Shojo

My tastebuds thanked me so hard after this restaurant encounter. They were happy for days. Tucked away in Chinatown on a little side street across from the equally popular Tea-​do, Shojo is a not so secret hidden gem. The restaurant is small, with no more than 15 tables as well as a bar. They quickly fill up and wait times can go upwards of two hours. As such, they have a reservation form on their website that I highly suggest you use.
My boyfriend and I ordered 3 different plates, sharing between the two of us. We got the duck fat fries, Wu-​Tang tiger style ribs, and the chicken and waffles. The duck fat fries were good, but next time I’d op for the 5 $ more and get them shadowless. The chicken and waffles were a solid dish, albeit not overly exciting. The clear winner of the night was the ribs. They were so tender, they fell right off the bone and right into my mouth. The sauce was perfect and had me scraping the plate. They will be top on my list next time, and I may not share…
For drinks, we got the tea for two. My boyfriend wasn’t overly fond of it simply because he’s not a peach lover. Fine by me as that meant more for me! At $ 20, it was a bit steep in price. I probably won’t order it again, even though it was delicious.
The décor is modern with graffiti covering the back wall. Godzilla going after a robot shooting food makes for a great distraction as you’re waiting for your food. The wait staff was fast, efficient, and very helpful. I couldn’t believe how fast the food came out, especially considering how crowded the place was.
Can’t wait for next time!

If RZA and Donny Yen a baby, and Shepard Fairy and David Chang had a baby, and those two babies got together and made another baby, then that baby would probably feel right at home at Shojo.
Tasty. Cool bar with interesting drinks, like Japanese craft beer and cocktails.
I don’t know why, but I think that the music (usually hip-​hop) and the old school Chinese kung fu movies make the food taste better. It could be the awesome graffiti mural as well. At any rate, check out this place. Have a meal and drink or two. Or three.
So far I’ve only had lunch and an early evening drink at Shojo. I’ve heard that it can get packed on weekend evenings, so plan accordingly.

(Visited about two weeks ago)
On our first day of our Boston visit, we decided to stop by for lunch. We were greeted quickly and immediately seated. We ordered the Kimchi Fried Rice (good stuff), Duck Fat Hand-​Cut Fries (a bit too salty…) and the Crispy Fish & Chips Tacos (decent – a bit bland and again too much salt added… simmer down with the salt please). A-​OKAY, I guess.

Fairly trendy spot with interesting drinks and small plates.
I visited Shojo with a friend on a Friday night in December and overall had a nice time. The restaurant was less crowded than I anticipated and we were seated quickly since my friend made a reservation via their app.
I ordered the Kamehameha, a spicy vodka and coconut milk drink. It was more interesting than it was good, but I am happy I tried it.
For food, we shared the calamari, which was yummy and came with a dipping sauce like you would find on a spicy tuna roll. The star of the show for me was the cashew shrimp bao. I was hesitant to order it at first, but I’m glad I did because the flavors melded nicely with each other and it was a fun mix of crunchy and juicy. I was still a little bit hungry since the baos are small and only come in sets of two, so I ordered the suckling pig bao as well — I thought it was over hyped. It was good, but it was my least favorite item of the three; I’ve had better bbq pork elsewhere.
tl;dr — fun spot for small plates and drinks in chinatown. I won’t make it a part of my usual rotation, but I wouldn’t hesitate to go back if a friend suggested it. 3.5÷5

Been here twice and have tried really hard to like this place but somehow always come out disappointed af.
Chicken and waffles? Baos? Duck fat fries? I had to try it. However when I went in last summer, I was completely underwhelmed. This was a while ago sorry this isn’t very detailed, but I remember ordering the fries, baos, calamari, ceviche, and some lemon cake for dessert. I would have got the chicken and waffles but it wasn’t on the menu at that time. Thinking back on on that meal, literally nothing stands out. Everything was pretty average. A standard decent experience. Perhaps this was my fault for thinking this place was going to be awesome. Whoops.
Fast forward to now.
After hearing about my friend’s really great experience here, especially about the chicken and waffles, I was determined to give this place another shot. I try to call and make reservations but the automated system just directs me toward some Reserve app in which I was too lazy to find in the App Store, clear space on my phone, download the app, make an account for it, etc. etc. Ain’t nobody got time for that. So a bunch of friends and I just cross our fingers and go in at around 7pm on a Thursday anddddd… the place is packed and the wait is 1 – 1.5 hours. Whoops. My bad for not making reservations. :(
Okay whatever… so I try again the very next day. This time I figure I’ll just stop by for lunch at around 3pm, try these magically chicken and waffles and finally achieve happiness. Surely, they won’t be busy at 3:30, right? For the first time in forever, I was actually right. Yay. However when I sat down and took a look at the menu… INSTANT regret. I asked the server and was extremely disappointed when she said «Oh, we only serve the chicken and waffles for dinner…»
I just can’t win… sigh. Whatever. My group and I end up getting:
— The Shadowless Duck Fat Fries: Making the dish «shadowless» almost doubles the price and also makes the dish VERY salty. I still don’t know if it was the fries themselves or the cheese/​meat on top of them. Still tried to finish it though… not because it was good but because it wasn’t horrible
— Pretty Good Chicken Sandwich: Honestly was pretty good. I wouldn’t reorder it however. If you’ve ever had the popcorn chicken at Lollicup, this is almost exactly what the chicken in this sandwich tastes like. Moist, well– seasoned and spicy mayo in general makes everything instantly better. The bun was my biggest problem. I think it’s supposed to be like a bao but was not soft and fluffy like one. Instead it was weirdly dense, chewy, and stuck to the roof and all the crevices of my mouth. A seemingly good idea but just didn’t work. Just not enjoyable.
— Shojonator: Decent burger but again the same issue with the weird bun.
— Fish tacos: My sister enjoyed this but I only had a taste in which I was said «meh».
With such average food, I probably shouldn’t return, but I never learn. I’ll probably be back one day for those mystical chicken and waffles … to probably find that they’ve taken them off the menu for the season or something.

[This is a review from a visit in September]
We brought 14 people to Shojo (including 1 vegetarian and 1 gluten-​free) and they all left happy and full. I can’t thank the super friendly and very accommodating staff enough for getting us all drunk and well-​fed on my boyfriend’s birthday.
People loved the Blu-​kkake cocktail, Shadowless Duck Fat Fries, Wu-​Tang Short Ribs, and Corn Mazemen. We went through so many orders of duck fat fries. The Shojonator burger was a bit underwhelming in size for its name, so it’s a good thing we were eating family-​style and the people that ordered it filled up on fries and ribs.
I’m really glad that they allowed us to bring in a cake — they put in candles, lit them, gave us a knife and plates to serve. Overall, a delicious and fun night. We love Shojo!

Ordered ramen noodle ! It was great and loved it ! Service is pretty good with good music ! Nice interior ! They have a bar as well !

This place has majorly updated since I first came to eat here years ago. Décor here is pretty dark now, but great for grabbing a little snack and some drinks when you’re out. More recently, I came here for a birthday. We ordered some cold tea for the table, which was surprisingly delicious and strong. I think it’s about $ 20 for a pot (serves 2).
We started off with some fries as appetizers. We ordered the normal fries and also the loaded fries. I recommend the loaded fries — it’s covered in some delicious sauce that has some tofu in it. It’s like Asian inspired poutine. My friend and I shared our food, and we started with the sucking pig bun, definitely delicious, but I don’t think it was worth the $ 8 – 9 it was. We also ordered the calamari and the chicken and waffles. The calamari was good, very salty. It literally is just a mound of calamari and I wish it came with something else. The chicken and waffles were delish! There’s a strange yellow sauce of some sort that they throw on, which I was not pleased with. I didn’t think it tasted good. But what they use is Asian egg puffs as the waffle and the fried chicken was delicious. Overall, I think the Asian inspire poutine and the fried chicken and waffles ($ 15) were the best dishes. And more worth your money.
I don’t know if I’m wicked excited to come back here or not. I thought it was good, but I’m not itching to come back for the dishes I had tried. But overall it was okay!

This is a very hip and trendy place with some interesting drinks and tapas style dishes. We got the mushroom steam buns and the fish tacos — they were both simple but elevated dishes. The depth of flavor in both dishes was very interesting.

Eclectic cocktail menu and good ambience. Pumpkin Spice-​y Mazemen and Sesame Charred Greens were excellent.

NOTE: The review below was drafted in winter 2014 for Shojo’s Chicken & Waffle v2.0. It is a seasonal offering and is different for winter 2015 (v3.0), Unfortunately, at last check, HeySong Sarsaparilla was also no longer stocked. It is a delicacy that has always been hard to find on the East Coast, so forgivable.
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The most amazing take on Chicken & Waffle that I think I will ever find.
Pair it with a HeySong Sarsaparilla for an extra special kick!
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As good as v2.0 was, I’m confident that v3.0 is just as good. Shojo’s recipes are delicious and focused on both quality and presentation. The only frustrating thing — which they do clearly note — is that the menu is fluid and could change at any time. So if you find something that you absolutely love one day, it may not be there the next.

I had such high expectations… I really did. I was so excited to try what looked to be an amazing chicken and waffle, and I have to say, it was just normal, nothing to write home about. Chicken was kind of bland, actually.
They get positive marks for great drinks and the awesome duck fat fries. The few baos that we tried, they were just meh. The service was also good — they were attentive, our waters were always full.
Maybe it will be better with another visit, but with so many 4 star places around, it may be awhile before we get back here.

Superhappyfunmakeagoodtimeagogo. Oh yes, still remember the name of this drink. Located right in Chinatown, this grungy, hip small plates bar was a really surprising find. Not a huge spot, but there’s one or two larger tables for those that like to travel in packs. We sat at the bar because we wanted drinks.
Started off with Tea for Two (we split that for 3), it’s served in the usual metal tea pot and white ceramic tea cups you normally get with dim sum. The drink was well balanced, nicely chilled and refreshing. I likey, let’s keep exploring!
There was a gin cocktail with a cucumber ice cube, can’t remember the name, but it’s good. Very nice and quite innovative. I am totally stealing that idea. The last drink we had, which I was quite apprehensive about, was the Superhappyfunmakeagoodtimeagogo or a «gogo» for short. It’s got absinthe in it, which after a having too much on a particular night out in Prague, made me a bit queasy just thinking about it, but ya know what, I’ll give most things another chance. This was probably my favorite, I could do another. Definitely, try it out unless you prefer being verysadgolockmyselfinabasement.

So happy I found this gem. Discovered it via some «Best Restaurants in Boston» list and it didn’t disappoint. It’s American-​Asian fusion and small plates style — great for a big group. There were six of us and I think we got something like 12 plates total (maybe more). I actually think we got one of everything on the menu! Tab ended up being about $ 30 a person with everyone getting a drink, not bad at all. We were also very full and the atmosphere is pretty cool. It has a chill, underground vibe. Kind of small but I kind of liked that! Also it can be kind of hard to spot from the outside so look up – the building is graffiti-​ed and so is the sign.
They don’t take reservations but we had no problem getting in with six people on Tuesday night. I hear it can get crowded on the weekends (for good reason).

Came here with my wife after an afternoon in the city. We got to Shojo at around 3:30, so just as they were transitioning to dinner. We were the only people there, but that meant super fast service! With the recommendations of the waitress we got the tiger ribs and the shojonator. In addition to those dishes we got the pork bao and the fries (not shadowless). All the food was great, and the prices are super reasonable. Definitely a solid 4 stars.

I had this place bookmarked for a while after reading so many great reviews and the wait was totally worth it. Tapas style dinner menu that is great for after work, date night or just a night out with friends. Awesomely urban space off an unexpected street but it just goes to show how many hidden treasures Boston has. Shojo is one to splurge, stuff your face and feel trendy doing it. Let me list what my group had: Duck fat fries, Japanese Eggplant Bao, Wu-​Tang Tiger Style Ribs,
Yellowfin Tuna Sashimi. Drinks: Gin Gin Mule, Mizu Sunrise, and Old Fashioned. I must HIGHLY recommend getting the sashimi, this was my first time ever having sashimi and my gosh, life changing. All the dishes are playful with textures, unexpected presentation (the Bao), and the service is impeccable. They allowed us to enjoy each dish before bringing out the others. No need to say I’ll be back, I’m in love.

Awesome spot in Chinatown. From the outside you can tell it’s a cool spot and completely differs from the neon signs in the window of the other restaurants. Super cool vibe throughout the place from the décor to the menu selections. They are basically all tapas style. The calamari is okay, nothing I haven’t had before but the rice is delish!
Service is also a big reason why this place is getting a 5 star. The drink menu can be confusing and I ended up with an old fashion (I thought it was a whiskey base with added liquid flavor a based of the description but it wasn’t) but I didn’t want to complain however the server noticed and contacted the manager to get me another drink. Great initiative on her end and super thoughtful. Also one of the serves spilt water in my friend and got our party of 6 a round of shots, I’ve had serves spill water on my phone and didn’t get an apology so his actions were above and beyond.
They don’t take reservations but cool place for birthday dinners, girls night, or all the above.

The samurai over at Shojo sure know how to fuse Asian fare. It’s something that seems out-​of-​place in the more traditional — and grungy — Chinatown. And I welcome its presence.
The cocktails are inventive — get the Kamehama even though chili vodka, lime, and coconut milk sound like a gross combo. You’ll feel tingly, refreshed, and downright hip.
Make sure to upgrade those award-​winning duck fat fries to «shadowless» for a delightfully different type of poutine. Sausage, tofu, gravy, and kimchee velveeta (!!!) top a mound of fries that are just begging to be devoured.
Skip the salt n peppa calamari. They are too breaded with no flavor, so essentially it’s just chewy fried with a lackluster aioli.
If you’re looking for a bigger dish, go with the sweet corn ramen. It’s not a soup but rather ramen noodles in a thick broth with veggies and an egg to perfectly drip its yolky goodness over everything it touches.
We finished the meal by splitting a bottle of soju. It literally tastes like alcoholic water. But considering we were at Shojo, soju just seemed right.
The graffiti mural, dim lighting, and windows overlooking Chinatown create a sense of a joint only for the most progressive Asian fusion aficionados. That may not be me — but I can pretend.

Too much fusion leads to confusion. I like fusion food because highlights the chef’s creativity and understanding of what kinds of foods and flavors go together. But sometimes when one attempts to mix too many unrelated ingredients together, it leads to confusion on the palate.
I came here on a couple of occasions for drinks and food since my last review. I think the drinks are great but the food from the kitchen has not been up to par. I tried the chicken and waffles. I thought the idea was brilliant, but the execution was poor. I love Hong Kong egg waffles and Taiwanese salt and pepper fried chicken and the two seem to go together if they were done correctly, but there were a lot of technical issues with the dish. First, the egg waffles were too cake-​y and dough-​y. Second, the chicken was too salty. Third, the syrup that they used was really weird. It tasted like a fireball shot. They should work on their menu.
This place is good for drinks. Stick with ordering duck fat fries if you want some snacks.

I had always been curious about this place and like that their menu changes seasonally. Friday after work I stopped in here for an early dinner with one of my best friends who was visiting. The space is pretty cool. It’s fairly dark inside with some graphics on the walls, industrial-​sleek furnishings and a large bar.
Food-​we ordered the suckling pig bao which was fantastic. Spicy, savory and sweet all at the same time on a dreamy steamed bun. It was topped with an extra hot jalapeño that added a nice crunch and balanced well with bbq sauce. We also ordered the duck-​fat fries and you betta believe we made them shadowless which were excellent (topped with grilled beef, cheese sauce, and tofu (I know, I judged before tasting too but it was good). The Wu-​tang ribs were on-​point and truly fell right off the bone, like legitimately picked one up and it happened. Gooey, spicy, and topped with fried shallots because why not? Lastly, we ordered the Thai empanadas which had a nice filling of beef and spices but the emps were deep fried and fairly greasy to the point that we will have to pass on that one next time.
Drinks-​We ordered the «cold tea for two» which is deceiving because it arrives in a hot looking tea kettle but have no fear, it’s cold and basically pure vodka infused with fruity goodness. It isn’t overly sweet but two small palm size teas cups and you will be in a happy place.
Service – they rocked it out. Multiple people came over and asked how everything was and if we had everything we needed. We chatted with a couple waiters because well they were nice, checked in with everyone and service was quick! Eager to see what new items pop up on their menu!