Couldn’t we all use a respite in a beautiful oasis? Even better if it also has delicious food and drink. That’s the case at the W Hotel Boston in their Urban Oasis, an escape in the heart of the city. Writer Julie Hatfield shows us what it’s like.

Save this article about the Urban Oasis to Pinterest to help you plan your visit. Photos by Timothy Leland. Graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.

Flowers are the specialty of the day —  every day — at the W Hotel Boston, aka, W Boston, on Stuart Street in Boston, Massachusetts. They’re everywhere, including in the food and the drinks.

Most Boston restaurants, thrilled at being able to put some tables out on the sidewalk in the warm weather, throw a pot or two of flowers next to the tables to welcome the al fresco diners.

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But the W Boston on Stuart Street has gone further with its W Urban Oasis, a veritable garden in the middle of the gritty theater district next door to Chinatown.

The W Urban Oasis consists of a white pergola topped with numerous flower boxes, little white lights, and enough of a wall of leaves to hide diners from passersby in a cocoon of green.  Around the corner from the pergola, near a W entrance, is a double garden swing to add to the romantic summer mood.

The pergola frames the Urban Oasis, beautifully. Photo by Timothy Leland.

I chatted with a group of ladies who had come into the city for a Wang Theater production. “We wanted a secret garden,” said one, for their pre-theater dinner surroundings. They were happily ensconced in their make-believe picnic area as they supped.

What to expect at the Urban Oasis Boston

The Urban Oasis menu adds even more to the theme by putting fresh flowers in some of the drinks. A spiked raspberry lemonade, at $14, comes with an edible orchid popsicle in the glass, and a lychee raspberry Bellini, at $17, came with a real baby orchid as part of the beverage.

Spiked Raspberry Lemonade with a flower popsicle. Photo by Timothy Leland.

The Urban Oasis “bites” menu adds summery foods to the menu of burgers, chicken sliders and mezze boards: grilled local corn salsa with lime tortilla chips is $14, strawberry kale salad with crumbled feta, candied pecans, lemon poppy vinaigrette comes with a choice of chicken, steak, shrimp or salmon. A refreshing tomato and watermelon gazpacho is offered along with fried calamari from Point Judith, Rhode Island. Shrimp and scallop ceviche adds to the warm-weather penchant for chilled food. Crab cake sliders with lemon aioli are $26. A cheese and charcuterie board, at $25, includes locally sourced meats and cheese, and honey, too.

Corn Salsa with Avocado. Photo by Michael Blanchard.

Crab Cake Sliders photo by Michael Blanchard.

Desserts include chocolate lava cake with salted caramel ice cream, for $13, vanilla crème brulee, $17, sorbet, $11, and our favorite: seasonal berry crumble with vanilla ice cream, $14. The crumble came with a tiny fresh yellow snapdragon blossom on the side.

Seasonal Berry Crumble with ice cream and a fresh flower. Photo by Timothy Leland.

Just before we left Urban Oasis, we took a swing together before stepping back into the urban reality.

To make plans to visit the W Hotel Boston and the W Urban Oasis, visit this website.

-Story by Julie Hatfield.

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