Opening Alert: Shepard Debuts in the Former Chez Henri Space

After a couple days of friends & family service, Shepard made its public debut yesterday, bringing dishes like grilled littlenecks with fermented chili; fried maitakes; oysters with buttermilk and poppyseed; and whole sea bream to the former Chez Henri space in Cambridge.

The menu will always be changing based on the seasonal ingredients that are available, but the format will remain fairly constant, split up in terms of size from small plates to large, with the biggest being shareable proteins like the aforementioned whole sea bream or a spatchcock chicken. The other constant is the presence of wood — the kitchen features both a wood-fired oven and a wood grill, the latter of which is highly visible from the dining room, allowing fire the opportunity to be the focal point of the space.

"Keep it simple, keep it fresh, keep it really seasonal, and keep it casual, but in a professional way," co-owner Rene Becker said previously. "We have been quoted as saying that it's a 'French-ish' restaurant, but French in the sense that as Julia Child would say, it's about seasonal cooking, regional, local, and not over-handled. And that's really all we want to do."

Shepard is open seven days a week, starting at 5:30 p.m. To start, food will be served until 10 p.m., and the bar will remain open later.