Reverie at Weldon Park
Reverie at Weldon Park is a reinvention of bar Weldon Park that signals changes to College Street. Little Italy has always mixed reputable restaurants with dive bars, but Reverie at the back of Weldon Park, revamped by owners Wesley Barber and Faaren Farzam, takes this old drinking establishment to new heights.
Glide past gates you almost might describe as pearly, and step into the bulk of the reinvention in an elevated bistro atmosphere with elegant plates by executive chef Greg Couillard, along with team of chefs Chris Showalter and Teddy Peris.
Drinks are still available at the front, in an elegant but not too over-the-top program put together by beverage director Moses McIntee.
A small lounge area near the front is behind a row of birch branches, and stumps the team salvaged themselves from North Bay hang over the ethereal glass top bar filled with dried plants.
Cocktails are all 2 ounces and $14, and we start with a refreshing but sweet and creamy My Thai, made with spiced rum, Thai basil, coconut milk, textural chia seed vinaigrette, lime, sugar and pineapple.
Simply called Grapes, this cooling vodka-based cocktail features compressed grapes and reisling-pepper syrup and is garnished with pretty halved grapes and basil.
Beets takes the same approach to naming and is tangy and bright, made with gin, beet juice, parsley and ginger.
To cap off our round of drinks we go with the visual and aromatic Picard topped with earl grey foam that’s all bergamot.
An appetizer of raw tacos ($18) features ribeye, fatty tuna and an avocado one heaped with a luxuriously effervescent pile of caviar.
Meatballs ($15) are perfect for anyone who loves meat and tamarind, the spheres of kobe beef swimming in a spicy sauce, garnished with a signature tall taro root chip.
I love the crunchy “forbidden” arancini ($15), black rice with a sesame crust filled with succulent east coast lobster.
Bacon dates ($18) put a spin on this classic, with walnuts, sundried olives, smoked gorgonzola, roasted garlic and truffle brebis.
For our elegant main we feast on the breathtaking “seafood dream” ($35), a platter of east coast lobster tail, juicy prawn, seared scallop, little neck clam, tender octopus, crunchy paprika and corn potato mash, pumpkin bisque and snap peas.
The tiny service station and cocktail bar stocked with vintage glassware (some from the early 1900’s) are pushed to the back.
The tiny kitchen is also crammed into the back of the stunning restaurant area, which features high ceilings and pairs of gorgeous vintage chairs from the fifties and sixties. The tables have the same customizable glass top artistic displays as the bar.
Hector Vasquez