Fort Point to get fancy French food

Seth Greenberg, who gave us Mistral, is planning a similar restaurant on Melcher Street in Fort Point.

Greenberg told the Boston Licensing Board today he hopes to open an "upscale modern French bistro" called Bastile Kitchen/Chalet this September in a building now under construction at 49 Melcher St.

The $2-million venture will feature a 230-seat main dining room and a 70-seat area for private functions. Greenberg is proposing to buy the liquor license now held by Four Green Fields on Washington Street downtown.

Because this is Boston, a key issue for the licensing board is the proposed restaurant's closing time. Greenberg is seeking 2 a.m. closing time, which he said would let him serve private parties from the nearby convention center. City Councilor Bill Linehan, however, opposes closing times in that part of his district past 1 a.m.

Both Linehan's office and the mayor's office asked the board to hold off action on the liquor-license request until after Greenberg meets wtih nearby residents, sometime in the next three weeks. The board decides tomorrow what action to take on that request.