Sharing the same open room as a fashion boutique, Persephone is a wi-fi-wired art space/bar/restaurant with a DJ booth, video games, and an eco-forward ethos. But don’t expect lo-cal, boutique-shopper-friendly food like grilled-chicken salads or tuna burgers. No way. Instead, executive chef Michael Leviton, of Lumière fame, is serving up wholly satisfying dishes like colossal roasted beef marrowbones, split lengthwise for easy access and dripping with fat and pure carnal decadence. If that doesn’t make shoppers regret purchasing those skinny jeans, the duck egg en cocotte with wild mushrooms will: A gremolata adds herbal levity to each bite of silky egg, while the mushroom’s earthiness drags the yolk’s rich sunshine into a deeper world of flavor.
Not everything on Leviton’s menu is a dieter’s nightmare, though. Grilled squid—tender to the point of being buttery—with parsley salad is a deceptively simple dish, in which pungent oil-cured olives, creamy chickpeas, and thin strands of preserved lemon zest exalt the basic flavors of the squid and parsley.
There are some missteps. A deftly executed whole grilled wild black bass is overwhelmed by the puddle of bright mustard vinaigrette on the plate; the delicately sweet fish, imbued with a subtle smokiness, needs no adornment other than salt. And dishes like red curry chicken wings, Chinese-esque pork ribs, and crispy shrimp with garlic and chiles are puzzling additions, only satisfactory at best. (Though I suppose any Greek mythology geek would tell you to expect a little duplicity from a place with this name.)
Still, for the most part, Persephone’s food is solid, and the spartan, warehouse-y dining room is the perfect foil for Leviton’s unfussy fare.
Persephone 283 Summer St., Boston, MA (617-695-2257)
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