555 Talbot Avenue
Dorchester, MA 02124
617-825-4300
Brought to fruition by more than thirty local inventors and innovative municipal funding, Chris Douglass' Ashmont Grill, like its sister restaurant and neighbor Tavolo, is one of those rare neighborhood restaurants that attracts people from other neighborhoods. The casual, modern bistro, which boasts two outdoor patios in its speedily gentrifying section of Dorchester, serves upscale comfort food for dinner and weekend brunch.
In keeping with Douglass' long-standing commitment to sustainability, the seasonally changing menu at Ashmont Grill is chock full of the locally caught, raised or grown seafood, meats and produce.
A Tasty Night in Dorchester
Dorchester has got a lot to drool over.
25th Annual Beyond Shelter Benefit
The Friends of Boston's Homeless once again enlist the help of some of the city's best chefs to ...
Ashmont Grill Gets Springy at Weekly Wine Club
Chris Douglass and his right-hand man John Rush invite guests to drop in for dinner - and a drink or two ...

A self-taught and unmentored chef who began washing dishes in a restaurant kitchen as a teenager, pioneering Chris Douglass credits the works of Julia Child and Alice Waters for his original and continuing culinary inspiration. His first job cooking was with Odette Bery at Another Season, a now-shuttered restaurant on Beacon Hill.
When Douglass was hired at Icarus in 1978, the restaurant was serving peasant food from a funky storefront in an un-gentrified section of the city. Today, Icarus serves elegant, celebratory food in a sophisticated dining room, and that same area - the South End - is now considered the hub of fine dining in Boston.
Douglass bought Icarus in 1999 (with a silent partner), and has since has honed his style to one that The Boston Globe refers to as "an intelligent way to approach food ... dishes and flavors with integrity." His imaginative and flawlessly executed American cuisine has won countless regional accolades and "best ofs." Nationally, the 2005 Zagat Survey rated Icarus twenty points out of thirty for food, putting it among the Top Ten in Boston.
In 2005, thanks to the enthusiasm of more than thirty local investors, and the help of innovative municipal funding, Douglass opened the Ashmont Grill, a casual breakfast-lunch-dinner spot in Dorchester, a transitional area of Boston.
When the topic of sustainable, local ingredients arises in Boston, Douglass' name is never far behind. His commitment to sustainability dates more than a decade, and his leadership of Chefs Collaborative, on both local and national levels, backs it up. He is also active in Share Our Strength, Seafood Choices Alliance, and several local organizations operating in the neighborhoods where he does business.
Douglass forges close bonds with the purveyors of his carefully chosen food; they range from Cape Cod hook-and-line fisherman and clammers, to local mushroom foragers, to exotic Asian green growers and inner-city gardeners. As a consequence, he is likely to donate his time and talent to support their causes as his own.
