Message from Elephant Walk
Since 1991, The Elephant Walk has remained the only restaurant in the Boston Area serving Cambodian and French cuisine. The Cambodian menu consists of traditional dishes ranging from everyday street food to aristocratic and royal delicacies, as well as original dishes created by Cambodian Executive Chefs Nadsa and Longteine De Monteiro using classic Cambodian ingredients and cooking techniques. The French menu consists of original dishes created primarily by Nadsa. In 2001, The Elephant Walk was voted "Best Vegetarian" by both the editors and the readers of CitySearch. While most fine dining restaurants offer a single vegetarian entree, we have always offered a large selection of vegetarian and/or vegan menu items.
Editorial by Citysearch
The SceneA colorful crowd of food lovers make the trek to sample hard-to-find Cambodian dishes and non-fussy French fare. Attentive young servers and colorful, eclectic dishes provide the bright, upbeat dining room with plenty of atmosphere (there are also many elephant images, for good luck). Libation lovers have a menu of fruity house concoctions to select from, as well as an exciting wine list that's full of rare, international varietals.
The Food
Wise diners mix and match the menu's endless assortment of French and Cambodian dishes. Must-try starters include devilishly fun Nataing (ground pork-coconut milk dip that's served with crunchy jasmine rice cakes) and Leah Chah (steamed mussels in a savory Asian basil broth). Among the Gallic options, a smart choice is the Porc Diplomat--grilled pork tenderloin with a creamy mushroom, garlic and black pepper sauce. Leave room for light, pleasing desserts like white-chocolate mousse with tart raspberry coulis.
Key Points
- Large Vegetarian Menu
- Full-Service Catering
- Sunday Brunch
The Inside Scoop
- Parking - Good luck finding parking in this heavily residential area (forget about it when the Red Sox are in town). Fortunately, there's an on-site parking lot that is free for lunchtime patrons and costs $7 (valet service) at night.
- Save Money - A four-course tasting menu, served Sundays through Thursdays, costs only $29.95.
- Know Before You Go - Word to the wise: unless you have an iron tongue, order the Cambodian dishes on the mild side and ask for a dish of hot sauce (spicy here means more than a pinch of curry powder).
Insider Pages Reviews for Elephant Walk
The staff was fairly friendly, and the food was alright, but a bit pricey for the quality. I've been here four times so far, and they have been getting better each time. If your girlfriend likes chocolate, their chocolate torte is like foreplay for her.
Posted 01/29/08 | Report Abuse
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I actually took a cooking class at Elephant Walk and it was really interesting. The French-Cambodian cuisine has some atypical ingredients but the chef explained each one along with its nutritional value to us all beforehand. Then we went into the kitchen and started cooking... and we actually got to do it ourselves and use their equipment! It was a lot of fun, I'd suggest gong in a group, and afterwards you get to eat the delicious meal you just prepared.
Posted 01/22/08 | Report Abuse
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This restaurant offers fusion French-Cambodian cuisine. But don't be scared off by that! There are plenty of familiar dishes here. Some of the food resembles Thai. The restaurant isn't cheap, but it has a great atmosphere and excellent food. Their lunch menu is much cheaper, so if you're on a budget you might want to consider going at lunchtime. The service has is friendly and prompt.
PROS: Great food, exotic dishes, excellent service and atmosphere.
CONS: On the expensive side.
Posted 07/16/05 | Report Abuse
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Latest reviews from Citysearch.
Serendipitous change of scene
by mitcoffee
When it comes to French-Cambodian cuisine, there are very few restaurants names in Boston that come to mind besides the Elephant Walk restaurants in the back bay and Cambridge. With this in mind, we went specifically for the change in palate, and what a surprisingly nice dinner it was. The back bay restaurant is discretely located on the East end of the BU campus- not too flashy from the outside, but upon entering- the ambience is pleasantly fancy. It accommodates to a wide variety of clientele- business partners. first dates, girls' parties, family dinners and local restauranteurs. We went on the night of a big Patriots game; yet it was rather packed! The staff was friendly, attentive- yet not overly in-your-face. As for food- the menu consists of cambodian and french cuisine- which was actually to our surprise since we'd expected the trendy 'fusion-cuisine.' Both of us went with cambodian- starting with spring rolls and a raw tuna/avocado salad- both of which was quickly yet delicately prepared- not too salty but flavorful, and furthermore: unusually generous in portions! For entrees- we went with the traditional braised/steamed seafood stew and the sea scallops- both of which were nothing like what we could've ever imagined! Delicious, not too salty (which is unfortunately the case for many restaurants!), delicate balance of different flavors, well-portioned, and beautifully presented. The mashed edamame that came with the scallops was particularly memorable! We indulged so much in the appetizers and entrees that had no room for dessert ! This restaurant comes well-recommended. Another note: for the food quality, service and ambience- this restaurant is not over-the-top in prices!
Pros: Ambience, Service, Unique cuisine
Cons: You might need to make a reservation!
Posted 01/14/08
would never come back
by meemz
After waiting a long time to find the time to go to this highly recommended restaurant, we were utterly disappointed. Service was ok at best with the waitress not being knowledgeable of any menu items to recommend. My dish was described as "Signature Cambodian dish", but fell short of being even close to average. The seafood was overly fishy and the flavors were unpleasantly pungent. My bf's lamb was ordered medium rare and came out borderline medium-well done. Prices were insanely overpriced and the authenticity of Cambodian food was far from met. We have had a lot of great, authentic Cambodian food in Long Beach, California for half the price, which leads us to ascertain that Elephant Walk is an overly hyped, overly priced, mediocre restaurant claiming to creatively infuse French with Cambodian food with absolutely no success. Perhaps they should try to master Cambodian food and French food individually before attempting to infuse the two together.
I would not recommend this place to anyone.
Pros: easily accessible
Cons: pricey, overrated, mediocre unauthentic food.
Posted 05/07/07
Usually Really Good----Last time just average
by kelbot74
I have been to this resturant many times when I have been in Boston on business and LOVED IT! Have always had great food and service. We recently moved to Boston and I was excited to bring my husband to one of my favorite resturants to much disappointment. Great atmosphere, however our waiter was the most incompetant person that I have ever experienced at a resturant. He took too long to bring our drinks (martinis not so cold) and the appetizer was also cold. The only good thing about the meal was the delicious wild boar that my husband ordered.
The service was so poor that our empty drink glasses sat at the table as the wine was poured and we ate our main course. It was impossible to get the waiter's attention. When we did get his attention it was like we were asking for his first born or something.
I will come back one more time, however I will make sure to request a more experienced waiter!
Posted 01/27/07
Best lettuce wraps!!!!
by msbhvn12106
All I have to say is that the staff was more than courteous and the let us stay a little past when they should have because we were so involved in our conversation. Food was excellent, and one last thing... LETTUCE WRAPS. Get 'em if you can....
Pros: Service, food
Cons: We ran out of time! Next time we know to make an earlier reservation.
Posted 01/17/07
lovely dinner spot
by citylover77
Having always walked in front of the Elephant Walk I had never even paid much attention to this restaurant. It wasn't until someone recommended it that I decided to try it out with my boyfriend. The idea of a Cambodian-French cuisine could sound like an particular mix but we were really pleasantly surprised. The appetizer was wonderful and so were our entrees (we had one french and one cambodian, both extremely tasty and original) and then ended with a typical french chocolate layer cake. With two glasses of wine it came out to about 90 dollars but it was absolutely worth it! the waiter was also extremely nice and helpful! great for dates and for anyone wanting to try something new!
Pros: ambience, vegetarian/vegan friendly, service
Posted 12/10/06