Shore Leave

Super fun basement bar with a funky atmosphere. The nigiri and sushi were phenomenal and the drinks were fun and pretty good. Highly recommend doing the chef selection nigiri if you have someone with you as they give you two of each piece. Some of the drinks come in fun glasses like one we ordered in a conch shell! We could not stop ordering food so the tab ended up being high but the prices are actually a great value in my opinion.

Came here for dinner and loved this place! The inside decor was super cute, all tropical themed. The food was good but the portion sizes are a little small for the prices. The shore leave signature cocktail was also very good. Would definitely come here again!

If you're looking for a " dive bar " / speakeasy vibe, open late, this was an awesome experience. Great drinks -the bartenders were telling us about their training and experiences and wow - the tiki style drinks are a true craft! B(Ryan) and Kyle made this an awesome night in Boston! We're coming back!

Great speakeasy style Tiki Bar in a basement. Really pretty lighting and decor. High quality drinks, including a good selection of mocktails. Big selection of sushi and some misc Asia fusion food.

Did the Omakase bar at Shore Leave for my birthday. Chef Vincent made it an experience I won’t soon forget. Stayed after at the tiki bar and had an awesome time. Staff were super generous and kind.

Was here for “scare” leave. Def rec reservations. Service was so kind and quick. The food is mostly small plates, all are good. Def rec the sushi, particularly they had an amazing mushroom roll (if you like mushrooms). The drinks were interesting and the vibe was great on a early Saturday night.

Came here to check out what all the fuss was about. We had such a great time! The Christmas decorations and music were fantastic. The service was above and beyond, so friendly. The food itself was phenomenal. We did the chef's nigiri tasting and it was a great selection, better than what we could have picked out for ourselves. We also had the spicy tuna rilland it was amazing. I cannot believe I have paid the same price, if not higher, for worse rolls. The drinks were also delicious and so cute. Definitely plan to come back here in the future and try the other rolls!

This place is so fun! It’s located underground so a little hard to find. The cocktails are super amazing! Also want to mention the sushi bar is so phenomenal! The chef was very professional and friendly. Highly recommended!

TL;DR - Despite being below sea level, Shore Leave is a nice quaint place with great service, good food, and fantastic drinks. You won't be disappointed here. Kudos for the humor in the drink menu. Service - We were sat very quickly and our server was very down to earth and kind. Sydney put in our orders and the food arrived no less than 5 minutes later. Fantastic speed coupled with a great server is definitely a good way to start. Sydney will definitely get a good tip. Food - Grilled Shiitake: Very flavorful vegetarian nigiri, despite being a bit overpriced. Karaage Chicken Sandwich - One of the best chicken sandwiches that I've had in the area. (Suggested by Sydney) Spicy Avocado Roll - Just as one would expect, this was a fantastic display of a great vegetarian "sushi" option. Okonomiyaki Tater Tots - We ordered this dish without the bonito, since my partner is allergic. But this was still a great dish, definitely made possible by the katsu sauce. While the cheese is a bit like Velveeta, and I'm sure some people like that, I would have preferred a more homemade solution. But this is still a great dish. Don't skip it! Gyoza (vegetarian): Just as one would expect, this dish came out perfectly cooked and very flavorful. It's rare that I have so few complaints. Drinks - Haymaker Punch: A subtly flavored cocktail with a prominent ginger flavor. This is a very nice and relaxing drink, similar to a Moscow Mule made with rum. Don't skip this one. The Shore Leave Cocktail: Being the most popular cocktail on the menu, I definitely expected more. While it is quite tasty, I found it to be too acidic and heavy in tart flavor. Don't get me wrong. I still drank it. But it seemed more like a lime punch, which won't be nice for anyone with heartburn. Plantation Peru: This drink has a slight licorice taste due to the bitters but it's not overpowering. This is a refreshing twist on an Old Fashioned. Query's Rum Manhattan: With a slight taste of spice, the fluff really makes this drink pop! Very nice.

Great Boston tiki bar! Milo was awesome behind the bar and explained some of the unique liquors on the menu today. The Shore Leave was an automatic winner, can never go wrong with passion fruit. Dim the Lights was an excellent coupe cocktail, not bitter but not too sweet. Desert Blush was a great cocktail with margarita vibes and a different sweetness. Go support one of the premier tiki bars in Boston!

Such a cool fun spot to get some drinks and sushi! Drinks are so cool each of them in their cute glasses and super tasty. We enjoyed the variety of sushi they had as well. Super nice vibes and pretty place!

Low key obsessed with this place. I wish i had found out about it sooner bc the Santa tiki decorations are gone after Dec 31. Boston was in need of a Santa tiki bar and I don’t know how you can top this place. Everything was top notch - hostess, waiter, service, decor, food, drinks and ambiance. The drinks were fun, the sushi melts in your mouth, and the desserts are as if they came from the North Pole. Highly recommend and will def go back next Christmas!

Shore Leave is a mix of Pan-Asian cuisine, tiki, and good old Americana. The dungeon burger is an absolute favorite of my wife's and the sushi on the menu is fresh and flavorful. Been many times, but the Shore Leave house drink is a must for me. It includes a not so subtle hint of molasses which is homage to the North End of Boston's infamous Molasses flood in 1919.

We had an amazing time! We visited to celebrate my birthday and the entire staff made my birthday so special. Haley was an extraordinary waitress, so thoughtful and charismatic! We will definitely be visiting again.

Outstanding! Great drinks, food and ambiance! Happened to be Halloween themed for October. We were wrapping up dinner when a drag show started so we ended up staying 2 more hours.

First time here, with some who have been prior. Upon entry, gives speakeasy vibes being in the lower level of the building. A little darker than I like when I am eating, but we were just having apps and drinks. Our server, I do not recall her name, but she was fantastic. The specialty drinks were amazing. Prices are on par with Boston.

I went solo for the 45 min 12 course omakase and what a great value. Fish was fresh and great. My server i didnt get his name was wonderful and so helpful with sake selections. 85 dollars so worth it. Sake was great also had a quick cocktail before hand and it was delicious!

Shore Leave nails the vibe. Warm lighting, great energy, and a space that feels lively without being loud. The staff was genuinely friendly and attentive, helpful without hovering. The omakase was the standout. The chef was excellent, thoughtful pacing, confident execution, and every course felt intentional. You could tell there was pride behind the food, not just technique but personality. A place that’s easy to relax in and easy to trust. Definitely worth going back.

I've only been here a couple of times now invited by a friend of mine named Big John he and I used to sing at other places before I decided to check this place out in a 3-hour period from 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Friday nights the songs move quickly! Karaoke DJ does not waste three or four minutes per song before calling up the next singer! As soon as they're done and get applause he moves right on up to the next singer! Every karaoke DJ in the city of Boston could learn from these guys! And they've got a huge extensive song list big book of songs! Very friendly people all the way around the whole staff karaoke DJ's management everybody! Incredible place to sing! Great atmosphere and great participation! Customers were really nice and appreciative as well! Look forward to going there when I can! Both karaoke DJs I experience for both nice! I'm glad Big John showed me this place! This is the class of karaoke places in Boston! This is how you really run karaoke! Not wasting time going to business in getting on with the singer after singer after singer! Never experienced this before anywhere! Including one of the places I still go to I won't mention who they are because they treat me like family! But even there system could be updated with more songs and getting people up song after song after song instead of waiting three or four minutes per song because this other place gets packed and people get left out of singing! I'll take Shore leave over anybody they really know how to do it right! All of their employees and management really know how to do this right! I applaud every single one of them! Including the nice customer participation! I've only had a little bit of their food but it's really good! My only problem is cokes are $6 a glass and that's way too expensive for my blood! I'll stick with the free ice water but I do hope they would change that price! That's the most expensive price in the city that's the only drawback about this place! On a scale to 100 in my opinion this place gets a 99 and a half! 🙏😃⚖️😎

Came for the Sippin Santa but will definitely come back. Food was delicious. Sushi was good but not the best I’ve had loved the creative dishes and variety of foods to choose from. The pad Thai brussel sprouts were so good. Drinks were fun and not crazy strong and I loved all the holiday decorations!

Great holiday pop-up spot!! Typically I feel like these types of places have underwhelming food & drinks and focus on the “vibe”/aesthetic of it all. Not the case here! Vibes were amazing but so was the food (we got sushi, gyoza, calamari, and skewers)!! Our favorite was the unique calamari. Very attentive staff, fun drinks as well.

Omakase was delicious and the tiki drinks were fun. Was not expecting the whole place to be completely decked out in kitschy holiday decorations, complete with a surf rock band playing Xmas tunes. It was beyond amazing and will be a new holiday tradition for us!

Cute atmosphere. The holiday on ice coffee cocktail was yummy and cutesy. The other drink was insanely strong. I wish there were more standing room

Cocktails get 5 stars, food is a 4.5. The menu is pretty limited for people who are vegetarian. If you’re hungry, get the sandwiches like a burger and the chicken sandwich. Here’s the beak down: - Tater tots are great and a successful fusion - Wagyu skewers are good, very small - Veggie sushi was good - Crab Rangoon was standard - Dan Dan noodles were good, but it’s a COLD noodle. Beware - Hamburger and chicken sandwiches were great

We had the omakase at Shore Leave for the first time. We didn't have high expectations since this was advertised as a 45 mins "express sushi" experience. The meal overall exceeded our expectations however. All the fish courses tasted fresh and there was a good variety. We prefer sashimi and nigiri minimally sauced so that we can actually taste the fish without being overwhelmed by heavy handed seasoning. The toro, sea bass and scallop were our favorites. The crab salad and trout roe were not as successful. The trout roe and the miso soup were too salty. We enjoyed the meal and chatted a little with the chef. Service was friendly and efficient. We actually liked the fact that the meal didn't drag on needlessly. Unlike other omakase that we've had, you cannot order additional sushi beyond what's on the menu to ensure that the meal is completed within 45 minutes. If still hungry for more, one can order more food at the regular bar. But, we were quite full after the 14 courses and didn't need any supplement. We didn't feel rushed. Overall, we enjoyed the meal experience and would definitely recommend to friends. I'm happy to have found an omakase that is as good as the ones in NYC and offered at a reasonable price.

Shore Leave in Boston is a vibrant restaurant offering Asian-inspired dishes and an array of tiki cocktails, all served in a fun and lively atmosphere. The friendly and attentive staff add to the welcoming environment, though the cozy size of the restaurant means you might find yourself in close quarters with other diners. However, the inclusive vibe, particularly their support for the LGBTQ+ community, creates a warm and inviting ambiance which is great. We started with the Dan Dan Noodles, which though not quite traditional, offered a peanut-infused twist. Might have called this dish Peanut Noodles or something though. The Tuna Tartare was not bad, but it was the Okonomiyaki Tater Tots that was incredible! The Karaage Chicken Sandwich was delicious and shareable if you ask! For dinner I opted for the Shore Leave Roll, a combination of shrimp tempura, hamachi, pickled pineapple, serrano, cilantro, and aji amarillo. While the sushi was good quality, it is slightly on the higher end at $20 a roll. The Eggplant Dragon Roll was very creative and tasty. Only thing is we would have liked more sushi options to choose from for the menu. As for the cocktails, they're as colorful as they are creative, with themed options changing with the seasons and holidays. We enjoyed the experience and look forward to returning to sample more of what Shore Leave has to offer! Thanks for a wonderful evening!

My friend and I went during their Halloween celebration Scare Leave. It was super crowded, but we were able to find two open chairs at the bar relatively quickly. If you’re going for a special event, definitely make a reservation unless you have a small party. The vibes are great. They had lots of fun decorations matching the pirate theme. The bartender was super nice. My friend and I were talking about different restaurants, and I kept forgetting the name of certain places, but the bartender would interject with the name. Honestly, a G. I got Ahuizotl's Conquest, a cocktail that didn’t have a strong taste other than pure alcohol. Food wise, I also got the okonomiyaki tater tots which were fine but didn’t taste particularly like okonomiyaki. For my main meal, I got the shiitake tempura roll which wasn’t too bad. The tempura was quite crispy, and there were enough rolls that I was satisfied.

Food I was mainly coming for drinks and expecting average bar food, but the food was not bad at all. Of course, the drinks were amazing. Everything else The ambiance was very festive. They decorated the whole place with Christmas lights and decorations, and even had the table covered changed to Christmas patterns.

Definitely not worth the money as there are far better Omakase's in the city. Majority of the dishes were definitely solid but now exceptional or wow by any means. Most Omakases find a way to really elevate the fish or highlight the natural flavor, most of what we were served was pretty neutral or bland. The experience is good though, very friendly and accommodating, had a lot of fun there.

Nigiri was good but average as it didn’t leave the melt on your tongue kind of feeling compared to other places. Wagyu needed salt. Service was good. Tuna tartare was okay. Okonomyaki potatoes were good.

Great spot for dinner and drinks in the South End. The nigiri and sushi rolls were delicious and everything tasted very fresh! The tater tots is more like a bar food, but if you like okonomiyaki then you’ll love the flavor on those. Drinks lean toward the sugary side, but the old fashioned they offer was great too!

I was really impressed by this place. My goal was just to get drinks, but ended up by sushi rolls & crab Rangoon. The vibe there was really nice. They got like 4 bathrooms which is nice if you really got to go hahah. The place is clean , service was great, and food was amazing

The atmosphere of this place is very lively and fun. The drinks were good and the employees were very accommodating! The food is not too bad, overall good, but their Asian food definitely was not up-to-par.

I would call this tiki-light. The decor is fun but they don’t really lean into the theme the way other tiki places do (three dots and a dash, for example). The sushi and appetizers we had were good as were the cocktails though presentation was lacking. Decent prices by Boston standards and great, friendly staff.

While the drinks and atmosphere were a standout, the food was a bit underwhelming. The Asian fusion dishes were solid but lacked the wow factor that would make them truly memorable. While it's a great place to grab a drink and enjoy the atmosphere, diners seeking exceptional cuisine might want to explore other options.

Atmosphere and service was phenomenal, food was meh. Felt like the sushi was prepared hours before.

This place is okay. It is located underground, that is why it is a little bit hard to find it. They have nice cocktails. They tasted great. The atmosphere is nice. However, the food is not worse. This place is good for cocktails but not for food. I ordered Dungeon Burger. The way they served it was weird. It was in a kind of foil wrap and it looked like I was in some fast food place. It did not taste good, it was a dry burger. They did not put any afford to make it look nice or at least taste good. The way how they serve food do not the same as how they serve drinks. Each drink looks great, and it tasted delicious. Please improve the quality of food.

Came for dinner with a friend. Their dishes are small plates to share style, no dish seemed substantial enough to be a main dish, due to size or content. The flavors were standard Asian fusion. Majority of their menu are centered around sushi but their fish quality isn’t the best and the rice in the sushi roll we ordered was mushy. The salmon sashimi especially had a fishy aftertaste. I enjoyed their tater tots, its flavor profile highly assembled takoyaki. The wagyu skewer was also nice, you can taste it’s done on a charcoal grill but the meat was very lean, no marbling at all, so maybe a low grade wagyu. The restaurant was initially a bit confusing to get to as you see the restaurant front door from outside but when you open it, it leads to a stairway with no clear labeling that the restaurant is in the basement. There’s no cell reception but they do provide free WiFi and the actual restaurant ambiance is nice and trendy. Our waitress was the most attentive, she made our dining experience really enjoyable! This would be a good place for a light bite in the afternoon before dinner, but probably not a dinner place especially if you’re coming for the sushi offerings. Likely explained how the restaurant was mostly empty around dinner hours, tho we came during a weekday.

Visited in mid Nov 2023. Booked the Omakase and sat at small (6 person) sushi bar. Food was ok. In my opinion, not worth the $85/pp. It didn't meet my expectations from the reviews and tiktoks i saw prior to visting . Atmosphere was just ok too. Nothing really stood out as being unique, fun or interesting.

Had to delete my previous 5-star review from a couple years ago (omakase, which was exceptional) to make a new one based on my dining experience the other night. I’ll start by saying that the sushi is very good! But nearly everything is outrageously overpriced for tiny portions (cocktails full of just ice & single-piece nigiri especially). Mostly though, our service was kind of a nightmare. We were a group of 5 and our food came out at vastly different times, to the point where most members of the group were finished eating before others even got their appetizers. Definitely relying on their sushi quality and fun vibes to carry them as a restaurant, but service is sorely lacking for how pricey this place is.