Shake Rattle and Roll: The Rattlesnake Bar and Grill Boston

By: Finance Foodie

Since my social outings usually run parallel to the weather outside, the latest string of bad snowstorms had reduced my days to camping out next to my space heater and watching endless amounts of trashy TV (Bromance anyone?). Feeling a bit “cabin fever-ish” (and fearing I’d morph into the crazy writer from The Shining), I decided to brave the freezing winter weather to attend a birthday party at Rattlesnake Bar and Grill this weekend.

Rattlesnake is a small and easily missable bar. It was fairly empty the night I went (although it was snowing like Niagara Falls that evening) so thankfully there was no line at the door. The bar is a standard laid back Boston bar, but I was told there is a wonderful roof deck (very rare in Boston) that is not to be missed, which is open in the summertime.

I started the night with a Razmataz Lime Rickey cocktail, which was made with lime flavored vodka, raspberry juice, and lemon-lime soda. This refreshing twist on the traditional Lime Rickey was pretty decent (for an $8 cocktail) and the ratio of alcohol to soda/juice was extremely generous. Other inventive cocktails included the scandalously-but-appropriately-named Viagra Martini (an electric blue blueberry martini infused with red bull) and the Chocolate Covered Cherry Martini (complete with an extremely cute maraschino cherry topped chocolate stick). Also worth mentioning (for the boys) is the wide selection of beers.

I also sample a few of their exceptionally imaginative desserts – the mango mint sorbet and avocado ice cream served in a chocolate covered tortilla bowl. The mango sorbet had an interesting flavor, complete with chunks of mango and bits of mint sprigs. However, the best part of the night (besides meeting new friends and watching their drunken antics) was the avocado ice cream. The ice cream was rich and smooth; it tasted a lot like sweetened guacamole (sounds strange, but I promise you it is quite delectable). The addition of yellow corn kernels in the mix gave the ice cream the extra WOW factor. Eating this dessert was akin to having a party in my mouth, in addition to the one that was happening at our table!

Avocado Ice Cream

Mango Mint Sorbet

All and all, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of creatively at what I thought was just another run of the mill Boston bar. I give Rattlesnake props for trying to be innovative, but overall it left me confused onto how to categorize this place (a pub-like bar serving lounge-like food and drink?). Nevertheless, the nosh left me intrigued enough to revisit this place in warmer weather for a chance to see the much hyped roof deck.

Rattlesnake Bar and Grill

384 Boylston St
Boston, MA 02116