Big News: Eastie Native +James Beard Award Winning Chef Tony Messina is Joining the Cunard Tavern Team

Philip Frattaroli, owner of Filmark Hospitality Group’s Ristorante Lucia, Ducali, Caffe Ducali, The Pine Bar, and Cunard Tavern, is thrilled to announce that Tony Messina is joining the team at Cunard Tavern in a consulting role as Chef-Partner this fall. The James Beard Award-winning chef will return to his hometown in East Boston and introduce a new gastropub-inspired menu at Cunard that is both approachable and elevated. The new menu will launch in early December, followed by a revived Saturday and Sunday brunch menu.

Born and raised in East Boston, Tony Messina has been a fixture on the line in Boston restaurants since he began working as a caterer and cook at 14 years old. In 2009, Tony formalized his culinary training and attended the Cambridge Culinary School, where he graduated as valedictorian of his class and promptly joined the team at Alta Strada as Sous Chef. In 2010, he joined the opening team of Barbara Lynch’s Menton as Chef de Partie, where he spent a year polishing his formal French technique. Long a fan of Japanese cuisine and its nuanced artistry, Tony later joined the AKA Bistro team as Chef Chris Chung’s Sashimi Assistant in 2011, eventually becoming the Assistant Sashimi Chef himself.

Tony’s next move brought him to Ken Oringer’s Uni where he borrowed from cultures around the world serving innovative sashimi and sushi offerings, along with globally inspired street-food inspired dishes. As Executive Chef and Partner, he was awarded Best Chef: Northeast 2019 in the incomparable James Beard Awards. Most recently, Messina calls Los Angeles home and is gearing up to open his own restaurant concepts while consulting on projects along the west coast.

Opened in 2017, Cunard Tavern is located at 24 Orleans Street in East Boston’s Jeffries Point, the site of Phil’s grandfather’s former cabinet-making business. Second only to Ellis Island, East Boston was the port of entry for many immigrants who came to its shores in search of opportunity – many of them landing at the former Cunard Wharf. From shipbuilders to carpenters, from welders to longshoremen, Cunard  celebrates the people who helped build a great neighborhood.