Encore Casino Restaurants
Rare, a steakhouse, and Sinatra are both fine dining restaurants at Encore. Sinatra, is one of only two restaurants authorized to use the late singer’s name by his family. The other one is at the. The Encore store will be Dunkin’s 16th U.S. Casino location. The company says its menu will be “typical to that of traditional Dunkin’ restaurants.” But not everything inside Encore will. When Encore Boston Harbor opens on Sunday, June 23, not all the action will be on the gaming floor. The sprawling casino-resort also boasts 15—count ’em, 15—different bars and restaurants. Documents filed by Wynn Resorts show a complete list of the 15 bars and restaurants planned for the Everett casino, which is scheduled to open June 23. LAS VEGAS – Wynn Resorts is reducing hours at Encore due to lack of demand on The Strip. 19, the hotel, casino, restaurants and amenities will be open from 2 p.m. Thursdays to noon.
The Gaming Commission agreed Wednesday to allow three of the restaurants at Encore Boston Harbor to sell alcoholic beverages with take-out food orders and the chairwoman encouraged people to consider getting their Thanksgiving meal from the Everett casino.
Rare Steakhouse, Red 8 and Mystique at Encore Boston Harbor can now offer sealed containers of beer, wine and cocktails for sale with to-go food orders, consistent with legislation passed earlier this year to allow restaurants to sell take-out alcohol.
The commission voted to amend the casino’s gaming beverage licenses immediately to facilitate the change.
“This is an opportunity too for patrons who may not be going into the gaming establishment right now or newcomers to Encore to maybe do a different Thanksgiving and go to Rare and have a different experience,” Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein said at Wednesday’s meeting. “So I’m delighted that we are able to accommodate the timing and I hope that it’s an opportunity to perhaps just enjoy something different for those who might be looking for that tomorrow.”
An April law allowed restaurants to sell beer and wine alongside takeout and delivery, and the governor signed an update in July to allow restaurants to sell limited quantities of beer, wine and mixed drinks for off-premises consumption through February 2021 or until the COVID-19 state of emergency is lifted, whichever comes later.
Jacqui Krum, senior vice president at Encore Boston Harbor, said the casino intends to make beer and wine available at Rare and Red 8, possibly as part of a dinner-and-wine pairing menu.
Mystique may offer mixed drinks, she said.
Casinos and restaurants in Massachusetts must stop serving customers at 9:30 p.m. each night and officials said the casino’s restaurants have been getting a decent number of take-out orders around that time each night from players who want to pick up a meal on their way out of the casino.
Restaurants In Encore Casino Boston
(Copyright (c) 2020 State House News Service.
Restaurant OpeningsFrom hard-to-find steaks to creative lobster rolls (and plenty of cocktails), your guide to all 15 dining and drinking destinations.
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When Encore Boston Harbor opens on Sunday, June 23, not all the action will be on the gaming floor. The sprawling casino-resort also boasts 15—count ’em, 15—different bars and restaurants demanding your attention. Where to start? How to navigate? Here’s your handy guide to all the action, sorted by the amount of local-color imbued by Encore’s Vegas-based developers. Think you can gorge your way through all these? Good luck.
Extremely Boston
Fratelli
What do you get when two bigwigs in Boston’s Italian-dining scene team up for a restaurant at a casino? Most likely, something that resembles the kind of place where Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, and Ray Liotta hash out a dicey deal in a movie soundtracked by Dean Martin standards. But there’s only one way to find out for sure: Hit up Fratelli, where Frank DePasquale (whose empire includes Bricco and Mare Oyster Bar) and Nick Varano (of the many Strega restaurants) will serve fresh pastas, brick-oven pizzas, and entrées such as lobster fra diavolo in a 150-seat spot. (To learn more about how the power-duo came together, head here.) Open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m.
Truffled salmon carpaccio from the menu at Mystique, opening soon at Encore Boston. / Photos courtesy of Big Night Entertainment Group
Mystique
Although executive chef Anthony Micari and sushi chef Tony Mai were imported from Miami’s acclaimed Makoto, Mystique is actually the latest homegrown venture from the folks at Big Night Entertainment Group, one of Boston’s biggest restaurant-nightlife portfolios. Big Night already has experience in the somewhat-local casino-resort space: They have venues at Foxwoods, including a location of their Back Bay-founded Red Lantern restaurant. At Mystique, expect Japanese-inspired cuisine that makes good use of a robata grill, wok-fried dishes, street noodles, sushi, and other elevated-izakaya offerings. The 450-seat room will also offer “a seductive atmosphere against the backdrop of Boston’s skyline.” Woo us, baby. (Want more info? Head here.) Open Sunday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m to 1 a.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Food is served from 11:30 a.m. to 12 a.m. daily.
Memoire
You won’t be eating here. (Unless you count the gummies stowed in your purse–which we’re not endorsing, just noting.) But this massive nightclub, adorned with “gold surfaces, plush leather accents, custom marble tables, [and] glistening chandeliers,” will certainly have plenty of cocktails for imbibing while you dance to globe-trotting DJs like R3HAB, who opens things on Sunday; dubstep guru Steve Aoki, who spins on Monday, June 24; and Diesel, aka basketball legend and Kazaam star Shaquille O’Neal, who arrives on Thursday, June 27. It also comes from Big Night Entertainment Group, and though Boston has not been known as a clubbing capital in recent years, new BNEG projects like this, the Grand, and forthcoming Big Night Live are helping to change that. Open Friday through Sunday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Monday through Thursday hours vary.
Neptune Oyster chef John Ross is headed to two seafood-focused restaurants at Encore Boston Harbor: Waterfront and the Oyster Bar. / Photo provided
Waterfront
First of all, it’s not on the waterfront. Second of all, who cares? (Okay, we certainly wouldn’t have complained…) We will accept as consolation the presence of chef John Ross, formerly of the North End’s iconic Neptune Oyster, who will provide shareable, dressed-up pub food with a seafood focus. Neptune’s lobster roll is famous, so naturally Ross came up with a new one: This version is loaded with bacon, avocado, smoked-tomato aioli, and celery salad. Also on the agenda: a 32-selection lineup of exclusively New England-made craft beers on draft. The 27-seat bar will dominate the space, which seats 80 overall, in a leather- and wood-swathed room with an églomisé-style piece of back-painted glass depicting Boston Harbor. Drink until it looks like the real thing. (For more details on Waterfront, head here.) All-day menu served Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (plus beverage service only until 2 a.m.); and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The Oyster Bar
It’s an oyster bar! (Act surprised.) It’s also first-come, first-served at this 19-seat counter (buttressed by eight other seats), where chef John Ross will offer freshly-shucked shellfish netted exclusively in Northeast waters, plus ceviches, crudos, and a trio of mini lobster rolls dressed with brown butter-mayo. Beer and wine only. It’s like they know we’ll line up for this stuff; they’re not wrong. All-day menu served Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Dunkin’
Arguably nothing on this list is actually more Boston than a 24-hour (!!!) Dunkin’ at a casino. This could only be more-Boston if Ben Affleck and the Ghost of Mayor Menino were in line for Coolattas, arguing about whether they eva’ shoulda dropped the “Donuts.” Otherwise, we have peaked. Open 24 hours daily, because of course.
Mildly Boston
On Deck Burger Bar
Not that our city has a monopoly on gourmet-burger-sports-bars, but–come on. This is very on-brand for Boston, especially when you consider that they tapped a local chef to head it up: Jacqueline Bulio, previously of Scarlet Oak Tavern in Hingham and Quicks Hole Tavern in Woods Hole. Bulio has created some fancy patties, like a peppercorn-and-foie-gras burger, plus a bacon-cheeseburger salad, cheese-steak tater tots, and more game-day-apropos grub. Wash it down with craft beers (including an Encore-exclusive collaboration with Lord Hobo) in a 154-seat space with mahogany woods, plaid carpeting, and 33 (that’s, thirty-three!) 75-inch TVs. All-day menu served Sunday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Rare Steakhouse
On one hand, this chop shop will bear some similarity to its Sin City cousin, SW Steakhouse at the Wynn Las Vegas. But it’s “not going to be a cut and paste job,” says Warren Richards, Encore’s executive director of food and beverage. For one thing, it’s making good on its name: Rare will be the only place in New England to dine on certified-authentic Kobe beef, the most highly-prized variety of Japanese Wagyu (which is already fairly coveted). There’ll be other hard-to-find cuts, like Sanuki Olive Beef (available at only a few restaurants in North America), plus copious amounts of stellar Scotch. The 300-seat dining room eschews the typical dark-and-drab-steakhouse aesthetic in favor of cream tones and lots of marble. It boasts floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the Harborwalk, as well as a spacious seasonal patio. (Learn more about Rare here.) Dinner is served nightly from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The bar opens at 4 p.m. daily.
Garden Café
Chef Taylor Collis, a Rhode Island native and former executive sous chef at Boston Harbor Hotel, moves to Encore to lead this “elevated all-day dining experience” focused on “American-derived classics” with an eye toward “indigenous ingredients” from “local purveyors.” Shorter version: It’s a farm-to-fork café. File under Boston.
Very Vegas
The dining room at Sinatra. / Photo provided
Sinatra
The award-winning, fancy-pants Italian restaurant at the Wynn Las Vegas receives a sibling in Boston, where images of Ol’ Blue Eyes will gaze upon thee whilst thou devour veal parmesan, Ossobuco “My Way,” and other crooner-referencing menu items. Dinner is served nightly from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The bar opens at 4 p.m. daily.
The dining room at Red 8. / Photo by Barbara Kraft
Red 8
It’s all about classy Chinese cuisine in a scarlet-hued space at Red 8, the fourth iteration of a high-end brand with other locations in Las Vegas and Macau. Chef Ivan Yuen “blends the regions of China, incorporating Cantonese and dim sum classics as well as the flavors of Shanghai and Sichuan.” Plan on Peking duck prepared in a wood-fired oven and Sampan-style king crab, offered in an ornate interior with red crocodile walls and railings, mahogany and brass decor accents, and marble floors. (For additional details, head here.) All-day menu served Sunday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 a.m.
The Buffet
Every casino needs a buffet, but this colorful, quirky, sophisticated setup is not the kind of place grandma nests for early-bird specials. Chef Sydney Semedo, alum of the Mandarin Oriental Boston, will bring fine-dining finesse to the buffet format, which will have plenty of surf- and turf-oriented stations, plus a splay of indulgent desserts. Brunch served on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; lunch served Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; and dinner served daily from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
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Bru
If Dunkin’ is just too déclassé for your high-roller tastes, head to Bru. This spiffy, 24-hour java joint serves coffee, tea, and espresso concoctions that’ll keep you caffeinated for marathon bouts at the blackjack table. There’s also plenty of pastries for noshing with pinkies lifted. Open 24 hours daily; breakfast selections are featured from 5 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Center Bar
A 28-seat hangout in the middle of the gaming floor, where you can grab beer, wine, and cocktails for fortifying your courage back at the games–or, you know, drowning your sorrows if you just hemorrhaged next month’s rent. (Don’t do that.) Open daily from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Garden Lounge
A craft cocktail hangout above the lobby, described as “secluded” and feeling like “a delicious secret.” Read: Head here when you need to ditch your Tinder date. Sunday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 12 a.m.
Read more about how to have the most fun possible at the Encore Boston Harbor Casino