Empire

Was here on a Saturday night after the beau and I went to check out Strega, which had a small bar and was packed.  We turned the corner and found Empire.  Surprisingly no wait line considering it was a Saturday night.  We went inside and boom! The music, which I liked - trance - dance - hip.  The place itself was high class, well designed, and the feel was intimate (depending on where you where chilling).  We were seated further from the main bar and speakers so it was nice.  We could eat, drink and still hear each other.  The drinks were pretty good.  I had the Coco Dojo & Mai Tai while my partner had a Sapporo. All average piced at about $10 a drink.  We also ordered some apps as we chatted away.  Eel avocado roll, shrimp shu mai and scallion pancake.  All were priced a lil' higher than what I'm used to but all of it was delicious!  They were dolled up apps with just the right flavor, crisp and texture.  No complaints about paying a lil more for a good envirnment and twist to your average apps.  The service at our table was also a good experience, pretty attentive for a very busy happening place.

The place was packed on the bar side of the venue and everyone was dressed to impress. Gotta say there were a lot of hot ladies and tasteful outfits there.  Great place to go with friends for a nice chill night out.  The DJ - shes a hot asian too.  hehe...  I'm thinking this could be on my list of regular visits.  Oh and not to mention they have all you can eat sushi on Monday nights for $25.  Might try that out some day.

Updating my review, since it's been about a year now.

I've been here a few more times since my initial review, and my opinion of it has not changed. I came here during hockey season to watch a game with a friend and to enjoy some drinks. It was moderately packed, but still only took a few minutes to grab a drink at the bar. I also came here last weekend, since a nearby bar had a line out the door. It was shoulder to shoulder inside of here, but after some clever maneuvering, my friend and I were able to get to the bar, and had a drink in hand within minutes.

This location is one of my go-to places whenever I'm in the city. The drinks are strong and very reasonably priced for an upscale place in Boston. There is no cover (which is a bonus!), and is an easy commute from anywhere in the city. I still can't get over the setup of this location. It is so beautifully decorated, and is a wonderful change of scenery from college bars. They also apparently have a DJ on the weekends, so it was fun to be able to socialize with some good club music in the background.

I said I would come back for the food and still haven't...but seeing the individual next to me with a plate of sushi this past weekend has tempted me to come back and give them a shot finally.

This is not a restaurant. This is a bar masquerading as a restaurant. We had tried to come on a Saturday night and didn't bother due to the loud  LOUD music and huge trendy SCENE.  We finally made it on a Sunday.  It was very empty. Not a good sign.  We ordered 4 appetizers and 2 entrees for 4 of us It was all mediocre with the exception of the Tuna Tartar which was awful. YUK. Tuna tartar doesn't need heavy mayo and chunks of pickles.UGH. My favorite dish and they destroyed it. Nothing left a memorable impression.  Worst of all the special foie gras dumplings had no foie gras that I could taste. NONE. I even cut them in half to look. Nope, no foie gras i could see.. or taste.
I guess they figure if they keep you drinking, you won't notice the food isn't so great

To add insult to injury.. our Martini's were a skimpy pour. And as skimpy
as they looked, when you removed the huge Lemon wedge, the martini's came 1/2 way up the glass. Cmon guys, if you are looking to sell booze at least give us a full glass. as for service, pleasant but honestly, when a dish is served with 3 sauces and your wait person has no idea what the sauces are...? Seriously?  Empire was a HUGE disappointment. Won't be back.

Actually, to the person who gave it 4 stars and called in a Pan-asian Hooters...
You were correct. but I wouldn't give Hooters even one star!