Best of Boston

1999 Best Elegant Restaurant

L’Espalier

It no longer serves the classic French haute cuisine it once did, but L’Espalier still maintains the highest standards with imaginative new American cuisine. Chef Frank McClelland turns out some of the cleverest, most sophisticated food around: rabbit “streudel” delicately wrapped in phyllo pastry; whipped potatoes scented with truffle oil; “kir royale” sorbet (balls of cassis ice drenched tableside in champagne); and a cheese platter to die for. The Back Bay townhouse setting is the height of luxury and the service is exquisite.

30 Gloucester St., Boston, 617-262-3023,