Funny, I usually go to "Synagogue."
Had a fantastic experience at Church last night. Was waiting in the bar while my husband parked with plans to meet friends in the restaurant. Don't ask to see a wine list, there isn't one. I ended up getting a really good class of Cabernet Sauvignon and had fun talking to the bartender in the Misfit's t-shirt. Excellent service.
My friends came over from the restaurant and found me and I really like the restaurant side. You can sit at tables or on sofas. The atmosphere is both goth and cool and comfortable and lounge-ish.
I split a ceviche appetizer and had the salmon and both were delicious and not too heavy. Service was fine, with drink orders taken promptly.
I LOVE the drink menu with the Seven Deadly Sins, Four Horsemen, etc. In fact, we had tickets to the French film festival for after dinner and I tried to talk everyone into staying and drinking, but no dice.
From Church, it's a short walk to the MFA, where we saw our movie.
Great atmosphere and food, I love the place. Just watch out for the total lack of parking on game/concert nights. ($40 lot, no thank you.)
Church is a nice establishment. That's the only description I have of this place. I live around the corner from here and figure it was time to give it a chance and popped on it for brunch.
Both my friend and I found the food to be decent, but definitely over priced. Given it's one of the few places in the Fenway area that does brunch, they don't have much pressure to do anything about it. The saving grace of this place over my favorite brunch places is that even if all the tables are packed, Church doesn't have that half crazed feeling that they're trying to get people in and out as quickly as possible. Instead you can leisurely enjoy your brunch and drinks, which is the whole point of brunch, is it not?
Not the best, but not bad. Worth checking out if you're trying to go to a decent place without a mob waiting to get in.
Sooooo...... if this place weren't so classy, the waiter wasn't so warm and genuine, the food wasn't so good, and the menu weren't full of vegetarian-friendly options ("From the Garden" section, you are like a veggie's favorite thing to see!), this review would be TWO STARS, easily.
I took my parents, who are in town for a visit, here for the first time tonight, despite living in the neighborhood for years. Â On a hot, steaming day, this place, so conveniently located 1 block from my air-conditioned apartment, it's a wonder we haven't been here before.
I ordered a Diet Coke (as per usual), my parents each ordered beers. Â The Diet Coke was good (Yes, I'm serious, sometimes it tastes like dirty fountain lines and old CO2 canisters). Â The waiter was super helpful giving my mom, upon inquiry, some pointers on what he liked on the menu, and why.
My parents ordered the appetizer with pierogies upon both the waiter's recommendation, and also because we're all eastern European-descent, we love us some piergogies. Â My mom ordered the duck dish, my dad ordered some fish dish, and I ordered the vegetable sliders, sans mushroom (shudder, mushrooms) and an arugula and some other field green salad, to be served at the same time.
The bread came out, it was delicious, especially those breadsticks, fried and delish. Â Then the pierogies came out, I didn't partake because I know they had bacon in them. Â The onions looked perfectly and slowly caramelized, and it smelled wonderful. Â My parents enjoyed them.
Then the food came out. Â Unfortunately, my mom's duck was quite cold, and my sliders were also barely warm. Â We reluctantly sent them back, my dad's food was hot.
So, my dad finished his dinner, and my mom and I continued to wait for our food. Â So, my dad is done, and now we're waiting for our food. Â My mom and I finished my salad together, then my sliders came out. Â Decided whether to wait for my mom or not... but now my food was getting cold. Â So I went ahead and ate. Â FINALLY, my mom's duck came out, and it was hot.
The food was delicious. Â And the waiter apologized, and it was genuine. Â He offered us a free dessert, which is a nice gesture. Â I personally think that for a meal that cost 3 of us $107 (which is a lot compared to the places we usually go), I would have expected either our meals to be comped or significantly discounted.
I dunno. Â The food WAS good. Â But spending $107 on dinner, and neither my mom, my dad, nor I, actually physically ate our meals at the same time, it was a serious let down. Â We didn't leave feeling dejected, because I think the food and waiter were first-class, but the kitchen goofed on this. Â
If my parents want to come here again, I'll go. Â Otherwise, I'll pass. Â Eating a nice dinner with parents you never see, and you don't actually get the food hot on 2 out of 3 meals, is a letdown.
Sigh. Â Bummer.
I absolutely LOVE Church. I can not say enough about this business. I go regularly, around once a week or so for after dinner drinks and dinner with my co-workers. The staff is super friendly and knowledgable about the menu and drinks. The owner, Adam, is a sweet as they come! He's always on the floor checking on the regulars and the new customers.
Nothing on the menu is bad. The stars are definitely the burger (HUGE burger on a fluffy bun with bacon, onions, a spicy mayo, an lettuce), the steak tips with a chimmichurri sauce, and the mac and cheese.
Oh, and their drinks are unreal. So tasty and strong! Definitely a little on the pricey side but it is worth every single penny. I will be back time and time again.
This review is for Church as a music venue. When I was living in Fenway, I only visited Church for brunch, which was always delicious but felt somewhat overpriced and the service was meh. But this summer I finally saw a show there and loved it!
It's a cozy setting for a show, and the layout makes it easy to wander between the floor and the bar and still be able to watch the band.
I really loved the diversity of the crowd when I visited: there was a good mix of old and young, hipster and not hipster.
Also, they have a great beer selection and the service was good.
We went to Church for dinner on Friday night and could not have had a better experience. Â I read the reviews on here, which are mostly positive, and went in with reasonably high expectations and, trust me, they were exceeded. Â The food was excellent--unique, appropriately portioned (we're big guys), and delicious. Â The drink menu was entertaining, and the beer selection was great.
The best thing about our experience, however, was the service. Â Our server, Sandy, was so courteous, inviting, informative, and attentive. Â She knew her stuff, made great recommendations, and made us feel very comfortable. Â
I'd highly recommend the blondie brownie sundae or the bread pudding for dessert, as well. Â
Overall, this was an A+ experience and we can't wait to go back!
Visited Church on Sunday, June 16 (Father's Day) with a reservation for six at 11:00 AM. Â The restaurant is in the Fenway neighborhood, not really close to the T in any direction, but the Fenway stop on the green D line is about a fifteen minute walk away.
The place was empty, and it was only on getting our table that we learned that it doesn't open until 11 on Sundays. Â We ordered drinks for the table, three of my companions ordered some sort of blood orange mimosa which the rest of us were assured tasted delicious. Â Us other three went with bloody marys and asked for them to go easy on the spice, which they clearly did not. Â There were chunks of horseradish floating in all three, and two of us sent them back, in favor of Old Fashioneds, which seemed like a safe bet. Â The Old Fashioned was much better than the bloody mary, but for the love of bourbon I cannot understand why some places ruin good whiskey by adding club soda to the cocktail. Â I know it saves money, but it also indicates that the bartender doesn't know how to make a proper cocktail.
The table ordered brunch, and I settled on the Toad in the Hole, which was a thick brioche french toast, a poached egg, and two slices of bacon. Â The french toast tasted great, but the poached egg was more reminiscent of a fried egg over easy, and the bacon was absolutely burned to a crisp. Â My other dining companions seemed to enjoy their dishes, but the common complaint was that the dishes that came with breakfast potatoes were soggy and lacking any flavor.
The waitress was largely inattentive during our visit, and it took a long time to flag her down for drink refills or condiments for the table. Â She dropped off our check and then disappeared for a solid fifteen minutes. Â I'm not a very patient person in the first place, and finally got up and got the manager to close out our tab. Â We didn't see the waitress after she dropped off our check, so if she didn't care for her tip she can only look in the mirror to find the person to blame.
Overall, the final damage for cocktails and brunch for six was less than $140, which seems like a pretty average price for brunch in Boston. Â When we left around 12:30, the place still was not full, and the bar was empty. Â There is outdoor patio seating, but the overcast skies and threat of rain kept us indoors. Â We went on the recommendation of a couple friends, and enjoyed the experience well enough, but not quite enough for me to want to go back.
I have both seen shows and played at the Church of Boston. The "Church" is composed of two sections; a restaurant, and a night club where local bands play. The restaurant has a quiet environment. The food is good yet overpriced. I had a grass-fed burger and while the fries were great, I couldn't say the same for the burger. The club side often features great bands (I've seen the likes of the Memorials and Miss Fairchild there). It always sounds great there, never heard a bad sounding show, but it is very loud. If you're not prepared to have your eardrums blown out then I would stand some distance away from the stage. They have some nice beers on tap, including a delicious milk stout. I would highly recommend the club, take some time to stake out a cheap show and good beers! I'll past on the restaurant next time, but I'll definitely be back to see some good shows.
Review Source:The brunch was pretty good. The Mac'n cheese and pancakes were the highlights. Wouldnt order Heuvos rancheros again though.
My only complaint is the manager and the hush puppies with bacon. This might be just a difference I taste - I found them to be way too sweet and the mustard sauce made for an odd combination. And I did not find any bacon in mine.
Since I had ordered the hush puppies as carry out, I called back and explained to the manager that I was not a fan of these. The manager was so unbelievably rude!! He told me that he has customers that like the hush puppies And said "well what do you want me to do about it?" In the end, he refused to exchange, refund or offer credit for the order. Finally he offered to give me a complimentary drink, but he didn't write down my name so I doubt I will get that one
I really like the atmosphere of this bar - lounge area with couches. Just hope the manager learns some good manners
This was written 8/2011
Had a good experience at Church for a group event. We had ok service, they mostly left us alone but seemed happy to help when we asked for something.
I had steak tips with parmesan garlic frites and they were very good. The steak had a garlic chimchurri on it, which make it much more flavorful than the plain steak. The fries were fine, nothing too special.
My husband ordered their burger which he really enjoyed.
I've been here twice - once as part of an impromptu group dinner on a Wednesday evening, and once on a date with a reservation. Both times we were seated immediately. The drinks menu is just endlessly intriguing, and Church is where I discovered Left Hand Milk Stout, my new favorite beer of all time. I've had the veggie sliders, the black Angus sliders, pierogi, and Ploughman's platter, and all of them were delightful. I could return probably three more times before I started feeling like I'd had everything worth having, but I'd need more money to try the bigger-ticket dishes like spring leg of lamb. The fennel chutney on the Ploughman's platter drove me out of my mind. A+ all around!
Review Source:Church has an interesting juxtaposition between their dining area and music hall, which is separated by entrances and a small hallway where the restroom is, but beyond that I have to say for the dining the food was fantastic. Not that is a big deal, its just interesting going from low key jazz to hearing a Reggae concert as you head to the bathroom.
Church has a large selection of cocktails and from what I was told were very good. The food itself, and we ordered appetizers to desert, was fantastic. We ordered a broad range of items and nothing really fell short. The appetizers (we ordered muscles and a flat bread) Â and a few of the dinner selections we're on the smaller side in terms of portions, but I would recommend trying the cornbread as a side and the polenta fries.
We also ordered the Mac and Cheese and Burger, both came out fantastic and were plenty for one person. We split it between two of us and it was more than enough.
Service is a bit slow, but the food is worth the wait.
All in all, a good dinner spot and brunch spot with edgy cocktails and a great menu. with the all the competition moving in, Church may find themselves changing their menu a bit, but for a small dinner crowd I recommend it.
A+ for their cocktails. The "Seven Deadly Sins" is intriguing, especially for adventurists who are willing to try branch out and do not have harsh preferences or dislikes of certain alcohols. Most of the drink descriptions are quirky, well-written quips that only hint at the flavor profile but don't give you a full description of what may be in the drink which I personally think is fantastic. I'm sure you could always ask if you really cared...but what's the fun in that?
I really loved "Envy" which was a delicious kiwi concoction. My favorite was "Vanity" which was the perfect blend of grapefruit deliciousness and a strong martini, garnished with a grapefruit peel.
The food was alright. I had the burger, the fries were delicious! Haven't had the chance to taste anything else but I've heard good things about the other menu items.
Some of the reviews have mentioned poor or lack luster service. I personally thought the service was great, but I've only been here once.
I think they are focusing on the club part of the business, next door. Â The kitchen was the slowest I've ever experience ANYWHERE. Â Our waitress avoided eye contact when we were trying to get more pita for our hummus, water refills, and even drinks. Â If I were her, I'd look for a job at another restaurant. Â
Forget all those great reviews. Â The food itself was good, but the ultra slow kitchen and inattentive service ruined it!!
Church is a great brunch spot. We went here pre-Red Sox game which was very convenient and they took reservations so we did not have to worry about waiting for a table and risking being late to the Yawkey Way party.
Eggs Benedictine were a hit with hash browns and large portion or eggs. Â I had the Huevos Rancheros (I always love a Mexican breakfast) which was egg chorizo and overall yummy on corn tortillas.
They also have a great drink list, and their fancy mimosa was refreshing and delicious.
Great, new(ish) Fenway spot. Â And make sure you go in the restaurant door and not the night club door.
SO I HAVE TO PREFACE THIS REVIEW BY SAYING I HAVE BEEN TO CHURCH A COUPLE TIMES BEFORE AND IT WAS SATISFACTORY.
Now the not so great visit. I took my family to Church for Easter brunch (I guess I thought it was appropriate) and was excited to show off my foodie skills to my mom who is a caterer. The service was terrible. It took them 15 minutes to simply ask us and deliver our drinks to begin with.
The Food: I ordered the steak and eggs which I heard was a "great decision" according to the waitress. When it arrived it had one egg, 3 steak tips, a HUGE subpar salad, and some potatoes (I cannot hate on the potatoes, they are pretty bomb). I dont know about you but when I hear I am ordering steak tips I want like 8 minimum. To see 3 huddled in the corner of my plate, was sad, and you know what the steak tips looked sad too.
After the meal, it took another 30 mins to get us our check. It didnt even seem that crowded and there was plenty of wait staff.
Overall, not a great experience.
We made a reservation on Open Table and got seated quickly, so we were off to a good start. Â I like the ambiance at this place. Â Kinda dark and modern--nicer than most of the sports pubs in the Fenway area. Â Many things on the menu sounded good so we decided to split a bunch of apps. Â The cheese platter was good but small. Â It came with bread, 2 types of cheese (could have used a 3rd--only 2 seems pretty weak), some spicy mustard, a fennel jam, and a pate. Â Oh and a very small salad of greens and some mini pickles. Â I tend not to like pate, the idea of it disgusts me, so I only had a tiny bit of that. Â The cheese was very good and the mustard was amazing! Â I loved the bite to it! Â Maybe horseradish mustard? Â So that dish was good, though too small. Â At this point in the meal I was optimistic. Â We got these gin drinks called Lust I believe. Â Also good. Â So we were off to a decent start. Â The wait staff was friendly and attentive, unlike some of the other reviews I've read. Â But this is where things started to go downhill. Â We got the pierogis. Â There were 3 on the plate...no flavor whatsoever. Â Blah. Â I was not impressed. Â Frankly I have gotten better ones from the freezer section of the grocery store. Â Then the mussels came. Â My sister liked them but they tasted weird and fishy to me (i.e. not very fresh). Â She thought maybe they were undercooked. Â I thought they were just poor quality and possibly old. Â I only had a couple and then I couldn't eat anymore. Â I mean come on, this is Boston. Â We live on the ocean, and fresh mussels are abundant (as well as extremely easy to cook) so it should be an easy dish to get right. Â But Church failed at this. Â Another thumbs down. Â And then lastly we got the "stuffed" artichoke. Â What a mess. Â There was no meat on the artichoke leaves (unripe maybe? Â cooked wrong? Â I don't know) so what you were left with was messy hard leaves covered in a panko bread crumb/melter butter and cheese paste combo. Â Honestly, it was kinda gross, but we were hungry so we just ate it. Â I probably would have eaten cheese out of a can at that point if they gave it to me. Â I just wanted to fill my stomach and get out of there. Â Note: Â they should take this item off the menu completely. Â I've never had anything like this before (and I don't mean that in a good way). Â And then the bill comes...$75 for 2 people. Â I could have dealt with this restaurant's mediocrity, and come back in the future to see if any other menu items were better (maybe we just chose some bad dishes?), if the bill had been in the $45-50 range. Â But at these prices (in correlation with the quality and portion sizes of the food), I will not return to Church. Â This restaurant isn't even on the main Fenway drag. Â It's kinda off the beaten path a bit on Kilmarnock St., so I guess I expected it to be a little cheaper. Â I dunno...just not worth it if you ask me. Â There are plenty of other places in the area with much better food. Â Sorry Church...you're just...meh!
Review Source:Pretty good food, decent-good-great service.
Menu not that extensive but food is pretty good. Concentrated more so on seafood. Salmon and Burgers are really good.
Brunch menu is small but most of the items are well worth going there for.
Local hot spot, plus the associated bar/club always has local/indie bands playing there.
The inside environment is different; the sofa setup area is the best seat in the house if one is in a small group.
Drink menus is good with their cocktails specials named after the seven deadly sins.
so one time I went to Church post co-ed softball game and I talked to a bartender at who told me that the bar is meant to be a sports bar. there were a lot of tvs with sports playing, as there usually are, which is kind of surprising b/c the crowd is more so a mix of hipsters & locals listening to an eclectic mix of live bands ...but at the time, no one seemed very interested in the sports anddd it was shark week. Â so the bartender switched a tv to for me! Â that is partially why i'll always have a soft spot for Church.
It's also consistently a great place for reasonably priced drinks, decent/good food, and to listen to live music whilst playing pool. Â always a chill atmosphere and a fun time!
This is painful for me to write. I used to LOVE Church, for drinks, apps, entrées, music, everything. The new chef and new menu are now just so-so, but the past two times I've been the service has been horrendous. So now, even though I live on the same block, I may never go back.
I took my boyfriend here for a casual birthday lunch yesterday. We wanted to sit outside, and several other parties were. But after standing in front of the host stand for about five minutes without being acknowledged by TWO servers who were fussing with the computers, one of them finally asked if we had a reservation. We said no, and she ROLLED HER EYES. This might be excusable if the place were packed during peak hours, but this was just before 2 on a Sunday and the place was half empty. Ugh.
We ended up waiting for about 10 minutes for one of the several empty tables. Maybe they were understaffed, who knows, but it seemed excessive. After sitting down with only food menus (no drink menus) for at least 15 minutes, I was ready to leave. The server that seemed to be in our area had been chatting with the table next to ours, clearly occupied by her friends. Another party got up and actually asked her to come over and take care of their check - she did, then went right back to her friends. I was hoping that she didn't have our table and that our server was just busy somewhere else, but no; THIRTY MINUTES after we sat down, she finally graced us with her presence. We asked for drink menus, but she offered to just tell us about the drink specials instead. Uh, no, we wanted a beer list. She seemed annoyed, went BACK TO HER FRIENDS to chat for a few more minutes before finally getting our menus.
This pattern continued, and several times I was determined to get up and leave. The poor birthday boy just wanted to me to chill and get over it since we were still sitting outside on a nice day. But man, was I pissed. We eventually got our food nearly an hour after we had first walked in.
Overall the food was fine, to be expected based on previous experiences. But the service was so awful that, for me, the meal was ruined before it even began. I doubt I will be back any time soon.
This place has two sections - a lounge and a club. The lounge is nice (couches!) and has some good drinks. They're named after the Seven Deadly Sins and are $10 a piece. My favorites are Vanity, Envy, and Gluttony. I haven't tried the food yet, but some items on the menu sound delicious and a friend got something that he said was pretty good.
The club has a different entrance around the corner and is not as comfortable as the lounge. Go over there if you want to dance / hear the music, but if not, the lounge is better. They don't make any of their signature drinks over at the club which I find a little strange. There is also no coat check, so in the winter it's pretty inconvenient to have to carry your coat.
I've been here a few times and had a good time so far. But today was different.
We had a farewell party for a friend who is leaving the country. We were a group of ten. We had a TERRIBLE service with an TERRIBLE attitude from the manager (AMANDA). Because of her, we will NEVER return there. If I were the owner, I would fire her YESTERDAY. Oh, and this 20% gratuity bull shit when the service was NOT THERE.... well, the manager (AMANDA) says this is "customary." Â
First, we were promised the couches by the front door when making a reservation. When we showed up, there were people sitting in the couches! When we confronted them, the Manager (AMANDA) says, "oh, the person who took down the reservation didn't know. And these people (who are sitting in our reserved couches) reserved two weeks ago." OH yeah? First let me see if you're telling the truth. And even if you were, an apology would have been nice.
Second, we were told we'd get a candle on the cake. And what do we get? No candle. Manager (AMANDA) says, "Oh, we are not obligated to give you guys candles. We ran out of the candles.". Okay.. then why did you guys tell us you'd do it?!
Third, we were told that the restaurant would split the checks for each person. We waited about 30 minutes after we were done eating, and we had to ASK for our checks. Then we are told that they cannot split it any more than 4 ways. And because this is "CUSTOMARY" at this joint, they can NEVER split it more than 4 ways. I made an argument for -- hey, you guys screwed us on three things and we have people moving out of country, can you split into SIX ways? She says, no, the whole reservation messing up is NOT their fault. I said, then is it OUR fault that your staff messed it up??! Â
Oh, and the check had 20% gratuity.... how is this MANDATORY? I liked how the manager (AMANDA) circled the gratuity for us. Just in case we're blind.
Poor service. Poor attitude. TERRIBLE time.
I'd like to give this place 3.5 stars. I've been there a few times and while it is very tasty, the food tends to be greasy. Â Most recently I ordered the corned beef hash skillet and half of it was inedible because the skillet was half full of grease!
I have had other good meals here though so I'll be back
Where else can you get gourmet pub food in a dive bar? I usually show up after work for a few drinks, some burgers and apps and play some pool. The fun part is, if you get there early there's no cover, and you can just hang out, eventually indie style bands will come on. Of course, with the friendly staff and salty food, you'll spend more on beer than you would have by paying cover.
In short: Hipster dive bar with great food.
I've had a number of good experiences here, and the last one was so good that I had to write a review.
Last night I called "Church" with a weird question...Could I use the parking lot to bring a friend (who is older and wants to avoid the bitter cold) to Thornton's, across the street? Â Before I finished asking what it would cost to use the lot, the extremely kind staff said "no problem, please just use our lot."
It was the most pleasant phone call I've ever had in Boston and this host should win a prize for most clear, kind phone service ever.
Church's food is delicious and their staff is cool. Â With so many good options in Fenway, I am sure that is why the restaurant is still open and thriving.
I am a huge fan of brunch! I believe there is nothing better than chomping down on breakfast foods at 11:30, drinking some alcohol infused beverage, and having no true plans for the day.
I had the pleasure of visiting, and eating at, Church this past weekend and I must say I was rather impressed! I am not that kind of guy who makes reservations for restaurants (in fact, I hate those folk... come on, friends, what's the rush?!).
Anyways, if you are THAT guy, I would say to definitely make a reservation! I got there at 11:30a.m. (they open at 11) and there was a 45 minute wait... I was lucky enough to get a space at the bar, though.
Okay, enough about that, let's talk about the good stuff... the grub! I ordered the eggs benedict which was amazing! The food, and this is the most important, did not leave me with a stomach ache upon leaving the restaurant. The cocktails were also great (I am not a hard liquor kind of guy, but when it's brunch time, I need to participate).
This place is a wee bit pricier, but it's worth it. Go get your brunch, Bostonians!
I came here for dinner and it was def my type of scene - intimate and refined, dim and relaxing. Food was underwhelming, however. Our meals seemed underseasoned, from the apps to the salmon. Maybe i had a few too many to drink beforehand. But I wouldnt mind coming back for a drink again.
Review Source:Although I live really close to Church, I've only made it to brunch so far. I'm going to take a guess that the music scene probably isn't my scene. I can definitely appreciate the hipster atmosphere in the restaurant though.
Brunch at Church is one of my favorites in Boston. They have a really unique menu and I love that they frequently change some of the entrees. The drink menu is also very interesting. They have great drink lists called the 7 deadly sins and the four horsemen. Some of the drinks look like they could wreck you and I try to make my Sundays productive so I haven't tried any from the list. I have had the blood orange mimosa though and it was delicious.
The food is so good here I'm always torn over what to order. I've had the chorizo omelet and the huevos rancheros, which were both amazing. My favorite has got to be the Toad in the Hole French toast. It has 2 slices of French toast with a poached egg in the middle, maple syrup, and 2 slices of bacon on top. It's like getting everything you love about breakfast in one dish!
If you want to change up your typical Sunday and atone for your sins over eggs benedict and a Bloody Mary, you should make a trip to Church of Boston in Fenway. It's worth it.
What's in a name? Not much, based on my Wednesday night at Church, a gastro pub/music venue in Boston's Fenway-Kenmore area. Ordinarily I'd never go out on a "school" night (hi mom!), but a great little band called Perpetual Groove was playing and I've been overdue for some fun and at a $15 cover charge, who could resist?
Church definitely gives several nods to its religious moniker, with gothic touches in its deep gray walls, moody red lighting and gargoyles peeking out at you from nooks here and there, but otherwise it feels like your typical bar. When I arrived around 8:30 the place was just half full, mostly with other sub-30s like me waiting for the band to start. I flagged one of the two bar hands down and he served me a Bacardi and coke for five bucks--not bad. They also had a decent selection of draft and bottled beers, as well as signature cocktails such as the Seven Deadly Sins, Â the Apocalypse and Four Horsemen (see what they did there?). Mind you I didn't venture into the restaurant side of the pub, but a did waitress cruise by me with a plate of stackers and it smelled heavenly, har-har.
As much as Church gently jibs and jabs fun at its own name with menu items and décor, its bathrooms strike a stark contrast to this biblical undertone. Every square inch is covered in stickers, fluorescent graffiti and some of the wittiest bathroom scrawl I've had the pleasure of reading. Even my toilet seat was inscribed with purple Sharpie marker, reading: "Please Seat Yourself",  truly an unexpected surprise. There was never a  line and it was clean to boot!
Perpetual Groove played two sets and usually I'd be glued to the stage the entire time; not the case at Church my friends. The claim "Boston's best small-venue sound system",  at least on this occasion, appeared to be a stretch of the truth. The band's vocals competed and clashed with their trance-infused funky rock sound and overall, the volume overpowered the tiny club. This, combined with a blinding arena quality LED light show made it necessary to be at least 10-15 yards away from the dance floor to really enjoy the show. *Sigh*this  leads me to think I might not be a regular member of their congregation.
Color me shocked. This place is actually kinda swanky inside. We went to the restaurant side after trying endlessly to find parking. Seriously Fenway in the winter should not be this difficult. We went in and sat at the bar. It was a quiet Sunday night but there were still a decent amount of folks inside. We had a delicious butternut squash soup for an app. It was made with the usual sage but spiced with some spicy aioli. Um yes! Â The entrees were pretty awesome, we both had specials. Â We didn't try dessert, but would like to go back for that. Â If we ever find parking again!
Review Source:I had been to Church many times under many names as a music venue (which it is decent but nothing special), but very recently I discovered that I need to now think of this place as a new favorite for dinner/cocktails
The service here, from hostess to bartenders to servers are all amazing and fun and just all around excellent.
The FOOD! Last visit I had the Truffle and Fontina Mac and Cheese as my main meal and I am still dreaming about it. My friend ordered as a side the Cornbread with Maple Butter, I am also dreaming of this. A person can live off of these food items right? I would if you could.
Something else I could be happy about living off of? The drink menu. I have been trying to go through all the Sins/Horsemen but I think I have found a favorite in "Death" on my last visit. But I am still going to try the others I have not next time.
and there will be many many next times
I can barely remember what we ate after just a few days, Â I can just remember the indigestion.
The restaurant is very nicely appointed, with the bar and the restaurant sharing the same space. Right from the start our server was very pleasant, but so painfully slow.
They have a nice drink menu but their food menu was already out of several items when we got there around 8pm. The place was not very busy so unless they had an earlier rush of people, the kitchen didn't plan the food very well.
We started with their appetizer special, Buffalo Empanadas, which essentially were 3 quite small boneless Buffalo chicken wings in fried dough. Given that a lot of bars sell $.25 wings, the empanadas were a huge rip- off for the price.
We followed it up with a bowl of tomato soup which was quite nice, but served rather tepid. It was probably because our server moved so very slothlike. We had to send back the bread basket that we ordered with the soup because it was literally stale day- old bread.
I ordered the fontina truffle mac and cheese and my husband ordered some type of panko crusted fish that came with brussel sprouts as our mains. My mac and cheese was rather soupy and excessively rich so I ended up sharing it with my husband and eating part of his fish which was definitely the highlight of the meal.
We were way too full to order dessert and didn't want coffee, but we ended up sitting there for almost 20 minutes staring at each other waiting for the bill to arrive. When our server finally gave us the bill and we gave her the Visa card (right away), she took the card with her to a large table that was just ready to order, so it stayed in her hand for about 10 minutes before being processed.
Boston Magazine had Church as the 2011 Fenway neighborhood fav in their Best of Boston issue. Really????
Bottom line: Mediocre headed south customer service dampens what was otherwise a even-floored dining experience. Â Ok Brunch food, ok Coffee, bad service.
Went with a group of 7 others (8 total) to Church on Sunday for brunch. Â We were seated when prompted (yay they honored our reservation.. isn't is sad when this is something to yay about?) and drink orders were taken quickly (our waitress was very kind). Â That's where the word "quick" will end being used in this review. Â It took multiple asks to actually get some of these drinks. Â One of my poor friends ordered a screwdriver. Â And got a mimosa instead. Â And then they forgot to give him his coffee. Â 20 minutes later he gave and asked for it again. Â There was no lightbulb that went off or a "i'm sorry I forgot". Â It just was. Â Sigh.
We mulled for a bit and then ordered food, most of us concentrating on their specials. Â The french toast hash was more savory than I was expecting (that seemed to be the general consensus) and didn't come with any home fries. Â The burrito special did.. what gives?! Â Making me order a side of home fries... lunacy.
So, this was all fairly smooth up until this point. Â It took us no less than 5 iterations to get the correct bill. Â This was blamed on a computer being unable to process multiple cards "well". Â Not unable, just not well. Â BULL. Â Don't blame technology (I love me some computers) because neither you nor the waitress can figure out how to run multiple cards after deducting some cash. Â I wish I was kidding when I tell you it took AS LONG TO PAY AS IT DID TO EAT THE FOOD.
Ridiculous.
The food was ok, but most likely not worth the effort. Â Sorry.
Church is my new go-to place in the Fenway/Kenmore area for cheap after work dinner and drinks with friends. I've been there three times and have never been disappointed.
The menu is reminiscent of many chain restaurants such as Uno's or Applebee's and along the same price range. The only difference is that the food is actually GOOD. The sauce on their flatbread pizzas taste fresh, not like they came from a can. The lettuce in the salad is crisp, not wilty. The tomato soup that accompanies their grilled cheese sliders (really yummy, by the way) is obviously not Campbell's (can't say the same for some other restaurants I've been to).
Their drinks are good and reasonably priced. I've tried a few of their 7 Deadly Sins cocktails, though I can't remember which ones. I enjoyed all of them and have sustained a buzz after one drink.
The only semi-complaint I have is about the service. I say semi-complaint because I've never had bad service at Church, but something is lacking. My waitresses have been attentive enough and polite enough, but don't expect five star service.
Also, apparently you have to ask if you want a bread basket. They've never brought me bread without having to request it.
2 stars for food and service... Church is going downhill
So, this is the second time going to Church in 2 weeks and being disappointed in the taste of the food. Gone are the days where everything I ordered from Church turns out to be delicious. I CAN NO LONGER RECOMMEND THIS ESTABLISHMENT TO MY FRIENDS IN GOOD FAITH. Their staple foods such as mini burgers and flatbreads are still yummy but be suspect of anything else. I don't know if it is the new menu, a new chef, and/or crappy ingredients.
On this occasion, I wanted take out. I ordered one of the specials- Â macaroni n' cheese with Blue cheese and Steak. Sounds like a delicious combo, but in reality it was MEH at best. I went to bed mad. I am not a professional food critic, but I know when something is not right.
Now, to the service. Additionally, I ordered the banana bread pudding. They tried to give it to me without the vanilla ice cream. When they finally brought out the vanilla ice cream it was so small that I thought it was a actually a side of butter. I didn't try the banana bread pudding since it was for a friend.
We had no problems with the service, but the snowstorm outside might have dissuaded others from going out that night. The duck fat fries were ok...nothing special. My chicken dish was delicious and our waiter was very attentive.
The bread pudding, though, was absolutely delicious. I would go back for that alone. Hot and gooey and sweet. Soooo good.
Considering it's a block away from me, it sure took me a while to actually sit down and eat at Church. Â It's sort of a weird establishment. Â For one, though there are multiple church-like structures in the Fenway, this is not one of them. Â More relevant, though, is the juxtaposition of music venue and restaurant/bar. Â More to the point, a place that mostly has pretty loud music, combined with a kinda high-end-y gastropub. Â
Anyway, it works. Â They have an okay selection of beer. Â Nothing really standout and imaginative, but there's certainly enough for people who have reasonably good taste in beer. Â The food is pretty good; above pub-food prices, but not hugely spendy. Â As is my tendency, i couldn't say no to mac and cheese, which i'd like to have finished, but i was on a date and too busy talking. Â Oh well, next time.
They also have some nice chairs and couches in front, and someday i'd like to make a commitment to getting there early enough to sit and drink on their couches all day. Â You gotta have goals.
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