Mario Batali’s next Boston restaurant might be a raw bar on the waterfront
The celebrity chef and Eataly honcho has a thing for Boston’s seafood scene.
In an interview with Boston.com prior to the grand opening of Eataly Boston Tuesday, celebrity chef Mario Batali said that he could envision himself pursuing a new restaurant on the waterfront in the next 18 to 24 months, but wanted to make sure Eataly was running smoothly before jumping into a new project.As it turns out, Batali’s waterfront plans — perhaps expectedly — involve seafood.“I’ve always loved the idea of a ceviche and raw bar with a great beer program,” Batali told the Boston Herald, confirming that he was eyeing somewhere on the waterfront for the project.Batali entered the Boston dining scene in 2015 with the opening of Fort Point’s Babbo Pizzeria e Enoteca, which offers brick-oven pizza and a variety of pasta, antipasti, and gelato. But Boston’s seafood scene seems to be calling Batali’s name.Each of Eataly’s locations has a designated theme, and Eataly Boston’s is seafood. Arguably its most exciting restaurant is Il Pesce, a seafood eatery with a menu curated by critically acclaimed Boston restaurateur Barbara Lynch. When asked by Boston.com on Tuesday what chefs and restaurants in Boston excite him, Batali clearly had crudo on the mind.“Anywhere where I can get a couple Nantucket-based scallops on the shell,” Batali said. “I’m less interested in technique at this point, in my salty old age, than I am in product. It’s the truly confident chef that knows to buy a scallop, put a little drop of olive oil on it, and not do anything to it at all.”
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