We had heard about the grand opening of this restaurant just a few weeks ago, but we weren’t quite sure where this place was or what to expect. Just the name alone sounded so good, though, so we had to go.

We headed to Hull not knowing where we were going to land, but there it stood directly to the right on the main drag--- not a lot of looking required. Situated in a corner at the start of Nantasket Beach, Beachfire is the old Ocean Club. Now, under new---young—ownership, there truly is a cool energy here.

We were welcomed by a friendly hostess, who passed us onto the ‘patio hostess’, who sat us at a nice table overlooking the beach. Just a few yards behind us was a fire pit, not yet functional, but by next week, we were told, it would be totally lit up. There’s an outside bar and there will be bands--- mostly acoustical--- and fires every night, the servers say, as the new owner has some ‘great ideas’. Well, so far so good.

As for the food: The mozzarella and tomato salad starter was not so great, a little limp and light on the mozzarella and tomato. But the rest was really good. Swordfish with a delicate salsa on top was my entrée--- and cooked just right. My dinner companion got the lobster linguine special, garnished with mussels, which he says, was superb. We finished with the homemade cookie ice cream sandwich.

The service was awesome. The staff is friendly, hard-working, and generally happy to be there (if you have to serve dinner to strangers all night, having a great view helps, I guess).

As the sun almost completely set and the sky turned dark, the accent lights on the patio provided a nice, relaxing, atmosphere. “It definitely doesn’t feel like we're in Hull,” my friend said.

As we wrapped up the night we decided WE truly did LOVE this place….And then my friend said, oh, so casually, “Hey, a skunk.”

I laughed, trying to be polite, not really knowing what he was talking about.

“No,” he said, pointing over the table, “a skunk, right there.”

And, so it goes. A nice dinner with a little surprise.

We gracefully got up, trying not to draw the attention of our new furry friend or the other patrons, and found our server to pay our bill. We told her about the visitor, and, much to our surprise, her reply was: “I hear he doesn’t bother anyone.”

Apparently, skunky is a regular.

Overall, we say it’s worth it--- skunk and all (he's friendly). 

Go see for yourself. And, if you’re not brave enough to sit on the patio after dark, Beachfire has a great bar---inside. No skunks allowed!

                                     View from the patio!                                                     

By Stephanie Neil

Stephanie Neil is a journalist. Her business, technology, and human interest stories have appeared in a variety of print and online newspapers and magazines including eWeek, Managing Automation, The Harvard Alumni Bulletin, Huggies Baby Network, South Shore Woman, and The Boston Globe.  She lives on the South Shore with her two kids, two cats, and a dog. Contact info: stephanieneil@comcast.net  or 781-378-1652. Follow her on Twitter @StephanieNeil

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