Boston has been all abuzz since Big Night Entertainment Group opened Red Lantern, an enormous Asian restaurant and lounge located in the Back Bay.
When you first walk up to Red Lantern, you will quickly notice the enormous 10-foot wooden doors with eight-foot lantern that hangs at the entrance. Once inside, we made our way over to the beautiful marble bar that is illuminated by hundreds of red birdcage lanterns that fill the space. The restaurant is incredibly decorated with everything from seashells hand picked from beaches in Vietnam to an oversized Buddha surrounded by statues that form their way up to the ceiling. There is even a fabric "cloud" that hangs from the ceiling with the words "Red Lantern" written in Chinese characters.
The best part about the restaurant might be the fact that it serves food up until 1:30 a.m., a rarity in Boston. The menu here features everything from Asian-style steaks sizzling from the wood-fired grill from the open kitchen, dumplings, soups, salads, fried rice, wok dishes, "hot pots" (where you can cook your own meats, vegetables and noodles in broth right at your table) and sushi.
General Manager Michael Wellikoff, who comes to the group from Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Boston, can often be seen throughout the dining room checking on guests. Our server, Jason, was extremely attentive and friendly, suggesting we start off with their famous enormous (and we do mean ENORMOUS) scorpion bowls, which come in the form of Yin (made with a selection of rum) or Yang (a strong concoction of several vodkas).
We started off with the spicy lettuce wraps, a delicious combination of sweet wok-glazed chicken, crunchy chopped cashews, flavorful vegetables and spicy dried chili that you pile up on pieces of fresh lettuce. Our server suggested we sample the hot rock special of beef and salmon. Watch your fingers as you place the tender pieces of beef and fresh salmon atop the rock and see it cook to your liking before dipping in a spicy mustard sauce. We loved the compressed melon salad which cooled off our taste buds for the next dish.
Don’t miss the spicy tuna roll: four pieces of deliciously fresh fish arrived preceding the lightly fried lobster rangoons that were served with sweet soy sauce. We couldn’t get enough of the teriyaki noodle steak, a large serving of glazed lo mein noodles, sliced skirt steak atop a salad of mint, basil, sprouts and sweet onion. The chicken lo mein was our favorite dish of the evening tossed a seasoned oyster sauce. If you can save room for dessert, don’t miss the lantern chocolate cake, banana tempura or tart berry crème brulee.
Red Lantern is located at 39 Stanhope Street, Boston. For reservations or more information, call 617.262.3900 or visit RedLanternBoston.com.
