An Allston Restaurant Serving ‘Unapologetically Delicious Comfort Food’ Will Open This Summer

Rendering of Sloane’s, opening summer 2023 in Allston. / Courtesy image

Get your metaphorical swimsuits ready: A new restaurant is coming to Allston, and it’ll feature a “swim-up bar” outside—no actual pool involved, but plenty of tropical vibes and easy access to frozen cocktails. Chef Sarah Wade, comfort food connoisseur and Chopped champion, will open her second restaurant, Sloane’s, in early summer 2023.

Named for Wade’s daughter, Sloane’s will feature daily brunch, with plenty of classics and cocktails inspired by the chef’s Oklahoma roots. The restaurant will be located in the former Our Fathers space at 197 North Harvard St., less than a mile from Lulu’s Allston, where Wade, as the former executive chef, first started wowing Bostonians with extravagant brunches and other hearty comfort-food dishes.

“Allston was my first restaurant home when I moved to Boston,” Wade tells Boston, “and the neighborhood holds a special place in my heart. I’m coming home, baby!”

After working at Lulu’s for about five years—and winning a 2018 episode of Chopped, promising viewers she’d use her prize money to open a restaurant—Wade opened Stillwater on the edge of Chinatown in 2019. There, she continues to offer a fun, quirky menu with options like a rotating selection of to-go “brown bag lunches,” designed to be “just like mom packed it”; hearty entrées like chicken fried ribeye and smoked pulled pork mac and cheese; and sweets like PB&J crème brûlée.

Sloane’s will stay true to that playbook, with nostalgic and comforting dishes like pot roast mac and cheese. Wade is also excited to showcase her Oklahoma onion burger, “an Okie classic,” she says: sweet white onions, white American cheese, yellow mustard, and dill pickles, served on a toasted potato bun. And then there’s the pretzel-crusted chicken, which will be “so crispy and delicious.” Wade will dredge dry-brined chicken thighs in salty pretzel crumbs and cook them until crispy, drizzle them with a honey mustard glaze, and serve them with sour cream mashed potatoes and braised cabbage.

And the menu won’t skimp on the sweet stuff: Wade will be making ice cream from scratch, offering it to go, Hoodsie-style (complete with little wooden spoon). There’ll be a take on a Snickers bar, too, and drinks like cinnamon roll spiked iced coffee garnished with a mini cinnamon roll. Available at brunch, that will be part of a beverage list that highlights local distillers.

Wade promises the daily brunch will be “awesome,” featuring sides of griddled mash (“instead of the usual hash”), “pancakes as big as your face,” and more. Pancakes are a staple on the Stillwater brunch menu, too, where Wade offers rotating specials like strawberry devil’s food pancakes or Butterfinger-stuffed pancakes.

Designed by Kerry Farr of Boston-based firm Farr North, Sloane’s will make good use of the multi-room setup of the old Our Fathers space, turning what used to be the takeout deli area into private dining. That room will be separated from the main room with 10-foot sliding barn doors. Come summer, customers will be able to sit outside at the “swim-up bar,” which has direct access, via large windows, to the bar inside. “The bartender can offer you delicious bevvies and frozen drinks like you are on an island vacation,” says Wade.

Above all, Sloane’s will be about “unapologetically delicious comfort food,” says Wade. Keep your eyes peeled for updates leading up to the restaurant’s opening—website and social media to come—and in the meantime, consider heading over to Stillwater for some “sexy snacks” (like warm blue cheese-thyme biscuits) or perhaps some espresso martini baked French toast.

Sloane’s, 197 North Harvard St., Allston, Boston; Stillwater, 120 Kingston St., Chinatown/Leather District, Boston, 617-936-3079, stillwaterboston.com.