Credit AmEx, DC, Disc, MC, V. Chef-owner Frank McClelland serves toweringly exquisite food at towering prices in a Back Bay brownstone. Known for its intimacy, hyperattentive service and an unequalled seven-course prix fixe meal, L'Espalier is the location of up to three marriage proposals a night and is not quite matched by anything else in the city. There are restaurants and then there are crazy little outposts of aesthetic. This Cuban storefront just outside Back Bay is decorated entirely with 1950s American kitsch, all for sale. It fills up at night with locals, students, musicians and arty types who sit at 1950s kitchen tables, drink sangria, eat fried plantains, chicken dumplings and Cuban sandwiches, and trade pleasantries with the effusive owner, Oz Mondejar.
Opening hours vary seasonally, so phone to check.
Brunch served 11.30am-3pm Sat, Sun. People come for that scene more than for the food, though the latter is capable enough - there's an eclectic menu of gourmet pizzas, Northern Italian pasta dishes and the like. Downstairs is a kitschy-fun Spanish sherry bar. The list of Spanish wines is extensive and very nicely presented. The place is often crowded, so arrive early or book a table.