Take a Look at the Publico Menu

The South Boston street bistro and garden opens this week.

By Jacqueline Cain· 2/27/2017, 11:52 a.m.

Chicken asado at Publico Street Bistro. / Photos by Brian Samuels

South Boston’s newest neighborhood spot might be your go-to al fresco option this summer. Publico Street Bistro & Garden opens Tuesday, February 28, with Latin American-inspired fare and a vine-draped atrium for outdoor imbibing.

Publico is the first ownership venture of wife-and-husband Teodora Bakardzhieva and Jairo Dominguez and partner Theo Bougas. Keenan Langlois, most recently of the Sinclair, is on board as executive chef. Bakardzhieva, who previously managed the Revere Hotel’s Rooftop @ Revere and was the first women to tend bar at Locke-Ober, is leading the beverage program.

Caught in Southie has the menu, with photos below of the wide range of approachable comfort food that focuses on European and South American flavors. There are snacks, like bacalao fritters, an empanada with serrano ham, Mahón cheese, and piccalilli; and a ribeye tartare taco with a fried egg and capers. “Smallish” plates include grilled beets with tahini aioli, mais crepes with avocado, radish, and achiote oil; and leche de tigre seafood ceviche. Share pizzetta topped with wild boar sopressata, hen of the wood mushrooms, and more; and large entrées, like whole-fried snapper, an 18-ounce ribeye with chimichurri and fried yucca; grilled trumpet mushrooms with pearled quinoa and roasted squash, and more.

Bakardzhieva’s bar program is also globally inspired, with cocktails like the Old Havana, with Havana Club Anejo rum, panela (Central American cane sugar), lime, mint, and bubbles; the French Ninja, with Suntory Toki whiskey and calvados; and Viceroy, with Peruvian pisco, Giffard Apricot, and egg white. The wine list spans the world with 30 bottles priced from $9-$90, with red, white, and rose options by the glass, and there are beers on draft and in the fridge, too.

The 5,800-square foot restaurant has a dining room and separate bar area, as well as an open-air atrium in the center of the 11 on the Dot building, the latest luxury apartment building where Publico resides. The dining room seats 50, including a dozen at a custom-built, ash communal table. The U-shaped bar seats 26. The atrium—aka the Garden— has a second bar that seats 13, and additional lounge seating for 49 around fire pits (and there are outdoor TVs, too). There’s also a 16-seat private dining room inside.

The ownership trio spearheaded the design, which toes mid-century modern, with brass and blown glass light fixtures and a custom globe chandelier, and rustic-natural outside. Check out Brian Samuels Photography’s look inside. The color palette comprises soft browns and orange, with brass, gray, and white accents, with street art-inspired, mixed media decor. The Garden has ample ipe wood and a white marble bar, and the floors are heated.

Thinking about making a move? Note the 11 on the Dot residents have direct access to the restaurant from an interior elevator.

Publico will be open every night but Mondays from 5 p.m.-midnight, with the kitchen open until 10 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and 11 p.m. Thursday-Saturday.

11 Dorchester St., South Boston, 617-622-5700, publicoboston.com.