South Boston’s Lenox Sophia is not your typical restaurant – and in many ways Chef Shi Mei is not your typical chef.

Trained in economics, Mei says the first dish he made as a kid was instant ramen. And his restaurant – where patrons are encouraged to bring their own drinks – is more akin to a tiny Japanese izakaya or noodle house than a glitzy Hub bar.

But the result is an intimate and delightful taste of small-room dining that serves up seasonal dishes such as scallop ceviche, pea custard, and lamb shoulder.

Located on A Street, Lenox Sophia is a small restaurant with only four staff members and without a liquor license.

Mei modeled the restaurant after places he saw while traveling in Asia.

“Japan was probably the … biggest influence because we saw some of the smaller spaces, how they’re able to make it work. And I knew that when I opened my restaurant that I wasn’t at an age where I felt that I wanted to run a 75 seat, 100 seat restaurant.… When we found this space, kind of looked at the bones of the restaurant, we’re like, ‘OK, this can probably work based on how some of the spaces that we’ve seen in Japan and then also the supper club that I did at my house.’”

Lenox Sophia has already won several awards in its short time in existence including two “Best of Boston” awards. It was also labeled No. 7 in Boston’s top 50 restaurants in 2023.

Chef Mei says he is grateful for the awards, but awards have never been his goal.

“It just happened, you know, it wasn’t like I’m going out there to make this great, fantastic food and aiming to get awards. It just kind of happened. It just kind of happened naturally.”

When asked if it feels validating to win awards he said, “It does in a way, because you always want to know that. You want to know that your food is accepted among your peers first, yourself first, and then your peers next, and then to the general audience. It’s always, always, always nice.”

The restaurant serves modern American fare with a prix fixe menu in five courses.

Chef Mei says patrons don’t have to dress up.

“You can walk in with flip flops and sandals, and I’ll still serve you … a lot of people have this idea where you go pay a certain dollar point that you need to come in a shirt and tie.” But not here.

The prix fixe menu is a result of the lack of a liquor license and the need to optimize the workflow and turn tables quickly, he said.

“We decided to go prix fixe, because that makes more sense financially, and we can control costs better.”

The chef does not describe cooking as a passion of his, but rather as a skill that has been borne out of necessity.

“Cooking is one of those things … My mom always needed help in the kitchen. And then I kind of ended up by default (helping), because I was the middle child.”

He recalled the first dish he learned to make was instant ramen. Now, his go-to when cooking at home is fried egg and a lobster over rice and some ginger scallion sauce.

Shi Mei graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 2000 with a degree in economics.

“Growing up in a traditional Asian household and it was always talked upon to get a college degree, an office job is always preferred. The sort of quote ‘kitchen stuff’ … was frowned upon. But my bachelor’s degree was more to appease my parents.”

He went back to school to Johnson & Wales University for his culinary degree, which he received in 2009; “I decided to go to culinary school instead for myself.”

Mei’s father was a cook and did not initially respond favorably to Mei following in his footsteps.

“He didn’t enjoy it because he knew how hard it was to make a living. He understood the work aspect of the craft, I guess, but not the artistry of it.”

Chef Mei spoke of his time as a regional financial accountant for Whole Foods and credits it with helping him with running a restaurant because “it allows me to understand numbers a lot better and how to effectively maneuver my money and how to spend it.”

He also spent time working in several different restaurants in California and Texas before moving back to Boston with his wife.

“I grew up in the South End, so when my family first immigrated to the states, we lived in the South End since 1984. So, I made a crazy … move to move to China and had culture shock.”

While working at the French Laundry in California, Mei learned about redundancy and repetitiveness. “Basically, doing stuff consistently is what’s the most important thing … in my profession.”

He spoke of developing his muscle memory, “Just keep doing the same thing over and over again until that one day that you need to like, turn on that switch. That switch will turn on.”

Mei named the restaurant after the daughter he never had in the hopes that it will take care of him in his old age. He hopes that patrons of the restaurant will “just have a good meal, good conversation, and most importantly, leave full, not hungry.” When asked about plans for the future he said “hopefully the restaurant stays open. Gives me something to do as I, hopefully gracefully age.“

SIDEBAR:

Sampan’s Mary Chin recently dined at Lenox Sophia and shared her review of the food:

Scallop Ceviche:  The scallop ceviche was the first entree. The fresh scallops were deliciously flavored with Vietnamese fish sauce nuoc cham. Combined with scrumptious gratin potatoes. 

Pea Custard: The pea custard was a surprising favorite.  The velvety texture of the custard was brightened with Meyer Lemon and mint.  A delightful summer dish. 

Rice and Peas:  The rice and peas entree was dotted with succulent pieces of crawfish. Spring vegetables added seasonal texture and flavor to this comforting dish.

Lamb Shoulder:  The lamb shoulder was both succulent and tender. The maitake mushrooms added depth while the sauce vert added a deliciously contrasting flavor of freshness.

Skate : The skate was amazing with brown butter, capers and sean beans. The skate was deliciously moist and so flavorful. The sean beans perfectly added natural saltiness and sweetness to this entree.

Rhubarb:  We ended this exciting gastronomical evening with a frozen rhubarb experience. It’s tartness was beautifully balanced by the sweetness of lychees, the creaminess of buttermilk. and luscious, fresh strawberries.