perfect for supermodels. i'll begin by saying i really don't know how to rate south end restaurant. there are a lot of things to love, but for me, one major shortcoming.
the atmosphere is very nice. beautifully appointed tables with white linen, sparkling glasses, and spotless silverware. the room is spacious with barn wood accenting the walls, a cool hanging light fixture with a mix of the currently fashionable edison bulbs. a very nicely designed bar, although with a typical and unimaginative selection of spirits. a very well trained wait staff provided flawless service. and delicious food. i would readily say the the quality of the food matches the best restaurants anywhere.
the biggest problem i had was the size of the portions, i'll get to that in a moment.
the restaurant is expensive, appetizers are in the area of $12 plus or minus depending on what you order. and main dishes are mostly $30-$40. you can order half sizes of some dishes, which is what my wife and daughter did. they had the half size of cavatelli, $15. the cavatelli was excellent, perfectly cooked pasta with just the right amount of italian sausage, broccoli rabe, and pecorino cheese to achieve a deliciously flavorful balance of well melded ingredients.
i had the chatham cod. also very delicious. it was described as having green beans, benton's bacon, in a new england clam chowder sauce. i did not notice any green beans at first. then i saw little teeny tiny pieces strategically placed around the cod. i'd say it was one green bean cut up into 8 - 10 pieces. i'm all for artistically presented food, and that can be a wonderful bonus. but the portion (full size, $34, photo submitted) was smaller than my family's half-size portions. i would confidently say my "dinner" sized portion was no larger than what the vast majority of people would consider the size of an appetizer. for reference, i am not a large person, with a huge appetite. i'm 55, six feet tall, 180 lbs.
i would happily pay the $120 (1 drink, 1 app., 2 half-size pastas, 1 "dinner" portion fish, tax, and tip) for that exceptional quality of food and service as long as i don't leave the restaurant still hungry. i am, of course, eating a meal - i would like to be satisfied. i shouldn't need to stop on the way home for something else to eat.
the reason that the vast majority of restaurants give you, in my opinion, too much food (yes i said too much food, hear me out) - is because the restaurants' cost for the raw food ingredients is typically only 20% of the total overhead for the restaurant. therefore in an attempt to show the customer a good value, most provide a large quantity of food because it doesn't cost them very much more to do so. i am not saying that i want a large quantity of food, only that this is a strategy that most restaurants use because their cost of food is relatively small compared to rent, salaries, etc. therefore i don't think south end would go bankrupt giving it's patrons a sensibly sized portion.
so bottom line, if you're a supermodel (wealthy and in the habit of consuming 300 calorie meals) south end is for you. if you're not, i'd recommend not turning away the second basket of bread they offer you.
food - 5 stars, service - 5 stars, atmosphere - 4 stars, value - 1 star.