Restaurants

Servia will open downtown with Eastern Mediterranean breakfast and lunch

Kebabs, moussaka, and meze mixes are coming to downtown's historic Cunard Building.

By Erin Kuschner

October 8, 2020

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A message to downtown workers in search of an alternative to their usual Sweetgreen or Dig Inn visits: Change is coming, in the form of a new breakfast, lunch, and, eventually, dinner destination that’s about to join the neighborhood.

Servia, a modern Eastern Mediterranean restaurant, will debut at 126 State St. in two phases, starting with breakfast and lunch on October 13 (dinner will follow on October 26). Located in the historic Cunard Building, the eatery is divided into three sections: a private dining room on the ground floor, and, 10 steps above on the first floor, a bar on the right side of the lobby and a dining room on the left side.

Dining room at Servia.

When it first opens, diners will be able to stop in for breakfast and lunch, either taking their meal to-go or to enjoying it on-site. Executive chef Claudio Cavalleri has devised a breakfast menu that includes custard and cherry-filled croissants, spanakopita, breakfast flatbread, and Israeli bagels with labneh cheese. For lunch, there are pastas, salads, and kebabs, but according to general manager Derek Alten, the meze mixes are the star of the show.

“It’s our take on a bento box,” he said, describing how each mix is divided into five compartments, featuring dishes that include grilled beef meatballs, hummus, saffron pilaf, falafel, za’atar tomato salad, and more.

Pastitsio at Servia.

Once dinner service starts, guests will be able to order braised lamb shank, moussaka, grilled octopus, and a variety of “ancient grain pitzas” with toppings that include broccoli rabe, spicy sausage, feta, sumac, and more. To drink: beer, wine, and cocktails, the last of which features concoctions like the Marrakesh Express made with mezcal, pomegranate juice, harissa, rose water, aquafaba, and lemon.

While office buildings in the Financial District have seen a dramatic decrease in the number of tenants due to the pandemic, Alten remains optimistic about the neighborhood’s future, telling Boston.com that “foot traffic has picked up steadily.” Still, he knows that they have a long way to go before reaching pre-pandemic expectations.

Cocktails at Servia.

“From everything I’ve seen, it seems that everyone is doing between 30 and 40 percent of what they were doing this time last year,” he said. “So I’ve had to re-do our projections, and part of the reason we’re taking it slow in the beginning is that I don’t want to have to lay off anybody after I’ve already hired them. …We are taking it slow, but the neighborhood is improving.”

When Servia launches on Tuesday, it will operate from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. for breakfast and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch, Tuesdays through Sundays. Dinner will launch on October 26.

Check out the opening menus for Servia below:

Breakfast menu at Servia

Lunch menu at Servia.

Dinner menu at Servia.

Drinks menu at Servia.