What's Brewing: Beer Dinner at Aquitaine

Photograph by Izzy Berdan

“The response was unlike anything I’ve ever seen in the 10 years I’ve been running restaurants,” says Aquitaine general manager Alexis Gelburd-Kimler of the restaurant’s five-course beer dinner, coming up on Monday, August 8. “I got so many phone calls within a 24-hour period, our reservations went from nonexistent to being almost booked up.”

The South End eatery’s staff teamed up with Beer Advocate to plan a menu that, thanks to chef Matthew Gaudet, will feature Island Creek oysters, pretzel-crusted Hake, and cherry barbeque brisket paired with local craft beers from Cisco, Maine Beer Company, Great Divide, and others. “Everyone knows us as a wine destination,” says assistant general manager Patrick Kelley, who oversaw the brew selection. “Not everyone knows you can come here and get some real off-the map-beer, as well.” Kelley explains that while some of the suds on the menu were shoe-ins, like Narragansett’s Summer Ale, others — like Maine Beer Company’s Peeper Ale — were happy discoveries from Formaggio Kitchen and other local shops.

So does such an enthusiastic response mean we can expect more beer dinners from the French bistro in the future? Indubitably. But when it comes to suds and food this tasty-sounding, we don’t take any chances; we’re snagging our reservation to this shindig before it’s too late.

$75 per person (includes tax and gratuity), 6:30– 9:30 p.m., reservations required. Aquitaine, 569 Tremont St., Boston, 617-424-8577, aquitaineboston.com.