Long Bar & Terrace

Green velvet, room to settle

Long Bar & Terrace makes luxury feel comfortable. At Raffles Boston, the glamour comes with green velvet seating and enough space between neighboring seats for a proper conversation. The seats in front of the bar offer a particularly appealing balance: close to the action, with the comfort of settling into the room rather than perching on a stool.

There is little fuss to interrupt that pleasure. Service is prompt and friendly, and the welcome makes it easy to relax into the surroundings. The room has the polish expected of Raffles, but comfort is what gives it a reason to hold your attention beyond the first impression.

In warmer months, the terrace adds another reason to come: a sunset cocktail or an afternoon spritz. Indoors, the green velvet and conversational spacing make a case of their own. This is a setting with enough appeal to make a disappointing drink feel all the more frustrating.

A Sling and a letdown

The Boston Sling is refreshing, though distinctly sweet. It is the recommended order for a taste of Long Bar’s connection to Raffles, whose Singapore property traces the Singapore Sling to bartender Ngiam Tong Boon in 1915. Boston has its own version of the drink, and the connection gives the order a sense of place without making the two recipes interchangeable.

The espresso martini is another matter. For years, the Long Bar’s espresso martini ranked among our favorites, not only in Boston, but nationally. It arrives well built; good foam, perfectly chilled and a strong, rich coffee flavor that makes it one to remember. Unfortunately, on our most recent visit the espresso martini arrived watery and insufficiently chilled, with a light layer of foam that looks almost curdled before disappearing. There is no glossing over this particular result: the drink was undrinkable.

That gap is difficult to reconcile with the room around it. A hotel with Raffles’ reputation and price point sets an expectation of care in the glass as well as in the surroundings. The Boston Sling meets its brief. We fear the espresso martini now falls far short.

A reason to return, a reason to hesitate

The room still earns another chance. Comfortable seating, a warm welcome, and the terrace’s appeal give Long Bar more to recommend than the failed cocktail alone suggests. Prompt, friendly service adds warmth, even though it cannot make up for what arrives in the glass.

For now, the menu gives plenty of other choices. Come for conversation and the pleasure of the setting, with the understanding that the cocktails should inspire equal confidence. Another disappointment makes the case for returning harder to sustain.