Boston Restaurant Guide

Phillips Old Colony House
2.6 stars (10 ratings)

(617) 282-7700

780 William T Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA 02122

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July 1, 2009 @ 12:08 PM
1  out of 5 stars
a diner from Boston, MA
Went to Philips on Mother's Day for Brunch. Made reservations for Noon. When we got there we were told they were overbooked but could get next sitting. We called prior to arriving to confirm the price and reservations. 17 or us sat around waiting for over an hour and a half before they sat us. Once seated we were informed brunch was over and most of the food was gone. They then tried to charge us for dinner meals instead of the Mother's Day brunch. The waitress was very slow and did not even check on us. We had to get up and get our own plates and silverware. She never even came over to offer us refills on our drinks. Needless to say, we will NEVER EVER go back to Philips.
September 30, 2008 @ 11:44 PM
5  out of 5 stars
a diner from Pottsville, PA
Reserved a banquet hall for a 47-member group. The staff was professional and courteous.
We had a choice of three entrees and everyone had a fantastic meal.
Presentation was appealing, served at correct temperature and all courses were full of flavor and most satisfying to everyone in our group.
We would recommend Phillips to any group

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Read More: Boston Restaurant Reviews

Avg Rating: 3  out of 5 stars

Number of Reviews: 10

July 1, 2009 @ 12:08 PM
1  out of 5 stars
a diner from Boston, MA
Went to Philips on Mother's Day for Brunch. Made reservations for Noon. When we got there we were told they were overbooked but could get next sitting. We called prior to arriving to confirm the price and reservations. 17 or us sat around waiting for over an hour and a half before they sat us. Once seated we were informed brunch was over and most of the food was gone. They then tried to charge us for dinner meals instead of the Mother's Day brunch. The waitress was very slow and did not even check on us. We had to get up and get our own plates and silverware. She never even came over to offer us refills on our drinks. Needless to say, we will NEVER EVER go back to Philips.
September 30, 2008 @ 11:44 PM
5  out of 5 stars
a diner from Pottsville, PA
Reserved a banquet hall for a 47-member group. The staff was professional and courteous.
We had a choice of three entrees and everyone had a fantastic meal.
Presentation was appealing, served at correct temperature and all courses were full of flavor and most satisfying to everyone in our group.
We would recommend Phillips to any group
May 16, 2008 @ 10:56 AM
1  out of 5 stars
a diner from boston,ma
Planned a great retirement party for a nurse. We were so happy until we were serve cold, dry, tasteless food. Have not had any satisfaction from the restaurant . I am planning on sending out the word as this was so upsetting
March 13, 2008 @ 9:19 AM
1  out of 5 stars
a diner from Boston, MA
We visited the Phillips Old Colony house while visiting relatives in Boston. I'd heard good things about the place but was no way prepared for the nightmare that followed. I ordered roast beef while my wife ordered sauted scallops. Our waitress, who called herself, Shiela, looked to be about 400 years old and mumbled through the specials twice and neither time clearly enough to be understood. "Did she say lobster and peanut butter? Or was it Pork Medallions and acetone?" We decided to order from the menu and ignore the specials. Our food arrived one hour later and while the plates were hot, the food atop them wasn't. A clear indicator that these sat on a warmer for at least thirty minutes. When I asked Shiela why the food took so long she mumbled something incomprehensible. I spoke with the general manager who informed the cook that our food was inedible and poorly prepared. While we waited for someone, anyone, to address our concerns, my wife noticed something moving along the baseboards. Mice, at least a half dozen of them, scrambling around by the baseboards. They keep the lights low at Phillips Old Colony house, and it's not to make the ambience better (the place smells like an moldy old leather shoe) but to keep the patrons, what few there are, from seeing the parade of mice and roaches that infest the place. Finally the "chef" arrived, he was tall and I covered in grease. He poked his finger in my roast beef and demanded to know why I didn't want to eat it. When I explained that it wasn't cooked properly, or recently for that matter, he screamed that I didn't know what I was talking about and that I should eat at home if I didn't like the food. Shiela interviened and mumbled something that none of us could understand at which point the chef stormed away from us and overturned a table on his way back to the kitchen. For all intents and purposes you'd be better off eating out of the dumpster behind a soup kitchen than you would eating at Phillips Old Colony House, the food would be better, and you'd see fewer vermin.
February 17, 2008 @ 8:17 PM
1  out of 5 stars
a diner from Boston
We went to Phillips Old Colony House for dinner in January 2008 not knowing anything about the place and I wish we had looked for a review because it was terrible. The dining room has a odor similar to that of a gym locker room with a touch of decaying food mixed in. The food is worse. We ordered steak and chicken dishes and were presented with chicken that looked and smelled as though it had been left out of the refrigerator too long and a grey, meat-like substance they call steak. Our waitress was slow and inattentive and behaved like she was ready for a nap. The high prices Phillips Old Colony House charge was the final insult. We spoke with the general manager but his attitude was one of indifference and, judging by how terrible this restaurant is, we weren't surprised. AVOID!
September 17, 2006 @ 8:15 AM
1  out of 5 stars
a diner from Boston, MA
my husband & i only go once per yr for our anniv b/c we got married in their function rm- otherwise we wouldn't go out of our way. sat in tavern section, waited 20 min for a waitress. dressing on salad was "off", but thought nothing of it. order of fried mozarella was fried hockey pucks in tomato sc. my dinner of veggie tempura was still frozen in middle! when waitress checked in to see how things were going, before i could answer, she had taken off again! had g.c. for $100, bill was $40. got g.c. reflecting balance. when i spoke w/the mgr about our dismal experience, she asked why we had not told the waitress. we explained that we couldn't get her to stand still long enough. we asked her to make an exception this one time to refund the ttl $60 remaining in cash since we never intended to rtn & she refused. told us to use it somewhere else on their property (bowling alley & candy store). very rude.
December 20, 2005 @ 5:01 PM
1  out of 5 stars
a diner from Dorchester
Went to the old colony house recently for a function. The food was ok but the head server spent most of her time screaming at her staff. She had this obnoxious Irish accent and was a real phoney. She was passive aggresive in all the worst ways. The real problem began when and I am not making this up, a cock roach ran across the table. I thought I was seeing things but sure enough it was a roach When I mentioned this to the obnoxious Irish waittress she looked like she just saw a ghost. She said something like I must be seeing things. she was rude and dismissive.
I was going to meet some friends in the dining room later that night but decided to find a cleaner place with friendlier staff.
This place has a bad reputation for lack of cleanliness and ridiculously overpriced drinks-$7
for a cheap merlot. McDonalds is a better deal.
September 29, 2005 @ 7:35 PM
5  out of 5 stars
a diner from Orleans, MA
We stopped at Phillips Old Colony House prior to attending a Red Sox game. We told the server, Barbara, that we were tight on time. We both got served our dinners within 20 minutes and they were delicious. I ordered a rib-eye steak and it cooked perfectly, very tender and flavorful. My wife ordered baked schrod and said it was as good if not better than the fish served at Legal Seafood. We certainly will dine at Phillips again!
April 5, 2004 @ 3:14 PM
1  out of 5 stars
a diner from Winooski, VT
Ever want an expensive 45-minute meal that includes appetizers, entrees and coffees? This is the place to come. Despite being virtually empty, we were rushed through our meal. Of course we had to remind them how to set a table properly first. There were no napkins, one of us had a steak knife, the other no fork and spoon. The chef seemed to love salt. Everything we ate had plenty of it. Maybe to hide the real taste? And hidden it certainly was! The lobster was rubbery - and salty. The scallops were salty. The rice and vegetables on the side were not worth mentioning, partially because they were almost invisible and bland (ran out of salt??).

We are seafood lovers and were looking forward to this (not too cheap) meal. We were thoroughly disappointed and decided to contact the restaurant upon our return home. We were called back by a manager straight away and promised another call within 2 days. Despite 2 more reminders, we never heard from Phillips Old Colony again. Good food and service - definitely not to be expected at this place!
November 8, 2003 @ 12:41 AM
1  out of 5 stars
a diner from Newport RI
1 Star is being generous. The entire experience has damaged my dining out forever.. I will be cooking at home for now on Thanks phil
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Phillips Old Colony House Map

Recent Phillips Old Colony House Reviews

July 1, 2009 @ 12:08 PM
1  out of 5 stars
a diner from Boston, MA
Went to Philips on Mother's Day for Brunch. Made reservations for Noon. When we got there we were told they were overbooked but could get next sitting. We called prior to arriving to confirm the price and reservations. 17 or us sat around waiting for over an hour and a half before they sat us. Once seated we were informed brunch was over and most of the food was gone. They then tried to charge us for dinner meals instead of the Mother's Day brunch. The waitress was very slow and did not even check on us. We had to get up and get our own plates and silverware. She never even came over to offer us refills on our drinks. Needless to say, we will NEVER EVER go back to Philips.
September 30, 2008 @ 11:44 PM
5  out of 5 stars
a diner from Pottsville, PA
Reserved a banquet hall for a 47-member group. The staff was professional and courteous.
We had a choice of three entrees and everyone had a fantastic meal.
Presentation was appealing, served at correct temperature and all courses were full of flavor and most satisfying to everyone in our group.
We would recommend Phillips to any group