The Pearl

You have to open a lot of oysters to find a pearl.... Or you can simply hop in your car, and head to Dorchester.

"The Pearl is the hidden gem of South Bay. The Pearl is classy. The pearl is shiny."

"It's a symbol of class elegance. fine dining and good people. "

"With us being very small, very clean, very sophisticated. And the hidden jewel of this neighborhood. There'd be no other perfect name but Pearl."

And with a fresh ultra fresh seafood, a stylish setting and owners truly dedicated to making customers happy,  you're going to feel lucky you found The Pearl. Located in the newly remodeled South Bay Center, The Pearl is a passion project of four friends, who came together to create the type of place they like to dine in.

"We created a space that we wanted to spend time in. So we're often looking for a place to eat out and hang out and have good food and have good drinks.  And so we created it."

Luther and Teda Pickney and Malik and Mika Windler are the dedicated owners of this stunning spot- with a variety of different dining options for any evening out.

"We're fortunate to have two patios. Then we have an extra lounge that has couches, that's much more like a backyard.  Then obviously our dining room is clean, sophisticated and modern."

"You see people talking, laughing, enjoying the music and people are mixing and mingling, and it's a really great place for professionals and people have to work and there's parking.  There's free parking."

When you're dining at The Pearl, it would make sense to start with oysters. Whether you like them raw over ice or char grilled with garlic and Parmesan Cheese- a recipe Malik came up with after a trip to New Orleans.

"I was like, we have to bring this back to Boston...And now there's no place I can go without family members or friends telling me I have to make it so once we got the restaurant open, we made sure that was.. our anchor for The Pearl."

The flavors speak for themselves.

"The freshness of the oyster is going to pop out at you first. And then the garlic butter sauce is going to invoke just a creamy richness that helps it just go down perfectly."

And to make that perfect experience even better, the kitchens takes those oysters and tops them with crab stuffing. "We stuffed them with our lump crab cake stuffing. So it's kind of a delicacy on top of a delicacy. And people really, really crave them because they're so tasty."

If clams are your thing, The Pearl offers a crispy fried Ipswich clams with tartar sauce for dipping, creamy dreamy clam chowder loaded up with all of the good stuff and addictive fried clam fritters.

"They are cornmeal fritters with with fresh clam.  There's a maple sea salt butter that is served with them, which is delicious. And They're light. They're fried. They're great."

When it comes to entrees,  the "must order" dish has to be The Seafood Trinity. This colossal bowl of fresh seafood comes swimming in a beautiful curry that hits your nose before it hits your mouth.

"The seafood Trinity is one of those dishes people come out looking for.... It's a full lobster, mussels, shrimp and clams.  It looks delicious in this curry sauce. It tastes delicious.  This is definitely one of those dishes that people notice from across the dining room."

A seafood restaurant is as good as it's lobster rolls and at The Pearl, they don't disappoint. And offer warm version with chunks of Fresh Maine Lobster Poached and Butter and served on a toasted buttered roll. Or a chilled version- which Mika always orders

"I prefer the cold lobster roll. It's a nice lobster salad. It is lightly mayonnaised. It has celery and little garlic a little green onion.  There's nothing overpowering the lobster is just very tasty."  But if you ask Luther, he'll tell you to order the Lobster Mac and Cheese.

"I put the lobster mac and cheese against anyone's in the city. The chef's took a long time and really mastering the sauce.  It's topped with a little bit of Ritz cracker.  Full chunks of lobster.  A great creamy sauce.  It's delicious is creamy.  It's filling.  I think you're really going to appreciate and love it. "

And meateaters are not a after thought at this seafood restaurant with fantastic options like this juicy chicken, served alongside roasted potatoes and asparagus... And the

"The burgers are very juicy.  They're handmade. They put love into them and it comes off of that grill just perfect."

"Its topped with with caramelized onions and blue cheese sauce has everything you need right on the burger. We don't even bring it out with ketchup because most people are able to dive right into it."

And with passionate owners, top notch fare and an atmosphere that is second to none,  you too will want to dive in and find The Pearl.