Standard Italian Debuts in the Fenway with Big Martinis and Fresh Pasta

With big martinis, fresh pasta, and a porchetta dish that’s angling to become iconic, Standard Italian is now open in the Fenway, the latest from Garrett Harker. Brasseries, cocktail bars, seafood restaurants: The acclaimed Boston restaurateur has done it all since opening the original Eastern Standard in 2005. But until now, Harker hasn’t done Italian. (And no, Eastern Standard’s fan-favorite baked rigatoni with pink sauce doesn’t count; that was based on a dish from Harker’s Irish mom—“her interpretation of Italy,” he says.)

Standard Italian. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Steps from sibling spots Eastern Standard (2.0) and cocktail bar Equal Measure, Standard Italian highlights the lengthy Italian resume of culinary director Brian Rae (Rialto, Coppa, Faccia a Faccia). Harker’s longtime collaborator Jackson Cannon is once again overseeing the beverages. The trio of industry veterans are dialing into a balance between tradition and creativity here, with the expected Harkertown high-level hospitality. They’re not striving for, say, a faithful ode to a particular Italian region, instead finding authenticity in working with the best ingredients and doing everything from scratch.

Standard Italian’s bay scallop crudo with blood orange, olive, and sunchoke chips. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

It’s an ethos that dates back to the original Eastern Standard, says Harker, which was “sort of a reaction to fine dining” and being frustrated by the exclusivity of restaurants like No. 9 Park, where he was general manager. “Opening Eastern Standard was like, ‘What if we bought the same arugula, the same protein [as fine-dining restaurants]; what if we made everything from scratch—stocks, sauces—but what if it was presented in a way that’s accessible for people?”

Wine bottles with cheeky descriptive labels are displayed in the center of the dining room at Standard Italian. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

The philosophy continued through Harker’s now-closed Island Creek Oyster Bar, which, through its direct connection to Island Creek Oysters, was the truest expression of “farm to table.” That’s the kind of dining he sees as “authentic” and “real,” and he aims to express that through Standard Italian, too. As he puts it, “If I’m approaching any kind of legacy, it’s how real I want the whole experience to be.”

Standard Italian’s Standard Oil martini with olive oil-washed Citadelle gin, vermouth, basil tincture, and orange bitters. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

So there’s serious sourcing and technique at play: “Because of the sort of volume that we do [at the three ES Hospitality venues], we can buy the best; we can fit in small farms [and suppliers like] ‘Ben the Mushroom Guy,’” says Harker. “But at the same time, we wanted to have a sense of spirit and fun. Standard Italian is a little bit indulgent for ourselves. We’re going to do it like we want to do it, without any kinds of shortcuts.”

Standard Italian’s burrata fett’unta with marinated peppers, raisins, walnuts, and focaccia. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

As for Rae, that means excitement for pasta—but also excitement for everything else, since the culinary director’s spent so much of his career making pasta. “It’s kind of nice to branch out, do other columns of Italian food,” the chef says. Like stuzzichini (snacks), such as skewers of grilled mortadella, pistachio, and olives; or speck with roasted pineapple and chili crisp. Or antipasti, like one early winner in the restaurant’s first few days: a bay scallop crudo, brightened with blood orange and garnished with crisp sunchoke chips.

Standard Italian’s bar. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

But as for that pasta, Rae and Harker both express a particular pride in the restaurant’s bake shop, allowing the team to put out scratch-made pasta dishes—like a classic rigatoni amatriciana studded with salty gems of guanciale, a hearty portion of lasagna, squid ink bucatini with lobster, and more. Rae is also playing with some different flours, adding rye to campanelle and buckwheat to pappardelle. There’s fresh bread, too, including focaccia served with the house butter infused with garlic, lemon zest, honey, and Calabrian chili.

Standard Italian’s squid ink bucatini with lobster, diavola, and oregano. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

A few heftier entrees round out the options, including a porchetta that both Rae and Harker are eager to highlight. “I think his version is groundbreaking,” says Harker. It’s made with pork shoulder, which Rae says gets tender and juicy when roasted slowly. (He packs around it with a black garlic Italian sausage that also helps marinate it and keep it moist, he says.) Finally, diners can end on a sweet note with a cookie plate, cannoli trio, and more. The cannoli shells—“super thin and delicate,” Rae says—are actually a throwback to another Italian spot on his resume, the now-closed Centre Street Cafe in Jamaica Plain, where he made them with the same recipe.

Standard Italian. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

As far as beverages, martinis get the spotlight. “I’m tired of fitting the old aesthetic of a martini into a craft cocktail lens,” says Cannon. “I just wanted to back up and get generous with it.” Enter six-plus-ounce martinis in a carafe sidecar, poured partway tableside, with a dish of garnish. There are several varieties available, including the Standard Oil—olive oil-washed Citadelle gin with “perfect” vermouth (a split blanc and dry vermouth, says Cannon), basil tincture, and orange bitters. Regardless of variety, the martinis all have one big thing in common: the freezer. “When you have a big martini,” says Cannon, “the indispensable ingredient is cold, not spirit or vermouth.”

Standard Italian’s Bràulio margarita with blanco tequila, Bràulio amaro, and lime. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Amari, too, are a focus, popping up in a selection of low-ABV aperitivi and other cocktails, such as the early bestseller Bràulio margarita. Bràulio, an herbal amaro from the Alps, lends an almost pine-y bite to the tequila-and-lime combo. And Cannon is making limoncello in-house; the first batches should be ready later this month, infused with flavors like blood orange and pomegranate.

Standard Italian’s porchetta with sausage stuffing, fingerling potatoes, and pork jus. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Even in a city crowded with Italian restaurants, there’s seemingly lots to love at this one. One key piece of Standard Italian’s potential magic is its proximity to its siblings, just like Harker’s previous Kenmore Square trio of the original Eastern Standard, Island Creek Oyster Bar, and the Hawthorne, a cocktail lounge. Now, the new version of the Harkertown crawl could be to start with the raw bar at Eastern Standard, followed by something more substantial at Standard Italian, ending with a nightcap and macaron while lounging on a couch at Equal Measure.

Standard Italian’s dining room. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

“I don’t want to make it sound too romantic, or even morbid, but this is my last rodeo,” says Harker. “To be able to find [the ES Hospitality restaurant spaces] collectively, 19,000 square feet, to be able to hold onto Jackson—I can indulge in all the things that I’m passionate about. I think we’re collectively indulging a little passion project.”

Standard Italian’s porchetta, squid ink bucatini, rigatoni amatriciana, and more. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Currently open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday. 771 Beacon St. (the Bower), Fenway, Boston, 857-305-3095, standarditalian.com.

Standard Italian. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal