We recently had a birthday dinner at a great restaurant called Seasons 52. The restaurant is a nationwide grill and wine bar restaurant that focuses on fresh, seasonal foods. Everything on the menu is under 475 calories, and the lactose/dairy-sensitive menu has a fantastic amount of options. They also offer gluten sensitive, sodium friendly, vegetarian, and vegan menus. Pretty impressive!
The ambiance and decor were hip and classy, and the bar had a very cool atmosphere. There is also a piano right in the center of the bar, with a player strumming away live music. The kitchen was open to the dining room, where we could all watch the chefs bustling around. The little guy loved watching the food being prepared, especially when he caught a glimpse of flames from the grill.
Here’s what the little one got to enjoy on our visit:
For juice, Seasons offered orange and cranberry. I was surprised they didn’t carry apple considering they do have a kids menu, but the little guy was more than happy to have orange juice. This is obviously more of an adult restaurant, and has so many dairy-free options that I’m certainly not going to complain about the juice options.
For an appetizer, we started with this flatbread:
The bread was very thin and crisp, almost cracker like. It was topped with a light marinara that the little one really liked.
For his meal, our guy had a bowl of pasta with broccolini, that was tossed with olive oil, garlic, and spices:
He ate every bite of his pasta and attempted to lick the bowl after, so I’m pretty sure he enjoyed it. This had a nice, light garlic flavor to it, and the pasta and broccolini were cooked perfectly.
For dessert, the only dairy-free option was a small dish of fresh mixed berries. However, the little guy was thrilled with this, and I was thrilled because it’s a great healthy option.
Overall we really enjoyed our visit to Seasons 52. Some things to note:
- We were a party of 7 on a busy Saturday night, at prime meal time. Normally I would only dine out with food allergies during a bit slower time (say 4), but this is what worked for the group.
- My son also has a soy allergy, and I think this threw the waiter a bit off. Again, it was quite busy, so we weren’t his only customers.
- The dairy free menu doesn’t have kid’s options. Although this is definitely a restaurant more for adults, they do offer a kids menu but none of the options were dairy-free.
- The men are heartier eaters, and weren’t very impressed with the portion sizes. However, this is a restaurant known for healthier options and offerings, so no one should be expecting mile-high piled plates of food.
I’m excited to try the restaurant again, but next time I will be sure to go at a quieter time of day. I feel the staff need more time to understand the allergies, and speak with the chefs about the best options. If you’re only dealing with a dairy allergy, then the dairy-free menu has many options to choose from. This is the Winter 2014 menu from our location, in Burlington, MA. Impressive, right?
We loved the food, the cocktails and wine list were impressive, and the fact that they have so many dairy-free options made this restaurant a big hit with us. You can visit their site to see if there’s a Seasons 52 near you: https://www.seasons52.com/
