Boston Buzz: Wink & Nod

The South End’s speak easy of days long gone, Wink & Nod, is a great spot to grab a cocktail, dinner or celebrate a special occasion with friends. Wink & Nod, located on Appleton Street,  opened in 2014. While there may be a few other speak easy type bars and restaurants in Boston, I think Wink & Nod really executes the trend well. The first time I went to Wink & Nod with a girlfriend for some post-dinner drinks, we actually walked by the entrance and couldn’t find it. The sign is small and hard to find- just what you would want if you were operating a speak easy during Prohibition era.

A few weeks ago MJD and I went to Wink & Nod for dinner. The ambiance in Wink & Nod makes for a romantic dinner. One flight down, you’ll find a big bar area, complete with gorgeous chandeliers and some truly unique cocktails. There’s a small dining area and also a lounge area with a few couches. The lounge area would be perfect for a birthday celebration with friends. While the ambiance was great at Wink & Nod, the lighting was not very conducive to good pictures of the food, but I’ll give you a full run down anyways 🙂

The stars of Wink & Nod are their delicious cocktails. My favorite cocktail was the Indian Summer. The Indian Summer features gin, grapefruit, St. Germain and house made ginger beer. MJD’s favorite was The Getaway which is a scotch based drink.

With all the emphasis placed on the drink menu, you might be curious what the food is like. At Wink & Nod, they feature a different pop-up kitchen every 6 months featuring local chefs. Many of the chefs are trying out what it may be like to open their own restaurant and have the opportunity to do so by being the visiting chef at Wink & Nod. During our visit, Bread & Salt Hospitality was the feature in the pop-up kitchen and they will be there through the end of this month. We started the night with the fondue special. It was served in the cutest mini Le Creuset cocotte with roasted brussel sprouts, cauliflower , toast and broccoli. For my entree, I ordered the tagliatelle. The tagliatelle was made from spinach and served with beets and goat cheese. It’s like the pasta version of a beet salad- and while I love a beet salad, I love me some pasta, so thought this was a delicious combination. For dessert, we shared the deconstructed candy bar. We loved it! It was a really unique take on dessert and candy, with chocolate, krispies and ice cream.

Wink & Nod made for a great date night for MJD and me. It also was a lot of fun to go to for drinks with girlfriends. I’ll definitely be back and am looking forward to trying some of the new pop-up kitchens to come at Wink & Nod.

xoxo, Jenna