• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese

Tiny Urban Kitchen

menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Michelin
    • Subscribe
    • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • Ecriture Hong Kong
      Unexpectedly Closed: Écriture Hong Kong (2 Michelin Stars)
    • 凹糟管 Aozao Restaurant
      Aozao Guan 凹糟館 - Modern Yunnan Cuisine in Kunming, China
    • Kunming China
      Two Days in Kunming Yunnan China
    • Xishuangbanna Yunnan China
      Xishuangbanna: Hani Minority Food
    • Gaozhuang Night Market Xishuangbanna 告莊夜市
    • Xishuangbanna Yunnan China
      Xishuangbanna - Dai Cuisine & Culture
    • Restaurant 摩 Mora, Hong Kong - Vicky Lau
      Restaurant Mora 摩 Hong Kong by Vicky Lau
    • Guilin Yangshuo China
      Guilin Yangshuo Food + Lodging Report
    • Guilin Yangshuo China
      Guilin & Yangshuo China Trip Report
    • Hangzhou West Lake China
      Hangzhou China Trip Report
    • Wild Mushroom Hot Pot Yunnan
      Poisonous(?) Mushroom Hot Pot in Yunnan
    • jian Shui Yunnan China
      Foreigners Navigating Post-Pandemic Travel in China During Chinese New Year
    Home » US Travel » Boston » Cambridge » Harvard Square

    Published: Aug 24, 2012 · Modified: Oct 29, 2014 by Jennifer Che

    Temple Bar

    Untitled
    This is the third restaurant post in the new series, Welcome to My New Hood. Other posts in this series: Rafiki Bistro and Super Fusion Sushi.

    I utterly can't believe it, but it's been just a little over a year since we moved into our our new place just north of Harvard Square.

    This most certainly confirms that I am guilty of being just a tad sluggish on this "Welcome to my New Hood" Series. It isn't that I haven't been chowing down around my home (I have!). It's just harder to get inspired about my neighborhood joints when photos from trips like New York, Rome, Napa Valley, and Las Vegas vie for my attention.

    But that's no excuse. There are some real gems just around the corner from where I live. I had originally expected to be secluded on my woodsy, tree-lined street, far away from any restaurants. I was pleasant surprised to find out how many really cool places are within a 5-minute walk from my home.

    Untitled

    Temple Bar is one of these.

    Temple Bar is owned by the Grafton Group, a group that also owns Park, Russell House Tavern, and Grafton Street Grill. The gastropub offers what it calls "modern American cuisine" with a focus on "seasonal, New England flavors at reasonable prices."

    This place serves solid food at reasonable prices. It's a great reliable standby on those nights when we don't feel like cooking and don't feel like going out very far. Untitled
    Have you ever tried a barrel aged cocktail? We certainly had not, and Bryan was most definitely intrigued by it. Hugh Reynolds, former bar manager at Temple Bar, had begun playing around with aging cocktails in charred oak barrels in order to round out and mellow the flavors of the alcohol.

    Reynolds was the first in Boston to do this. Since then, other craft cocktails places, like Drink, have joined in on the fun. Though Reynolds is no longer at Temple, bar manager Alex Homans (from Russell House Tavern) continues the tradition.
    Untitled
    The food at the Temple Bar is supposed to be "Modern American", though executive chef Greg Boschetti injects influences from many other cultures. Chef Boschetti trained under French chef Paul O'Connell at Chez Henri and Tom Berry (a "trailblazer" in Asian inspired bistro cuisine) at Temple Bar. As a result, don't be surprised if you see French, Asian, or other worldwide touches in his food.

    For example, the Yuzu-Ginger Salmon Poke reminds me both of Japan and Hawaii. Chef Boschetti's version sits on top of a spicy cucumber salad and is topped with avocado mousse and shiso (one of my favorite Japanese herbs). The overall flavors of this dish are reasonably enjoyable and refreshing on a hot day.
    Untitled
    Bryan loves duck, and he enjoyed this flavorful Tea Smoked Duck Salad. Thin slices of tea smoked duck breast are served over a healthy bed of arugula together with thyme roasted pear, candied pecans, and caramelized blue cheese in a roasted shallot-ginger vinaigrette.
    Untitled
    The Slow-Braised Boneless Beef Shortrib is hearty and satisfying. It comes on top of horseradish mashed potato and is served with crispy shallots.
    Untitled
    The White Truffle Pizza sounded promising, with avocados, tear drop tomatoes, baby Arugula topped with balsamic vinegar and white truffle oil. I couldn't really taste a strong white truffle essence. The crust was fine, but this dish did not particularly stand out.
    Untitled
    We came back another time for brunch, where we started out by munching on complimentary baked muffins and coffeecake.
    Untitled
    The House-Smoked Pastrami Reuben is great (and HUGE!). It comes stuffed with braised sauerkraut, house Russian dressing, and Gruyere.
    Untitled
    I order the House Citrus & Fennel Salmon Gravlax, which comes with a toasted bagel, caper-herb cream cheese, and slices of tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. The fennel and citrus cured gravlax is delicious (I do have a weakness for gravlax and love making it at home), and I enjoyed making little bagel sandwiches with it.

    General Thoughts
    In general, we enjoy going to Temple Bar. For a neighborhood restaurant, it delivers a nice combination of quality food, reasonable prices, and an interesting cocktail list. Usually the service is fine, though we have on occasion found it frustratingly slow.

    Is it a destination-worthy restaurant?

    Likely not - but only because I think Boston has a lot of really, really good gastropubs (heck, I used to have one within a 2-minute walk from home!). It's one of Boston's strengths in the dining arena - we have a lot of cozy little gastropubs that serve excellent beers and very good New American food. We're really fortunate in Boston that way. Perhaps it grew out of the Irish pub culture of a former generation.

    More likely than not, you probably already have your own little gem of a "neighborhood pub" near by.

    I'd love to hear about your favorite neighborhood gems. Please do share below in the comments section!

    Temple Bar 

    1688 Massachusetts Ave
    Cambridge, MA 02138
    Temple Bar on Urbanspoon

    ©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
    All Rights Reserved

    More Cambridge

    • Jen's Top Restaurants to visit in Boston - 2023 Update
    • Farewell Bergamot
    • Urban Hearth Cambridge - Cafe by day, Supper Club by night
    • (Partial) Solar Eclipse Fun! Solar Eclipse 2017

    Recent Posts

    • Unexpectedly Closed: Écriture Hong Kong (2 Michelin Stars) October 10, 2023
    • Aozao Guan 凹糟館 - Modern Yunnan Cuisine in Kunming, China October 8, 2023
    • Two Days in Kunming Yunnan China October 7, 2023
    • Xishuangbanna: Hani Minority Food September 10, 2023
    • Gaozhuang Night Market Xishuangbanna 告莊夜市 September 7, 2023
    • Xishuangbanna - Dai Cuisine & Culture September 4, 2023
    • Restaurant Mora 摩 Hong Kong by Vicky Lau August 31, 2023
    • Guilin Yangshuo Food + Lodging Report August 26, 2023

    Reader Interactions

    Trackbacks

    1. Temple Bar Cambridge - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
      May 3, 2016 at 9:29 am

      […] been almost four years since I last wrote about Temple Bar in Cambridge (time surely does fly!). Back then, we were newcomers to the neighborhood between […]

      Log in to Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    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!

    More about me →

    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Explore

    • Recipe
    • Restaurant
    • US Travel
    • World Travel

    Popular Posts

    • jian Shui Yunnan China
      Jian Shui Yunnan Trip Report
    • I'm Featured in the South China Morning Post! (SCMP)
    • Restaurant Table Paris France
      Restaurant Table Bruno Verjus Paris
    • Impronte Bergamo Italy
      Impronte Bergamo Italy

    Recipes

    • Appetizer
    • Snacks
    • Meat
    • Vegetables
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Seafood
    • Noodles

    Recently Traveled

    • Hong Kong
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Boston
    • California
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Spain

    Support Us

    Recognition


    Featured on the front page
    of the FOOD Section: 2015

    Best Food Blog Awards:
    Restaurant & Dining 2012
    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • My Equipment
    • In the Press
    • Project Food Blog
    • Privacy Policy

    Eating Guides!

    Eating & Travel Guides
    Trip Reports
    "Kawaii" (Cute Foods)
    Around the World

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Mail
    • RSS Feed

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shop at Amazon

    Copyright © 2022 Tiny Urban Kitchen