A new dining spot has quietly opened on Waltham's "Restaurant Row," and the person who runs two other suburban eateries is behind it.
Eater Boston is reporting that Balani is now open in the former Raffaele's Ristorante space on Moody Street, with Dave Becker of Juniper in Wellesley and Sweet Basil in Needham looking to have it be a flexible and experimental restaurant with a variety of small plates and main dishes, including poutine, burgers, scallop paella, adobo chicken, smoked pork ribs, chicken liver manti, pizza, pulled short rib, smoked monkfish kofta, and more. Balani is currently open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday.
Raffaele's closed in April after less than two years in business; the space had previously been home to Nonna's Italian Bar and Grill had been and Erawan of Siam as well.
The address for Balani is 469 Moody Street, Waltham, MA, 02453. Its Instagram page can be found at https://www.instagram.com/balani_restaurant/
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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]
