Pairings? Really?

If you've been in the Boston area for a few years, you probably remember a forgettable Todd English place called Bonfire. It was located on the Boston Park plaza hotel. Well, apparently the location has some special kind of cursed vibe, because now there's a wine bar called Pairings, and it's almost as disappointing as Bonfire...

My wife and I heard about the place and were very excited. Finally! A proper wine bar in Boston! After checking out some great places in New York and California, we felt that finally Boston was getting its due. But alas, we were disappointed :( There's more variety and ambiance at the local wine shop's evening tasting than at this place!

The place is for all intents and purposes a wine bar, but with a name like pairings, you'd expect at the very least-well-pairings! If you consider a general-purpose listing of average American wines, a sprinkle of usual Napa names and a smidgen of other wines on two pages, followed by a tiny menu of bar bites "Pairings", then you've arrive at the correct place! I expected a proper wine bar and what I got was more akin to a wine expo: No character, just a pile of average wines to sample with a few recognizable names here and there.

We asked the bartender if there were any pairings with the wines, he replied: "no". Strike one. We then asked: "Do you offer wine flights?" and he replied "Flights? What's that?" (Strike two) We explained and then he retorted: "No". Strike three... Even after all that, we still decided to look over the wine list by the glass. We sighed, then walked out.

It's sad to see a business with so much unrealized potential go untapped. With a better rounded list, a quasi-knowledgeable staff, and actual pairings and other proper wine bar features besides a pretend cellar room, the place could be so much more. I am sure that the competition from restaurants doing their own feature wine nights offer options (and competition) for those of us that actually want to experience wine, so maybe I'm missing the point. Maybe what they're trying to do is to take the pub experience and apply it to wine: Provide some selection, keep margins high and get the average muck that sells cheap but rakes in a good profit.

All that ranting notwithstanding, maybe you like the place as-is, or we walked in on a bad day where the good staff was at home. Maybe, but I am certain that their chance for a first impression is long gone, and I will not make any effort to return there.

Later,