What makes a restaurant good? Having worked in them for the better part of a decade I’ve come to develop my own instincts and set of criteria to consider when dining out. I’m still not sure if my ever increasing and self-inflicted standards are a good or bad thing but I am sure that Lineage, on Harvard St. tucked into the bustling Coolidge Corner part of Brookline delivered on nearly all of them when I sampled their goods last Thursday night.

The first of my senses used to critique Lineage was sight, and upon arrival I noticed a few things that began to unravel the restaurants identity. First and foremost was the lack of empty tables which is never a bad thing to see for both the staff and the patrons. The décor and setup is clean and simple in the relatively small L shaped dining room. A great vintage map of Boston hangs on the front dining room wall but they have kept relatively minimalist otherwise, which to me is a restaurants way of saying “the wow comes from the kitchen, not the dining room”.

My dining mate and I were greeted by both a warm wood fireplace, set behind the bar and a warm maître-d who seemed to be expecting us. We were shuffled through the guests waiting with that “why didn’t we make reservations” look on their faces, to a nice table by the front window and a bubbly waitress appeared as soon as we had settled ourselves. Since my wine snobbery hasn’t caught up with my food snobbery I looked to our server for some direction in finding me a nice blended wine, and she brought out a perfect cabernet/merlot/syrah from California.

It was onto the menu, which married couple and head chefs Jeremy and Lisa Sewall describe as “modern American”. It was small but diverse, including two wonderful sounding pre-fixe menus, one a seafood tasting and another for the first of Boston’s two restaurant weeks.

I opted for the restaurant week menu ($33) which left me with three options for each of the three courses. My friend went for the seafood menu (about $50) which included a glass of wine of the chef's choosing for each course. Pan fried shrimp with red onion and spicy mayo based sauce came first. I was surprised with the unusually large portion size, but surprise turned quickly to elation after popping one of the perfectly seasoned and tender shrimp into my mouth.

The seafood menu offered spicy lobster tacos with a mango relish and for its middle course, a decadent pot of curried mussels with pastini. Just as the memory of the shrimp began to fade from my tongue a NY strip was laid in front of me. The steak was tender, cooked just as Id requested and set over a bed of fluffy mashed potatoes with wilted baby spinach and then all topped with a classic mushroom Madeira sauce. The seafood entrée was a flakey cloud of a haddock filet with braised endive, no doggy bags were needed.

About a half a glass of wine after our very clean plates were cleared, my third and final course arrived. This chocolate pot de crème was so hauntingly rich I decided it was reason enough for a return visit.

In all the experience was a great one and all for under 100 dollars before tax and tip. If someone put a gun to my head forcing me to nitpick, I would have to give their space (or lack of) for waiting guests a c+, but then again what restaurant in this city doesn’t deal with similar real estate issues.

Lineage distinguishes itself nicely in a city full of here now, gone tomorrow restaurants creating a truly fine dining experience in a welcoming environment free of pretension. They maintain a focus on the details both large and small that a true foodie cares about with creative menu and precise execution from both the kitchen and wait staff, letting everything else fall into place. Lineage is closed for lunch but do a Saturday and Sunday brunch.

For more information, menus and reservations visit www.lineagerestaurant.com

by David Watsky