May RC – Loyal Nine

The bar

This month was my pick (such pressure!) and I decided to take the group to the recently opened Loyal Nine in Cambridge. Loyal Nine opened at the end of March and is headed up by Executive Chef Marc Sheehan. It has been dubbed “East Coast Revival” cuisine and it is both rustic and modern. 

Pork liver mousse

I will also admit that many of the dishes on the menu required some additional explanation from our server, who provided very thorough and detailed descriptions. Did you know that sallet = salad? But this sallet is wrapped up like a pretty little package. 

I loved the space, especially the little cafe outside, and we took advantage of a warm evening and sat outside. The outdoor space includes herb gardens and is right next to the train tracks (though we did not get to see any trains go by). It was the perfect spot and evening to really welcome spring here in Boston.

Ribs…my fave!

We started off with oysters, bluefish, housemade chips with smoked fish mousse, pork liver mousse, and the ribs. The ribs were my favorite dish of the evening; they are grilled and served with chestnut, molasses, and preserved peppers…so delicious. The bluefish was soused (aka pickled) and served with horseradish and brown bread. The pork liver mousse was served on sourdough bread with apple blossoms. The smoked fish mousse was a little strange…it kind of disappeared the first time someone dipped a chip into it.

Matelote

For our main entrees, we shared the Atlantic bream, Matelote, and the Pondemnast. The Matelote was Rhode Island squid braised in red wine with bone marrow dumplings and the Pondemnast was a savory porridge with mushrooms, turkey, egg yolk, and mustard green sauce. The Atlantic bream was a tartare with Maine yellow eye beans and piccalilli. I wished it had more seasoning (though apparently my palate might have been a little off because I was the only one who wanted more salt on everything).

Pondemnast

All of the food is very pretty and I was wow’d by the ribs and the homemade chips. I was underwhelmed by a lot of the rest of what we ordered, but I am hopeful for its potential and definitely plan on returning to spend time in the cafe and to try some of the other interesting and creative menu items. It was a much anticipated opening, and I hope that others give this restaurant a chance to shine. 

Instead of staying for dessert we decided to finish off the night with a trip to Christina’s for some delicious ice cream (half carrot cake, half malted vanilla)…yum.

The damage
$67 per person

The rundown
Loyal Nine
660 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
@theloyalnine