A Date-Night Spot with Global Fare Debuts in Fields Corner
Acapella by X serves luxe cuisine inspired by everywhere from the DR to Dubai in opulent Dorchester digs.
Grilled octopus with bone marrow and various sauces at Acapella by X. / Courtesy photo
In a cappella music, voices take center stage, stripped bare of accompaniment. Fitting, then, that the name of new Dorchester restaurant Acapella by X nods to the style, as chef-owner Freddy Ureña’s creative, globally inspired food could sing on its own. But it doesn’t need to: The 240-seat Fields Corner spot gives the menu a backing track of luxe trappings, from live music and DJs to valet service and a “dress-to-impress” dress code.
Unrecognizable as the former home of Irish pub the Blarney Stone, the Dorchester Avenue space feels expansive and upscale. Ureña quietly opened the restaurant in November, in partnership with front-of-house manager Anthony Cruz and general manager Yancarlo Fernandez. (The “X” in the restaurant’s name refers to Fernandez’s company, Business Group X.) The restaurant is in “soft opening” mode with lots more to come, but for now, find dishes such as divine honey-glazed wings inspired by Ureña’s youth in the Dominican Republic, spicy tamari chicken pintxos picked up from culinary training in Spain, and Dubai chocolate tres leches cake nodding to current trends and Ureña’s time as a private chef in the United Arab Emirates. His career has taken him from biotech to butter-glazed scallops, and though he’s joined the chorus in kitchens around the globe, this is his first solo.
Acapella by X. / Photo by Dante Luna Media Group
Ureña is eager to give the residents and business owners of the increasingly bustling Fields Corner neighborhood—with a slew of apartments and a new library branch on the way—a place to go for a night on the town. “They drive to the Seaport and pay $60 to valet park before even getting to a restaurant,” says Ureña. “How about you have the same level of elegance, a place to have a good Old Fashioned and a nice steak, in your own community?”
Yes, Acapella offers steak—with a zippy house-made chimichurri—on its menu. But this is no steakhouse; it’s a globe-trotting symphony of flavors, from Spanish staple pan con tomate to velvety lobster ravioli to pan-seared pork-and-chive dumplings (a nod to the neighborhood’s Asian community). Don’t mistake “global” for unfocused, as the sense memory of Ureña’s journey unites the dishes.
Acapella by X. / Photo by Dante Luna Media Group
“Through all my travels, I collect the things that I enjoy, and I try to put them on the menu,” he says. Those travels have taken the Revere resident all over: He grew up in the Dominican Republic; moved to Boston, where he worked in biotech; and switched gears to study classic French culinary techniques at Le Cordon Bleu in Cambridge. He completed his training with an externship in Spain, which also included a work trip to Dubai. Afterwards, he worked as a private chef in Abu Dhabi for five years and gleaned techniques and inspiration from trips all over with his clients: Switzerland, South Korea, the Seychelles, Thailand.
In 2019 he moved back to Massachusetts to reunite with his family and served as a sous chef for Zuma but pivoted back to biotech, including working in cell culture at Takeda, when the pandemic closed restaurants, running a meal prep company on the side. After exhaustive multitasking, he finally listened to longtime buddy Fernandez and followed his passion to open the restaurant.
Joanna and Freddy Ureña. / Photo by Dante Luna Media Group
The menu will grow over time, but to start, Ureña shouts out his convection-baked wings as a must-try, sticky with a remix of Buffalo and barbecue, a secret spice blend, and generous honey. “I’ve been cooking those wings since I was eighteen,” he says. Also try: Peruvian ceviche with bold aji amarillo pepper-spiked leche de tigre marinade and crunchy corn nuts; fried Spanish cheese with spicy guava dip, a nod to Ureña’s Dominican roots; and lighter salads, like an herby Turkish-inspired combo of tomatoes, walnuts, Aleppo pepper, and tangy pomegranate dressing. Save room for dessert, with Ureña’s wife, Joanna, at the helm, serving sweets like coconut passion fruit cheesecake.
Ureña and the team looked at nine potential locations before finding the space of the former Blarney Stone, which closed in mid-2024, in Dorchester’s Fields Corner. “We started looking at not what you can take from the community but what you can give to the community,” says Ureña. “This community deserves a beautiful place.” And beautiful it is, with deep oranges, gold pendant lighting and library-like table lamps, leather accents, and exposed industrial ductwork. Mosaic-like lamps dangle over the 22-seat granite-topped bar; white stucco-slathered brick walls evoke a weathered building, with one wall featuring a mural of a woman’s face, eyes closed like she’s mid-song. Custom millwork hinting at huge palm trees hides architectural posts, transporting diners to warmer climes. Eclectic playlists and Thursday live-music lineups, from bossa nova to blues, set the mood.
A spread of dishes at Acapella by X. / Courtesy photo
Sway to the tunes while popping by for a cocktail, perhaps the popular strawberry basil margarita, spiced up with ancho chili and dehydrated jalapeño, or a mezcal Old Fashioned. Fernandez is behind the bar program, which also includes concoctions like a vivid pink lychee sangria and an espresso martini. And in a nod to Acapella’s predecessor, there’s Guinness on tap: Legend has it that the Blarney Stone was the first restaurant in America to serve a “proper pour” of the Irish stalwart. The wine list, meanwhile, leans spendy, with a locker program in the works.
Also coming later: private dining, an 80-person patio, more hours, an expanded menu. Despite the “soft opening” status, it’s still a great time to stop by, trying specials that might land on the menu later. For instance: grilled octopus and bone marrow, served on an oversized board with sides of togarashi aioli, guava glaze, jalapeno-truffle sauce, and the signature mayo-meets-vinaigrette Acapella sauce with bonito flakes. Ureña’s working on other group-friendly, large-format dishes, too, including dry-aged wagyu steaks, sausages, and DIY tacos.
Acapella by X. / Photo by Dante Luna Media Group
When brunch service begins, a rising star of the restaurant will step up for a solo: guava butter, the standard-bearer for Acapella’s global flavors. The coral-pink blend of browned butter, house-made guava paste, and fresh lime juice will be ideal slathered on bread—or eaten by the spoon. It’ll inspire encore visits. “The same way we have a color palette, guava is in our flavor palette,” Ureña says. “Guava, plus pineapple, passion fruit, coconut. Those are the flavors I grew up with.”
Currently open Wednesday through Saturday evenings. Sunday hours and brunch coming soon. 1505 Dorchester Ave., Fields Corner, Dorchester, Boston, 617-286-4620, acapellabyx.com.
