A long time ago, I used to be a semi-regular of sorts at Doyle's on Washington Street in Jamaica Plain, but I haven't been going there quite as often over the past few years (mainly because I have so little opportunity to go to restaurants that I am not actually looking to feature on the Boston's Hidden Restaurants site). But at the last minute, a group of us went got over to Doyle's the other night, and it was pretty much what we expected--decent food, tremendous atmosphere, and excellent people-watching from our table that was in the bar area.We settled into our seats after a very short wait and started with beers (I ordered a Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout--excellent) and salads (average, with lots of iceberg lettuce), though the dressing was pretty good). For our meals, we had a variety of items, including roast pork loin, scallops, and sirloin steak, which is what I ordered. My steak was perfectly cooked and had very little fat, and the baked potato was oddly shaped, but tender and tasty. We skipped desserts, as they were out of nearly everything we were interested in.
As usual, I was awed by the classic old-Boston vibe. My seat, with its back to the wall at one end of the bar area, was particularly good, as I could soak in the atmosphere of the entire room. Our waitress just added to the overall feel of the place, as she was a veteran of the place, and as friendly (and funny) as could be.
Once again, Doyle's impressed; the food may not be the best in Boston, but it is good, solid fare, and the atmosphere simply takes you away to a different era when neighborhood joints such as this one were found all over Beantown. I just hope Doyle's is around for a long time to come, as there are fewer and fewer of these types of places in the Boston area with each passing year.
