that my agoraphobia turned out to be totally unjustified.

Great Bay is situated at the Hotel Commonwealth in Kenmore Square. A combination of the way the square is laid out and the presence of the hotel make the restaurant very accessible. You drive up to the front and a valet zips out to waft away your car. It's not that other restaurants lack valet parking, is just that the hotel based staff are amazingly swift of foot.

I mentioned that I had a phobia about large restaurants (not really agoraphobia, more a worry about big, cold and lofty spaces) - the room that holds Great Bay is pretty commodious by any standard. To offset this, the space is divided into three sections. There is a reception area in front of a spacious bar, a seafood island in the center of the room and a dining area toward the back. The recent addition of a number of large potted trees has helped break up the space into three distinct "rooms" and this serves to hide the overall size of the place.

The bar is frequented by hotel guests, after work drinkers and assorted folks preparing to enjoy a meal in the restaurant. It has a sophisticated and pleasant atmosphere all of its own. There's a good selection of wines by the glass, the usual array of exotic cocktails and a good sense of energy about the place.

The seafood island is an extra attraction, with its stools and easy access to the chefs preparing your food, it's a fun spot. The island menu offers a selection of delectable looking appetizers and entrées that absolutely suit today's diners with their grazing rather than dining approach to good food. You can ask for almost anything in sample sizes (which is not that common elsewhere). This really ups the ante on the "small plate" fad that is sweeping Boston at the moment. There are a good range of appetizers that include ceviche, fresh fish and sashimi. Chosing one of the sample plates that we started our meal with, is definitely the way to go.

We were seated on the edge of the main dining area, which has a variety of different seating combinations to suit the needs of all size of parties. One of the attractions of this space with its high ceilings and open feel is that you don't feel crowded even as the tables fill up. There is also a large alcove off to one side of the main dining area that easily accommodates either large groups or private events. The tables are noteworthy for their luminous, red pearlescent substrate. They are really quite striking and are guaranteed to extract a comment from most first time diners.

I am not really sure what I expected in the way of food. Certainly seafood, but what kind? So I was very pleasantly surprised by a broad ranging menu that featured everything from duck to calamari and foie gras to lobster. It was a gastronomic tour de force, as you can see from the pictures on the right. Most noticeable was the exquisite presentation, the attention to detail and perhaps, more importantly the skillfully blended flavors and textures, that delivered a cohesive and exciting range of dishes. There was also plenty of seafood to be had on the menu, including scallops, halibut, bluefish, tuna, seasonal fish and more.

The overall atmosphere at Great Bay is pleasantly relaxed and convivial. The staff execute their duties with a constrained enthusiasm and they appear knowledgeable and helpful. No gushing welcomes here, but rather an understated attentiveness there reminded me vaguely of the best in butlering. Maybe because our waiter was a namesake called James, the ideal name for the role.

We were fortunate enough to meet Lee Chizmar, the chef. Lee runs the restaurant on a day-to-day basis with the guidance of Michael Schlow. He has made his mark on the menu and there is a distinctive innovative quality to many of the dishes. Obviously he enjoys working with seafood, especially with its seasonal and weather influenced availability and the occasional opportunity to acquire something exotic and out of the ordinary from the world market.

Great Bay surprised and delighted me. I really enjoyed the menu and the way the seafood theme was enlivened with clever textures and flavors. Each dish was carefully constructed to blend and enchance flavors and textures. This is, literally, state of the art cooking, that moves well ahead of most of its rivals. Michael Schlow has learned a valuable lesson from the many other outstanding chefs who over-control their empires, at the cost of invovation and long term success. Lee Chizmar is a worthy steward of the menu at Great Bay. This is one of the restaurants that you want to take your friends and family to, so that you can share that sense of comfort that comes over you when you know you are in good hands and that your meal is on course no matter what you choose.

If you need to go on a culinary voyage of discovery then make sure you pull into Great Bay for some of the best Boston has to offer.

We enjoyed the house Chardonnay, by the glass and found it to be a worthy accompaniment to the meal. There is a good selection of wines offer whether you like red, white, pink or something bubbly. You will find something that will pair perfectly with your meal.