Mooncusser Fish House Debuts a Casual Takeout Lunch Window

Cusser's Roast Beef and Seafood has sandwiches, lemonade, and more to go on weekdays in Back Bay.

By Jacqueline Cain· 5/7/2018, 10:39 a.m.

The Cusser's Seafood and Roast Beef takeout window is now open at 304 Stuart St. Boston

The Cusser’s Seafood and Roast Beef takeout window is now open at 304 Stuart St. / Photo provided

Officeworkers around Park Square can now take a mini-seaside vacation during their lunch breaks. Cusser’s Roast Beef and Seafood officially opens today at 304 Stuart St., a casual, takeout window serving up lobster rolls, fish tacos, roast beef sandwiches, and more North Shore-inspired lunch options.

Cusser’s is a new menu from chef Carolyn Johnson and partners Ian Calhoun and Vincent Vela. Last summer, the trio opened Mooncusser Fish House, the fine dining restaurant two floors above, and the casual, ground-floor wine bar Moon Bar; and they are also behind Concord’s 80 Thoreau.

Guests can take sandwiches, chips, coleslaw, Mooncusser chowder, and more back to the office, or order from a slightly expanded Cusser’s menu (with items like fish and chips, French fries, and onion rings) to pair lunch with beer and wine inside Moon Bar. There are hot and cold lobster rolls, the classic North Shore three-way (roast beef with barbecue sauce, mayo, and American cheese), and a riff on the popular Thoreau Wagyu burger with spicy mayo, pickled red onions, and cheddar; a chopped salad, swordfish souvlaki, a Moody’s Deli hot dog; plus vacation-friendly sweets like whoopie pies, push pops, and coffee frappes.

Adding a casual takeout window has always been in the Mooncusser’s business plan, Calhoun says. His wife works in the neighborhood, so he’s familiar with the lunch crowd there that has afternoon picnics on the Common. Centering the menu on seafood was a given, based on the Mooncusser concept, and pairing it with roast beef sandwiches seemed like a natural choice, he says.

“If someone asks your first food memory, mine is eating sliced deli roast beef my mom would buy,” says Calhoun. “Roast beef and seafood [spots are] a fun and quirky combination that seems to me to only exist [in Massachusetts].”

In the coming weeks, Cusser’s will be on the online ordering app Chownow. For now, it’s open for walkup business Monday-Friday from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Free lemonade helps celebrate the grand opening on Monday, May 7.

Moon Bar opens for dinner Monday-Saturday from 4-10 p.m., and Mooncusser from 5-10 p.m.

304 Stuart St., Boston, 617-917-5193, moonbarboston.com.