New Restaurant: Balani Just Opened On Moody Street In Waltham

WALTHAM, MA — If smoked meats, poutine, pizza and locally sourced foods and maybe a smashburger are your thing, there's a new restaurant in town. Balani restaurant quietly opened last week on Moody Street, according to the restaurant's Instagram page.

How to best describe the place?

"New restaurant on Moody Street in Waltham, making really tasty yums in a fun space," reads the description.

About a month after Raffaele's Ristorante announced it was closing up shop on Moody Street this spring, another restaurateur stepped up to take over the liquor license and take over the space at 469 Moody St.

Dave Becker has two other restaurants in the Greater Boston area. He opened Juniper in Wellesley in 2014 following success with Sweet Basil in Needham. Although Sweet Basil is decidedly an Italian restaurant and Juniper is Eastern Mediterranean restaurant, both focus on sustainability and local sourcing.

Balani seems to be home to a trendy eclectic menu so far.

The opening menu includes snacks and starters from sea scallop crudo, chickpea fries with paprika-sumac mayo, crispy smoked pork ribs, and a charred pear salad with burnt onions, the online food magazine Eater Boston points out. Look for smoked monkfish kofta and chicken liver manti. But there's also pizza - topped with a medley of fun stuff: House-made chorizo anyone? How about grilled pears with squash puree?

Eater reports the entrees range from about $17 to $28.

And "include a smashed burger with frites, katsudon with a soft-cooked egg, scallop paella, and a crispy adobo chicken with bourbon biscuits. For dessert, Balani serves Boston cream loukoumades and two kinds of house-made Pop-Tarts: curried raisin and red bean," according to the magazine.

The space at 469 Moody St, has about 4,469 sq.ft. on the first floor with main entrance at the front of the building, dining area, bar area and kitchen in rear, full basement same footage for storage of beer, wine and alcohol. Mezzanine consisting of approximately 630 sq.ft for office use and more storage of beer, wine, and alcohol. The place can seat up to 120 people, according to city data.

To start, Balani is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m.

Take a look at the renovations:

Read the full Eater Boston story here: Balani Opens In Waltham

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Photo credit: Shutterstock.