About The Local and reviews

Okay, another try. This time with friends. The food was great - from apps to entrees. And good beer choices. But the service sucks. Wait for 5 minutes at the hostess stand while myriad employees shoot past you - and then the surly hostess shows up finally - and is indignant to be asked if we can have a high top (like our online reservation indicated). Management - here's a tip, hire someone nice to greet guests at the door. And maybe the bartender that has been there for about 10 years could deign to say "hi, nice to see you again". Back in the day this place had the best staff and the best food. Now the food is good - about as many misses as hits. And they treat the guests like transactions. Now the only reason we choose this place is that it's easy to get in.

TAKE OUT REVIEW ONLYThere is a scarcity of truly good restaurants in the West Newton Area. The Local aspires to be the best price/quality option. While The Local generally has good quality food, it makes errors on take out orders all too frequently. I have a large family with young kids, so having a sit down dinner at The Local isn't typically doable (loud atmosphere, tight table arrangements). When we decide to order out, we often use The Local. For the price of their food, there should be no errors, but I estimate a good 20% of the time ---they make a mistake. Although they are generally good about corrective action (refund for introduced items)---who wants to have to take these steps? Get it right the first time. I also wish they could change up their menu or get more creative with their specials. However, it is important to note that the quality of the ingredients and resulting food is quite high. 10/3/15. Happened again. They got the order wrong, but took good corrective action. Still wish they would just get it right the first time. 5/11/2019. Yep. The trend continues. The Local futzed about half of my take out order. I got home to my hungry family.... without a lot of the highly priced food. Ridiculous. The Local gets it wrong about 50% of the time. Don't order take out from here. It's more trouble than it's worth.

Good food, meh service. Went super early, 5pm. Seemed like most of the staff was on break. Had to wait a long time to get menus and have our order taken. Interior looks like it could use some elbow grease. Food is good. Ordered the blackened salmon salad. Great salad and fish (but it was certainly NOT blackened). Spicy Hong Kong Noodles were delicious, super spicy, lots of veggies. Also got the Korean Street tacos to share as an app. The beef was delicious (though I could not taste the lemongrass or ginger) as was the slaw. Big portions of everything. A little expensive for what it is.

Very nice and spacious place... Parmesan Truffle Fries - (a tiny bit salty) but super delicious! Sesame Chicken Bowl - super delicious as well and nice large portion - enough for 2 meals... and a nice cold glass of milk for me topped it all off! The ONLY ONLY ONLY minus I would say is... and I don't know if it's meant to be there... are the water rings on the tables..  but otherwise great place and for sure would go again!!!

I went here for lunch with a friend on the Afternoon of the Super Bowl. It was pretty empty which made me a little worried that the food may not be good. I got the potato soup for starter and a bowl for my main course. The soup was absolutely delicious and creamy and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The bowl could only be described as weird. The avocado was grilled or something and it did not taste good and the rest of the bowl was pretty bland. I would go back and give it another chance as I have only been there once but for now I certainly cannot give it more than 3 stars. Also customer service was average I did kinda feel like we were pushed to the side as I think the waitress was busy with a bunch of other tasks at the bar as well.

We'll rate it a 3 because one of our meals was ok. Got the "Korean" BBQ bowl, after attempting to eat it I have no clue what was supposed to make it Korean. The meat claims to be beef short rib but it was more characteristic of a chuck roast, it was dry/stringy and tough as boot leather. The pineapple on it was supposed to be sautéed but it was cold as ice and wasn't sautéed, that's for sure. Even the waitress said to another server "that pineapple looks raw". The rice didn't taste like it was cooked in a rice cooker, more like a microwave. My wife however had the Hong Kong noodles with chicken and that dish was very good, would definitely get that again but I'd go a different direction. The service was good and the facility was very neat and clean, we'll give it a 2nd try one day.

Have been going to The Local with my family for years. I ordered takeout last night and after a mix-up in a delivery order, Manager Alex went above and beyond to help rectify the mistake, just outstanding customer service from him!!!

Came by during a blizzard and bad some bomb fried pickles and one of the best sandwhiches ever. It was a slow cooked tri tip that the waiter recommendedWithout hesitation. Definitely a choice I didn't regret. Can't wait to try new things when i'm back in towno

Loved it here!The ambience is casual yet romantic. Great place for a first date AND great place to watch a sports game. Our server was extremely attentive and knowledgeable when it came to dietary restrictions and allergies (I have a gluten allergy and it's often hard to explain what foods I can and cannot have, cross contamination, etc). He handed me a gluten free menu and explained what foods were gluten-friendly. I got a truffle mushroom pizza that was to die for! The crust was perfectly cooked and the truffle oil was generous, but not overpowering. My boyfriend ordered the crispy chicken sandwich with onion rings - he loved his dish, as well. We got Parmesan truffle fries to share - my fav truffle fries ever now! They don't have a separate fryer for French fries but I didn't have a reaction, so I'll definitely order them again. Drinks are delicious and well-priced. Will definitely be coming again - their brunch on the weekends INCLUDES a complimentary Bloody Mary or mimosa for only - can't get any better than that!

Stopped in here for an early family dinner while dropping our daughter off at Boston College. We were impressed -- looked like it had recently gone through some renovations, with a modern yet warm and cozy feel. The menu and the food were both great, with plenty of interesting options. But what really stood out was the service. Our waitress was incredibly friendly, even inviting our daughter to come back, visit, and get a job there. And when there was a "mishap" in the kitchen (I think they dropped one of our meals), they immediately said they weren't charging us for it and offered to bring out some apps while we waited. Look forward to making this one of our regular stops when we're in town!

Bummer. Used to like this place.  Its expensive but it tasted great.  Tonight ordered takeout and was seriously disappointed. First off tbey quoted 30 minutes but it took closer to an hour. Burger was good. Steak tips ok - pretty chewy though.  .00 for Brussels sprouts is crazy expensive but they usually taste great. Tonight though they were burnt to the level of gagging.  See picture below. Ended up in trash.Also, the spicy tuna tacos were not Tuna.  You pay for tuna and they give you tilapia. Uncool. See picture. Ended up in trash.French dip sandwich was ok but they didn't cook their fries enough.  Stuff was either too cooked or not enough it seems.  For over 0, 60% of the meal was a disappointment.If a manager reads this, I would be happy to elaborate further.

My wife and I were glad to find an easy place to stop near the Pike for a beer and some food after a weekend in Boston, and this place was just fine. We sat at the bar which we like to do, and it was comfortable. It's not their fault there was a guy sitting there that we had to avoid eye contact with, but, the bartender/server guy was super nice to this slightly surly chap. My wife's salad (something like a "power lunch" or something, with avocados) was the highlight; super healthy but with some richness from the avocado and maybe feta (this was a week or two ago). I ordered a dish that said it was asian noodles with crunchy vegetables; I hoped they would be nice raw vegetables like cabbage, but unfortunately, it was basically just vegetable lo mein. I can't say we'd go out of our way to go there again, but, it was fine.

Great food, great service.The chef here is fantastic, definitely knows what he is doing. Always busy and they accept reservations, parking is convenient in the neighborhood or nearby municipal parking lots. This Newton Local is better than their other two in Sudbury and Wellesley.

Good draft selection of beers. Food is only ok, for the price would expect the food to be a little better.

The Local is just that ... local.  So, we want it to be way better than it is.  We have been a half dozen times or so.  Twice we have been a larger group at a table and the remaining times we have sat at the bar -- which is our favorite place to sit in any restaurant.  Generally the service is courteous but not special.  There's on a couple of bartenders that I'd call personable.  The food can really be hit or miss, and generally (for what is is) it's a bit over-priced.  I get it -- it's Boston.  But ... if you're going to charge Boston prices you need to deliver Boston quality (food and service.)Sadly, tonight was the last straw.  It's July 3rd and we're having a heatwave.  The AC is either broken or struggling.  We went out to eat to avoid cooking in this heat.  We ordered a draft beer () a well drink () and a quesadilla () and a burger (.)  The burger (ordered medium) arrived mid-rare to rare so I sent it back.  As we waited for my burger to return my husband kept eating.  IN THE HEAT.  When he was basically finished I told the bartender to cancel the burger and we'd just take the check.  While they were fixing the check someone came out with the burger.  We paid and left.  The bartender was apologetic, and wished us a happy holiday.  No manager visit.  If your AC is broken put a sign on the door.If you screw up someone's meal send the manager over and buy that person a drink.  Comp their dinner and bring it out as fast as possible because you screwed up their dinner and they are your customer.As an aside ... I hope management read this:  when the kitchen screws up food it has a really big impact:  does everyone wait for your food to return so that you can eat together?  Then their food gets cold.  Alternatively you sit there, hungry, and watch everyone else eat.  Then, you also have to eat by yourself.  And, everyone feels bad about the circumstances.  Sure, everyone makes mistakes, but a thermometer or a poke can tell you if meat is cooked to the correct temperature!

Had dinner the other night in a party of six. We had called ahead and booked a table but when we arrived they asked to seat us at a high-top. No big deal normally, but we had an elderly diner with us who 100% could not be seated at a high-top. We hang out for a while longer until we are able to be seated at a normal table. We end up seated in a space that requires the use of stairs to access. Again, not a huge deal. But the elderly diner in attendance with us did struggle and need extra help maneuvering the space. It just would've been nice if we could've been seated somewhere disability-friendly. For future diners, I would make sure to specificity these needs if you are calling in ahead of time.After we were seated, it was a less understandable experience. We found the servers to be inattentive and we had an extremely long wait for food, desserts, even water refills. We had to actively chase down our waitress to pay the check and get out of there. I always try to give servers the benefit of the doubt when it comes to wait time - food could go wrong, the restaurant could be full, or they could simply be understaffed. But that really didn't seem to be the case here - we saw a great deal of servers per empty tables. Perhaps a green staff? We were spilled on not once, not twice, but three times, by three different servers. All of this being said, I hate to give the negative review. Because all of us really liked our food. One of the orders was messed up and received the wrong side but otherwise, we were unanimous in greatly enjoying the quality of the meals. We ordered a variety of dishes and shared samples, too - honestly, the food was excellent. But our experience of the service was so poor, I couldn't bring myself to call it a good night. Personally, I would give this place another shot but it will be a long while before I feel compelled to do so.

We are locals and have been here about half a dozen times. This time was really disappointing. Met friends from out of town for a late lunch.Husband and I had the special SoCal tacos.  Did not come with the guacamole that was on the menu. Also tacos were small (2 each) and under seasoned.Also came with fries... additionally underseasoned.Waitress was unfriendly from the get go and did not check in during entrees, or I would have asked about the missing guacamole.The Local may want to rethink how it treats its local customer base if it wants to keep going,,, Cheating us (no guacamole) and unfriendly service is not a path to success...

Really friendly and attentive staff! The corn bread/cake with maple butter served to you upon being seated is a sweet and tasty touch. I'd recommend the truffle fries. If you go for brunch, it's nice to know that the menu includes a choice of mimosa or Bloody Mary in the price.

It's kinds of like a Cheers bar.  Everyone knows you when you are a regular and sit at the bar.  The bartenders know my order right away, they welcome me by name, and I feel at home.  The food can be great or it can be just okay.  Not sure why some days the french fries, for example, are perfect, and some days they are underwhelming.  It's hit or miss.  I think the busier it is, the better the food gets.