Contessa
Venue Brief
Major Food Group’s glass-roofed Italian trattoria on the top floor of The Newbury hotel, looking over the Public Garden to a well-heeled Back Bay dinner and brunch crowd.
Venue Details
- Vibe
- Chic/LuxuryScenicDate Night
- Age guide
- 25-45
- Dress code
- Smart Casual
- Cuisine
- Italian
- Demographic
- CouplesSocialitesYoung Professionals
- Music genre
- Lounge/Chill House
- Price
- $$$$
- Open season
- Year-round
- Clientele
- LocalsAmerican
- Offerings
- Table ServiceBrunchPrivate DiningValet
- Open times
- Mon 6:30 – 11 AM, 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM, 5 – 10 PMTue 6:30 – 11 AM, 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM, 5 – 10 PMWed 6:30 – 11 AM, 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM, 5 – 10 PMThu 6:30 – 11 AM, 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM, 5 – 11 PM BestFri 6:30 – 11 AM, 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM, 5 – 11 PM BusySat 7 AM – 2:30 PM, 5 – 11 PM BusySun 7 AM – 2:30 PM, 5 – 10 PM
- Vibe score
- 5.6 / 10
Address
Contact
About Contessa
Tiled floors, pink banquettes, potted citrus trees and a striped awning ceiling fill the glasshouse on the top floor of The Newbury, with the Public Garden and the Back Bay skyline beyond the windows and a long wood-panelled bar lined with velvet stools. The cooking is Italian in the Major Food Group manner — burrata, meatballs, lasagne, veal milanese, lobster pasta, whole branzino — and Google places it in the $100-plus band. Breakfast starts at 6:30am, lunch follows, and dinner runs to 11pm Thursday through Saturday. Across 1,813 reviews averaging 4.1, the verdict is consistent: the room, the view and the staff are the draw, while several diners find the cooking under-seasoned for the price. One regular recommends the bar counter, where a lunch can drift into a Friday night. Reservations are required for tables, and the dress is polished rather than formal.
