Harvard Gardens
320 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114
(617) 523-2727
Find location!
For those who haven't been to Harvard Gardens in Boston for a few years, be prepared for a shock; this former hole in the wall is now an upscale, slick, sultry restaurant and lounge that no longer attracts Suffolk University students looking for cheap beer. Indeed, Harvard Gardens now attracts nearly everyone else in this Boston neighborhood, including Beacon Hill residents, professionals from the Government Center area, workers from Mass. General Hospital (which is across the street), and, yes, perhaps a few stray Suffolk students.
Harvard Gardens is probably not all that well known for a couple of reasons: First, as mentioned earlier, this restaurant used to be a total dive, with cheap beer and no atmosphere; second, the often absurdly busy Cambridge Street is typically used by people use to get somewhere else in Boston. As a result, many of the restaurants on this street, such as the Hill Tavern, Phoenicia, the Antonio's Cucina Italiana, and others are known mostly to locals only.
The food at Harvard Gardens can be mostly separated into two categories: Comfort food and full dinners. There are some great deals in the comfort food area, which includes one item under $10.00, namely the absolutely mouthwatering macaroni and cheese (one of the best in Boston, in this writer's opinion), and a few other items just above $10.00, such as an excellent wagyu cheeseburger, a good variety of pizzas, and a tasty roasted turkey sandwich on stratta bread. As mentioned, the menu also has more upscale dinners, including steak, seafood, and chicken dishes, most of which are between $15.00 and $25.00. Whichever route you go, Harvard Gardens serves up some surprisingly good meals, especially considering what the place used to be like back in its leaner days.
Still don't believe that Harvard Gardens competes with many of the more popular upscale American bistros in Boston? Neither did we, until we returned to this restaurant after many years. And after eating there (and hearing what others have said about it), it seems that Harvard Gardens is a mile away from the hole in the wall that it once was.
Copyright © 2006-2009, Boston's Hidden Restaurants (www.hiddenboston.com).