothing better. Some crusty French bread came with butter and was standard but nothing special. I ordered the avocado soup for an appetizer. This in the past was really one of their wonderful dishes and a reason to go out of the way to eat at Elephant Walk, and it was very good but not as amazing as it had been in the past. Two of my dinner companions ordered coquille St. Jacques, and both complained afterwards that the scallops were terrible -- clearly not fresh and perhaps close to turning bad.

For an entree I got a tilapia special that was underseasoned and scorchingly hot on the inside making me wonder if a microwave was involved in the preparation. I tried one of my companions braised short ribs, and this too was underseasoned and fairly uninteresting. We didn't stay for dessert.

I looked around on the web before writing this review, since I don't want to make a negative judgment on a single event, but others seem to be concerned that Elephant Walk isn't what it was. Also, this was a Saturday night and the experience was mediocre from start to finish.

I hope Elephant Walk finds a way to get the Waltham restaurant back up to its former level, and that the other Elephant Walk locations haven't also slipped so far. For now, I would suggest anyone considering going to Elephant Walk at least be aware that it may not be the same experience they might have had in the past.

Craigie on Main Review

Overall rating: 93

Food rating: 93

Craigie on Main: Excellent, unusual food, for a price

Craigie on Main is deservingly one of the top-rated restaurants in the Boston area. Located near Central Square in Cambridge, Craigie serves unusual cuts of meat and fish, prepares them beautifully, and has a welcoming comfortable atmosphere.

We went to Craigie most recently this week, but have been there a number of times in the past. You can eat in the bar area and get their highly-rated burgers (until they run out -- usually not long into the evening) for a reasonable price. The waitstaff are friendly and helpful and on past outings have brought over samples of various interesting drinks to try and have at times even made it possible to eat early with children without feeling out of place or imposing. That said, while the burgers are very good, I think I've had as good burgers elsewhere, such as at the much less renowned Farmstead Table. (If anyone can explain how the slightly better than other fast food from Shake Shack and Five Guys routinely ends up on lists of the best burgers in the area, mentioned in the same breath with burgers from Craigie, I'd be interested.)

We've also gone once for the Chef's Whim, which was really wonderful, though since it only seems to occur late on Sunday evenings (or occasionally other nights during restaurant week), we haven't had another chance to experience this.

On this week's occasion, we were in the bar area, but decided to have the six-course tasting menu. The bar area was much noisier than the dining area, and made conversation a bit difficult. Bread and rolls were served, which were very good and we got some Craigie-designed cocktails that were also very good. The amuse bouche was three kinds of fish, and a subsequent course of salmon was excellent. A pasta course was made with duck-heart sausage(!) and was fine but seemed like more of a dare than a necessary food. A prime rib course was really wonderful. There was a sorbet before dessert, and then each of us at the table received a different dessert. Mine involved spearmint ice cream and chocolate and was interesting and tasty; all the desserts at the table were very good.

The food was presented beautifully and unobtrusively. At one point early on our waitress got tied up with a large party and we waited quite a while to order, but other than that the waitstaff were attentive without bothering us constantly. The chef came over to the table briefly as the meat course was served, and while I could imagine this seeming awkward or forced, it actually felt like a really nice touch.

Overall, when we go to Craigie there's almost always something that is remarkably delicious like this meal's prime rib. The menu can be expected to include items made from pig tails or cod cheeks or, as with this evening, duck hearts.

For value, though, Craigie is fairly expensive. The six-course tasting menu is $98 per person, so with a couple of drinks you are looking at $125 per person before tax or tip. This isn't unreasonable for the quality of the food, and there's no place in Boston with really similar cuisine and quality, but you can spend a bit less and get at least as good food in Cambridge at T.W. or Hungry Mother, and Bergamot in Somerville has a similar feel/cuisine with not quite such impressive quality.

We really like eating at Craigie, and it provides a different experience from what we can get elsewhere in the area, but the price point is such that we typically only end up there once in a long while, choosing instead to go to restaurants we enjoy at least as much that are a bit less expensive. But if you like interesting and wonderfully prepared food, you should give Craigie a try.