FRAMINGHAM – Wonder has officially opened both its Framingham and Natick locations, offering pickup and delivery service for items from about 20 different restaurant menus. The site also has dine-in space.
As of now, they don’t include any local restaurants in their offerings, but instead make food from their existing partner network.
I didn’t see any brand new cuisines that we don’t already have in Framingham or nearby. Instead, the novelty here is that a household or get-together can combine different cuisines in the same order, allowing, say, one person who wants pizza or kids’ items and another who’s craving ‘new American’ or higher-end steak to both get what they want from the same place in the same order.
Wonder has scheduled its grand opening for Feb. 12, but it already opened for orders starting yesterday. It’s located at 571 Worcester Road near Whole Foods (not exactly District 2, but they deliver here). Another location just opened at 219 North Main Street in Natick.
My husband and I gave it a try last night. And despite the premise that we could each get something different, we ended up both ordering build-your-own-bowls from Yasas by Michael Symon. We both give it a thumbs up. (I didn’t like it as much as Mediterranean Turkish Cuisine, formerly in Saxonville now down the road near Stop & Shop, but that restaurant is closed on Mondays.)
Note that while they boast free delivery, our order included a $3.13 “service fee,” which I found annoying. What exactly is the difference between a service fee and a delivery fee? Still, the salads with (not a lot of) chicken and multiple add-ons were less than $12 ($2.25 extra if you want avocado, but things like hummus, crumbled feta, and pita chips were included). Other options can be pricier, though.
Wonder is a chain operating in the Northeast US. Framingham, Natick, and Belmont are its first Massachusetts locations, with Acton, Burlington, Canton, Medford, Newton, and Watertown scheduled to open next month. Until now, the closest Wonder was in East Providence.
I’m not sure how a chain like this survives in areas where there are already a lot of good existing restaurants, but they already have quite a few locations in Manhattan, so they must have some experience with that. Some other Wonder locations include delivery from existing local restaurants as well their own “Made at Wonder” offerings.
Available menus in Framingham:
| Restaurant | Cuisine |
|---|---|
| Alanza | Italian |
| Alanza Pizza | Pizza |
| Bobby Flay Steak | Steak |
| Burger Baby | Burgers |
| Detroit Brick Pizza Co. | Pizza |
| Di Fara Pizza | Pizza |
| Fred’s Meat & Bread | Sandwiches |
| Hanu Poke | Poke |
| Kin House | Chinese |
| Limesalt | Mexican |
| Maydan | Middle Eastern |
| Royal Greens | Salads & Bowls |
| SriPraPhai | Thai |
| Streetbird by Marcus Samuelsson | Fried Chicken |
| Tejas Barbecue | BBQ |
| The Mainstay by Marc Murphy | American |
| Walnut Lane by Jonathan Waxman | New American |
| Wing Trip | Wings |
| Yasas by Michael Symon | Mediterranean |
| Bellies | Kids |
| Room for Dessert | Desserts |
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