Mistral Boston: South End French Restaurant Menu Guide

Mistral Boston, the French Mediterranean restaurant at 223 Columbus Avenue in the South End, has served dinner on the same block since 1997. Chef and owner Jamie Mammano is still listed as executive chef, and the menu still leans on dishes regulars have ordered for decades, from tuna tartare to Dover sole meunière. Dinner starts at 5:30 p.m. every night.

This guide draws on Mistral’s own website and posted menu as of Oct. 20, 2026, its OpenTable listing and past Boston Magazine coverage. It is not based on a paid or anonymous visit, and prices can change without notice.

Mistral’s History: A South End Fine Dining Landmark Since 1997

Mammano opened Mistral with partners Paul Roiff and Seth Greenberg. Before that, he spent about 10 years cooking for the Four Seasons Hotel Company, and as executive chef of the Four Seasons Hotel Boston he led its dining room, Aujourd’hui, to the No. 1 spot in the 1995 Zagat Survey of Boston restaurants, according to his company biography. He trained at the Culinary Institute of America and has cooked as a guest chef at the James Beard House.

Boston Magazine reported in 2017 that Roiff bought and rehabbed a circa-1860s building on the edge of Back Bay and the South End in 1996, before the neighborhood was known as a dining destination, and anchored it with a large, upscale restaurant. Soon after it opened, Mistral was named one of Esquire’s “Top 25 New Restaurants in America,” and Food & Wine called its room the “Sexiest Bar,” according to Columbus Hospitality Group, the company that grew out of Mistral. That group now also runs Sorellina, Ostra and the Mooo steakhouses, including Mooo Burlington, which replaced L’Andana in July 2022.

Mistral sits in a stretch of the South End that has become one of the city’s busiest dining corridors. Our guides to Toro’s Spanish tapas and Coppa’s Italian small plates cover two more of the neighborhood’s well-known kitchens.

Mistral Boston Menu Highlights and Prices

The restaurant describes its food as French at the foundation, brightened with olive oil, herbs, seafood and produce from the Provençal coast, and says the menu turns with the seasons. In 2017, director of operations Mark D’Alessandro told Boston Magazine that “a good portion of our menu has been the same for 20 years,” and that guests come specifically for the tuna tartare, the tenderloin pizza, the rack of lamb and the Dover sole. The fall menu posted on Mistral’s site includes these dishes:

• Sushi-grade tuna tartare ($32): served with crispy wontons, ginger and soy, one of the long-running signatures.
• Maine crab ravioli ($27): rock crab in a thyme and tomato broth, one of the most-reviewed dishes on OpenTable.
• Classic escargots ($21): Burgundy style, with red wine, garlic butter and semolina toast.
• Heirloom squash bisque ($22): a fall soup with maple crème fraîche, baked “en croûte,” with toasted pepitas.
• Thin-crust pizzas from the grill ($28 to $38): the beef tenderloin version adds mashed potato, caramelized onion and white truffle oil for $38.
• Main courses: Dover sole meunière with lemon and capers, grilled Faroe Island salmon, a half roasted duck with mushroom risotto, veal Milanese and pan-roasted halibut. The restaurant’s site does not list main-course prices; OpenTable’s listing, last updated Oct. 12, 2026, shows the salmon at $48 and the halibut at $64.
• Sides and dessert: Mistral fries are $13 ($17 with truffle). Pastry chef Shane Gray’s list includes chocolate profiteroles with pistachio ice cream, a warm Valrhona chocolate torte, crème brûlée and a warm Fuji apple tart.

Gluten-free pasta is available on request, and the menu asks guests to tell their server about food allergies. OpenTable places the restaurant in its “$31 to $50” price band, but a three-course dinner with drinks will usually run well past that.

Atmosphere: The Bar, the Dining Room and Le Salon du Mistral

The dining room has tall arched windows and hand-picked pottery meant to evoke Provence, according to the restaurant’s OpenTable description. The bar opens 30 minutes before the dining room and serves a wine list that favors French and Mediterranean producers. Seating options include the main dining room, a lounge with marble-top tables and the bar itself.

For groups, Le Salon du Mistral is a private dining room that seats 60 for dinner and holds up to 80 for a reception. The restaurant also books it for corporate lunches. Mistral’s site says most guests wear smart casual to business attire, and OpenTable lists the dress code as business casual. The restaurant is taking Thanksgiving reservations for Nov. 26, 2026, through OpenTable.

Mistral Hours, Reservations, Parking and Getting There

• Address: 223 Columbus Ave., Boston, MA 02116, between Berkeley and Clarendon streets.
• Phone: 617-867-9300.
• Dinner hours (per Mistral’s website): Monday through Thursday 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., and Sunday 5:30 to 8 p.m. The bar opens at 5 p.m. daily. OpenTable lists slightly later closing times, so call ahead for a late table.
• Reservations: Strongly encouraged, especially on weekends, around holidays and during theater and symphony season. Book through the restaurant’s site or OpenTable, where Mistral holds a 4.8 rating from more than 6,600 reviews.
• Parking: Valet costs $30, with pickup on Columbus Avenue. The restaurant does not validate garage parking but points diners to the 100 Clarendon Garage. It also offers free car service within two miles of the restaurant on request.
• Transit: Back Bay Station on the Orange Line is a short walk, as are the Copley and Arlington stops on the Green Line.

Is Mistral Worth It?

Mistral is a fit for anniversaries, business dinners and pre-theater meals, since it is a short walk from the Theater District and Back Bay hotels. It is not a casual weeknight bistro, and pizzas at $28 and up make that clear. Diners who want a big-night steak dinner nearby can compare it with our guide to Grill 23 in Back Bay. For a long-running French menu in a polished room, it has held the same Columbus Avenue corner for nearly three decades.

Featured image: Dover sole meunière with fries, an illustrative photo taken at a different restaurant. Photo by Andy Li via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 public domain dedication.

Sources

• Mistral official website (history, FAQ, parking and private dining)
• Mistral menu
• Mistral hours
• Mistral: About us and chef biography
• Mistral Boston on OpenTable
• Boston Magazine: Mistral Celebrates 20 Years in Boston (2017)
• Columbus Hospitality Group: About
• Wikimedia Commons: featured image file page