First look at Wellesley’s black & blue Steak and Crab restaurant
We went to Wellesley Square’s new black & blue Steak And Crab restaurant for the first time on a Monday night and ordered… steak and crab.
As anyone walking by black & blue in the old CVS space at 65 Central St., can see, the restaurant is an open book. The big storefront windows let you peer right in at the spacious eatery, with its plush seating, long bar, and busy black-clad staff.
What you can’t see from outside is inside the menu, chock full of seafood and steak dishes, as the restaurant’s name would indicate. Crab & lobster fondue ($21), crab cake ($23) and beef tartare ($20) are among the appetizers, while New York strip ($52), porterhouse ($64) and Alaskan king crab legs ($39) are on the entrees list.
Even though we went on a Monday night, the new restaurant’s seats were largely filled, or were by the time we started our early evening dinner. According to general manager Brian Cullina, they’ve had a full house every night since their mid-September soft opening. There’s been plenty of buzz about this newest black & blue location. Wellesley Square brings the tally up to five, with three others in New York and one in Burlington, Mass.
Upon our arrival a host promptly seated the two of us at a four-person table all the way in the back, and noted how “the tables aren’t right on top of each other like in New York City.” Our table was situated in front of the kitchen, where we could keep tabs on activity, but through blurred panes of glass. Our table was cozy, with a choice of both plush pull-out chairs and booth seating.
Our server came by shortly, welcoming us as first-timers and offering a variety of water choices (we went with tap). Upon returning, she briefed us on the menu, including surf-and-turf options. This was followed by a basket of warm sweet rolls and house-whipped butter, also sweet.
We started our order with the crab cake appetizer, to be followed by the twin filet oscar ($59) and braised wagyu sirloin ($39) from the steak entrees menu.
Our crab cake appetizer was presented beautifully, highlighted by one large crab cake consisting of a pan-seared North Atlantic lump blue crab. It was plenty big enough for the two of us.
The crab cake was nestled under a colorful shaved fennel and frisee citrus salad featuring mandarin oranges and grapefruit. We took lime aioli on the side. This was a crab cake unlike most we’ve had, with minimal, if any, bread crumb fillers.
While our crab cake was filling, we still had room for the main event. The attentive staff was swift in removing our finished appetizer, along with any used utensils and plates. New mother-of-pearl handled steak knives were placed at our settings.
As we waited for our steak, we surveyed the scene. The bar seats were mostly full, with patrons chattering with one another and the bar staff. A couple of TVs hung behind the bar, but watching sports there didn’t seem to be the main point. The bar itself is a work of art, with a curving brick structure the design team put in to cover up some unsightly structural supports. Cullina told us the overall look, including the brick structure, is “classic black & blue, a relaxed yet refined ambiance.” Think classy, mid-century modern (no shag rugs or avocado green here).
Table tapping was taking place to the left and right, and we noticed a lack of background music. We were told the sound system is consistently up and running now.
The steaks arrived warm and to our cooking preferences. While I sat ready with my fancy steak knife, I didn’t need it, as the braised sirloin was really an order of short ribs easily stabbed and swirled onto the fork almost like spaghetti. The steak sat on a layer of cauliflower-potato puree and sautéed spinach softened just how I prefer it. A sweet port sauce flavored the meat just enough.
Mrs. Swellesley’s twin filet oscar consisted of two adorable 4 oz. filet minions, one of which turned up as part of our humble home dinner the next day. Some more crab meat, a generous offering of béarnaise sauce, plus crisp asparagus completed this dish.
The deserts looked tempting (rare is it that I pass on key lime pie), but we were full from our meal.
We found black & blue Steak and Crab to be a welcome addition to the town’s restaurant scene. The only thing that really took some getting used to at that space was, after years of getting those endless CVS receipts, receiving such a small and tidy one (with a couple of truffles to boot).
Back for seconds
A couple of days after we went to dinner at black & blue we swung by for a before-hours tour with General Manager Brian Cullina, during which we got to see the work-in-progress downstairs area. The generously sized, climate-controlled wine storage area is fully operational. (We like a place that has its priorities straight.) A function space with seating for about 80 is an active work site right now, and won’t be ready for some time.
Back on the ground-floor level, we peeked in at the small, private dining room area in the back that seats 14 at a long table.
Staff hiring has been brisk, with servers. bar staff and hosting positions currently full. They’re still looking for a few more food runners and other support staff.
What’s popular on the menu? It was no surprise to hear from Cullina that the steaks were all selling really well. The pan-seared Gulf Coast red snapper with rosemary citrus brown butter, sweet potato, and blue crab has been the most popular seafood dish.
A good deal of the seafood is sourced from the Gulf coast of Florida, with snapper, grouper, and other warm-water specialties flown here almost daily. Most of the oysters, salmon, and lobster come from Massachusetts, Maine, Canada, and other colder climates.
And because a new restaurant can never open without some sort of opening glitch, black & blue has their own trial-by-fire story—fortunately there was no literal fire. But an alarm did go off on one of their first nights open. The Wellesley Fire Department came, inspected the situation, and gave the all-clear. Staff escorted their customers back into the building, and dinner service carried on.
NEW RESTAURANT: black & blue
LOCATION: 65 Central St., Wellesley Square
HOURS: Sunday-Thursday, 4-9pm; Friday and Saturday, 4-1opm