Since opening late this July, Lou’s — located on 13 Brattle St. — has been turning the tables on Cambridge’s diners and music lovers alike.
The restaurant features a 1920s-inspired lounge space and nightly music from live artists and DJs, making it a unique addition to the food, music, and nightlife scene in an area densely populated by students.
“We love the idea of live music. We need more of that. So we really want to support really good artists,” John P. DiGiovanni, who owns the Lou’s property, said.
“We also have a DJ night. I think there’ll even be some dancing. A lot of that was missing in the Square that we wanted this to add to the vibrancy of this place,” he added.
Upcoming performances span a range of musical traditions, including reggae, Brazilian music, and Senegalese afropop.
Megan B. McNamara, a local resident who dined at Lou’s with a friend, said she appreciated the ambiance and decor.
“It’s absolutely amazing. What they’ve done with the space is so beautiful,” McNamara said. “Whoever designed it, it is absolutely gorgeous. The books, the couches, it’s so good.”
“This is such a good space in Harvard Square that’s gone to waste for so many years, as a local,” she added.
After the pandemic slowed foot traffic and in-person gatherings in the Square, DiGiovanni said he wanted his property to become a venue of conversation and connection. The property had been vacant since 2022, when bar and restaurant Beat Brew Hall closed.
“We want people to engage,” DiGiovanni said. “Honestly, part of the inspiration for me was creating a place where people want to talk and be in a place to socialize. We’re in a time where there’s not enough of that personal contact.”
Lou’s is named after DiGiovanni’s late father, Louis F. “Lou” DiGiovanni, who was a powerful entrepreneur and real estate agent in Harvard Square. Thomas J. Keane — a friend of DiGiovanni’s and a co-owner of the restaurant — suggested the new venue be named in honor of Lou DiGiovanni and his impact on the Square.
DiGiovanni said he hopes Lou’s becomes a lasting institution for Harvard affiliates and Cambridge residents.
“When you come back for your 10th and 25th, you want to go to Lou’s. I want this to be here,” DiGiovanni said. “I want it to be part of the life of the Square.”
For now, Marisa F. Gann ’26, who visited Lou’s over the summer, agreed that the new venue can play a role in nightlife at Harvard.
“It definitely has a lot of potential to be the reliable dance scene in Harvard Square,” she said.
The Cambridge Historical Commission hesitantly voted to allow the redevelopment of the Harriet Jacobs House on Thursday, on the condition that developers continue to meet with the CHC to address “clear concerns” from neighborsover the proposed height and size.
The house, which Janet Jiang has privately owned since 2020, was originally home to the boarding house Harriet Jacobs ran in the years following her escape from slavery. But in recent decades, the house has fallen into disrepair as it has bounced between private owners, none with the funding to preserve the historic site.
With architects from CambridgeSeven, Jiang brought forward a proposal to move the house forward on its original lot and construct a 90,000-square-foot addition behind. CambridgeSeven’s proposal sits at eight stories — remodeling the Jacobs house into a hotel and creating a cafe and residential units on the remainder of the lot. The renovation could include a “mini-museum” in the hotel lobby, open to the public to spotlight Jacobs’ work as an abolitionist and author.
But since November, plans have stalled in front of the CHC.
The house already sits within the Harvard Square Neighborhood Conservation District, restricting changes that can be made to the exterior of the building. But the CHC — charged with overseeing historical preservation projects — has been weighing designating the house a historic landmark since August.
If the Jacobs house becomes a landmark, it would give the CHC more oversight of both internal and external changes to the house. The study is expected to take roughly four months, CHC Executive Director Charles M. Sullivan said in the Thursday meeting.
But the vote still gives CambridgeSeven permission to move forward with the project, though Commissioners remained skeptical as they passed the vote. Architects, Jiang, and her lawyer, Patrick W. Barrett, will be required to continue meeting with the CHC in the coming weeks to address concerns regarding the building’s height and scale.
The decision comes amid nearly a year of back-and-forth with Harvard Square residents, many of whom live near the Story St. house and have strongly objected to developers’ plans to build eightstories of residential units as part of the proposed remodel.
Residents and Commissioners alike have raised concerns over the height and size of the addition, criticizing multiple iterations of the design for being out of character with the surrounding neighborhood.
“It just feels like the house is sort of engulfed by the building,” CHC member Florrie Darwin said in the Thursday meeting.
But Commissioners supported approving the proposal unanimously, though cautiously awaiting the results of the landmarking study and further discussion with developers over the building’s size.
Many have been quick to point out that there have been no other plans to preserve or develop the house in recent years. And, since the house is privately owned, it could easily be sold to private developers with little interest in preserving Jacobs’ history.
Jiang turned down an offer to sell the property outright to a private condominium developer last year, declining a sizable profit. Instead, she hopes to protect the house’s historical significance in partnership with developers.
“I didn’t grow up studying American history, but over the past five years, I have learned so much about Harriet Jacobs and how important she is both to Black history and to Cambridge,” Jiang said in the Thursday meeting. “I want this to be a real place that is alive and public, where people can connect with her history — not just the static landmark.”
The proposal has also amassed support from more than half of the City Council. Mayor E. Denise Simmons, Vice Mayor Marc C. McGovern, and Councilors Sumbul Siddiqui. Jivan G. Sobrinho-Wheeler co-authored an op-ed in the Boston Globe earlier this week to advocate for the redevelopment.
“Something is going to be built on that site, and we have a property owner who is saying, ‘Not only do I want to build on this site, but I want to preserve this history and this house.’” McGovern said in a Thursday interview. “This is a win-win.”
Staff at Beyond Full stand beside Mayor E. Denise Simmons and Harvard Square Business Association President Denise A. Jillson for the restaurant’s ribbon cutting ceremony. By Elyse C. Goncalves
Cambridge residents inaugurated a new Mass. Ave. restaurant with a hipster look into the local dining scene at Beyond Full’s grand opening on Tuesday.
Sitting between Harvard and Central Square, Beyond Full,which offers traditional diner fare,comes several years after Beyond Full’s owner Richard R. Yancey opened the restaurant’s first location in Hopedale, Mass. —a small town around 40 miles from Boston. The new restaurant fills the vacancy left by the beloved Zoe’s Diner.
The move to Cambridge brings Beyond Full to a more “artsy” and metropolitan setting, according to Yancey, himself a native Bostonian. Yancey said that melded well with his more urban vision for the restaurant — which features walls painted with colorful graffiti and air abuzz with hip-hop music.
“It’s artsy, it’s right next to the college, and it has an urban vibe to it. So, this is a great fit for what we sell,” Yancey said.
Yancey said Beyond Full’s food stands out for its freshness.
“Our burgers arehand-pressed and they’re fresh. They’re not frozen,” Yancey said. “We don’t deal with frozen, so they taste amazing.”
Denise A. Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, said the restaurant would bring a new vibe to the area, calling it “a little more edgy than what we have here in the Square.”
“It has a different look about it, which we love,” Jillson said.
Jillson added that Beyond Full’s every day operation would help it overcome the business challenges that faced Zoe’s, which she said focused too heavily on weekend breakfast and brunch.
“I think that in order for a restaurant to succeed in Harvard Square, and in any district, really, it needs to be an everyday operation,” Jillson said. “I really believe that the new owners, Richard and Carrie, are committed to doing that.”
Though the restaurant’s location on the outskirts of Harvard Square may require extra work to draw people in, Jillson also expected it to find customers from nearby mid-Cambridge residents.
After settling in Cambridge, Yancey said he hopes to expand Beyond Full to other tourist hubs in the metropolitan area, such as Boston’s Newbury St.
Despite his now-expanding business, Yancey only got his start in the restaurant business a few years ago, upon becoming an empty nester. Before his daughter left for college, a conversation between the two inspired his venture.
“I was a stay-at-home father, and I was at a breakfast spot in Hopedale, and she asked me what was I going to do when she goes to college?” Yancey said. “I said, ‘I don’t know, maybe I’ll open a restaurant. I was just joking.’”
“She said, ‘What about this place?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, we love going to this place,’” he said, of a local restaurant he and his daughter frequented.
After a conversation with the owner of the restaurant, Yancey bought the building and opened Beyond Full’s first location.
Six years later, Yancey said he hopes that same business will welcome Cambridge students and residents from all walks of life.
“I want to bring a positive but an interesting vibe, a place where you can come and relax and be able to dress any way you want, more of an artsy environment,” Yancey said.
“An environment that welcomes every human being on the planet,” he added.
Not Deborah Mason, whose Performing Arts Center in Somerville is celebrating its 50th year.
The studio (and Mason) have undergone many changes in that time, but she still runs the show.
Mason grew up in East Cambridge in the 1950s and ’60s and began taking dance lessons as a child. When she was 14, her teacher hired her as an assistant; she continued working there until her early 20s. “By that point, I was pretty much running [my teacher’s] school,” Mason said in an interview. “I figured I should open up my school. And that’s what I did.”
She began searching for a location in 1975, finding instead a hard truth: “Nobody wanted to rent to me, since I was young and a woman.”
Mason eventually found a small space on Hampshire Street in Inman Square – only her studio’s first location. “I had to move six times. But my students followed. I guess I’m a bit like the pied piper of dance,” she said.
By 2000, Mason was in her fifth location, in North Cambridge. There she remained for 15 years as the numbers of students and teachers continued to grow.
It was there she formed the nonprofit Cambridge Youth Dance Program in 2005 and began curating the dance stage at the city’s Harvard Square-based MayFair festival – also still going strong. At this year’s May 4 event, its Deborah Mason Dance Stage featured more than 30 troupes.
Mason’s landlord had long signaled that the building hosting her studio would be knocked down and replaced with condominiums. In 2012, time ran out and she looked for a new location with urgency, turning to her faithful Cambridge community – and families rallied behind her without hesitation, she said, helping her raise $250,000 toward the purchase of a permanent home.
“This school was built by the people of Cambridge. Everyone helped me raise the money, and the builders even worked on holidays so I could move in sooner,” Mason said.
Since its creation, her school has fostered a community: nearly 700 dancers a week ages 3 to 18 coming to learn ballet, en pointe, modern dance, tap, jazz, musical theater and hip-hop, according to the school; and more than 2,000 students over the years subsidized to attend if they couldn’t afford classes.
One of the students Mason helped – by making up a work-study program to fill – went on to become a Deborah Mason instructor. Paula Khelifi was on hand too to give testimony to the Cambridge City Council in 2012 to plead for help keeping the school alive.
“I was teased and bullied and cried myself to sleep at night from about the ages of 10 to 14. Something you never forget. It stays with you. Then I met Debbie,” Khelifi said at the time. “I wouldn’t even have been able to show up for the audition if I didn’t have Deborah Mason behind me telling me that I could do anything. Not only did I learn all the skills and technique, but I learned about self-confidence.”
In 2022, Mason documented her life in a book, “Life is But a Dance” – and now reflects on her role during her school’s golden anniversary.
“I really do love this school, and I love watching people be successful,” Mason said. “I love that the kids are enjoying themselves. Some will go on to dance professionally, and others won’t; either way, the lessons you learn from dance will help you throughout your life.”
“It is kind of strange that 50 years went by so fast,” Mason said. “I’ve just been doing what I love.”
Harriet Jacobs’s life and legacy embody dignity, security, and justice. Expanding access to safe, affordable homes in Cambridge carries that same moral weight today.
By E. Denise Simmons, Marc McGovern, Sumbul Siddiqui, and Jivan Sobrinho-WheeleUpdated September 2, 2025, 3:22 p.m.
The Harriet Jacobs house in Cambridge.Photo illustration by Globe Staff; Image by Google Maps
E. Denise Simmons is the mayor of Cambridge. Marc McGovern is the vice-mayor of Cambridge. Sumbul Siddiqui and Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler are Cambridge city councilors.
Harriet Jacobs is one of America’s most important abolitionists. Her 1861 autobiography, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” stands alongside the works of Frederick Douglass as a foundational text of freedom.
In the late 19th century, Jacobs lived in Cambridge at 17 Story St. for several years, where she and her daughter ran a boarding house that welcomed Harvard students and faculty.
Cambridge should be proud of this history. We must honor Jacobs. Preserving her legacy is not in question; the challenge is how to best do so.
The Jacobs House is poorly maintained and has been used only intermittently over the years as administrative space.
According to a memo submitted on behalf of the city’s historic preservation staff to the Cambridge Historical Commission, “From the 1960s until 2020, when the current owners acquired the property, the building received only minimal maintenance and appeared to be in danger of demolition by neglect.” Delaying the project now before city boards will not save the house; it will leave it exposed to time and uncertainty, without the resources needed to stabilize and restore it.
The developer has proposed “relocating the Harriet Jacobs House from the back of the site to sit prominently at the front corner of Mt. Auburn and Story Streets.” The site would house a new “eight story hotel and residence building, which will have approximately 67 hotel keys as well as approximately 50 residential units. The Harriet Jacobs House will serve as the hotel lobby and will connect to a small cafe.”
The proposal does three things at once: It restores and preserves the house and relocates it to a prominent, visible position on the site, where it can be regularly accessible to the public. It adds 50 much-needed homes, including affordable units, in the midst of Cambridge’s housing crisis, which is pushing long-time residents and young families out of the city. And it finances preservation through hotel revenue, following an adaptive-reuse model that has saved countless historic buildings nationwide.
This is not preservation versus profit. It is preservation through investment versus continued deterioration.
While some worry that moving the house may diminish its integrity, preservation professionals have emphasized the opposite: Keeping it where it sits today would bury it behind new frontage in the proposed development and all but hide it from public life.
Over years of design iterations, city preservation staff have urged architects to bring the house forward so it can be seen, cared for, and used. Cambridge Historical Commission chair Chandra Harrington made the same case. “I think this project is great,” Harrington said at the commission’s last meeting. “They’re honoring the house and the history by preserving it and placing it right up in front of the property. These people have the money and want to put it in now. If we pass by them, who knows who’s going to come up and do this?”
The Jacobs House sits within the Harvard Square Conservation District. The Historical Commission has full jurisdiction over its relocation, alteration, and restoration, and can condition approvals to ensure preservation standards are met. According to the memo, a separate landmarking process “may not be necessary” if the project is eligible for a Certificate of Appropriateness as designed or as modified. Launching an additional, duplicative landmarking process would consume scarce staff resources without adding meaningful protection, since the commission is already empowered to review the scale and design of the new construction.
At the same time, Cambridge’s housing crisis is undeniable. Rents are among the highest in the nation, and too many people — our grown children, teachers, health care workers, recent graduates, young families, and new residents seeking sanctuary from cruel and xenophobic laws — are being priced out. Adding 50 units, 20 percent of them affordable, is not a luxury but a responsibility.
Harriet Jacobs’s life and legacy embody dignity, security, and justice. Expanding access to safe, affordable homes in Cambridge carries that same moral weight today.
The best way to honor Jacobs is not by allowing her home to languish with makeshift repairs, as some have suggested, but by securing its future while advancing Cambridge’s values of dignity, inclusion, and shelter.
By Camilo Fonseca Globe Staff,Updated August 31, 2025, 6:30 a.m.
The first Harvard Square Asian Night Market on Brattle Street.Camilo Fonseca
CAMBRIDGE — The scent of smoked meats fused with the sound of public karaoke on Saturday night as several thousand people packed Brattle Street in celebration of the Harvard Square’s first Asian Night Market.
The street festival featured over a dozen different vendors, selling everything from pork skewers to jewelry. It was organized by the Harvard Square Philippine American Alliance, in partnership with the Harvard Square Business Association — though cuisine and curios from all across East Asia were on display.
Andrew Yang, 33, came to the event from Arlington with a friend. Standing at the edge of the festivities holding a half-finished Thai iced tea, he said he’d jumped into a line for one of the various food stands; what the line was for, he said, he had “no idea,” but that didn’t seem to faze him.
“I grew up in China, and a lot of food reminds me of the Chinese style,” he said.
The teeming crowd was full of Harvard students, some no doubt fresh off of the university’s move-in day, as well as parents and couples. More than 4,000 people were in attendance, according to Amanda Henley, a spokesperson for the business association.
Jeff Katz and Pam Gilman, of Cambridge, said that even with the holiday weekend, they were surprised at the turnout.
“This is insane,” Katz said. “In a good way.”
The two said they had been waiting in line for dinner for several minutes; similar to Yang, they didn’t realize they were waiting for Filipino food until they got close enough to see the stand. Despite the massive crowd making it nearly impossible to cross the short stretch of Brattle Street, the two said they were excited to try to navigate the rest of the offerings.
“It’s wonderful living in such a vibrant place with people from all over the world,” Katz said. “I love it.”
Assorted Asian pastries, including “character macarons” of video game character Kirby, at the Harvard Square Asian Night Market. Owner Jenny Liang, of Walpole, said the Kirby ones, which are sakura (“cherry blossom”) flavored, are the most popular.Camilo Fonseca
Though there was plenty in the way of food, there were also several booths for other cultural activities, including one for the Taiwanese Film Festival of Boston, which will be held on Sept. 19 and 20.
“We’re the only representation of Taiwan in the whole market,” said Jerry Lin, the film festival’s co-president, adding that visitors to the stand have been “surprised that there’s a Taiwan Film Festival. They didn’t really realize that we have this. So this [night market] is what we have to do: promote more and welcome audiences all over the Boston area.”
It was a surprise to Brian Yu, a Harvard Dental School student originally from Taiwan, who said he hadn’t expected representation from his home country at all.
“They said they’re inviting a Taiwanese director here” for the film festival, Yu said. “So that’s very cool.”
Yu’s friend Nguyen Nguyen, of Houston, said the market had great offerings, but mused that the tightly-packed crowd made it difficult to see all of them.
“I think this demonstrates that there’s a lot more interest [than expected],” he said. “So I think a bigger space to accommodate that would really make the whole experience more enjoyable for everyone.”
But Nguyen added that the long lines were proof enough that the festival filled an important niche for the local community, of Asian Americans and non-Asians alike.
“It’s a very cool thing to have … that kind of represents the diversity of people here,” Nguyen said. “Celebrating culture and sharing it with others is a really great way to just make us all realize that we’re more connected than we are different.”
By Victoria Wasylak Globe Correspondent Updated August 27, 2025, 9:00 a.m.
Worcester band Blue Light Bandits perform at Lou’s. Alyssa Blumstein
Ask a music fan what’s missing from Harvard Square and the answers will vary — but you will get an answer.
Some folks might pine for the heyday of “the Pit,” the now-demolished outdoor seating area where counterculture pooled in the heart of the Square. Others would mourn the programming at Charlie’s Kitchen and Hong Kong Restaurant, two neighborhood eateries that once provided intimate performance spaces for independent artists but stopped hosting shows in recent years.
The potential responses vary by genre and era (an exhaustive, decades-spanning list of cultural losses in Harvard Square would gobble up the entirety of this column). But they all trace back to a similar notion: There are no longer many public or independently-operated spaces where artists can make a proper home in Harvard Square.
Cormac Hurley, a manager at a new venue and restaurant called Lou’s, says the area once produced “artists that have heritage in Harvard Square.” Folks like Joan Baez and Tracy Chapman, who weren’t necessarily from Greater Boston, or even New England, but who developed their careers in the neighborhood and, many years later, remain associated with it.
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“Being a part of that heritage, is, I think, what people miss in a lot of different ways,” says Hurley, the brand and event manager of the Brattle Street business.
It’s notable, then, that Lou’s isn’t just carving out a space for more live music; it’s also curating a calendar of friendly faces. Since opening at the end of July, Hurley says the 289-person “jazz-adjacent” club has strived to be a place of discovery, booking Boston artists ranging from the trad jazz of Josiah Reibstein & The Hubtones to R&B from Aric B. and The Presidential Suites.
Many of the acts are booked for repeat performances a few weeks apart, offering the performers the chance to put down sturdy (or studier) roots in the scene.
Jazz guitarist Eric Hofbauer, the trio of South African-born jazz drummer Lumanyano Mzi, and Berklee student and viral singer-pianist Su Yavez, are a few of the performers who will return to Lou’s stage at the end of August and beginning of September, after helping welcome the first batches of guests into the venue’s 5,600-square-foot space. (At the opposite end of the venue, a listening area also accommodates guests who are tuned in to whichever DJ is spinning vinyl that evening.)
The speakeasy-esque den feels like an art deco twist on the space’s previous identities. The space at 13 Brattle St. was formerly the jazz bar Beat Brasserie (also called Beat Hotel), a sister business of The Beehive in the South End. In 2018, the space rebranded as Beat Brew Hall, broadening its focus to include a beer hall dining room, in addition to a back-room lounge and performance space. Beat Brew Hall survived the wrath of COVID-19, but only briefly; it shuttered in 2022 after a short-lived post-pandemic reopening.
As of last month, the “beat” goes on via Lou’s. But in the years between Beat Brew Hall’s final day and Lou’s elegant launch this past July, 13 Brattle St. was little more than a silent, vacant basement. Coincidentally, “vacant” is the exact emotional atmosphere of many public spaces that have cropped up around the Square. Think of chain restaurants with stiff, inhospitable seating (if any), and dystopian curiosities like the “Capital One Café,” a spine-chilling concept if there ever was one.
Some serial show attendees will see Lou’s as a fine complement to the Regattabar, the jazz club located in the Square’s Charles Hotel. Folks more inclined to seek out music at a dive bar might turn their nose up at such an elegant new establishment, or the idea of sipping $15 cocktails during showtime.
Personally, I don’t have a preference between swanky venues and scrappy ones. I just know that music is always better than a vacant silence.
GIG GUIDE
At TD Garden on Friday, Nine Inch Nails return to Boston for the first time since their doubleheader at the 2022 edition of Boston Calling, when the industrial rock project ended up headlining two of the festival’s three nights. The band’s polar opposite, the wholesome, backflipping pop singer Benson Boone, comes to the arena on Tuesday to support his sophomore album, “American Heart.”
A burst of 1990s and early aughts rock nostalgia rattles MGM Music Hall at Fenway this weekend, courtesy of performances from Simple Plan (Friday) and Coheed and Cambria with Taking Back Sunday (Saturday). Latin hip-hop and reggaeton artist Eladio Carrión continues his already jam-packed year — which includes releasing his April album “DON KBRN” and countless singles — at the venue on Wednesday.
Highlights from the North Shore include a Friday performance from Puerto Rican cuatro player and composer Fabiola Mendez at The Cut, and a Saturday visit from The Moody Blues frontman Justin Hayward at the Shalin Liu Performance Center.
Baltimore pop-R&B singer Gabby Samone, one of the standout contestants on the most recent season of “American Idol,” continues her career’s momentum at City Winery on Tuesday. Stella Cole summons charming jazz standards from her new record, “It’s Magic,” on Wednesday and Thursday at the winery.
Recent “American Idol” standout Gabby Samone performs at City Winery on Tuesday.Courtesy of Strategic Heights Media and Gabby Samone
And speaking of Harvard Square success stories, Campfire. Festival will spread performances from over 60 musicians across Labor Day weekend at Passim. It’s almost impossible to select highlights on a roster this robust, but some daily picks include Ana Schon (Friday), Gabriella Simpkins (Saturday), Anju (Sunday), and Dom the Composer (Monday).
NOW SPINNING
Canyon Lights, “Breathe Easy.” After staking their claim on the Billboard Blues chart in the Boston band GA-20, two former members — drummer Tim Carman and singer-guitarist Pat Faherty — strike out on their own in this new outfit. Joined by bassist Heather Gillis, Canyon Lights present classic, swampy blues gold on their debut LP, “Breathe Easy.” Don’t miss the satisfying spirals of guitar on standout track “Drivin’ Me.”
Canyon Lights release their debut LP, “Breathe Easy,” this Friday.Rob Bronson
The Beaches, “No Hard Feelings.” Under most circumstances, a band repeating the formula of its breakthrough album on another project would be grounds for breaking out the dreaded “slump” label. But on the Beaches’ third LP, the Canadian band revels in the same wisecracking alt-rock as 2023’s “Blame My Ex,” conveying new emotional battle scars with familiar charm.
Tei Shi, “Make believe I make believe.” Tei Shi ought to return to Berklee College of Music — her alma mater — and teach a course on cross-genre cohesion. On her fourth album, the Argentina-born artist once again tinkers with her musical trajectory, crafting an intricate web of reggaeton rhythms, glittering synth-pop, and all of the gossamer sounds in between.
Sakurako K. via YelpA Neko cocktail cup is just the start of the Tiki bar aesthetic at Wusong Road in Cambridge’s Harvard Square.
With its many accolades, including most recently being named one of USA Today’s Restaurants of the Year, Harvard Square’s Wusong Road has been on my drink list for quite a long time. Even the entrance was distinct from across the street, adorned with lush tropical leaves and flowers. Inside, Wusong Road is perpetually in bloom.
Wusong Road leans in unwaveringly to the kitsch of a Tiki bar, embodying everything that is so appropriative of the nightlife tradition. There are posters for the film “South Pacific,” Tiki cups and statues galore, and the waitstaff wears floral tropical shirts. Though I can’t say a drink called Love Meow Long Time served in a Neko cup is appropriate in any circumstance, I can respect the incorporation of the cuisine in unexpected ways via a cocktail menu.
I first tried the Mango Sticky Rice Colada, which was as delightful and sweet as it sounds. It includes Tanduay white rum infused with mango sticky rice, carabao mango puree, mango nectar and lime. The rum infusion – like all Wusong Road’s juices and infusions, made in-house – is perfect: milky, sweet and tropical. It pairs nicely with the rum and the flavorful mango puree, making for a dreamy, lush beverage that invokes crashing waves and the sticky humidity of a hot, sandy beach.
Looking for restaurants and bars to try in Harvard Square? Our 2025 guide has picks for locals, students, and visitors — with plenty to keep everyone well fed.
Harvard Square isn’t just for students. This bustling Cambridge neighborhood draws in young professionals, families, and tourists alongside the college crowd. From casual joints serving burgers and fries to brunch cocktails, the square offers a number of restaurants and bars for every kind of outing.
To help you navigate a host of enjoyable options, we’ve updated our guide to some of the most popular eateries and bars in the Cambridge neighborhood. Between browsing for books at the local shops or attending the Head of the Charles Regatta, you’re sure to find a new favorite spot.
Beneath the Brattle Theater, you’ll find this hip, subterranean New American restaurant that’s perfect for a night out. While you’re browsing the menu, think of ordering the basil pasta served with carrot bolognese, the Secret Burger on a house-made roll, or the Loch Duart salmon served with ratatouille. Don’t miss out on dessert — the smoked chocolate bread pudding is a winner in our book.
This ramen izakaya opened in 2022, and since then, it’s become a neighborhood fixture. Bosso Ramen Tavern serves sushi, sake, and ramen, made with a homemade broth. For those who don’t eat meat, the vegan ramen includes soy meat, cashews, walnuts, and red chili oil. After a flavorful entree, cleanse your palate with the black sesame ice cream.
The pandemic had the team behind Cafe Sushi, a favorite among Bostonians, pivot to a mostly takeout and grab-and-go operation. But while seating may be limited, and the sushi may come in plastic containers, the quality is still very present. Split a box of sushi for two for $60, which comes with multiple pieces of tuna, salmon, and yellowtail nigiri and two specialty maki rolls. The bento boxes are the best deal, getting you teriyaki chicken or salmon, appetizers like gyoza and a seaweed salad, and a cucumber-avocado roll for $22 to $24.
A casual spot on Brattle Street, Felipe’s is the place to go when you need a Tex-Mex fix. Order the Baja-style tacos, made with a choice of lightly breaded shrimp or fish, or enjoy nachos made with extra melted cheese, refried beans, and pico de gallo. Reader Elaine S. from Belmont said, “A lot has changed in Harvard Square. Felipe’s is still a great and affordable social space with a limited but authentic selection of Mexican food… Best margaritas in Camberville.”
21 Brattle St., Cambridge
Couscous fritters at Forage (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)
A short walk away from the square will bring you to this little bistro, where seasonal ingredients drive a daily menu that could include dishes like heirloom tomatoes and peaches, seared bluefish with orzo and an arugula salad, and a by-the-glass list of natural wine. Make it a special evening with the $75 tasting menu that can be modified by the following diets: omnivore, pescatarian, vegetarian, or vegan.
5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge
Luxor Cafe in Harvard Square. (Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff )
The Egyptian cafe located in the former Darwin’s space opened last fall and has already become a hangout spot among students and neighbors. The Halal deli and bakery serves a selection of sandwiches, breakfast plates like eggs with Pasterma, and the locally-viral Dubai chocolate french toast. Order a strawberry matcha latte or coffee during a study break or when you’re in need of a pick-me-up.
148 Mount Auburn St., Cambridge
Triple D burger from Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage in Cambridge. – Handout/Silvia Domanoski
Students love this joint, where you can build your own burger or choose from one of their creatively named options, like the Masshole or The Ozempic. Reader Gene D. from Waltham called the spot “a local landmark,” adding that “the service is always friendly and fast, the campus ambiance is strong, and most importantly, the food is tasty! I’ve been dining there for years, and Mr. Bartley’s burgers are the best in the Boston area!”
For quality Venezuelan dining, visit Orinoco Kitchen. Try one of their many arepa options or the empanadas, which can be ordered with fillings like shredded beef or forest mushrooms, piquillo peppers, and cheese. The restaurant also serves a marinated chicken adobo that you can choose to eat with malanga gnocchi. The molten chocolate cake, made with pure Venezuelan dark chocolate, makes for a decadent finish.
Craving a slice of pizza? Head over to Source, which features “rustic yet refined food.” Neapolitan pies are cooked in a wood-fired oven, and you can choose from a variety of flavors: the classic margherita, the Tuscan kale, pepperoni, or a seasonal pie. You’ll also find pasta dishes on their menu, from the bucatini in a carbonara sauce to tagliatelli with bolognese sauce. Cocktails, wine, and beer round out their offerings.
If you’re looking to dine on seafood from New England and beyond, visit The Hourly Oyster House on Dunster Street. Order a seafood tower for your party, or fill up on Jonah crab fritters, lobster rolls, or swordfish schnitzel. They even have seafood cocktails — for example, a martini with caviar or shots of tequila served with oysters.
Get a drink at Grafton Street, an Irish gastropub that is both contemporary and inviting. You’ll discover draft beers here, such as Mighty Squirrel Kiwi White and Remnant Hangtime, as well as ciders and spirits. Cocktails include the Fig Mule served with fig vodka and a small selection of mocktails.
Students frequent Grendel’s, a neighborhood tavern with beer on draft, sangria by the pitcher, and a range of cocktails, sangria, and even mead. The spot also offers “horoscope drinks,” a rotating selection of beverages based on the astrological charts. Grendel’s hosts live events, from music, to storytelling and poetry. Having been in the Square for over 50 years, they’re a classic haunt.
Once you’re done with dinner at Alden & Harlow, go upstairs to Longfellow Bar. Look out for craft cocktails like the Avant Gardner, made with blanco tequila, moletto tomato gin, blanc vermouth, cantaloupe, lime, simple, angostura, and absinthe. Or try the black tea bourbon Ramblin’ Man, which incorporates honey, cassis, sweet vermouth, marsala, and peach bitters. If you’re still wishing you had a bite to accompany your drink, Longfellow also has a menu of elevated bar snacks, like fries topped with kewpie mayo and chili crisps or a Japanese milk bread grilled cheese.
40 Brattle St., Cambridge
Russell House Tavern in Cambridge. (Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff)
A lively and comfortable spot, Russell House Tavern is a great place to sip drinks after work, boasting an extensive beer, wine, and cocktail list. You may be drawn in by the Lichi-li martini, which combines lychee liquor, vodka, and pink rosé vermouth. To go with your beverages, order the local oysters, Harvard Square fries, or try a Tavern pizza.
14 John F. Kennedy St., Cambridge
The Jungle Bird cocktail at Wusong Road in Harvard Square. Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff
Wusong Road marries Asian American cuisine and tropical Tiki escapism. Drinks include the Scorpion Bowl, made with Appleton Estate rum, brandy, gin, lemon, orange, pineapple, and hibiscus grenadine, as well as the Singapore Sling, made with Roku gin, cherry brandy, curacao, Benedictine, pineapple, and lime. You’ll find some bites on the menu here too, such as the coconut spareribs and Aloha sliders.
Lou’s, the Harvard Square bar, restaurant and 289-seat music venue, leans hard on classic jazz club vibes. (Photo Alyssa Blumstein)
Harvard Square is cool… again? …still?
It’s hard to know how to describe Cambridge’s signature square. It seems to be in a constant state of decay and renewal all at once. But, for the optimists, the renewal is more pronounced these days. Stalwarts such Shay’s Pub and Winebar, Harvard Book Store, Pinocchio’s pizza, and the Brattle Theatre — Boston’s unofficial film school since 1953 — still thrive among banks and burrito chains. And between the classic businesses and chains, a handful of new or new-ish standouts have emerged to make (keep?) Harvard Square cool.
Lou’s, wearelous.com
Lou’s leans hard on classic jazz club vibes. That’s a very good thing. The restaurant, bar, and 289-seat music venue feels like a Roaring Twenties speakeasy — full of glittering lights, gold and brown tones, and intimate nooks. It feels like the kind of place where F. Scott and Zelda might see Joséphine Baker sing. The cocktails are good. The music calendar is slowly filling up with a fun slate of artists (performances are always free and there are tables both by and away from the stage). More music is always better.
Lovestruck Books, lovestruckbooks.com
You think you don’t need a bodice ripper where the object of your lust is a minotaur. But when you come around to your true feelings, Lovestruck Books has got you. The female-owned, romance-themed bookstore, which opened in December, takes an expansive view of love, lust, flings, and flirtations. You’ll find Jane Austin and Jasmine Guillory and Olivia Dade along with gifts, cards, kids books, and more. The book shop also has a café and wine bar run by George Howell Coffee.
Wusong Road, wusongroad.com
Inside a renovated MBTA building on Mount Auburn Street is the hottest restaurant in Harvard Square, sorry, in Cambridge, sorry, in New England, once again, apologies, in the world. Hard to swallow? Try it with a sip of one of their Zombies (strict limit 2 per guest, no joke). American Chinese cuisine and old school Tiki bars crashed together in 2022 at Wusong — a castle of cocktails, a vault of vintage decor, a palace of pupu platters (try the vegetarian version).
Bonde Fine Wine Shop, bondewines.com
Bonde has been open a few years, but anything post-pandemic that’s local and cool deserves a good shout out. Run by wine whisperer Bertil Jean-Chronberg, the owner has quite the CV: born in France, educated in Montreal, with time in Michelin-starred restaurants and Boston’s own Beehive. Now he’s celebrating small-scale eco-responsible American wines (and trying to get you to celebrate them too). Bonus points: He’s liberal with the dog treats and local dogs know it.
Grafton Street, graftonstreetcambridge.com
Not enough nooks in Lou’s for you? Try Grafton Street. Like Lou’s the relocated Grafton Street is a cozy warren of elegantly decorated rooms and booths. If Lou’s has a speakeasy vibe, this 2022 addition to the Square feels like a New England pub as imagined by Frank Sinatra (read: homey, classy, but not fancy). The Modern English (rye, averna, ancho reyes, orange bitters, arbol chile) is not to be missed.
Lovestruck Books is a female-owned, romance-themed bookstore in Harvard Square. (Photo Reagan Byrne)
