Scholars American Bistro & Cocktail Lounge

If I was rating for food alone I would give this restaurant 5 stars. The food was very good. Unfortunately the service was terrible. Our party of 3 visited later on a Sunday afternoon for lunch, and we were practically by ourselves. We were seated promptly, but were basically ignored after that. Our waitress was very slow in coming to take our order. After that, I had to go to the bar to get drink refills, and had to then go find our server to ask for a check. Each request was met with a response of «no problem,» as opposed to a «I’m sorry for the delay.» Our business clearly wasn’t valued, and given the number of restaurant options available, I will not return. Very disappointed.

Despite the lack of conclusively positive reviews, Scholars actually does a good job for Sunday Brunch (Saturday too). The menu itself is rather limited, with but 8 choices listed (and no corned beef hash among them), but lunch options were also available, which definitely opened up the possibilities.
Two of us shared the Chicken and Waffles $ 13 (Deep Fried Chicken Fritters Served with Maple Syrup, Amaretto Emaciated Strawberries and House Made Whipped Cream) and the Apple French toast $ 11 (Cinnamon Texas Toast Topped with Apple Compote and Maple Syrup Served with Bacon and Home Fries), requesting that the home fries be made extra crispy. The southern dish was a nice mix of sweet and salty, with crispy chicken and crisp-​tender waffles holding up well against the fruit, dairy creaminess, and stream of maple syrup we freely poured on. The french toast did the job, arrived as 3 slices of gussied up bread, and served as the sweet foil to its salty accompaniments — the bacon (2), and the yummy crisp, light, well seasoned home fries. The apple garnish was acceptable in taste and portion, but would have seemed less of an afterthought if the slices were a bit thicker cut.
For the diner who wants everything without going to the trouble of finding someone to share entrees with, Scholars Breakfast $ 12 (Your Choice of Eggs Cooked to Order Served with House made Sausage, Apple Smoked Bacon, French Toast and Maple Syrup) would be a good choice. With eggs made your way, salty breakfast meats, sweet french toast, and surprise home fries, it’s got it all!
Props were offered for both soup options from the regular menu — the New England Clam Chowder Bowl $ 8/​$ 6, and Caramelized Onion Soup $ 9/​$ 7. The latter was made with beefy bits and an appreciatively light hand to the cheese.
Service was fine, though they could do better with regards to the bathroom — at least two stalls were without toilet paper, causing me to change stalls while overhearing another guest asking her daughter to pass some squares over to her.
*** ⁶⁄₂₀₁₆ take out ***
One order of the side of Mac ‘n’ Cheese please.
It was a hefty little box at about 15 oz, though the box itself was not packed. Large tubes of al dente pasta was encased in a rather tasty goo. After a few bites, I started squeezing off some of the cheese to save my arteries. It was a very rich variation that near did me in.
PS — Prices moved since my May brunch — the Mac ‘n’ Cheese side is now $ 6.

$ 5 surcharge for the dj playing this Saturday night, that’s fine to me. But the music is just suck killing the night, ac seem not working at all, and drink is expensive. Came in at 11:30 and can’t stay for more than 1 hour. Thought I didn’t drink enough to feel the music but people around, drink a lot, appear loosing their music feeling too.
Worst Saturday ever!!!

Came for dinner on a Saturday. Make sure you bring cash because there’s a $ 10 cover after 10pm. The venue is very nice and fancy with low lighting and dark furniture. The food was pretty good but nothing special. The menu was limited to typical bar food (aka burgers, tacos, fries) but they did have a good selection of drinks.
The biggest downside was the DJ. No wonder no one was at the dance floor. DJ just couldn’t pick the right songs the WHOLE night. Also, the bouncer was scary. While I was in line, he grabbed one of the customers by the neck and called him mean names! :(

We appreciate the response to my menu concerns and clarification to the vegetarian/​vegan option on several of the fished. Updating to 3 stars based solely on the fact that the manager took the time. Looking forward to stopping in soon and trying the new items.

One weekend in Miami and the next in Boston. As the saying goes, «When in Rome do as the Romans do.» (a.k.a. eat all the good food in the location you are in!). I was in town for only the weekend and wanted a cool place I could have dinner and then as the night went on turned into a bar scene. This was the perfect spot! The food was spot on, there was an array of everything for any kind of food preference. I ordered the sesame chicken and it was BOMB! The group I was with finished up dinner then ordered a few more drinks then headed to the dance floor to tear it up. This is a cool spot to have a group dinner then hang around for the night! A+!

This used to be one of my favorite places to go if you’re celebrating a special occasion or even just trying to find a good place out.
Located right in the middle of downtown, parking can be hard for some people if they’re not from the area. Park in the financial district — lots of side streets with street parking that no one ever looks at!
I like their venue because it has two full bars (two floors), seating, a dance floor, pool tables and plenty of places to mingle. Their drinks are decent and fairly priced (still on the higher range compared to a regular small bar).
The only real downside is they do charge cover (it’s gotten more expensive recently) and the line can get ridiculously long (like down the block and around the corner) for no reason. Otherwise it’s a good place to check out and have some fun! I initially gave this location a 4 but feel like it’s gotten a littler worse in the past year (didn’t get a great vibe from the manager or owner there the last time I visited). I still hope to go again because I used to go all the time.
Also, I’ve actually gone during lunch — totally weird to see during the day. Food was okay but nothing too special to make me want to go again.

Yeah, 5 stars… it was that good! My husband and I took the train into Boston to have lunch with my son & daughter-​in-​law. Sticking a pin in the map I chose Scholars as our lunch destination and we were all extremely happy with the choice!
We arrived at about 11:30am and since they had just opened we had our choice of seats and made ourselves comfortable near the front window.
When we get together like this for lunch we tend to order multiple different items from the menu and then share it all the way around. Today we continued that trend.
We began with a cup of chowder for my husband and some of their roasted squash hummus. Ok, I’m no foodie so you won’t be reading me wax poetic about the food but in the most basic terms it was all fabulous! The chowder was flavorful and piping hot and the hummus was so incredibly delicious that I wish I had ordered extra just to take home with me!
For lunch we ordered: fish and chips, teriyaki glazed beef short ribs, ginger tuna & noodle salad, sides of mac n cheese, roasted Brussel sprouts and from their brunch menu, the bacon & egg flat bread (with a side of bacon, natch!)
Serving sizes were extremely generous; bordering on too much! But, oh sweet heaven above, it was all fantastic!
We shared everything with one another and each ended up with quite an eclectic assortment of food on our plates!
Our waitress, Yolanda (who stated that she’d only been there a week) was attentive and helpful and no requests or questions went unanswered.
A little back story; my son indicated that quite some time ago he and his girlfriend dropped by on a Friday night for drinks. After being directed first upstairs and then back downstairs and having to navigate a huge crowd both ways with no real guidance by the staff they left without ordering. They’ll never go back on a Friday or Saturday night again but that has to do with the size of the crowd and no direction. However, after today’s lunch they’ll gladly go back to eat… during the day!
We had such a wonderful experience and such a delicious lunch that we’ll put this on our list of «we’d do that again»! Not everywhere we’ve dine earns that status! But Scholars sure did!
Our compliments to whomever the Chef was this morning when we arrived; spectacular job!

Came around 10:30 on a Saturday night and had to wait around half an hour to get in and then pay a $ 10 cover.
The drinks at Scholars are good and average priced. The set-​up of the place is nice, with a bar at the front, dance floor at the back, and a balcony as well. The crowd is mostly college students and people under 28 that I saw.
Had a great time except for the fact that the bouncer was being very rough with a customer, they started pushing each other, and one of them fell into my friend and knocked her over. Nobody apologized or acknowledged what happened, which was very rude. But other than that it was fun and I’ll be back before 10 one night to avoid the cover.

I only came for drinks, but they had a lot of interesting things on the menu and the female bartender was great and friendly/​talkative with everyone at the bar (as a bartender should be).
My first drink was something spicy — I like spicy and unique so that works for me ;)
The inside of the place is pretty large, with tables and bar seats in the front and more further back and upstairs. Also a pool table upstairs.
A cool spot to stop at.

I just wanted to say that Jess is one of the best waitresses ever. Attentive, friendly, and provides the best customer service around Boston. It was my friend’s birthday party and in additions being (so cute and) right there whenever one of us needed anything, without having to ask her she made sure that people who tried to squeeze into our space knew that it was a private party and made them move somewhere else. Great job Jess!!!

Went to Scholars for lunch with a few colleagues this afternoon for the first time. Now, I’ve been here in the past after work for some drinks and it has always been a good time.
The food here is not to be overlooked. Started with the «cup» of Clam Chowder which was served in a bowl; I’m going to go out on a limb and say Scholars has a Top 3 Clam Chowder that I’ve had in recent memory. The bacon adds a great element to an already delicious appetizer. If you like to further enhance your chowder, don’t hesitate to ask your server for some Tabasco on the side to spice it up a bit.
Went with the Sesame Ginger Fried Chicken for an entrée, which was great. Spicy Pineapple? Don’t tempt me with a good time. This is served over a small bed of fried rice and sauteed vegetables.
One of the better Friday lunches we’ve had.
Mike

I hosted a work event at Scholars this week and I can not say enough nice things about them and their event planning team! Our event planned Ilda, was terrific — she was efficient, quick and helped us make the best decisions by giving us all possible options!
We had our event in the lounge/​billiards area upstairs which was the perfect venue. The food came out on time and was great. The service by the wait staff and the bartenders was above and beyond.
Thank you so much for doing such a wonderful job making an easy and fun night for my co-​workers and I!

Had our staff Christmas party there last night and had a great night !!
They have is pool table area and had the tvs on so we were able to play pool and watch Super Bowl
Staff were super nice and very attentive our waitress made sure we never had to wait for a drink .
Manager Paul was great he was constantly checking in to make sure we were all having a good time !
We ordered apps and I definitely recommend the buffalo wings and tator tots the were delicious.
I will definitely go back to have a party there or just to go out with friends for drinks :)

I read the past reviews. I almost canceled my reservation. But i wanted to see for myself. The following is advice to help grow the business and better its reputation. I’m a manager to an upscale business in the downtown area. I know what it is to provide premium customer service. My major issue at this location was exactly that. Customer service. I will start with the criticism and end with positive notes. I arrived on time. The location opened right on time. But i was not greeted properly. I was seated and given wrong menus. Its okay. I asked for the correct menu and right away i was helped. The problem was that every time i was in need. I didnt know anyones names. I had to ask. I met Paul and a waitress.(unfortunately i can’t remember her name). I waited 15 minutes before a waitress came to my table to ask my party for an order. This would be okay it the place was busy. But I and my guest was the ONLY customers. The food arrived. It was awesome. It was my first time ordering chicken And waffles. Scholars did not disappoint. I was in heaven. Like really. Who invented chicken and waffles. I loved the food. And the drinks. when needed to get a bill. it took a long time to ask for it. when i provided my debit. it took a long time for the waitress to collect it. I had to go to the waitress and give her my bill with my debit card. This is horrible for me. Its horrific because again we were the only customers. this is a clear indication that my business was not appreciated. I suggest the management team retouch on the customer service techniques. I did leave a small tip. A bill consist of two things. 1. The cost of food and drinks. 2. The service. Because the service was so slow and not appreciated. I left less than 5% gratuity. I will return. I hope to receive better service. Thanks for the great in experience with the food. But work on the customer service.
Unilocalers! Stay away! Please read the following screenshots. This is the type of manager whos running the business. Please excuse my typos. I was commuting while typing. The following is redicoulous. My concerned is not a rare one for this establishment. Not only on Unilocal donthey have a negative review, but also on open table.

Over the weekend, I celebrated my birthday at Scholar’s. The staff was incredibly nice and helpful throughout the entire evening. I was particularly thankful for the help from Myra (hopefully that’s the correct spelling of her name) and her manager who helped me reserve the lounge area for my party. Sidenote: reserving space for a bigger party is definitely the way to go. It’s really nice to have a place to sit and drink your cocktails (and you have a server), and also it’s a comfy place to relax when taking breaks from the dance floor.
Myra & team even delivered a cupcake to the lounge area, making it a really sweet way to celebrate my birthday. All in all, it was a great experience!
PS: This place is a popular spot on Saturday night, so I’d recommend getting there between 8:30/9:30 pm.

I’ve been here a few times and all of those times were for a private party. The party was held up on the balcony which was nice and private. The food for the most part is ok, nothing special. They have a nice selection of interesting drinks as well.
Would I come here on any weekend? No. Not my style. Wasn’t it rated one of the douchiest bars in Boston anyways?

My friend suggested this place to me when I asked him about a new bar to try downtown and I was very impressed!
This time I only went there for their Monday $ 5 burger (when you buy a drink) deal, but I will definitely have to go back for a full meal. Also, apparently they have pool tables, so I will be trying those next time as well!
Even though from the outside it doesn’t look like much, the interior looks amazing. Very spacious and the mirrored walls gives impression of a even larger space than it actually is. If I had to choose one word to describe the interior design, it’d be classy.
The service was great and the burger was delicious!
But the best part was the drinks! Although one of my friends struggled to find beer on tap (they were out of most of the beers that were on their draft menu?), me and others got mixed drinks which were delicious. I would highly recommend Glendalough Batch Infusion if you like apple pie or you want a fall drink that is not PSL. It actually has smashed apples in it which was very unique for most apple drinks I’ve had. Even though I was very happy with my drink, there were many interesting cocktail options, so I will probably be back to try other ones.
Overall, it was a great experience and I’ll be back for more.

Scholar’s is a great place in Boston to grab a drink, dance if you feel so inclined, and definitely people watch.
Downstairs there is a long bar. Healthy selection of beer and spirits. Plenty of televisions and sit down booths. Upstairs? Smaller bar, pool tables, and a free coat check!!!
Again, a good place to go out. Clubby? Not at all. Good dance bar? Meh. A great place to stand up top and people watch? You know it! When college isbin session, few places are better to stand upstairs and observe the dance floor below.

Probably one of the coolest, old-​school English/​Irish style pubs, with a modern Boston ambiance.
One of my favorite things about this place is that it has several sections that you can occupy throughout the place: looooong downstairs bar with different seating areas, upstairs balcony, upstairs bar, etc. I hold a monthly meet-​up here and it always amazes me how many new and cool people I meet as I wander around getting a drink from the different sections inside.
Chill atmosphere, and the crowd has a nice variety of age ranges to fill the large space, so there is no single-​type of groupies to turn away those of different social skills.