Boston’s South End Is Finally Getting The Wine Bar It Deserves
Set to open this summer, mondo is aiming to answer a longstanding demand in one of the city’s most popular neighborhoods.
Written by Nathan Bodenstein
Spenser Payne, Travis Robitaille (Photo credit: Philip Keith)
There’s always been a blind spot in Boston’s South End. It’s an area that feels almost designed for a wine bar: tree-lined streets, rows of Victorian brownstones, and those idyllic corner tables where one bottle easily stretches into hours. Sure, there are places to eat, places to drink, and places that do both well. But there is no place that, at its core, is a wine bar. The kind of spot where you walk in, hear 90s R&B in the background, and find bottles from producers like Dauvissat, De Moor, or J.B. Becker.
Fortunately, that’s all about to finally change thanks to Spenser Payne of Neighborhood Wines, and Travis Robitaille of Petula’s. This summer, they’ll be opening up mondo: an intimate wine bar with a New England-inspired food menu.
Robitaille and Payne met in 2021 while working together at Gray’s Hall, a wine bar in Southie. While they both went on to start their respective businesses, it was inevitable that they’d eventually collaborate on their own project together.
Despite living in the South End for years, Payne had never found a wine bar that he loved. After observing the amount of customers who would visit Neighborhood Wines and ask if they could have a glass at the shop or for nearby recommendations, he realized he was far from the only one in search of a different kind of wine bar.
That consistent, unfulfilled demand became the spark that set mondo in motion. “It almost feels like a no-brainer,” Payne says. “There’s no great place that I recommend in the neighborhood. I just really wanted something like what we’re building to exist around where I live.”
With less than 50 seats, Payne says mondo will be a cozy spot. When you first enter, the front of the space will operate on a first-come, first-serve basis. “We want people to have the feeling that even if they don’t make a reservation, they could still have the ability to walk in on any night of the week,” Payne says. Moving toward the back of the space, roughly 30 additional seats and a patio will be available for reservations.
“You can pull up at the [bar] rail, have a couple snacks and a bottle of wine, and be on your way. Or, you can sit down and have a full dinner,” Payne says. “It’s for everybody. We want that neighborhood feel for locals, but we also want it to be a space for industry folks. We want to be a destination.”
It’s a structure that reflects a broader goal: accessibility without sacrificing quality.
And that balance will carry into the wine program itself with a list that will stretch across regions, styles, and price points. “The point is to appeal to everybody,” he says. “From wild and unconventional to really classic.” Think: Matassa and Jean-Yves Péron alongside Emidio Pepe and Roagna.
On the food side, Payne and Robitaille tapped chef Robert Cox to create what they describe as a “new New England” food menu. The idea is to ground the menu in locally sourced seafood and produce while pulling from French, Italian, and Spanish influences.
The design follows a similar philosophy: clean, restrained, and warm. White oak will be used for the tables and bar, illuminated by soft lighting that leans dim but functional. “The lighting is going to be big for us,” Spenser says. “Travis and I are both pretty averse to places that are way too bright.”
Like the wine program, the music will reflect what they’re liking at the moment. “We've been really into the 90s a lot recently and the word mondo itself reminds us of 90s surfer-skateboard energy,” says Payne. “Think like Big L, Seal, and Sade.”
With an exact opening date still in the works, those following along can keep an ear out for the official announcement. Until then, the ghost of Paul Revere will be parading down Columbus Avenue shouting what the neighbors, this time, will be thrilled to hear: A wine bar is coming!