Tiffani Faison opens new restaurant Tigerbaby at High Street Place

Restaurants

The counter-service restaurant serves Asian cuisine and draws inspiration from Tiger Mama, a former Faison restaurant.

Another concept from Tiffani Faison is headed to the High Street Place food hall in downtown Boston, one that will remind diners of an earlier restaurant from this celebrity chef.

Tigerbaby, which opens Tuesday, Feb. 17, is the counter-service version of Tiger Mama, Faison’s second restaurant concept that opened in the Fenway in 2015 and closed down in 2021. 

In a press release, Faison said the concept draws from her days running Tiger Mama, which served a fusion of Southeast Asian cuisine. In the opening menu at Tigerbaby, you’ll find influences of Thai and Vietnamese, but also more Eastern Asian influences as well, with dishes like Thai basil chicken, black pepper beef and broccoli, and Vietnamese cold coffee.

“Tigerbaby has lived in my brain and heart for quite some time,” a statement from Faison said. “It’s the food I love cooking and crave the most. I’m beyond excited to share it.”

But different from the sit-down experience at Tiger Mama that brought diners dishes like short rib crudo or a massive platter of marinated duck, Tigerbaby will fit the mold of what downtown diners are looking for at a food hall like High Street Place: quick and easy food that they can even order for carry-out if they’re on the go. Other dishes include tangerine chicken, popcorn dumplings, Lucky Buddha Beer, transfusion drinks, and Tiger Thai tea.

Tigerbaby is now the fifth concept inside High Street Place from Faison’s Big Heart Hospitality. There are, of course, other restaurants and bars in High Street Place that serve everything from fried chicken sandwiches to craft cocktails. But clearly this food hall — which had a significantly delayed opening due to the pandemic — likes working with Faison. Bubble Bath, Charming Gardener, Dive Bar, and Tenderoni’s are all under the Big Heart Hospitality umbrella. 

“High Street Place has been lucky to have Tiffani as part of our community since day one, and Tigerbaby is a perfect example of what makes this food hall special, chef-driven concepts with real personality and a loyal following,” said Lauren Johnson, Marketplace Manager at High Street Place Food Hall. “We can’t wait for guests to experience what she’s creating next.”

Faison, a familiar face in Boston and nationally given her Food Network and Top Chef programming appearances, also runs other restaurants in traditional brick-and-mortar spaces, like Sweet Cheeks Q and Fool’s Errand, both in the Fenway. Just last year, she also opened a rooftop bar version of Bubble Bath at the CitizenM hotel in Back Bay.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Wednesday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; closed Sunday.

100 High Street, Downtown Boston

Katelyn Umholtz

Food and Restaurant Reporter

Katelyn Umholtz covers food and restaurants for Boston.com. Katelyn is also the author of The Dish, a weekly food newsletter.