Where to Eat Around Harvard

Season to Taste

Following a recent relocation to a larger space on Massachusetts Avenue, Season to Taste is back in action with chef and owner Robert Harris’ upscale take on local, farm-to-table dining. The restaurant boasts an elegant, intimate dining room and a seasonal menu featuring local fare like Nantucket Bay scallops and Island Creek oysters alongside globe-trotting dishes like miso-braised cabbage with Calabrian chilis and crispy arepas with Colombian beans and apple celeriac slaw.

Felipe's Taqueria

In the infamous battle between Felipe’s Taqueria and El Jefe’s Taqueria to be named the best Mexican spot in Harvard Square, we are staking a claim for Felipe’s. While Felipe’s may not stay open as late as El Jefe’s, it does have something that its nemesis does not: a rooftop bar.

Russell House Tavern

Looking for somewhere to take your parents (or, have your parents take you, and pay) for family weekend? Russell House Tavern has got you covered. Located in heart of Harvard Square, Russell House Tavern has a sprawling menu of pizzas, pastas, and a raw bar with oysters, clams, and chilled lobster tails.

The Hourly Oyster House

This seafood-heavy spot serves scallops, salmon, calamari, and, you guessed it, oysters. The ample raw bar and New England-inspired menu pair with craft cocktails and a well curated beer and wine list.

Wusong Road Tiki Bar

This two-story tiki bar and dim sum restaurant is serving up some of the best drinks and small plates in Cambridge, not to mention an immersive, highly-decorated interior that changes with the seasons.

Sally's Sandwiches

Located in Harvard’s Smith Campus Center, Sally’s Sandwiches and Blackbird Doughnuts is your one-stop shop for some of the best sandwiches and doughnuts in Cambridge. If you’re in the mood for a savory breakfast, go for the Gallows breakfast sandwich — complete with fried eggs, bacon, cheese, avocado, spicy aioli, and a hashbrown on an Italian baguette, this sandwich is the perfect morning or afternoon pick-me-up. Or if you’re hankering for something sweet, you can’t go wrong with one of Blackbird’s classic doughnuts like the Boston creme or salted toffee.

Grendel’s Den Restaurant & Bar

This beloved Harvard Square restaurant is the perfect spot for a budget-conscious diner. From 5 to 7:30 p.m. the entire food menu is half-price with a $4 minimum drink purchase per person. That menu includes a smorgasbord of hearty fare, from brisket nachos and Tiki wings to quesadillas and potato skins.

Charlie’s Kitchen

Charlie’s Kitchen has been a fixture of Harvard Square for more than 70 years. This casual divey bar and restaurant dishes out bar food like hot dogs and wings as well as entrees running the gamut from chicken alfredo to chicken tikka masala. In the summer their outdoor beer garden hits just the right spot.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

Is there anything more comforting than a hot bowl of ramen in the cold Boston winters? Trick question! There isn’t. Over the last few years, a handful of ramen joints have opened up in Harvard Square, but Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, also known as just Santouka, remains a staple. Don’t want to go to Harvard Square for a bowl of their delicious kara miso ramen? Don’t worry, they have locations in Back Bay and Allston, too.

Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ

Tucked behind the IHOP and pretty easy to miss, Gyu-Kaku is a Japanese BBQ restaurant and hidden gem in Harvard Square. Bring a large group of friends and an appetite, and order up one of the chain’s group options for your fix of grilled meats, veggies, and rice.

Pinocchio's

It is impossible to list the best places to eat near Harvard without a nod to Pinocchio’s Pizza & Subs. A Harvard Square staple, Pinnochio’s has been serving up Sicilian-style pizza to hungry college students for over 50 years. If the smells of marinara sauce and garlic that emanate from the small shop don’t pull you in, the fact that they stay open until 1 a.m. most nights (and 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday) will.

Zinneken's

In an area that has seen the opening and closing of novel restaurants consistently over the years, Zinneken’s in Harvard Square stands tall. Zinneken’s is a small cafe that specializes in one thing: fresh-baked Belgian liège waffles. And they do it so well.

Mass Ave Diner

At Mass Ave Diner between Harvard Square and Central Square, you can order gluten-free pancakes alongside gallo pinto, a Central American breakfast dish with eggs, corn tortillas, rice and bean, plantains, and grilled queso fresco. Owned by a local Cambridge couple, the diner also has a classic, kitschy ‘50s interiors.