Chef Serpa’s Food Adds Bright Latin Flavors To New England Classics

There’s no shortage of seafood in Boston and yet what Chef Michael Serpa and his team are doing adds a little (or a lot) of something extra that really stands out. What is it? Some may think it’s his lifetime spent in a kitchen shining through, some may think it is the ambience his team creates at each of his three restaurants, others still may think it is the clear homage to his Cuban roots along with the Latin and Hispanic influence of his team. What ever it is, Serpa’s trifecta of seafood destinations with memorable flare is making Boston diners, very, very happy.

Little Whale Oyster Bar , opened in 2022 and is in a brownstone on popular pedestrian thoroughfare, Newbury Street, and is a nod to classic New England seaside clam shacks and oyster bars. Atlantico, in Boston’s South End, opened in 2021 and is the big, party space; as it is much larger than the other two restaurants, it is the mostly likely place for a paella party or wedding, and highlights Iberian inspired seafood. Select Oyster Bar , the oldest of Serpa’s restaurants (opened in 2015) is in a brownstone in the historic Back Bay and shares the best of the area’s fresh seafood in a neighborhood bistro setting. Select has been named Boston Magazine’s Best New Restaurant (2019), along with Best Wine Program, Best Seafood Restaurant; Food & Wine listed Select as one of America’s Best New Wine Bars in 2018. The local and national accolades prove that Serpa’s vision of serving the comforts of Latin and New England cuisine in settings that blur the lines between all that is cozy and refined is scoring big with Boston.

Although you might find Chef Serpa on a bike making his rounds through Boston these days, when he was kid, he left the bike-riding, toys, and video games to his friends, while he headed to work. Work. As early as eight years old, he got wind that he could put some bucks in his pocket by delivering meals for the family catering business. With his family on both sides from Cuba and restaurant work being a viable path as newcomers to the States, Serpa caught the bug of hard-work early. There were times, he said, “I’d wake up extra early before my dad, sneak into the backseat of his car before he left for work just so I could help out…and make some money.” With his father, grandfather, and two uncles in the business, it was no surprise that the world of cooking would soon be a part of his future.

From Cuba to Montreal to Brooklyn, or Reading, Pennsylvania on one side and from Cuba to Miami on the other, Serpa’s grandparents landed in the States as part of the Cuban Exodus of 1959. With one grandfather working as a carpenter and the other starting a catering business, hard work became a symbol of pride Serpa himself is proud to emulate and talk about. With a built-in clientele from many other families who had also recently emigrated from Cuba, Puerto Rico, or the Dominican Republic, there was always a birthday party or wedding to prepare for; Don Rafa’s Catering, was always busy. The aroma of arroz con pollo, fresh empanadas, or roast pork and yucca, would never be too far from Serpa’s palate, despite later spending time at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America or at numerous big city fine dining establishments where the cuisine of his heritage was no where to be found.

By the time he was 18 he had already had years of experience in the industry. An externship at Olive’s in New York solidified his future. Despite efforts from his family, urging him pursue something that would better utilize his intellect, he said, by 20 he knew. “I know what my path is going to be,” he recollected. Soon moving from New York City to Boston, he quickly became one of the youngest executive chefs in town, heading up Neptune Oyster at 22.

Flash forward to today, Serpa has led in Boston’s culinary scene for over 15 years. Especially proud of his team—a family in its own right— he believes he has built a bridge between cultures. On the one hand, he is so proud to create and serve classic New England fare in Boston, a city that takes pride in its coastal cuisine, and yet, he and his team do so while also shining a light on the food of their heritage; it is food that nourished them as children but was only found around their tables at home. Now, those flavors that swirled around his father’s and his Abuelo’s kitchen are front and center at Boston’s Little Whale Oyster Bar, Select Oyster Bar, and Atlantico. And they are not just highlighted during National Hispanic Heritage Month; they are dishes and people Serpa and his team celebrate every single day.