Nightlife: Loretta’s Last Call

Loretta’s Last Call hosts live music weekends as well as other country-themed events during the week. Photos courtesy of Loretta’s Last Call

If you’re looking for genuine Southern cuisine and some good country music to accompany it, put on your boots and head down to Loretta’s Last Call, across from Fenway Park.

Opened in 2014, this bar and restaurant offers country-themed events nearly every day: karaoke, or “countryoke” as they call it, on Wednesdays, honky-tonk hoedowns on Thursdays, and live music on the weekends. Be sure to check the restaurant’s website before going, as many events are for 21 and older. The décor is decidedly rustic. The wooden walls, decorated with photos of country music greats like Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, George Strait, and Johnny Cash, and wagon wheel chandeliers give the interior a cozy, barnlike feel.

We stopped by on a recent Tuesday night, when Loretta’s offers free line-dancing lessons (also offered on Sundays), hoping to learn a few basic steps without embarrassing ourselves too much. The place was relatively empty when we arrived, so we got a table and ordered some cocktails.

Loretta’s is known for its large moonshine (unaged white whiskey made with corn mash) and whiskey selection ($6.50 to $11) and cans of beer ($4 to $7), but we decided to stick to the cocktail menu.

Our waitress suggested one of the restaurant’s two most popular cocktails, the Front Porch Sweet Tea ($10), peach moonshine, sweet tea, and lemonade, and the Full Moon ($10), blackberry moonshine, peach moonshine, strawberry moonshine, and sour mix. We also ordered a seasonal specialty drink, the Red Fall Sangria ($10), green apples, oranges, cinnamon sticks, and ginger beer.

Our drinks arrived in mason jars, fitting given the country ambiance and easy charm of the place. The Front Porch Sweet Tea was classic Southern sweet, the subtle flavor of the peach moonshine rounding out the cocktail. The Full Moon wasn’t as overpowering as we’d feared, offering a subtle blend of fruity flavors and tang. And the sangria was aptly named, a fall beverage with ginger and cinnamon flavors blending nicely together.

After our drinks came, we ordered some of the food that makes Loretta’s a standout. We started off with an appetizer of hush puppies ($7), followed by Cheesy Mac & Cheese ($15) and Classic Southern Fried Chicken ($15).

The hush puppies (five in all) were warm and crunchy, served with sweet honey butter. The mac and cheese, with a side of collard greens, was so big we took half of it home. Creamy and cheesy, with bits of sausage, the dish was satisfying and filling. The fried chicken (three large pieces of chicken and a side of potato salad) was flavorful, juicy on the inside, crunchy and flaky outside. Among the other appetizers and entrees are Crispy Fried Catfish Sliders ($7), Fried Oyster Po’ Boy ($12), Chicken and Waffles ($14), Chicken and Sausage Gumbo ($14), and Shrimp and Grits ($18).

Loretta’s also serves a popular weekend brunch featuring Southern favorites such as Biscuit and Sausage Gravy ($4), House Smoked Turkey and Sweet Potato Hash, topped with fried eggs and a biscuit ($12), and the Truck Stop Breakfast, with chicken and waffles, eggs, home fries, toast, and bacon or sausage ($18).

After we finished eating, it was time to head to the dance floor. The staff cleared away tables and chairs to make room for the crowd now flocking to the center of the restaurant. The instructor and his partner began to give directions to the lines of people waiting to stomp their boots. Before we knew it, music was blaring and the night was officially under way.

The instructor put the crowd through three different choreographed dances to current country hits like Brad Paisley’s “Crushin’ It” and Dierks Bentley’s “Drunk on a Plane.” He was patient with those of us new to line dancing, giving us plenty of practice time. Each dance included a variety of pivot turns, claps, rock steps, heel stomps, grapevines, and kicks. The steps seemed to get more difficult with each song, but we managed to learn just a few and still had a lot of fun trying to keep up.

We had a great time getting out of our comfort zone and trying something new. And from one of our group, not a fan of country music: the evening was “a lot more fun than I expected it to be.”

Loretta’s Last Call, One Lansdowne St., Boston, is open Monday to Friday, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.; kitchen hours: Monday to Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight, Friday 4 to 11 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m. to midnight; phone: 615-421-9595. For brunch or dinner reservations, email info@lorettaslastcall.com. There is a $5 cover charge Friday and Saturday nights. Most events are 21+ and require ID.

This is part of a series featuring Boston nightlife venues of interest to the BU community. If you have any suggestions for places we should feature, leave them in the Comment section below.

Jennifer Bates can be reached at jennb7@bu.edu.