Saturday night Sweet Caroline’s celebrated their Grand Opening. I was excited to learn more about this new Fenway bar on Boylston Street and, with a VIP Reception invite before the public opening, it was a great opportunity to check them out.
Sweet Caroline’s opened this summer, but Saturday’s event was a good attempt to generate more buzz and show off their airy-lounge-meets-rustic-sports-bar space. Overall, we had a great time: the room was full of energy and Fenway is a good place to go out!
We arrived a little after 8pm and I was happy to see Nicole from i am a honey bee, a fellow Boston Bruncher. The small upstairs bar area was busy when we arrived and quickly filled during the VIP hour. We enjoyed the open bar and chatted, but I was surprised there wasn’t more structure to the event. There was no signature drink and no general welcome, which would have been a nice touch to give guests more context. I ended up talking with the hostess, which gave me a better idea of their typical atmosphere, including the ‘living wall’ (actually made up of real plants!).
My favorite part of the night was a new-to-me Absolut flavor, thanks to Nicole, called Wild Tea. With a flowery black tea taste, it’s one of those dangerous flavors that’s very easy to drink! I’ll be buying a bottle in the near future.
I was glad we arrived early to try the appetizers, as I only saw them during the first hour. I also discovered how difficult it is to take a picture in the dark, with a drink in one hand, and without a table to set anything down on. So I apologize for the poor-quality. We sampled:
a teryaki chicken skewer, served on platter with pineapple, so I was expecting it to be sweet, but it was just basic grilled chicken
puff pastry topped with lobster, unfortunately the lobster was dry
bruschetta, basic but good
ahi tuna wonton, a carbon-copy of the Not Your Average Joe’s app that I love, but this was served with cucumber instead of pickled ginger
prosciutto-wrapped blanched asparagus, a good combination, something I’d make at home
The food was fine – it was nice to have a snack, but this selection didn’t showcase their typical offerings. In fact, nothing you see above is on their menu. It would have been easy to serve mini-sliders, shots of soup, even an app-version of a dessert.
It was great to receive an invite to Sweet Caroline’s opening and I hope they do well in the future. Servers and bartenders were extremely friendly and efficient, it was good to see the space, and I had a fun time. I’d come back for a meal and drinks, but I wish I had more of an idea of what to order.
We also stopped at Tasty Burger afterward and I had a chocolate milkshake. SO GOOD! I think I gained ten pounds this weekend.
EatingPlaces 
It was great seeing you at Sweet Caroline’s and going out to Tasty Burger afterwards as well.