L'Espalier

774 Boylston St.
Boston, MA 02199
617-262-3023

Often credited with being the first independently owned restaurant to bring haute cuisine to Boston, L'Espalier opened on Boylston Street in 1978, moved to a historic Back Bay townhouse in 1982, and returned to Boylston Street in 2008 where it currently resides adjacent to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Throughout the relocations, the menu of sophisticated and modern New England-French cuisine, with an emphasis on artisanal and New England ingredients, continues to dazzle.

Chef-owner Frank McClelland, who purchased the restaurant in 1988, has racked up an impressive list of honors including the distinction of having been the first restaurant in New England to receive four hard-earned stars from the Boston Globe. Since 1998 L'Espalier has remained the only independent restaurant in New England to receive Five Diamonds from AAA.

Wintry Wine Mondays at L'Espalier
Taking their cues from the changing seasons, the team at L'Espalier has lined up a slew of new creative ...

L'Espalier's Fall-ish Wine Mondays
Taking their cues from the changing seasons, the team at L'Espalier has lined up a slew of new creative ...

Cheese Tuesdays for Fall & Winter
L'Espalier has cooked up few more ways to indulge the fromage fanatics out there with a new Cheese Tuesday ...

Frank McClelland

Chef at L'Espalier

Growing up on his grandparents' farm in New Hampshire, Frank McClelland learned picking, canning, bread baking, and even how to make his own sorbets from fresh-fruit purees. When he wasn't in the kitchen, legend has it, he was helping his grandfather chase down chickens in the farm's huge coop.

There may well be more glamorous beginnings for a world-class, New England-rooted chef, but we can't think of a more honest one.

From these humble and firmly planted roots, intertwined with training in the techniques of classic French cooking, McClelland has grown into one of the nation's master chefs. Today, as Chef-Owner of Boston's venerable four-star restaurant, L'Espalier, he takes pride in growing his own fresh herbs, rare fruits and vegetables. He also works individually with area specialty and organic farmers to meticulously select the finest seafood, meats and game.

In the kitchen, as well as in the dining room, he is known for his pursuit of perfection and unbridled passion for what he does. The summation of all that he has learned and his love of local ingredients is reflected in the award-winning, uniquely innovative New England-French cuisine he has created at L'Espalier.

It didn't take him long to team those award-winning techniques, either. By the age of twenty six, McClelland had already been a chef in two of the most respected local kitchens - The Harvest in Cambridge and L'Espalier. In 1984, he became Executive Chef at The Country Inn of Princeton, Massachusetts, where he established and honed his personal style of cooking. There he earned a four-star rating from The Boston Globe and was named one of the country's top twenty five new chefs by Food & Wine magazine.

In 1986, McClelland returned to L'Espalier as Executive Sous Chef, and within two years purchased the restaurant - thus fulfilling a lifelong dream. The awards that have followed are far too numerous to list here in full, but a mention of just the most recent top tier would include: Five Diamonds from AAA for 2001-2006, Boston Magazine Best of Boston awards, a Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence 2004, and a coveted DiRoNA award.

In 2000, McClelland opened his second restaurant, Sel de la Terre on State Street, to enthusiastic reviews.

Dinner
Lunch
Bar
Fantasy Tea Party

Caviar and Oysters

North American ounce 60; half ounce, 30

White Sturgeon ounce 175; half ounce 90

Siberian Sturgeon ounce 190; half ounce 95

German Osetra ounce 240; half ounce 120
(chilled LiV potato vodka to accompany add 10)

Island Creek oyster with North American caviar and seasonal accompaniments 4.00 each

First Course

PRIXE FIXE 82

Leek and potato soup with parisiennes of root vegetables; chicken and black truffle boudin

Shaved asparagus salad with a shirred Apple Street Farm egg and brook trout roe; roasted shallot vinaigrette

Seared Hudson Valley foie gras with pink grapefruit and black sesame oil; honey and Meyer lemon water (add 10)

King crab salad with prosciutto, avocado, and muscat gelée

Fried veal sweetbreads with sunchoke and thyme velouté, pickled cauliflower, and licorice sugar

Soy and ponzu-glazed scallops with lychee, green curry and spaghetti squash; uni vinaigrette

Main Course

Pot-roasted Canadian chicken with hedgehog mushrooms and pommes purée; green peppercorn jus

Cocoa-rubbed Denver leg of venison with escargots de Bourgogne and braised endive

Painted Hills beef tenderloin with braised short ribs and pommes sarladaise; gremolata and red wine reduction

Whole Maine lobster with roasted red potatoes, chorizo, and braised greens; drawn Vermont butter (add 20)

Dry-aged Lola duck breast with black trumpet mushroom purée, pistachios, and baby turnips

Monkfish à la plancha with carrot and zucchini "tagliatelle;" clam chowder and blue potatoes

Spring Degustation

PRIX FIXE 104

available to entire tables only

VINTNER'S TASTING
four pairings 65

GRAND VINTNER'S TASTING
six pairings 85

WINTER JUICE TASTING
four pairings 35

Butter-poached Maine lobster with scallion and teriyaki-glazed enoki mushroom; lobster jus

Hudson Valley foie gras terrine with pickled shallots and poached prunes

Seared yellowfin tuna with shrimp potstickers; lime and butternut squash nage

Colorado loin of lamb with brown butter gnocchi and parsnip purée; sage jus

Grand Fromage

Dessert Tasting

Chef's Tasting Journey

Prixe Fixe 185

Vintner's Tasting add 130

Degustation of Vegetables

Prixe Fixe 90

PLEASE NOTE: The items, ingredients and prices on all menus are subject to change. It is recommended that if you are interested in a particular dish you contact the restaurant directly to determine its availability.

Dictionary

Brioche: 1. noun A soft, yeasty French bread enriched with butter and eggs.

Chèvre: 1. noun French for "goat," as in cheese.

Chorizo: 1. noun Crumbly, spiced pork sausage.

Cioppino: 1. noun The San Francisco take on bouillabaisse.

Confit: 1. noun Meat (usually goose, duck or pork) that is slowly cooked in its own fat and preserved with the fat packed around it as a seal.

Enoki: 1. noun Crunchy mushrooms that look sort of like vermicelli wearing ski hats.

Foie gras: 1. noun Expensive, silk-textured goose or duck liver that has been enlarged by a process you don't want to read about if you're going to eat this dish.

Gratin: 1. noun Any dish covered with cheese or buttered breadcrumbs and baked or broiled.

Gremolata: 1. noun Minced parsley, lemon peel and garlic.

Jus: 1. noun French for juice, jus also refers to the unthickened juices from a piece of roasted meat.

Nage: 1. noun This culinary buzzword usually indicates a bouillon with (among other things) white wine, shallots and herbs.

Pesto: 1. noun An Italian sauce traditionally made with basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and Romano and Parmesan cheeses.

Prix fixe: 1. noun French for fixed price, a complete meal that features a limited number of selections at a preset price.

Tagliatelle: 1. noun What they call fettuccine born in northern Italy.

Terrine: 1. noun An earthenware container, or the dish cooked therein.

Torchon: 1. noun Method of cooking foie gras by which it is placed in a towel (torchon in French) and poached.

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