UpStairs on the Square

Tried "Upstairs" several times having heard that it was worth a visit. Each time the ingredients were beyond their sell-by date. The salad dressing drowned the ingredients and obliterated the lettuce, making the leaves transparent. Water glasses and forks would have benefitted by a whirl through the dishwasher. At first I thought I' d dined when the kitchen was having an 'off day'. Seems as if the off days are every day. Decor has become grimy and lost its original pizazz.

Food was only passable, service was fine and the room is a sight to behold. Better value at tasty burger

Just returned from having brunch with friends at Upstairs on the Square. We had not been there in a couple of years since our daughter's bridal shower in the pink room upstairs. We read that it is a good place to have brunch, so we made plans with out of town friends. We were told there was only one table open at 11 a.m. and we took it. The place was pretty empty! The menu was pretty limited and in addition it is restaurant week. One of us ordered from the restaurant week menu. The two men ordered from the regular menu and I asked if I could have an omelet with vegetables. I was told that they had mushrooms and I accepted. About an hour later we had not gotten any food except for the little basket on the table that had little muffins and a couple of savory scones. No real bread. The coffee was weak! It looked like tea! We asked for fresh coffee and they brought something a little better, but still not good. When we complained for the third time about how long we had been waiting for our food, they finally brought it out. When they put my plate down, it was anything but a mushroom omelet!!! The waiter then proceeded to argue with me about what I had ordered and then told me that the chef had told him he didn't have mushrooms. Long story short, I returned the omelet and asked for a fruit plate. He brought out some sliced peaches with a few orange slices and some blueberries and strawberries on top. The blueberries were soft and not very good. I think that even if this restaurant paid me to come back I would have to think about it. Whether it was the chef, the management or the new waiter's fault (or a combination of all of the above) I am not sure. We all left with a bad taste in our mouths and we felt embarrassed to have brought our friends here. On our way out of the restaurant, I overheard other people complaining as well. Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else!

I have seen so many reviews regarding the restaurant that I wanted to check it out myself. I went there for lunch with and it seemed that the waiter wasn't very familiar with the menu when I asked questions about the food. The food itself wasn't spectacular but just OK. The food is well below European Michelin-starred restaurants standards. I have invited all my guests and price didn't seem too excessive for lunch (I don't know about the menu for dinner). I have enjoyed the design of the restaurant which is pretty unique in Cambridge and Boston. I guess that I'll try this restaurant again sometime.

One of the best in Harvard Square. An unpretentious and delicious special occasion restaurant!

I heard so much about this establishment. Great location, food on and on.... finally, i stepped one lazy afternoon to have a late lunch. I was greeted by a friendly hostess and asked if they served food at the bar since I was alone, she kindly replied they did and told me to go in have a seat. I did and sat for about 20 minutes and watched several servers go by never acknowledging me. The place was quite mellow and serene so there wasn't anything tragic or dramatic happening. When the hostess saw me at the bar her jaw dropped because she saw I hadn't been helped at all, so that told me someone had messed up royally. She seemed to fetch somebody who might have been in charge but I kindly stated, "I guess I didn't look that hungry" and walked out and over to Sandrines around the corner and was relieved to see that the friendly hostess was followed up by a friendly bartender. So if I were to go back to Upstairs, the friendly hostess there would have to be calling the shots and re-training the waitstaff. The beauty of restaurants in Boston and Cambridge is that their upheavals are a part of city chatter so I will wait to hear about the hostess getting promoted to GM at Upstairs and hopefully get some good material to write something positive about this seemingly charming restaurant.

Four of us came here recently to enjoy dinner and drinks. Unfortunately, the temperature was similar to that in hell. Either this place no quality air conditioning or it broke down. Because of this, none of us enjoyed anything.