HuE, a swanky new spot for food, cocktails and entertainment in the newly-renovated historic Copley Square Hotel in the Back Bay is set to open in December — just in time for showing off all your cute holiday outfits. Brought to life by a collaboration of Boston hospitality bigwigs, the new digs will encompass three spaces spanning two floors, and will have a distinct throwback vibe to its roots as a jazz bar in the 1940s.
You can choose your own adventure between the street-level dining room with a lobby bar for bites and a glass (or two) of wine, a lower level dining room with an expanded menu and a nightclub vibe complete with a DJ spinning tunes every night (after 9:00pm), or tuck in to the backroom speakeasy for a highbrow cocktail or glass of bubbles and good conversation.
The executive chef, Barnett Harper, has been around the Boston food scene for several years including working with chef Ming Tsai, and then later running the kitchen at historic Cafe Marliave before most recently working as the executive sous at Para Maria at the Envoy Hotel in the Seaport. Harper’s menu features lots of Pan American comfort food flavors like Sticky, Crispy Chicken Wings with Sweet Chili Sauce, Kofta Meatballs in Indian Spiced Tomato Sauce, Silky Tofu with Chili Garlic Sauce, and a Vegetarian Impossible Burger on the street-level dining room menu. The lower dining room has an expanded menu with plates like Escargot with XO butter and Toasted Bread, and Red Braised Short Ribs with Coconut Polenta and Fontina, plus larger plates like Twice Cooked Noodles with Beef in Oyster Sauce, and Whole Fried Fish with Sweet and Sour Sauce. There are full bars on both levels, plus the speakeasy, with an ambitious drinks lineup and curated wine list, as well as bottle service.
Partners George Aboujaoude (Bijou, Committee, Eva), Maurice Rodriguez (Fat Hen, La Brasa), event organizer Robert Eugene, and tech entrepreneur Nick Saber worked with designer Kristen Bender Daaboul of Raha Home to play up the historical features of the space. The dining rooms and speakeasy feature a timeless mix of light and dark marble, brushed brass, floral wallpaper and windows opening onto Huntington Avenue (the name is for the address: Huntington Ave & Exeter Street = HuE). On the lower floor you’ll also find a mural by local artist Rob “Problack” Giggs in honor of the many of the jazz greats, like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong, who played there when it was the Storyville Jazz Club in the 1940s.
HuE will be open seven days a week and will feature a late night menu and live music. Keep an eye on the Copley Square Hotel IG for updates on opening day and live music schedules, and visit the hotel website for details on hotel stays, or call 617.536.9000.