Petula’s, a Charming All-Day Restaurant, Is Opening in South Boston
Slated to open this May, the cozy spot will feature local, seasonal ingredients and natural wines.
Petula’s in South Boston. / Photo by Sarah Healy
Just in time for warmer weather, a charming new South Boston restaurant is gearing up to open in a cozy corner space: Petula’s is slated to open in May on L Street. The team behind it is no stranger to the neighborhood, as Rachel Titcomb is an alum of the Southie-focused Broadway Restaurant Group and restaurateur Mike Shaw runs a couple of its venues, Loco and Fat Baby. With the opening of Petula’s, the duo aims to create an all-day space where customers can enjoy seasonal, local food that highlights organic ingredients from New England farms.
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Don’t expect a specific cuisine at Petula’s; it’ll be about showcasing those fresh ingredients through dishes like seasonal veggie plates, a juicy fried chicken sandwich, a variety of pizzas, and creative crudos, the team tells Boston. Drawing inspiration from travel and her experience growing up on a New Hampshire farm, Titcomb has found that Boston’s food scene could use more restaurants that offer delicious, consistent food throughout the day and night: “an open, inviting atmosphere with great music and lighting, a welcoming staff, a place you want to spend your time knowing you’ll leave feeling good.” (The Petula’s name comes from Titcomb’s childhood, too—an homage to her mother blasting singer Petula Clark every morning.)
Dan Haley—an alum of Nautilus in Boston’s Seaport, where Titcomb also worked—is onboard as chef and will be cooking up breakfasts, brunches, lunches, and dinners with fresh maple syrup and eggs from Titcomb’s family farm and other ingredients from places like Silverwood Organic Farm in Sherborn and Allandale Farm in Brookline.
To drink? A stacked list of natural, biodynamic wines from the South End’s Neighborhood Wines shop, along with an array of fun cocktails, like a summery coconut-washed negroni, a spicy margarita, and a pineapple daiquiri, plus brunch-friendly drinks like spritzes.
The space—most recently home to the restaurant Sixth Gear—draws inspiration from European cafes and was designed by Brookline firm Pratt and Deutsch interiors. Expect nostalgic checkered floors, a plant-filled bar backsplash, and dreamy, high ceilings, not to mention a sprawling marble bar.
When Petula’s first opens later this month, the restaurant will serve dinner, but the team plans to get the all-day aspect up and running soon, with weekend brunch and weekday breakfast and lunch. Come summer, there will also be outdoor seating, if approved, and a walk-up window for food and coffee on the go.
81 L St., South Boston, petulasboston.com.
