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    Home » US Travel » Boston » Cambridge » Harvard Square

    The Red House

    Published: Jul 14, 2010 · Modified: Oct 28, 2014 by Jennifer Che

    The Red House Eggplant
    eggplant contadina 8.50
    thick sliced roasted eggplant topped with parmesan, tomato, fresh mozzarella & basil oil

    There's this super cute little red house situated in Harvard Square a little above the street. From the inside, the house seems to be so small that the beauiful outdoor patio appears to overpower the actual dining/bar area. Truth this, several hidden and private dining rooms actually make this place much bigger than it seems.

    Originally built in 1802, this house was once a private residence before beginning its second life as a restaurant (with a short stint in between as a Harvard University office building). Do you wonder why it's built slightly higher up with a retaining wall on the outside? To protect against the waters of the free-flowing Charles River!

    Things are really different today, more than 200 years later, but the little red house still looks pretty much the same. It's become a quaint Italian restaurant now, with a delightful outdoor patio that's worth trying to get if it's a beautiful summer day outside.
    Here's a peek at the dishes we got during our last visit!
    The Red House Salad
    mixed greens salad with mussels, red beets, pickled onions 
    The Red House Pasta
    linguini con carciofi   13.95/22.50

    artichoke hearts, arugula, plum tomatoes, garlic & crushed red pepper, tossed with linguini
    add grilled chicken, $3 add grilled shrimp,  $5

    The Red House Pasta

    Special of the Day: linguini with chicken tossed in a pesto sauce  13.95/22.50

    The Red House Duck
    five spice roasted duck breast breast  14.95/23.50
    with fennel, orange & ginger compote

    Thoughts
    We really enjoyed our meal here! It probably did not hurt that we managed to grab the last remaining outdoor seat on a gorgeous summer day, but that's a big part of the charm of dining here. Overall, we really enjoyed the food. I absolutely loved my liguini con carciofi - such a celebration of summer vegetables with deliciously al denta pasta. I thought the texture of the homemade pasta was excellent. Bryan's pasta dish had great texture too and rich flavors. I personally preferred my dish, but I tend to like lighter dishes in general. I thought my eggplant appetizers was pretty good, though it was a bit oilier than I would have liked. Bryan really enjoyed his mussels salad.

    What I really like about this place is that the menu offers half portions for almost everything. For those with smaller appetites, it's a perfect opportunity to order a smaller amount of something and actually be able to finish everything on your plate. For someone with a bigger appetite, it allows you the opportunity to try several different things. Bryan got a salad and two half portions for his dinner (sort of like a true Italian experience with a primo and a secondi!).
    _1040041-2
    The portions sizes are rather generous. All the dishes you see pictured above (except for the appetizers) are half portions! I thought the duck dish was big enough to be a main entrée!

    All in all, even though the prices are slightly on the higher side, the portions are generous enough that you could really enjoy a great meal just getting a salad and a half portion of one of the entrée. We thought the service was excellent, and the bar made pretty good mixed drinks.

    All in all, if you can get one of those outdoor seats, it's a fabulous way to experience Harvard Square outdoors on a beautiful summer evening.

    GIVEWAY!
    _1040180
    It's not too late to enter the Giveaway for the reusable produce bags! So far there aren't that many entries, so the odds are pretty good!

    The Red House
    98 Winthrop St
    Cambridge, MA 02138
    Red House on Urbanspoon

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    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

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