This Back Bay Restaurant in a Hotel Might Be More Than a ‘Hotel Restaurant’

Harissa-rubbed roast rack of lamb and other Willow & Ivy dishes and cocktails. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

What elevates a hotel restaurant from a hotel restaurant to a restaurant that happens to be in a hotel—or, rather, somewhere that’s not just an easy pitstop for hotel guests, but also an exciting dining destination for locals unto itself? At Willow & Ivy, opening in March at the 125-year-old Lenox Hotel, that differentiation just might arrive under a smoke-filled cloche of a half dozen roasted oysters, or atop a bone marrow canoe flavored with elements of a caramelized onion soup.

“Our goal is to create a restaurant that is rooted in our Back Bay neighborhood while serving both hotel guests and locals alike,” says executive chef Daniel Kenney. Indeed, Willow & Ivy aspires to maintain that delicate balance by offering crowd-pleasers that will keep tourists happy, while also getting outside-of-the-box enough that locals will consider the Copley Square spot an intriguing addition to the city’s dining scene. Think approachable cuisine, with a dash of boldness.

One of several focaccia options at Willow & Ivy, a spring mix of burratini (mini burrata), grilled peaches, aged balsamic, Ligurian olive oil, Calabrian chili honey, and fresh basil. Plus, a tiki-inspired cocktail with rum and cachaça. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Debuting soon in the former City Table space on Exeter, Willow & Ivy is the third and final part of the Lenox Hotel’s culinary revamp. Late last year, the former Sólás Irish Pub became Sweeney’s on Boylston while the erstwhile City Bar became the Irving at the Lenox—still an Irish pub and cocktail bar, respectively, but under in-house management rather than an outside hospitality group. Kenney, an alum of the Liberty Hotel and Boston Harbor Hotel, oversees the trio.

Continuing in the vein of Sweeney’s and the Irving, Willow & Ivy showcases local ingredients in globally inspired dishes. Take the restaurant’s two tuna preparations, for instance, each featuring yellowtail from Gloucester: One is a Japanese sushi-style seared tuna appetizer with wakame aioli, plums, ponzu pearls, and spicy kewpie mayo; the other, an entree, looks to Italy with fennel pollen, Calabrian chilis, eggplant caponata, and Castelvetrano olives. Also inspired by Italy, there are several takes on house-made focaccia, including one that stars Vermont burrata alongside grilled peaches, aged balsamic, Ligurian olive oil, fresh basil, and—“the real winner,” says Kenney—a drizzle of Calabrian chili honey. And a twist on a baby iceberg lettuce salad features two blues—one from near, one from far: Great Hill blue from Marion, Massachusetts, as the dressing; with a slice of the Stilton-like Shropshire from the UK on top. “It’s the best of two blues,” says Kenney, who previously told Boston about the team’s enthusiasm for Shropshire on a research trip before opening Sweeney’s.

Willow & Ivy’s “smoking oysters,” roasted with spring leeks, shallots, garlic, spinach, Irish rashers, and Parmesan, plus a spicy cilantro margarita. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Some dishes stay closer to home, like a clam chowder that highlights local clams year-round. “We get a line on beautiful Duxbury clams,” says Kenney. On the sweeter side, a raspberry lime rickey-inspired crème brûlée is a nod to the Newton-founded ice cream and restaurant chain Brigham’s, which memorably served the classic drink. “When you’re eating it, you can just close your eyes and pretend you’re drinking a raspberry lime rickey,” says Kenney.

As far as Willow & Ivy’s actual drinks, the cocktail list has been a real team effort, says Cory Witt, director of outlets. “A lot of cocktail programs will use one or two drinks from a bartender, and then there’s a beverage director who dictates the rest,” says Witt. “I don’t know many cocktail lists that are entirely crafted by each and every member of their team, so I think that’s a really nice focus. Some people who I thought weren’t going to be that invested in development came with the most ideas.” The drinks have a “floral, fresh” focus, says Witt, with lots of herbal, aromatic notes. There’s a spicy margarita with an unexpected herb as star, for instance: cilantro. And a spritz-like vodka and hibiscus drink is topped with seemingly a whole bouquet of flowers.

Willow & Ivy’s harissa-rubbed roast rack of lamb with fregola, plus a hibiscus spritz. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

That floral garnish is a nod to Willow & Ivy’s goal of “bringing the outside in,” a phrase the team repeats when describing the restaurant’s concept and space. In the most literal sense, there’s the eight-foot live ficus tree to the left of the bar, with a bar rail around it. Plenty of other foliage—including plants cascading down from a pergola—add to the outdoorsy feel, and there’s a private dining room with an ivy-adorned brick wall, too.

When Willow & Ivy arrives in March, it’ll be open pretty much all the time, in hotel restaurant fashion, including weekday breakfast and weekend brunch. There are late-night hours, too—at each of the hotel’s three venues, not just this one—with substantial food options available until 1 a.m. nightly. Whether you’re a hotel guest swinging by for breakfast or a local enticed by a harissa-rubbed lamb with fregola dinner, this is a hotel restaurant that seems poised to stand on its own.

Willow & Ivy’s mango and pineapple bread pudding with coconut caramel and coconut ice cream. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Lenox Hotel, 61 Exeter St., Back Bay, Boston, 617-536-5300, lenoxhotel.com.