Restaurants

Next Door, a new East Boston speakeasy, opens this fall

Enter through a hidden door for seafood towers and cocktails.

Next Door, an East Boston speakeasy. Courtesy Next Door

September 22, 2021

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A new Eastie bar is scheduled to open in early November with seafood towers and craft cocktails — but first, you’ll have to find it.

Next Door is an upcoming speakeasy from restaurateurs Raffaele Scalzi and Mivan Spencer, who opened East Boston’s Pazza on Porter in October 2019. The entrance, fitting of a speakeasy, will be a hidden door located somewhere on the patio of Pazza on Porter. After entering, guests must then knock on a door to access the intimate, 30-seat lounge designed by local architecture and design firm Hacin + Associates.

Inside, executive chef Stephen Ennamorati will offer a raw bar featuring seafood towers, oysters, and other oceanic dishes like salmon crudo on fried plantains and yellow fin tuna tacos. Guests will also be able to snack on steak tartare, caviar served on blinis, and a house salad with apples, fennel, and frisée, plus a selection of charcuterie including 24-month aged prosciutto and uncured Wagyu.

Cocktails at Next Door – Courtesy Next Door

Josue Castillo, who recently relocated from San Diego, is behind the drink menu, which will offer house made cocktails and fine wines.

“We wanted to create an intimate, exclusive experience where creativity, authenticity, and hospitality converge,” Scalzi and Spencer said in a press release. “Our goal is to share our passion for cocktails in a unique and inviting setting with our East Boston neighborhood.”

Scalzi and Spencer are well-established in the restaurant business. Scalzi owns Casa Mia Cucina Italiana in Marblehead and is the founder of the Boston Pizza Festival, while Spencer owns Caffe Dello Sport in the North End. Next Door will be their second concept together, following Pazza on Porter.

When it opens at 103 Porter St., Next Door will operate Thursdays through Sundays from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.