First Look: Our Fathers Deli, Opening This Week in Allston

The latest from the Franklin Restaurant Group does modern, Jewish cuisine in a sleek, mid-century space.

By Jacqueline Cain· 12/11/2017, 6:31 p.m.

The bar in the restaurant side of Our Fathers Delicatessen. / Photos by Toan Trinh

If you’re craving a bagel with lox, there’s a new place to get one in Boston—and on your evening commute, that same location is where to go for a spin on a gin and tonic and a bright plate of za’atar-spiced salmon, chicken with walnut muhammara, and more modern Jewish cooking. Our Fathers Delicatessen, a dual-concept deli and restaurant from the Franklin Restaurant Group, opens Tuesday, Dec. 12.

Our Fathers—the newest sister spot to Franklin Cafe, Citizen Public House, and the East Coast chain Tasty Burger—has been in the works in Allston’s Continuum building since early 2016. Owners Dave DuBois and Phil Audino have brought on chef de cuisine Jameson Poll to lead the kitchen. The young chef comes, most recently, from New York City, where he cooked at acclaimed restaurants including Tom Colicchio’s Craft, and Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield’s Michelin-starred the Breslin. But it was a “side hustle” at Michael Solmonov’s Dizengoff, a casual spot inside Chelsea Market dedicated to modern Israeli cuisine, where he found his passion.

Poll’s menu at Our Fathers looks at the Jewish diaspora at large, with bold, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish cultures alongside traditional Ashkenazi deli fare. Check it out below. The deli offers OMG! Bagels, Boston Smoked Fish Co. and Acme Smoked Fish, cold-brew on draft from Allston’s Mad Oak Coffee Roasters, and Fazenda Coffee; and bottled beverages. Our Fathers is the first Massachusetts location to carry Connecticut cult favorite Hosmer Mountain Soda.

Matzo Ball Soup at Our Fathers Deli. / Food photos by Wayne Chinnock Photography

A selection of hummus at Our Fathers Deli. / Food photos by Wayne Chinnock Photography

Beef tartare at Our Fathers Deli. / Food photos by Wayne Chinnock Photography

Kayla Quigley, the Franklin Restaurant Group’s beverage director, designed a gin-centric program for Our Fathers’ gorgeous green terrazzo bar top. More than 85 gins are on display, and comprise 30-plus house cocktails, like a Ramos gin fizz, and the W.C. Fields, with Malfy Gin, lemon bitters, cranberry syrup, and a dash of dry Curaçao. Our Fathers does gin-and-tonic tastings, and has a robust martini program—but if you insist on a brown spirit, draft beer, or glass of wine, it has a full bar, as well. It also does egg creams, floats, and non-alcoholic, soda-topped shrubs in flavors like champagne, cucumber, and grape.

More than 75 different types of gin await at Our Fathers Deli. / Photos by Toan Trinh

The Dorothy Parker cocktail at Our Fathers Delicatessen. / Photos by Toan Trinh

The New American Gin & Tonic at Our Fathers Delicatessen. / Photos by Toan Trinh

The deli is small and sleek, with white subway-tiled walls and classic black-and-white tiles on the floor. In the future, groups of 4-6 people can book private dinners at a chef’s table in the bright space.

The 72-seat restaurant and 20-seat bar is cleanly mid-century, with dark woods, Sputnik chandeliers, copper accents, and pops of bright teal. Director of operations Kelly Sprague lends his personal collection of 11,000 records for the all-vinyl soundtrack.

Our Fathers Deli opens at 7 a.m. Monday-Friday, and at 9 a.m. on weekends, and serves takeout daily until 8 p.m. The restaurant and bar open nightly from 5 p.m.-2 a.m., with the kitchen open until 1:30 a.m. Lunch and weekend brunch will come online in 2018.

197 N. Harvard St., Lower Allston, Boston, 617-303-0101, ourfathersdeli.com.