Feast on Caviar Tempura Nuggets Underneath Labubus at This Boston Restaurant

At this sly encouragement, I order the Spirit Bomb, an Instagram-friendly coup glass filled with sake, rosemary vodka, elderflower, and lychee, and topped with a giant rosemary smoke bubble. Etiquette says: Don’t you dare pop that bubble before everyone has their ring lights ready. The sweet cocktail tastes like I expect a pastel Labubu would if it were edible, but it lubricates the shift into going-out mode in this trendy neighborhood.

The vibes

Designed in-house, the restaurant is strategically photogenic. An electric purple neon squiggle on the ceiling provides lavender mood lighting, and a shimmering silver mirror in a side hallway makes for fun selfies. Otherwise, the space is low-key. Deep green and gold wallpaper adds a dash of elegance, and a wall of half-windows into the kitchen brings a more casual feel. Mai doesn’t take reservations, so you’re likely to see crowds of curious, waitlisted diners peeking in the windows, planning their orders.

Currently, Boston is full of restaurants that are beautifully designed and cater to a curated social media feed, but serve forgettable food. Mai isn’t one of them. Despite the high production value (there are caviar-smothered chicken tempura nuggets), the kitchen doesn’t take itself too seriously, which keeps the experience from teetering into the absurd. The team is in on the joke.

Liu had been eyeing an expansion to Seaport because he loves the going-out feel of the neighborhood. To that end, Mai is poised to accommodate pre- or post-club groups with larger tables. The wagyu fat fries are the perfect upscale comfort food pick-me-up after a night of dancing at the Grand or vibing to a new DJ at Scorpion Bar. Boston may shut down at 2 a.m., but we like our tipsy treats just like anywhere else.

The food

Like their first restaurant, Matsunori, hand rolls are the shining star of Mai’s menu. Though you can order the aforementioned nuggets and a surprisingly affordable A5 wagyu filet mignon for $35, the hand rolls make up the bulk of the offerings. Here, French and Japanese flavors mingle; the duck foie gras hand roll with cucumber and strawberry yuzu koshi is right up there in popularity with the uni that can accommodate a hefty optional dollop of caviar.

There’s a low barrier to entry with hand rolls (no chopsticks necessary), and the menu includes a visual guide for folding and dipping. Liu and partners in the New York-based group Chubby own wagyu and caviar farms in Japan and China. That direct sourcing method allows them to price these indulgent ingredients at a rate that feels affordable in the ritzy Seaport. It’s about $8 to $19 for hand rolls, with an extra $9 for caviar.

The drinks

The finite cocktail menu offers six different drinks. The Road Less Traveled is the earthiest opinion with sake, fir liqueur gin, lemon, and white port. The description of the Kanpai Time reads that it’s for “if you’re turning up. Like a Green Tea shot, but more fun.” It includes white peach vodka and yuzu sake.

There’s a robust sake and wine list, but I couldn’t resist the pull of the viral-on-TikTok Matchatini, a thick dessert answer to an espresso martini but made with matcha, vodka, creme de cacao, and cheese foam. The menu offers a Lactaid pill for an additional $1.

Though an excellent dessert substitute, the drink was a little too sweet for me to finish. From the rafters, the Labubus glare disapprovingly at my half-full glass.

The takeaway

Mai represents the balancing act required of restaurateurs in our perpetually Puritan city, the challenge of innovating in a landscape of comfort standards, and the struggle of catering to an increasingly aesthetic-driven crowd without losing sight of the culinary vision.

There’s more to Mai than meets the camera lens, but you’ll have to wait in a line of influencers to get to it.