Three bars win approval for fairly sober bottle service at certain tables

The Boston Licensing Board yesterday approved requests from Red Lantern in the Back Bay, Kennedy's Midtown downtown and Down Ultra Lounge in the Financial District to let groups of customers drink from a bottle of liquor right on their table.

But bowing to the city's general distaste for bottle service, all three said customers would not actually be able to buy an entire bottle of liquor for the night.

Instead, tables would be charged at the end of the night for the number of drinks consumed. Managers at the three establishments said that if servers had to leave the tables for extended periods of time, they would take the bottles with them - and that tables would be limited to one bottle at a time.

Michael Adkins, manager of both Red Lantern and Kennedy's - which will soon be rebranded as Gem - told the licensing board earlier this week that Red Lantern in particular is focused on businesspeople winding down and people who are not throwing bachelorette parties but who might have other reasons to celebrate something. Reservations of at least six people would be required for one of the seven or eight tables set aside for the service, he said. "It's really an accommodation to the requests we have been getting," he said.

In contrast, Down Ultra, which is the downstairs part of Howl at the Moon on High Street, said it would serve bachelorette parties or any other group seeking "a different experience with their friends."

Managers said the bottle service would be limited to designated areas in the bar or lounge areas and that they would bring on extra staff to handle the bottle service as reservations came in.

All three places were represented by lawyers from McDermott, Quilty & Miller.