Source: Emily Sotomayer. Boston Magazine
NOTE FROM VIRGINIA: Sadly, Les Sablons has shut its doors. I truly loved this bar and am very sad to see it go! Looking forward to the Island Creek’s next venture.
Close your eyes and pretend you’re strolling through Harvard Square on an icy chill night in the 20’s, buried in wool coats and thick scarves, and clacking in heels down the sidewalks. You turn and face a standalone brick building as narrow and thin as a row home sliced and pulled away from its neighbors. It’s an old Conductor’s Building-turned-Euro inspired speakeasy and it’s a place you need to know.
When entering Les Sablons, the lighting is dim and moody and the chatter is easy. Stumbling across the downstairs bar is like you just walked into the neighborhood’s best kept secret. No one is saying it, but you feel as if you’ve crashed the best cocktail party in town.
The oysters on ice are as common of an obsession here as they probably were in the early 20th Century, and the cocktails are carefully curated with smooth bartenders whose skills are never questioned. For Boston Calling this week as an example, they chose themed names like Perfume Genius, Paramore, and Thundercat. So cool. From dry gin martini’s to a variety of top New England IPA’s, a crafty, better than average dressed Bostonian is safe here.
Tones of Island Creek are scattered all throughout, from the address (Bennett Street) to the industrial, open warmth of the place and naturally, the menu. The oyster selection is all bits of heaven and the menu is “fine comfort” – exactly as self-described. Props as always to Chef Jeremy Sewall and team.
