Brasserie Jo

Sometimes you just have a craving for classic dishes prepared well and served with old fashioned service. They have many traditional French specialties but manage to keep the feel of the place lively and relaxed. Pros: Good food, charming staff, nice bar Cons: not the place for cutting edge cuisine more

My husband and I had a terrible dining experience at Brasserie Jo the first time around. Even though it was advertised everywhere that they were participating in Restaurant Week on Sunday, we did not receive the menu for that. In addition, the waiter's description of a seafood crepe was poor at best. The item was not at all as described, and contained many unexpected ingredients. I found shells in the seafood. My husband's burger was ordered medium and was overcooked. The fries were soggy. After our food was dropped off, no one ever checked with us to ask how it was. We finally flagged down our waiter and asked for bread to sop up the soggy liquid in my crepe. He never returned with the bread. A woman nearby asked for the Restaurant Week menu and had to fight for it -- a waiter came back to her table to argue 3 times before she received the menu. All this for the ""bargain"" price of $50. I left my address with the hostess, who apologized, but didn't receive a call back. I called them and received an offer to come back on the house. We took them up on it. They didn't have our reservation on record, but I spoke to the maitre d and he understood. This meal was so much better. I had the mussels and fries and my husband had a salmon BLT. Both were delicious. The service this time around was excellent. We left a $10 tip for our meal that was probably around $35. I'm glad that I gave Brasserie Jo a second chance and would definitely consider going back. more

Difficult to say it's ""below"" average, because the service and operations of most places in Boston or large cities are quite disappointing -- therefore, I guess they fit right in. Pros: Ambience, location, hours Cons: Service, awareness, not ""prevenant"" at all, value more

My sister and I dined here last Sunday night and we had such a nice time. The service was wonderful, the food was great and the atmosphere was just perfect for a nice, quiet dinner with my sister. We had both recently returned from Paris and were craving a good French meal. She had the mussels and I had the steak. Both were really well prepared and delicious. We also shared the chocolate mousse for dessert. What a great presentation! We ordered Cote du Rhone by the glass which I highly recommend, but they have many other great wines on the list. We just had a perfect evening. And the price, I couldn't believe what a great deal it was! Definitely less expensive than Paris! If I lived in Boston (we are from NY) I would be dining here at least once a week. In fact I am planning to return with my husband just so he can try it. I know he would love it! Pros: Ambience, Service, Food more

Read about this restaurant offering French kiss Friday promotion and gave it a try. Miniature pizza arrived and it was delish. Better - it was free. I marvel at critics of Free food like another review i read here. Also received a baguette of bread and carrots (FREE). Service was very good and while the free food was good the martini was awesome. I asked the bartender to recommend one and he gave me a Manoh? It was some fruity concotion that was so good I had another. Ordered the steak and frites at the bar and they were fantastic. Ordered medium and got medium - now thats rare (pun intended). This is a cant go wrong restaurant. Meal was a great value. will return Pros: Bustling Ambience, Great food at a good value, Martinis Cons: Parking like all boston eateries- more

Have always heard good things about the place, but finally got the opportunity to go after reading about French Kiss Fridays. How can you resist?!?! Pros: Huge portions, great prices, Large selection of French wines for under $70 Cons: Make a reservation, especially on symphony nights more

I used the ""know before go"" tip I read here on citysearch. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. The personal-size free flatbread pizza at the bar was smaller than the cocktail napkin. And they only gave us 1 to share! I wasn't expecting much when it is free afterall, but I honestly thought the waiter was joking when he brought it over. It tasted great, but the ""slice"" I ate was no bigger than a stamp. more

My wife and I had a terrific meal at brasserie joe. The food is outstanding and I highly recommend the chicken coq au vin. Having traveled to France on many occassions, we found this to be a true representation of a brasserie not a bistro. The room was bustling and full of energy (exactly what we were looking for.) Pros: Food, Service, Ambience Cons: Bar on small side more

The food was good. BJ manages the basics of French cuisine well. more

I went there for Brunch expecting to find great food and service ? given the prices that?s the least you should expect. What I got was OK food and TERRIBLE service. When we were seated at our table the restaurant was out of menu?s ? which is interesting because the restaurant was not even close to being full and other tables were eating. We waited for about 10 minutes before anyone came over to us and another 5 before we got menus. They only had 3 menus for our party of 5. Now on to the server. She approached the table, no Hello, took drink orders and stormed off. When she came back she was complaining about the menu shortage and the management. She then went on about her other table and a customer that was requesting more coffee. Not to servers ? not a good gesture to complain to one table about your other customers. One of our glasses was dirty ? we were actually scared to tell her given her attitude and the fear of her telling the other tables about our request for a clean glass! When we brought this to her attention she brought us a new glass and then placed the old glass in the plant fixture next to our table. The dirty glass remained in the plant for the rest of our meal. One person in our party order tea and she brought us hot water in a juice glass. I guess the restaurant was out of tea pots as well. She instructed us to ?just pour the water into the mug?. When the food arrived a plate of toast was dropped on the floor ? this stayed on the floor for the rest of the meal along with the glass in the plant. The food was OK ? nothing great and given the service definitely not worth going back for. The best part of this experience was when she came over and recommended a great brunch spot right around the corner. This is my second time there for brunch and my last. The first time there was enjoyable however, the service was so awful my second visit I will never go back. Cons: Service more

I have eaten dinner here on several ocassions, but most often I just come late and sit in the bar area with cockails or wine and a snack with friends. The cocktail list is wondeful (the drinks are HUGE and $11/each) and the food is typical French. My favorites are the escargots and the endive salad. The offer plenty of good wines by the glass as well. The staff is extremely friendly and the room is beautiful. Pros: Consistently great food Cons: Pricey... more

My wife and I stopped in after a concert at Jourdon Hall. The bar was crowded but the dining room wasn't. We seated immediately and our waitress took our drink order promptly. My martini and my wife's Cosmo were great! The bread and carrot dish starters were very good as well and we shared a shrimp cocktail appetizer. The shrimp were huge and delicious and the cocktail sauce was perfect. My wife got the trout almondine and I got the salmon. We were both very satisfied with our food and thought it was a cut above most food we've had at local restaurants. The only negative of our meal was discovered at the very end when we noticed that the glass my wife's drink came in was cracked. We'll go back again! Pros: Fast service, Great drinks, Excellent food more

Had a light Lunch on a Saturday afternoon. The service was pretty bad, and we are not picky or hard to please guests. When seated, the wine glasses were covered with oj pulp and smears - the host acted a little funny when we requested replacements, as if we should not have mentioned it perhaps? The waitress had a very hard time answering simple questions, came back twice to clarify the wine order, then still almost poured the wrong selection. They tried to take plates we were actively eating from, and left empty ones behind to clutter the table. Overall, there were many hallmarks of an inexperienced wait staff. On a brighter note, the food was tasty, and we really enjoyed that aspect of things. For the price though, it was not so good as to make up for the really awkward service. Pros: tasty food Cons: Expensive, Awkward service more

I should have known- hotel French bar...... all the other reviews led me astray. The food was sub par for the price. I had the pork with a sauce that was more of a brown gravy with a dash of cheap wine (could have gotten at any diner for a lot less and still would have been better). My husband had the fish- you could not have added enough salt to give it taste. We got the bill and just wanted to give all the food back to get a refund. I have never been so diappointed by a meal that I can only call BLAHH- more

My friends and I often choose Brasserie Jo's as a nice place to meet for dinner. The quality of the food is excellent. I have repeatedly enjoyed their steak frites. The steak tartare was also good. The best thing here, however, are the profiteroles served with a seemingly unending stream of chocolate sauce: they let you say when. So good! Service has always been friendly and efficient. I also like the atmosphere. It's fun to come just for a cafe au lait or a few drinks if you don't want to pay for dinner. Very classy. Pros: steak frites, profiteroles, atmosphere more

As tourists to Boston attending a medical conference in June, 2005, we tried as many restaurants as we could during our four day stay in the Back Bay area. We also had our 4 year old twins in tow, so we were able to test the ""family friendliness"" of each place we dined. We went here for lunch. The ""house beer"" was outstanding. My wife enjoyed her tuna very much. The bread and salad and were excellent. My half tuna sandwich was average. The kids liked the spaghetti. Pros: professional service Cons: a tad pricey lunch more

Despicable service - lack of wine choices by the glass and SOLD OUT of many, surly waitress and rude wait staff in general. Not inclined to return any time soon. more

Two great dishes --Duck and RockFish. What makes a really good French restaurant are the sauces and both were very good. With several glasses of wine and everything else, a meal like this for around $100 is a good value....way better than mass produced fare from a chain. more

I read all the reviews and felt this would be a good choice for a birthday celebration on Christmas Eve. (not too many places are open) The service was wonderful: the food was not. Nothing recommended on this site was even half good. Prices are reasonable, ambience ok, cleanliness excellent. We eat out all the time, so we feel we are somewhat educated on the food scene. This is not meant to put down this restaurant. It just simply was not good. Pros: service, cleanliness Cons: , no bread plates, loud more

The decor is tired, the dining room gets loud. There is a constant stream of servers rushing past our table - diner style. The service was average at best. The steak frites was a notch above edible. The thin slab of meat was burnt on the outside and red on the inside - I ordered it medium. If this is suppose to be an ""excellent"" restaurant in Boston, then we've still got a far way to go. We didn't valet, but I noticed the cars were all parked in the valet zone or left double parked on the busy busy Boylston Street. For $14 I rather park it myself in a garage, there are plenty to choose from. more