Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar & Grill

This restaurant opened to great hype – if you live in New England and have never heard of Jerry Remy’s, you must be living under a rock or something.  Or at least spending all of your internet time reading and/or writing diet pill reviews.

Located on Boylston Street near Fenway Park, this restaurant is indeed owned by legendary Red Sox TV announcer Jerry Remy.  And on days when the Sox aren’t playing, you just may see him in the restaurant.

We had been wanting to try this place, but wanted to wait until all of the opening hype had died down a bit.  Even so, we knew it would be busy and crowded whenever a Red Sox game is going on.

Then I heard that Jerry would be hosting his annual All-Star Party at his restaurant, in past years, it has been held inside Fenway Park.  We decided to go, as this would give us a good way to check the place out for the first time, without having to wait a zillion years for a table or seats at the bar.

This is a really nice place.  The focal point of it are the “Screen Monsters”, two ginormous TVs that hang over the bar.  One of these TVs alone is bigger than our bed, that’s how big they are.  There are also smaller TVs all around the place, so that no matter where you sit, you will be able to see the game.  They even have TVs in the restrooms so you won’t miss a play – the ladies room has three TVs in it.

Since our ticket for the event included a buffet, we did not look at or order off the regular menu.  But if the offerings on the buffet are anything like the regular menu food, you’re in for a treat, it was excellent.  Note:  they do NOT have a buffet all the time, this was just for this special event.  Buffet offerings included pulled pork sliders, beef sliders, St. Louis style ribs, assorted styles of wings, assorted quesadillas, a tuna platter (with FRESH tuna cooked rare, not the canned stuff), and assorted vegetables and salads.

If you enjoy good beer, this is a great place, as they have many fine selections in bottles and on tap.  Most of the craft brews on tap are from local breweries, but they have some from other places, as well.

Jerry has an interesting marketing plan that I’ve never seen before.  For $500, you can purchase a “season pass”, to either all Red Sox home games, or all away games.  The home game plan is currently sold out for this year.  The season pass not only bumps you to the front of a line and guarantees you a table with no waiting, but also comes with a $25 food credit and a free beer, ON EACH VISIT.  A lot of people  dissed this idea, saying it was a rip-off.  But think about it – if you have Red Sox season tickets and come to all the games, and eat at Remy’s before the games, that’s a lot of free beers and twenty-five dollarses!  It will pay for itself after just 25 visits!  They also have other packages for other Boston sports.

You do not have to sign up for this to eat at the restaurant, of course.  And it’s really only worth it if you are a die-hard who goes to Fenway a lot.  So it’s not something I would sign up for.  But the fact that many people have, prove that the idea is a success.

We liked the place and will definitely be back.