The sea has much to teach us: its tides foretell the lunar cycle, its salt treats us to delicious shark jerky, and its colorful creatures prove that nature looks better in Blu-ray. Celebrate the big salty puddle's sagacity with today's Groupon: for $25, you get $50 worth of New England cuisine at North 26 Restaurant and Bar in Millennium Bostonian Hotel.

North 26 lures diners into its elegant, gold-toned dining room with fine New England cuisine conjured from fresh seafood and sustainable ingredients. Breakfast lovers can toast the completion of an all-night staring contest with forkfuls of Bostonian benedict ($13), which sets poached eggs and berkshire ham atop an english muffin and smothers it in succulent hollandaise. The lunch menu, offered every day from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., showcases an array of plates small and large as well as sandwiches like the fried oyster po'boy ($12), served with iceberg lettuce and Cajun tartar sauce, and the grilled swordfish melt ($14), with sprouts, yellow tomatoes, mozzarella and pesto mayo. For dinner, chase the seared Georges Bank scallops ($26)—garbed in a decadent robe of celeriac puree, foraged mushrooms, black truffles, and rare baseball cards—with a decadent dessert of chocolate bananas foster cupcakes ($8).

Reviews

The Boston Phoenix reviewed North 26 Restaurant and Bar and gave it four stars. Yelpers give the restaurant an average of 3.5 stars and OpenTable reviewers give it a 3.5-star average:

• the flavors are lovely and the spins on the familiar -- so essential to hotel dining rooms -- were quite intelligent. – Robert Nadeau, Boston Phoenix
• Although right in the middle of everything North 26 has quiet spaces to enjoy a drink and good food presented elegantly by an attentive waitstaff. A recent renovation has improved the ambiance while retaining the great view of the activity in the outside streetscape. This is my third visit and I have not been disappointed. – OpenTable reviewer who dined on 11/22/2010