Coming soon: George Mendes has started construction on his buzzed-about restaurant, Agosto, opening later this summer in the South End (1673 Washington St.).
“Agosto is Portuguese in DNA. It has a lot of French soul, because of my training, and Spanish creativity,” the chef says. “It’s really a restaurant that tells a story about where I am today and what inspires me, especially since moving to Boston and revisiting my New England roots.”
Mendes cooked at the world-renowned El Bulli in Spain, and earned a Michelin star at Manhattan’s Aldea before coming to Boston to oversee Amar, the upscale Portuguese restaurant inside luxury hotel Raffles in Back Bay.
He grew up in Danbury, Conn., and now lives in the South End. He has serious goals for the space, with a 12-seat tasting counter.
“It’s a Boston-inspired restaurant meant to attract national attention. Ambition, to me, is an open-kitchen environment, the chef’s counter, and a tasting menu, even though we will have a la carte options,” Mendes says. “It’s about actively building relationships with fishermen and farmers. There’s a lot of layers to this restaurant: It’s fine dining, but for the neighborhood.”
Mendes says Boston is a welcome change from Manhattan.
“It’s very subdued and great for families. I feel a lot more grounded here, to be honest,” he says. “I feel like I have a little bit more time to think and breathe and really be creative by what’s around me, whereas Manhattan — it’s in my heart, but it’s a daily grind and a rat race.”
Once Agosto gets underway, he’ll work on opening Baby Sister, an all-day cafe with fresh bread and custard tarts, next door. That’s where he’ll channel New York.
“It’s edgy. It almost has a little of Brooklyn: It has graffiti, and it’s rough around the edges. It’s scrappy,” he says.
Openings: In more casual food news, Anna’s Taqueria has a new branch in South Boston (457 West Broadway).
Festivals: Visit Harvard Square from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, for the fourth annual Asian Street Food & Music Festival (41 Church St.). Drink in an Asian beer garden, sample food from Cambodia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and beyond; marvel at a mochi-doughnut- and lumpia-eating contest; and enjoy live music.
Kara Baskin can be reached at kara.baskin@globe.com. Follow her @kcbaskin.