Explorateur Cafe, Restaurant & Bar

beautiful space, sometimes not enough servers but overall delicious.

Great server, knew to give us time to chat before ordering and knew to hurry up with the check because we had a show to catch. Food was delicious!

Seated right away. Was pretty busy and then got jammin before the theater. Enjoyed the chow. My salmon was excellent, moist. Service was great. Was a perfect spot, convenient to our theater.

The avocado toast was delicious and my companion loved the shakshuka. The service was excellent.

Average brunch. Nothing special about it really, but fairly expensive for what they give you. Ordered coffee. Waiter never came back to refill it nor offered to when clearing plates. Average place at best, plenty of other places in boston to try

A bit more open and loud than I expected, but an interesting spot with some really solid food. The onion soup au gratin was excellent: dark and rich and lots of cheese. We also loved the steak frites and--surprisingly?--the burger. Desserts were mediocre; you could tell they were made at some point in the past and had been pulled out of the cafe side of the restaurant. Only the most basic options for coffee--also surprisingly for a Euro-themed restaurant--but the coffee was strong and good, so I am not really grumbling. Our server José was excellent: knowledgeable, friendly, attentive, and quick. Five stars for him at least; 3-4 for everything else. But still a good and tasty night out before a nearby show.

Food was mediocre at best and service was extremely poor.

Excellent food
Solid drinks
Attentive wait staff
Great atmosphere

Great location in theater district. Nice ambience - cozy and modern with a French feeling. Highly recommend!

Grabbed a quick bite on Valentine’s Day before a show... perfect place for festive drinks and yummy steak frites all around!

Made the reservation for Valentines. We were impressed with the restaurant and the greeters. We sat at the bar while waiting for out table. Had tremendous conversations and suggestions from the bartender. When we were seated we experienced a classy and romantic atmosphere. The waiter was very friendly and we enjoyed sharing our travel experiences with him. We asked for suggestions for wine and dinner and were very pleased. We liked the restaurant so much that we returned for brunch the following day. We met the same gentleman who had taken care of us the night before and followed his suggestion for brunch. Not disappointed one bit. Consider visiting this restaurant, engage with the help, you will be pleasantly surprised and leave elated. The food was amazing .

No coffee for dinner or after theatre dessert? Crazy.

Fantastic location - perfect for a meal before hitting the theater. Great food, lovely staff.

Lot of energy for a late Sunday morning

Didn’t expect study hall atmosphere, but retreating to the bar helped.
Once I got Ian’s attention he was fun, helpful and easy to d as nice to.
The food was better than expected! A very welcome alternative in a food starved neighborhood, and Pre-theatre. Good news!

We went for brunch, food was fresh and very good. Would have enjoyed a little more bread with my eggs. Service was good, friendly. Ladies room needed a little attention...which the staff appreciated being notified of the need.

Arrived just before reservation. As soon as seating opened were sat at our table. Was quiet. We were able to converse easily. Started to get busier and louder. Had a nice atmosphere. Thought the service could have been a little better. We were not checked on very often. Food was a little pricey but tasted delicious. We did have the hostess check on us since we were staying a little too long for their taste. Next time I would stick to the cafe since items are normally priced and you can sit as long as you would like.

Great meal, and our server, Jose, was one of the best servers we’ve had a restaurant in a long time.

Very convenient when downtown to see a show. Food is generally good, with quick service, reasonable prices. Curiously, the only coffee available for after dinner was a regular cup of coffee - no decaf, latte, etc. I was told that the coffee bar closes at 6:00 PM, which is hardly dinner time. Our reservation was for 6:30 PM and we were ready for coffee at about 7:15 PM - not at all late. Unusual policy.

Otherwise, generally an OK experience.

We were happy with the menu and overall had a great time taking and eating.

Our server was terrific.
We were hoping to be seated in the library but it was not open.
but our great server made it a great experience

Very pleasant staff, fine food but a bit hard to meet at an open table. Should have requested a booth.

Saturday brunch with friends. While the menu is a bit limited, everyone found something to order, and we all loved our meals. And certainly not brunch unless you end with an order of the donuts for everyone at the table to share.

Terrible & overpriced food. Stay away!

I took my nieces to Sunday brunch here, my first time also, and we were all blown away at how good the food was! The menu was great as it offered much variety and ways of adding on sides easily to create exactly what you want. I love the design of the place, the 2 tiers with the first being a cafe' and the second the slightly more formal dining area which we sat in as I had made reservation. The server was very nice , friendly, helpful with answering questions and making suggestions about food items, and reasonably attentive.

Exceeded expectations! Delicious and our waiter was just so pleasant. Definitely will go back. Loved the cauliflower dish, especially!

Good service and decent food. The space is trying to be too much And the atmosphere is awkward and loud.

The service was good. We had a reservation and we seated immediately. The waiter came with water right away. The restaurant was very noisy and the family next to us talked loudly. The food was excellent.

Great experience we went before taking my niece to ballet. It was a great brunch great service very accommodating to special dietary restrictions.

great addition to theater district.
once service gets sorted, i would rate higher. food was great all around. we can do coffee without saucers, but spoons are helpful, and finding someone to bring condiments, more beverage, and the bill was super challenging.

We stopped by for dinner with out of town visitors. The place was pretty dead for a Saturday night. The server wasn’t very pleasant when we asked questions about the menu. The food we got was pretty good. But they were out of oysters, cauliflower, and broccoli. The server hardly checked on us throughout the night. We will not be back. It was very disappointing for us and our guests.

Perfect spot for pre and post theater lunch or dinner. The coffee is excellent and the brunch was as well.

Great waiter- Eric. Lemon ricotta pancakes and Croque Madam were over the top delicious! Giant coffee cups and coffee was perfect! We loved it here and will go again the next time we're in Boston!

small portions but very tasty

An unusual layout with bar to one side, cafe on street level at front and semi-formal dining up and to the rear. But it worked to create a friendly and not overly loud atmosphere. We could converse at the table. The food was very good indeed; we sampled many items and all were delicious. The service was excellent, helped by a good awareness that many people were dining before attending a show. This is a slightly off-beat and charming restaurant.

The restaurant itself is nice, the food was very good and Jose, our server was AMAZING!

Great spot for brunch before the theater. The donuts are amazing.

beautiful space and great location to theatre. unfortunately it did not meet my expectations on saturday @ 530. cheese plate was very good(did need additional bread which we were given). french dip was fair because it was lukewarm as were the fries. wine selection glass fair, appeared more selections on line than actually on menu(different from cruvinet selections). they did not have grand marnier but server was kind to give tasting of what was left in bottle and apologized(not his fault). service was fair...server/bartender was quite busy with high tops and bar. on a saturday nite, in that area, restaurant should have been staffed adequately. food runner did assist but too busy as well. happy to try somewhere new but was underwhelmed and look forward to another dinner elsewhere in boston soon!

The cafe and bar are decent. Good feeling and decor. The dining, wine and service could be better.

Explorateur is a great brunch spot before a theater show nearby. The atmosphere is nice and the place is always hopping. I always get the Goat Cheese Omelet when visiting Explorateur. Be aware if you order the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, they may arrive overcooked and quite brown. Service is hit or miss. I’ve had really great service and I’ve had “just ok” service. Overall, not enough of problem to stop me from going back again.