Tiffani Faison’s New Fenway ‘Adult Snack Bar’ Serves Small Bites to a Standing Crowd

A noted Boston chef with a rich pedigree in the Fenway neighborhood adds one more venue to her Boylston Street empire this week: Tiffani Faison introduces Fool’s Errand (1377 Boylston St.) — an “adult snack bar” free of seats but full of flavor — on Thursday, August 16, and it joins her other two restaurants, Sweet Cheeks and Tiger Mama, on the same block.

Faison (a former Top Chef competitor and a James Beard award nominee) and Kelly Walsh (her wife and business partner) have been working on this restaurant since late 2016. Fool’s Errand draws inspiration from the duo’s favorite European tapas bars (and feels analogous to Venetian cicchetti culture as well): The restaurant is standing-room-only, accommodating between 20 and 30 people, with a menu of cocktails and small bites.

Emily Kan/Fool’s Errand

Emily Kan/Fool’s Errand

“I am excited by the conviviality and fun of Fool’s; it’s just the right balance of relaxed and raucous, and the kind of evening that Kelly and I crave,” Faison said, via press release.

The atmosphere itself screams European, with crystal chandeliers, French wallpaper, and a deep wood bar, plus an outdoor patio. Faison has brought in Tiger Mama’s Ellie Roycroft to oversee the menu from a small open kitchen at the center of the bar.

Emily Kan

Emily Kan/Fool’s Errand

Starting with fancy finger sandwiches like smoked beef tongue with raclette and stretching through corn and black pepper croquettes and crispy potato mille feuille, the menu (see below) also has a selection of seafood bites and a few desserts.

On the beverage side, Faison has partnered with Daniel Motsinger (an alum of Pigalle, Guilia, and Radius), and the cocktail selection includes a dry gin martini, a floral rum drink with egg white, a mint julep, and more.

Emily Kan/Fool’s Errand

Emily Kan/Fool’s Errand

In addition to cocktails, customers can choose from assorted wines and aperitifs, and Faison has employed some crystal glassware she collected with her mother when they lived in Germany in the 1980s.

Snackers at Fool’s Errand won’t find traditional menus to pass around: The menu will be on display on an oversized mirror hung in the restaurant, and items are subject to change. The idea of the standup dining structure reflects Faison’s expectation that folks will visit for a snack on their way elsewhere, be it a baseball game, a movie, or something else — akin to stopping in at a friend’s house. A look at all the opening snacks Fool’s Errand has to offer appears below. Prices range from $4 to $19 (except for caviar, which is more).

Fool’s Errand is open daily from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., with no reservations (and no seats).

Emily Kan/Fool’s Errand

Emily Kan/Fool’s Errand

• Fool’s Errand Coverage on Eater [EBOS]
• Tiffani Faison Is Continuing Her Boylston Street Takeover With a Third Place [EBOS]
• Don’t Be a ‘Fool’ at Tiffani Faison’s New Adult Snack Bar [Metro]