Recently, I went with a friend to grab a bite to eat downtown. I’m not the adventurous type of eater so typically I stay with the same basics to play it safe. This night however, we went down to Chinatown and walked into Shojo, a unique and trendy restaurant that serves the food family style, allowing you to share with whoever you are with. This is called tapas style at Shojo, where they give smaller plates but tables order multiple things to try among themselves. According to Shojo’s website, they offer “modern Asian cuisine, a bar with inventive cocktails, and a Japanese spirit list unrivaled in the city.” The inside of Shojo was covered with art, and was dimly lit. It held a certain vibe, as college students filled every bar stool and each table in the house was taken. They had a Japanese film playing on a flat screen behind the bar, something completely different in comparison to many other sports bars in Boston. Shojo has set themselves aside from the norm and has created something new and amazing. This restaurant is a gem and it’s treated as such, with almost a five star review on Google reviews, with over 600 reviews raving about their experience.

I started my meal by ordering a drink I had never heard of, “Shojo Punch,” but have since craved it because it was so delicious. It was a concoction of lime, lemon, orange, grapefruit, and orgeat. We ordered some things to share for the table before we put in our dinner entrees, which we planned to share as well to authentically experience this restaurant’s intended vibe. We shared duck fat hand-cut fries which surprised me by how normal they tasted. Not in a bad way, of course, but I had never heard of fries being prepared this way so I was a little scared and then surprised to realize they tasted just like any other fry prepared differently. As we munched on those, my friend ordered Salmon Crudo to have on her own, as I won’t eat seafood. The salmon was perfectly presented on a small plate with spices and herbs placed on top, making it look almost too good to eat! She said it was some of the best salmon she ever had, and couldn’t get over how fresh it tasted.

I ordered “Chicken & Waffles v3.0,” something I’ve heard was very popular but I had never given a try myself. The waffles came with a very sweet syrup to put on top and only a small drizzle was needed. I decided to put the syrup on the chicken as well, stepping out of my food comfort zone here. It was quickly filling and a nice, enjoyable meal. The waffle specifically was very soft and delicious, topped with a crispy, fried chicken allowing for a compliment of opposite textures or tastes. There was a glob of sweet butter that was smack dab in the middle of the waffle and it complimented the chicken nicely as well. These are two foods I would have never put together on my own, but created such a unique taste that it makes you crave more. This was a pretty big plate, so I couldn’t finish it on my own but it was perfect because with tapas style, my friend was encouraged to pick off of my plate!

The food was great and the cool atmosphere made me want to come back to Shojo on a Friday night with some friends. This isn’t your average sports bar that you’d find on every corner in Boston, this experience is unique and one you should try next time you’re looking to go out.