Restauranteur Michael Aldi, known for his upscale Revere Beach and other Boston-area restaurants, is planning to open a version of his Dryft seafood establishment in Wellesley’s Linden Square. Other Aldi restaurants along Revere Beach include Cut 21 and Fine Line.
Wellesley’s Dryft restaurant will be located at 165 Linden St., formerly home to the Wellesley Tavern, and before that, Door No. 7. A conceptual design of the restaurant shows an octopus arm stretching across the front. The goal is to open in June.
Plans for the restaurant include patio dining in space that Wellesley Tavern had started to flesh out before it closed in 2022. The plan is for 180 seats inside, while outdoor seating will be subject to Select Board approval.
“We felt that Wellesley, with its family-oriented nature and close-knit community, aligned seamlessly with our values and vision as a restaurant group,” according to Aldi Companies’ Michael Aldi. “We believe in creating a sense of belonging and fostering connections with all of our guests, so Wellesley’s tight-knit community deeply resonated with us.”
This edition of Dryft won’t be part of a high-end apartment complex like the one that opened across from Revere Beach in 2019, though it will be nearby a couple of pricey condo complexes expected to open on Linden Street and Weston Road this year. Nor will Dryft Wellesley have a great oceanfront view like the one in Revere, though it will be within a couple miles of the Morses Pond beach.
What the restaurant will be expected to have in common with the Revere one is a menu of seafood and pasta dishes that have proven popular since the original debuted. Dryft Revere‘s menu includes seafood items such as tuna nachos ($21), clam chowder ($13), scallops ($35), plus a $54 surf and turf. Pasta dishes include shrimp limoncello ($19/$27), sausage rigatoni ($19/$27), and more. The restaurant also includes raw bar options, ranging from $3.50 oysters to a $135 seafood platter.
Dryft will be the latest addition to a burgeoning Wellesley restaurant scene that should also soon be adding Karma, an Asian-fusion restaurant just 2 doors away from the Dryft location, and Black & Blue Steak and Crab in Wellesley Square at the former CVS space.
(Updated 1/8/24 with additional details and a comment from Aldi Companies.)
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