My Girl is the kind of spot you go to see and be seen, a Latin and Japanese restaurant in Post Office Square, tucked underneath the trendy Cuban restaurant Mariel in downtown Boston. Formerly the club Mariel Underground (also by parent company Coje Management Group), it’s now a lounge built for bottle service and small bites. It’s the venue for an evening where half the time will be spent sipping cocktails and scanning the room, and the rest will be spent taking intensely staged Instagram photos in the bathroom, art-directed by at least three friends.
When I visited on a Tuesday night, the crowd was young, mostly groups of friends with flashing digital cameras, and a few couples. But the space is undeniably more grown-up than Mariel Underground. Inspired by the 1950s Cuba, a mood is emphasized through tropical prints and Art Deco-mirrored pillars, couches, and chairs now beckon where the dance floor used to be. The music was vibrant, but not electronic, and it was low enough to have a conversation.
This lounge is best for a drop-in drink before or after dinner. The bites, though well executed, are not enough for dinner, but the atmosphere is worth soaking in over a caramelized banana Old Fashioned.
