Fete on Kingston
Boston is over a thousand miles away from the Caribbean, but we found a restaurant that’s bringing island vibes and tropical flavors to the heart of the city. So let’s get a taste of Fete.
Fete, which means “celebration” by the way, is on Kingston Street in downtown Boston. It’s part Caribbean restaurant, part night club, and 100 percent a place you gotta try. Executive Chef Edward George grew up on Haitian cuisine, and every plate he makes is like a carnival for your mouth..
“This is a Caribbean fusion restaurant, mainly Haitian. We take a lot of influences from Haiti, Jamaica, and we also fuse with Asian cultures as well as Afro Latino cultures.”
“If you're Caribbean you understand that ”fete” is a part of Carnevale. People go out there to, you know, celebrate life… celebrate happiness, make sure that they're joyous with their people. And we just want to make sure that same that same lifestyle, is done here. That's why we feel like we're we took that name serious. So anybody who has a celebration, whether it's a birthdays, anniversary, graduation, you can find them coming in to celebrate.”
And that Caribbean fusion flavor starts at brunch. Saturdays and Sundays you can get your classics, with a celebratory Fete twist.
Like their Biscoff Cookie Cream French Toast. Crunchy pieces of French toast, griddled in butter and finished with homemade whipped cream, powdered sugar, and, of course, those sweet, cinnamon, Biscoff Cookies.
But, for the best of both flavor worlds, you have to get the Red Velvet Chicken and Waffles.
“Golden vanilla batter at first, and then we mix in our cocoa seasoning to create that red velvet flavoring topped with fresh berries, powdered sugar and paired with honey, garlic wings. Top seller, top top in the city
“Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, paired with our maple syrup, hot maple syrup, unbeatable.”
And to wash down those delicious bites? No brunch is complete without a mimosa, or four. At Fete, you can get an entire Mimosa Tree, with flavors like blueberry, strawberry, passionfruit, and lychee.
And the party doesn’t stop there. For lunch and dinner, Fete’s appetizers combine their traditional Caribbean roots with familiar comfort foods.
Their Boulet meatballs are seasoned with epis, which is a traditional Caribbean Flavor base, then they’re baked, and then fried to order, finished with a Creole sauce and served with a side of plantains to balance the spice.
They’re also serving up Haitian Sushi fusion, using black Haitian rice, rolled with classic Haitian dish staples, Pikliz, which is a spicy Haitian slaw, sweet plantains, avocado and sweet peppers.
If you’re looking for a heartier dish that brings the flavors of the Caribbean, you have to try the Oxtail grilled cheese.
“We use our premium cut oxtails, slow braised, pulled off the bone. Make sure that, you know, still juicy, still flavor packed. We pack that on to garlic texas toast… We use sharp cheddar, mozzarella and smoked gouda. So it gives it a nice smoky flavor.”
“And we also serve it with oxtail gravy on the side for you to dip in.”
The main dishes at Fete also showcase those island flavors. The Griot Dinner offers a traditional Haitian pork dish, which is slow-braised, cut into chunks and fried until golden and crispy, served with that pikliz slaw and tostones. The bite is flavor packed with spices and citrus, and balanced perfectly with the fat from the pork.
Or, if you like your dinner with a side of drama, the signature Fete burger is the way to go. It actually comes to the table locked up in a suitcase, yes you heard me right. So, customers can just unlatch the case and let the feast begin.
“When you get that burger, it's gonna be a show coming to your table.”
“It's unique because we also mix our own ground beef and patty our own burgers.”
“You'll get a different flavoring because we're grilling it, and that smoke and that flame, that flame broil is going to give a different experience.”
“We top our Fete burgers with boom boom sauce, perfect sauce pairing, lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles, and we should pair it with a shoestring french fry. Our burgers are special because it also comes out with a celebration.”
“Everybody usually says that that burger case reminds them of that scene in Pulp Fiction, but I'll tell you this it’s definitely not a royale with cheese. It’s way better”
But, here at Fete, it’s not over until the disco lights come on and the sparklers start sparkling. For dessert, check out the glazed pineapple sundae, and when they say pineapple they mean it. Served in the pineapple shell, loaded with pineapple ice cream, and topped with diced pineapple, toasted coconut and coconut syrup. It's sweet, it’s fun, and it will make you feel like you’re in the Caribbean sipping a pina colada.
“If you haven’t been to Fete yet… you gotta come. Celebrations here? One of one. Food here? One of one. Staff here? One of one. You’re not gonna find another place like this in the city.”
“Every time coming here is always a party.”
“Come for the food, stay for the vibes.”
