Cultivar

Capturing a fine balance of modern and historic

Located in the heart of Boston, and in the city’s first skyscraper, Chef Mary Dumont’s flagship restaurant, Cultivar, puts down its roots in Ames Boston Hotel.

Cultivar is a horticultural term that refers to combining the best parts of several plants to create a new and improved hybrid plant and, in many ways, is an apt metaphor for the restaurant. Bergmeyer collaborated with Glen and Company to bring Dumont’s vision to life, completing a total interior renovation of the existing restaurant space and adding a new 55-seat outdoor patio. Drawing inspiration from Dumont’s family farm, Bergmeyer strategically wove personal elements into each aspect of the space. Reclaimed wood sourced directly from Dumont’s family farm makes up the 12-seat bar, a nod to the copper beech trees that both Dumont and her wife grew up around.

To match the menu’s fresh and locally-sourced fare and to emphasize Dumont’s focus on sustainability (including an on-site hydroponic garden), the restaurant team designed an elegantly lush dining room, complemented by a recurring leaf motif, metal panel, and wood accents from Dumont’s family farm and thoughtfully placed greenery throughout. Hanging above the center of the bar is a striking iron chandelier commissioned by Dumont from a local artist in her home town. The chandelier appears to be Medusa-like but, rather than snakes, is made of iron tree limbs — adding a stylistic edge to the refined bar and dining room.

In a city defined by the coexistence of old and new, Cultivar captures a fine balance of modern and historic.