Somerville, Massachusetts
Pre-Visit Thoughts
We’ve been wanting to check out Field & Vine for a while after we saw their shout out in Boston Magazine and looked through their natural wine selection. It seems like a wonderful mix of the local food, letting those ingredients do the heavy lifting and pairing this local produce with natural wine that has the same mentality in growth and production as the local produce they source. Seeing as it’s pretty tough to get a table there on the weekends, our expectations are pretty high!
Their Story
Field & Vine comes from the original pop-up company Company Picnic, which was famous for its rustic food at breweries and vineyards. After a few years of doing this, the couple, Sarah Markey and Andrew Brady launched a Kickstarter campaign (with the cutest video) to open Field & Vine. The story behind it definitely made us way more excited to go (plus looking at the wine list).
Our Impression
Location: Tucked away in Union Square in Somerville right by Backbar and Bronwyn. It feels like you have to know it’s here to be able to come.
Interior: Full of plants, wood structures and floor to ceiling windows at the front of the restaurant.
Ambiance: Feels a bit like eating in a terrarium with all the plant life around, classic music like the Beatles, in the background. Beautifully wildflowers sit on the table with candles, creating a really nice intimacy at the table. There’s a large running fire in the kitchen, which you can see behind the bar. It was a rainy day for us so it felt especially cozy on this day.
Vibe: A lot of dates and a few couples out with their parents. Pretty much everything is a share plate so you’ll want to go with people you’re comfortable smacking forks with on a serving tray.
Furniture: Wood on wood for the most part. Lots of wooden booths with white wood chairs. They also have some fun funky green barstools at the bar where you can overlook them preparing the meal.
Stemware: Standard stemware, different sizes for the reds and whites.
Tableware: There’s a huge mix of serving dishes from wood bowls for the focaccia to multiple colors of ceramic dishes and even some cast iron.
What We Ordered - Wine
I wish it were actually all of these
As usual, we started with a sparkling that made for a delicious beginning to the meal.
Sparking: I Vini di Giovanni Ciliegiolo - I’ve been super stoked to try this wine since Marissa Ross posted about it back in July. It definitely did not disappoint and I’m dreaming about having another glass this week. One of the best finishes I’ve seen on a Pet-Nat so far.
Because the majority of our meals were veggies and seafood, we went with a bottle of white for the meal.
White: Cour-Cheverny Blanc - Easy drinking wine that paired really well with our veggies. It has an apple cider vinegar quality to it and some green melon. Very refreshing.
Being beverage people, we did another sparkling, an after-dinner drink and a coffee with our desserts to get some variety.
Aperitif: Averna - Always delivers what you’re looking for as an entry point aperitif drink. Gives a lot of licorice, plum, blackberry, cassis, and menthol.
Sparkling: Les Evèques Leucquois Brut - My initial impression was it was quite frothy and incredibly light for rose wine. Strawberries and a bit like a sour punch on the finish. It was good, but after the Pet-Nat, it couldn’t compete.
Coffee: Ethiopian Yirgacheffe - One of our favorite kinds of coffee beans, it was clear it was a drip (also reflected in the price point at $3). I would charge $9 for these beans and move to a pour-over or French press system.
BTG List Impression: Small selection that covers a lot of ground. They have an orange wine and that delicious Ciliegiolo that got really high marks from me. I also tried a taste of the Trebbiano and the Chardonnay that both had great qualities, but ultimately we went with the bottle instead.
Bottle List Impression: A lot of variety in geography and grape type, like an Aligote vs a Burgundian Chardonnay. We had a lot of fun talking through the different options for whites and there were a few I’d want to go back and try out next time.
What We Ordered - Food
This was another share plate style menu where we decided to make our appetizers the lightest dishes then move into heavier ones.
Appetizer: Lots of snack options to choose from while the rest of the meals are prepped, we chose:
Focaccia - We could have put it with tahini, rhubarb chutney or butter. We picked butter and found it to be delicious with the goey center of the bread and crusty exterior.
Entrees: This was another share plate style menu where we decided to make our appetizers the lightest dishes then move into heavier ones:
Salted Hakurei Turnips - As a big turnips fan, this was probably my favorite dish. It was incredibly fresh with cilantro and other greens and the sauce balanced it really well.
Grilled Beets - Paired with roasted pear and grilled halloumi it was really nice to slice the perfect bite of each and pair it with the basil.
Warm Mushroom Salad - The greens that came with it were really crunchy and delicious. The consistency of the mushrooms wasn’t what I was expecting, but the flavor combination was on point.
Ricotta Toast - Roasting it in the fire, the warm center with the crusty exterior, the ricotta was delicate and the peppers were just the right amount to not have anyone part overpowering the other.
Scallop Ceviche - Made with coconut milk, cilantro, plus curry and pumpkin it had a fresh and fall taste to it. Instead of bread, they paired with paprika crackers, which were a good format for the scallops, but after having so much warm gooey bread it wasn’t as exciting.
Dessert: The menu has some dessert options plus cheese options. We thought about doing cheese and some more wines, but the desserts both sounded so good that we went for one of each.
Pot de Creme - a Really nice mix of chocolate, whipped cream, and lavender. Was very light and fresh. Came in a huge container, could have probably been about half the size (not that we’re complaining!)
Apple Tarte Tatin - The bottom crust had a really nice touch of ginger. LOTs of apples and honey crisps on the top. I paired really well with our dessert wines and was very satisfying to crunch.
Takeaways:
All in all, it was a lovely experience on an otherwise crumby-rainy day in Boston. It was clear the warmth Sarah and Andrew have put into it and we’d like to go back in different seasons to see how their food and wine change. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for fresh foods and natural wine in the Boston area!
General Facts:
Website: https://www.fieldandvinesomerville.com/
Address: 9 Sanborn Ct, Somerville, MA 02143
Opened: 2017
Hours of Operation:
Tuesday to -Thursday: 5-10 pm
Friday & Saturday: 5-10:30pm
(Will be launching a Saturday Lunch soon)
Sunday & Monday: Closed
Pricing: $$ - For the quality of the food, we would say Field & Vine is very reasonably priced.
Social:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/field_and_vine/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fieldandvinerestaurant
Looking for natural wine around Boston? Check out our post on where to find it!
Natural Wine in Boston
