Banyan Bar + Refuge

Our Way Burger is probably one of the best burgers in town. I believe it's a holdover from the Gallows restaurant. Nothing fancy like all the other foofoo places you hear about, but very tasty.

First things first: baos and dumplings. I cannot visit Banyan without getting an order of each -- and I especially love the avocado baos. The menu rotates but I love the flavors and inventive dishes. I've ordered the miso mac & cheese with short rib three times now, and it's a super fun, tasty dish. The tuna tarter with coconut creama and dan dan noodles never disappoint. And you MUST order the "Threat Level Midnight" cocktail if you're a bourbon lover. It's so good...almost too good! The patio is one of my favorites in Boston, and takeout is always a good choice too.

PS: The breakfast skillet is a hearty, tasty option for brunch.

So great! Wonderful food and beautiful outdoor dining space

Food was great, service was good, and the price was expected for the location. We’d definitely come back!

Delicious food. I’m a vegetarian so I had many options. Cocktails really good as well. Only thing is it’s only outdoor dining.

Absolutely outstanding. Everything on the menu is 10/10. Best brussel sprouts in the city of Boston hands down.

Love Banyan! $1 dumplings are a must!

Banyan is my new go-to spot for brunch. They have great patio space that gets lots of sun during the late morning/early afternoon. They also have a number of heaters running if its chilly outside.

The brunch menu is actually served by their partner restaurant, The Gallows, and it is phenomenal! The breakfast skillet, the breakfast sandwich, and the chicken and waffles are all delicious.

I went here two weekends in a row and will surely be back again.

Outdoor dining set up to be COVID-conscious is lovely; feels friendly, welcoming, and safe. I was lucky to go when it was unseasonably warm, but I did notice many heaters that are likely to keep outdoor dining palatable even as it gets colder. Food was fast (just over an hour from when we sat down to when we paid) and satisfying. Delicious cocktails!!

There were 6 of us for brunch and we got a variety of egg sandwiches, tofu burgers and breakfast skillets. All not good. The breakfast sandwich was so small, breakfast potatoes were just fried potatoes with no seasoning, breakfast skillet was just potatoes and cheese, with 1 egg which makes it not filling at all. The tofu burgers were so bland, it was just supermarket tofu, deep fried and slapped on a burger. For an Asian restaurant, they could try to add some seasoning to the tofu. Im from nyc so I know good food really well and this wasn’t it. Also the drinks are just okay, definitely not strong.

Brunch on a beautiful day; and then in between brunch, Biden got declared President Elect, which made it even more memorable !!

The date was eh, but the staff and the pork baos were lovely!!

Amazing outdoor patio seating. lots of heaters and lights. Great ambiance. Delicious food.

We were a little disappointed that with an already limited Brunch menu they were out of several items at the time of our reservation which was in the middle of service, not even late in the day. All members of our party were able to find other things, but it was a bit of a letdown. Service was great despite the disappointment.

Food was disappointing at best. The miso Mac + cheese tasted like it came from a box. It was clearly not made to order based on how quickly it was served. The Tuna tartare was tasteless. Cocktails were the best part of the dining experience. Very disappointing.

Great spot for food and drinks! Dumplings and bao buns were delicious

Definitely I will go back again! Great atmosphere! Excellent food and service!

I specifically asked them to put us next to a heater because they only offer Patio Seating. The heater did not work, they didn’t do anything about it and just told us they were working on it. They should of asked if we wanted to seat somewhere else. It was very cold outside and unpleasant. No communication and we left diner an hour later and still no heater or communication/apology.

Great food, cocktails and ambience! Love the string lights and heat lamps!

Amazing food and waitress!!!

Was visiting Boston and enjoyed our Sunday brunch so much we came back for dinner a few days later. Lovely ambience outside and very good safety protocols in these challenging times. Cocktails are delicious and good food too. Service was very good and the servers friendly and just the right amount of attentiveness.

Had dinner on the patio. Everything on the menu is fantastic, we were particularly impressed my the bao, dumplings, tuna tartar, and the miso Mac and cheese. The cocktails were quite good as well.

We had a wonderful meal at Banyan on Saturday night. This was my first time at the restaurant and they offer patio dining (no indoor option, but we didn't want indoor). They have made a pretty and quaint patio where you are not aware it is set up for pandemic dining. We loved the food - pork dumplings w/ chili oil, rendang and dan dan noodles. I LOVED the fact that they serve rendang as it is a very hard dish to find and the short rib was like butter with great seasoning and delicious coconut rice. We also had a great server and the heat lamps were turned on as soon as it started to get chillier. I hope they survive through Covid this winter.

Great great

Great food and experience

I have been here many many times and I'm never let down! Even during all the COVID weirdness, the ambience was charming and the food was just as good as ever. The Dan Dan noodles are a must-get, as are the brussels sprouts. Fried Chicken bao and dumplings are also fantastic. Cocktail menu is interesting and has something for everyone!

Amazing food, drinks, and service! Great ambiance outside and felt safe with the covid safety measures in place.

Amazing brunch menu, great drinks, friendly service and a beautiful patio - what’s not to love!

Great place for an amazing dinner.
The food was exceptional!

I love this place! The food is always amazing, the service is kind and patient while you make decisions on what delicious concoctions you want to feast on and even when we were coming up on the end of our time window (COVID restrictions), I never felt rushed or like the waitstaff was getting impatient with us. Highly recommend this spot!

Huge patio with good spacing between tables, temp checks on all customers. The Thai sticky wings were AMAZING - we could have eaten several plates! All other dishes we got were delicious, but these were the best.

Food was bland. Drinks were good. Nice outdoor seating.

We love Banyan, and we have been there multiple times, but some aspects of service on Saturday somehow ruined the experience. When our host brought us to the Table, the only thing she said to us was "you have 90' to dine with us tonight". We were having dinner with our son, so it's obvious that a dinner with a kid doesn't last more than 90', nonetheless we felt rushed, which wasn't nice.
Our son has allergies, so we asked about the content of a specific dish. In the past we have always found servers very competent about the composition and ingredients of plates. This time the server didn't really know what he was talking about (he told us that the meat in a rice dish was layered on the side, while it was mixed with the other ingredients. Maybe a small detail but if you have a 7-years old you know it can make a difference).
Lastly, we miss the old menu. The whole fried fish was a lovely surprise (delicious!) but the oyster bao were unbeatable and we haven't seen them on the menu in ages.

What an interesting and fun menu! We got a lot! It was my birthday so we did splurge!

Avocado bao-delicious
Brussels with bonito-delicious
Vietnamese Corn dogs-the boys loved these!

Big night out-YUM
Short rib-cooked perfectly but a little too much coconut
Curry Udon noodle salad-I was told EPIC by my 17 year old

It was busy so waitress was hustling, our food came quickly and we felt safe while dining. They took our temperature as we entered the outdoor courtyard and it was beautifully decorated. Overall a very nice dining experience!

The cocktails were all amazing. We tried quite a few and they were all great. The food was also awesome. The patio outside was adorable with string lights, etc. and they were very mindful about COVID.

Really great Covid measures in place - I felt really safe there. The food was amazing and the ambiance outside was really beautiful. Had an amazing GF dish and I would highly highly recommend.

Outdoor seating was beautiful, food was fantastic, Service was quick and efficient.

The food is spectacular and the froze drink is my favorite in all of the city. This is the 4th time here this summer and won’t be my last. Love everything on the menu!

LOVED Banyan! I had already been drawn to it since I saw their cute outdoor setup with hanging lights, and I am so glad I came to celebrate my anniversary. It is the perfect date spot with a romantic ambiance while still feeing lively. And the food was even better, delicious and well-priced. Loved the cocktails and their creative names. Service was timely and very friendly, and our waitress’ cocktail and food recommendations were SPOT-ON. Will definitely come again!

Great service, great food, great patio, great cocktails! A must!