You must be logged in to access this page
Bars & Clubs, Restaurants, Traditional American Restaurants, Pizza Restaurants
$$, Bar Scene, Brunch, Date Spot, Dine At The Bar, Group Dining, Late Night Dining, Notable Beer List, People Watching
Originally opened in 1996, Grafton Street Pub & Grill has been completely renovated - the spacious, multi-leveled dining room has a confident feel. Located in the Gateway of Harvard Square, Cambridge-locals and visitors alike make neighbors over the delicious mix of contemporary dishes and the handsome assortment of comfort foods. At the bar, relax with a wide selection of single malts or sample the assortment of beers on tap. Grafton Street Pub & Grill's high-energy design, sociable Irish staff, and eclectic menu make it the perfect spot for transitioning from work to play or settling in for the evening. Grafton Street Pub & Grill has been an institution of Harvard Square for nearly a decade. This comfortable full service restaurant serves up delicious contemporary American cuisine for students, families and tourists alike. Come enjoy this Cambridge restaurant today.
On the outside, as you walk in Grafton may seem like a bar. However, there is more to it seems and that's why I checked it out.
The food is cooked very well and the prices aren't that off. You can get a burger for about $8.
The place is huge on the inside. The seats aren't very crowded so you can get your own place in the corner.
Dessert stinks. Don't get them.
Posted 09/15/05 | Report Abuse
Was this review helpful to you?
Food was decent...post-modern comfort food I guess you could say.
Great place to get a drink on a cold winter night.
Posted 01/19/09
From the outside it looks like a great place, but the food was absolutely awful. My burger tasted "gamey", like the meat was old. My girlfriend's meal was so drenched in oil, it was practicallly inedible.
What a waste of 40 bucks.
Pros: ambiance
Cons: food
Posted 12/09/08
2 stars, need I say more!!! Went on a friday night, Will give credit for the service and the drinks, was the food frozen and cooked in a microwave? It was not worth the dining experience! Go back for the harvard club scene not the food.
Pros: bar and drinks, just fine
Cons: the duck and the mac and cheese were not worth the money
Posted 10/20/08
This place is great for a bar scene, but the food leaves something to be desired. The menu lacks consistency or any sort of theme and the food is surely frozen before preparation. Pizzas and apps are average at best and the sandwiches are nothing special. Stay in the bar for a good time, but seek other Harvard Square options for dinning purposes.
Posted 10/17/08
I went here recently with my wife Kate and we had a blast. We sat at the bar and shared a few appetizers and had a few drinks. The bartender Paul was hilarious, worth going back just to watch him in action. The food was atypical bar food in the sense that it tasted very fresh, and that someone actually put time putting together rather than just throwing it on a plate.
Posted 09/15/08
I went to Grafton St. last night for a friend's birthday dinner - though i've eaten there in the past, I had never had anyhting beyond a burger or a salad, but i was left wondering why this was the case last night - had roasted chicken dish which was about as close to home-cooked as can possibly be - delicious, perfectly seasonsed and very reasobaly priced. Soemone else at the table got the pork and someone got a fish dish of some sort (bass maybe?) - everyone was super impressed. I'll definitely be back (maybe for brucnh, which I just found out they offered last night)! Good patio too.
Pros: Food, affordability
Posted 09/15/08
Besides the food being amazing, I love love love that the outdoor patio opens up to Harvard! What a great scene - a little piece of Boston history in your line of sight while enjoying a lunch or dinner. There's always an interesting mix of people as well - everyone from students, to professors, to regular working people.
The crab cakes and the Pear Salad are delicious, and the butternut squash risotto is SO GOOD. I always have trouble making a decision when I eat at Grafton Street!
Posted 09/15/08
I think the only thing they didn't change here was the lighting... which is fine.
I used to go to Grafton street all the time a couple years ago until things started to slide and hadn't been back in a long time- It was almost by accident I ended up at the old haunt. Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised by all the work they've been up to. I know turnover is high in restaurants but it looks like they really went for it at Grafton and hired a new HAPPY staff that is friendly, knowledgeable and really hot.
The new menu is pretty hot for that matter too. The old pub staples are still there but now theres alot of new items and its being cooked by a new chef who makes everything look like a fine dining without killing me on the price. Even the new managers were walking around the dining room- one even came to my table just to see how everything was, then he refilled my drink himself instead of making a busy waitress do it.
It's nice to see the new life in Grafton Street- I'll definitely be hanging out there again in the near future!
Pros: good looking, friendly staff- high end food at pub prices
Cons: crowded late night
Posted 01/05/08
I went to Grafton Street with six other people. Our waiter was extremely rude and slow. We finally ordered our food more than half an hour after we sat down. One of our friends told the waiter that she was allergic to peanuts and tomatos. When she received her wrap, it was stuffed with tomatos. She pointed it out, and he lectured her and had an atitude problem. I ordered the same wrap...it was awful. The drinks are terrible. The waitstaff is lazy. The food is disgusting..
Pros: nothing
Cons: waiter, manager, food, drinks
Posted 10/20/07
My wife and I ate at Grafton St with two friends from out of town. We were going to a show at 7:30. The staff couldn't have been more accommodating to our time restraints. The food was delicious and the wine list inexpensive with a large selection. When they overheard that it was my wife's birthday, they even sent over an extra dessert. Our server was friendly and professional, as was the host and valet (they have complimentary valet when going to the ART)! We will definetly be back when in Harvard Square!
Pros: Free Valet, Great food, Friendly Service
Cons: Loud
Posted 08/01/07
A tidal wave of bad luck or just poor service. Take my advice, spend your money and your time looking for better dining experiences. The food was greasy, fatty, undercooked and thrown on a plate. Our service was an order taker and made no recommendations and offered no guidance. Entrees were overpriced.
Another disappointing Night! AVOID GRAFTON STREET CAMBRIDGE. Save Your Money & Your Time!
Cons: Service, Food Prep
Posted 01/20/07
This wannabe Pub/Bistro needs a MAJOR Overhual. Fire Chef Dan Poque & Hire Waitstaff that actually enjoys working. Small Portions and Overpriced Drinks and Entrees will keep this Consumer & Friends away from this Harvard Square Diaster.
Pros: Available Seating
Cons: Food, Service, Value
Posted 01/20/07
Hostess was polite and timely, not so for the waitstaff. Music was horrible. Food was reheated. It has potential, but would rather travel into Boston or Providece for better dining experience.
Pros: Clam Chowder, Hostess
Cons: Service, Parking, Food
Posted 01/20/07
I have been eyeing this place for awhile and finally got to try it out on a Saturday night meeting up with friends. I am extremely disappointed. It looked like such a nice place, but obviously looks can be deceiving. The service was terrible. The waiter could care less about us and he took forever to get us our drinks. Like another reviewer had mentioned, he was too busy chatting with the rest of the wait staff and complaining about his tables to notice we needed refills. Well, the food was even worse. We ended up ordering a few appetizers instead of a meal and they were awful. The brushetta was a piece of hard, stale,end pieces of bread, with a slice of tomato and a big chunk of fresh mozzerella stuck on top, and the calamari was rubbery. The sauce that came with the calamari tasted like a bowl of mayo. The clam chowder was the only thing edible. Needless to say I do not recommend this place, and I will never be going back.
Pros: Valet parking staff was extremely nice.
Cons: terrible food, bad service
Posted 12/10/06
My boyfriend and were in Harvard Square for a second day in a row and got hungry and thirsty again. We saw this restaurant and thought it would be nice to sit on their sidewalk patio. It looked busy so i asked the hostess if we could sit there and just have an app and some drinks. She said it would be fine, but that our server might be "a little mad" if that was all we ordered. We decided to risk it. I had the best mojito of my life and my BF got an OK sidecar. The calimari was tender and yummy, but the salad was a little overdressed and limp. I guess we lucked out, because our server was very nice and did not seem mad at all. We had a nice time. I think I prefer the ambiance of Temple Bar more. Grafton Street is a little more chaotic with large parties and kids all over the place.
Pros: Great outdoor seating.
Cons: Not particularly friendly hostess
Posted 09/16/06
We waited an extended amount of time to get our bill... and even had to get up and ask the waitress for it . The food is nothing special. I would stick to the basics (club sandwiches / basic salad).
Pros: outdoor seating
Cons: food & service
Posted 07/02/06
If you go to Grafton St for Brunch, do not order eggs! Five people in our group ordered various omlette and egg items, and the consistency of the eggs were terrible! And they left a strange aftertaste...almost like a residue in your mouth. I cannot explain why it was so bad, but order their pizzas or something else other than eggs.
Pros: cute interior, large booths
Cons: food quality, bar too crowded, too noisy at night
Posted 05/12/06
Although the people that hang out there aren't very different from most other Cambridge spots, the place itself is. I've been to Grafton Street several times and it's always a place I'm willing to try again. Food is a bit pricey, but if you are going for a few drinks they have a great beer selection and live music on the weekends. The difference with the music is that it's typically a one-man-band, so it's not quite as loud as other live music bars (which is a good thing). Check it out, it's worth it...
Pros: atmosphere, live music
Cons: food prices, parking
Posted 03/19/06
I found the staff very rude and more interested in counting out their tips and chatting to each other than paying my group any attention. Crab cakes came highly recommended. they were poor at best. that the place lacked character.
Cons: no parking, poor service
Posted 01/21/06
After walking by hundreds of times, decided to have Thanksgiving dinner at Grafton's. Very average experience all the way around. Only time I would go again is to sit at the bar and watch a game. Seems like a nice bar scene.
Pros: nice bar
Cons: not great service, average quality food
Posted 12/29/05
I've always been very pleased by the bar service, especially the great beer selection and interesting cocktail menu. The food menu is interesting but trys too hard to be part Irish pub and trendy Cambridge resturant. Stick with the pizzas and pub fare for best results. It does get crowded any time the weather is nice and in the evenings and parking is nearly impossible. Overall, a great place.
Pros: Beer selection, Nice cocktails, Good service
Cons: Parking, Lamb salad????
Posted 04/19/05
If you want great Boston clam chowder, this is the place to go. It is not a thick, chunky soup, but they use cream and a smokey bacon which is the key secret to the great taste. Sit at the bar for the best ambiance and people watching. Wish I lived in Boston to enjoy this place often..
Posted 05/29/04
"I absolutely ADORE this place! Everything is wonderful, including the sandwiches and ..."
"Used to love hanging out here when I was living in the ..."
