Where to: Moon Bar, the ground-floor sibling to upstairs restaurant Mooncusser.
Why: Chef Carl Dooley is known for his inventive and delicious multi-course tasting menus at Mooncusser. When time, budget, and/or mood don’t allow for a visit there, Moon Bar offers a more relaxed, a la carte experience from the same team.
The backstory: With the same ownership as 80 Thoreau in Concord, Mooncusser opened in 2017; the first iteration of Moon Bar served chowder, lobster rolls, and other fish house fare. (For a while there was also roast beef specialist Cusser’s, which continues to operate at Hub Hall and Time Out Market.) Dooley became Mooncusser chef in 2021, and in October the revamped, refreshed Moon Bar opened, with shareable plates, creative cocktails, and some of the most beautiful wallpaper in town. Chef de cuisine Nelson Whittingham (previously Mooncusser’s sous chef) and bar manager Jake Smith (Uni) are running the Moon Bar show.
What to eat: The menu offers “cold stuff,” “hot stuff,” and “sweet stuff.” The first includes bright, light dishes such as salads and ceviches: a spirited mixture of marinated halibut, tomatillo, and avocado served in an avocado-shaped dish with salty, savory, crunchy plantains for dipping; a green mango salad with cashews and crispy lentils. Then warm up with tandoori chicken thighs and cucumber raita, smoked pork ribs with mango chutney, lamb burgers, and more. Don’t miss the flavorful black bass wrapped in a banana leaf, with pineapple sambal, a crunchy snack mix, and charred roti on the side. For dessert, there’s banana ice cream with dulce de leche wafers and sesame-chocolate sauce, or coconut rice pudding with hibiscus sorbet.
What to drink: Beer would be good with this food, and there’s also a perfectly brief wine list, with a sparkler, two whites, and two reds. But the cocktails, both alcoholic and not, are a highlight. In addition to island-y classics like the Junglebird and the Golden Colada, Moon Bar mixes up “creative stuff.” Aptly titled. The Off Duty, made with zero-proof gin, is perfumed with lemongrass, cardamom, cinnamon, and shiso leaf. The 305 Cowboy combines mezcal with saffron, coriander, and pineapple. And the rummy Cover Girl contains Jamaican jerk butternut squash; earthy, sweet, and spicy, it works.
The takeaway: Moon Bar is fun, high-energy, and high-touch — from the food, which is often best eaten with hands, to the hospitality. A seat at the bar offers views of the chefs at work, and conversations with the solicitous staff. It’s busy at prime time, so even though it’s a bar, make a reservation. You’ll be glad you did.
129 Columbus Ave., Back Bay, Boston, 617-917-5193, www.mooncusserboston.com. Dishes $9-$29. Cocktails $12-$17.
Devra First can be reached at devra.first@globe.com. Follow her on Instagram @devra_first.