Alden & Harlow — Restaurant in Cambridge

We came here with a reservation on a Wednesday for dinner and the restaurant was pretty full! We had a lovely experience -- our server was great and everything came out really quickly. Below is a recap of everything we had.

The daisy cutter cocktail ($13) was delicious. Our server was the most drink-knowledgeable server I've ever interacted with! We asked him about 4 drinks we were considering and he explained the pros and cons of each. We loved what we ended up ordering and since we were sharing he even had them split it into two small glasses for us! We were very touched by the hospitality.

The seared bluefin crudo ($18 for 5 small pieces) was incredible. The tuna was perfectly seared and melt-in-your-mouth smooth, and topped with salmon roe, crunchy bits, and some delicious sauce. It was a savory textural masterpiece. We wanted to order more of just this dish.

The pumpkin raviolo ($23) was also excellent. My mind didn't register that the raviolo was singular -- seeing that it was pasta and $23 I expected a full dish of pasta. It was one large-ish raviolo with a smooth pumpkin filling bathing in an exquisite creamy sauce. Honestly I don't even know what was in the sauce (chicken gravy and mushrooms was what the menu said) but it was delicious and we kept the plate on the table for the rest of the meal to dip everything else in. It's a hefty price for a single piece of pasta but it's an experience.

The grilled bluefish ($23) was nothing special. I would definitely rather get either the bluefin crudo or raviolo. It was a small piece of fish that was unremarkable -- similar to panfried mackerel. It came with a cold salad of vegetables in an acidic sauce which was refreshing but certainly didn't justify the price point for me. I have much preferred the fish dishes I had at Viale (similar price point for much more food and exquisite fish).

The brussel sprouts ($16) were fine. Given their charred color I expected them to be crispy but they were not at all. The flavor was okay nothing amazing. Relatively reasonable given the price though -- certainly a lot more food than any of the non vegetable dishes!

The patatas bravas ($15) were pretty good again nothing special. Very hot and fresh potato chunks sprinkled with red pepper powder and atop garlic butter. Again at least it was filling since the other dishes were quite small given their prices.

Overall there were some super delicious dishes and some that we wouldn't order again. It's an expensive restaurant (we spent $135 for 2 people) so definitely a special occasion kind of place. If we returned, it would probably be to get some drinks at the bar and some of our favorite dishes (that bluefin crudo!). Alden and Harlow definitely knows their flavors and textures, and I would say they're showcased better in some dishes...

I went to Alden & Harlow with my gf for Valentine's Day and it was a really nice experience overall! The space is bigger than expected, airy, and seating is comfortable. Main dining room front entrance area for a nicer & more romantic vibe.

I came in with a little doubt after some subpar food reviews, but it ended up being delicious! Here's what we got:

Seared Bluefin Crudo: In my experience crudo has been relatively thin & delicate, but you can see in the picture this was not the case. I actually preferred it this way. The pickled apples, miso maple, & shallots came together for a really great combo of tart, sweet, umami, and salty. It was cooked perfectly also. This was the standout dish in my opinion.

Local Burrata - I mean burrata is a consistent unfailing delight. Never in all my 32 years has burrata disappointed me. Basically, sort of hard to go wrong. The anchovies were not overpowering & a nice addition.

Patatas Bravas - Super flavorful and filling. Not the best patatas I've ever had & could have been crispier, but a) that makes sense to me since this isn't a Spanish restaurant and b) they were still genuinely really tasty.

Tagliatelle w caviar & truffle - This was on the specials menu. Here's what I'll say about this: was it delicious and flavorful? Absolutely. Was it perfectly al dente? One hundo. Was it the SHABLOW punch of deliciousness you expect for the most expensive pasta on the menu (blame it on the truffle)? My gf said no & I kind of know what she means. That being said, I really liked it and cleaned the plate.

Crispy Pork Belly - I cannot speak on this one myself but for the pork lovers among us, my girlfriend said and I quote "the pork belly is a must."

The one disappointment here for me was the cocktail. I got the Saber Rattler, a mezcal drink. For $16 it would be nice for there to be some effort at presentation. It just looked like an abandoned glass of lime Gatorade. It tasted fine but wasn't anything to write home about. My gf got a rum cocktail that was delicious.

Also want to say our server (Ingrid) was incredibly attentive, warm, and friendly. Good energy & great service overall.

All in all, I like this place & had a very enjoyable experience! Super cute area in Cambridge, nice atmosphere that's great for an intimate date or when you actually want to be able to talk to someone at dinner. In conclusion: it is not mind blowing but it...

Food is average, like majority of fusion/new American restaurants in Boston - some protein on a creamy/pasty base, some standard vegetable offerings (kale, carrots, Brussels sprouts etc.), some Asian influences (fish crudo, miso somewhere). Sadly every dishes we tried were not innovative enough, ingredients were not the freshest, the tomato in the heirloom tomato plate were definitely not heirloom tomatoes and some tasted like they’ve gone bad already.

There’s a pancake dish with 3 small cornmeal pancakes in the middle, popcorns on each side of the plate, 4 shishito peppers on the popcorns. Total ingredients cost max $2 and selling for 10 times the price, the combo feels like something you cook at a dorm after drinking all night. The fish crudo are 4 large cubes of fish fillets, the reason you don’t see this shape & size for Japanese sashimi is that it’s hard for seasoning to be well distributed throughout, end result is the fish cubes had no flavors.

Some of their shaken cocktails were good, like the Melipona, it’s smoky and creamy at the same time, it’s the only item we tried that invites for a 2nd visit. The bar couldn’t make a spicy margarita right, it tasted off and diluted.

Worst part of our dinner experience was our waitress, we were seated towards the very end of the dining hall, all tables in our section barely see our waitress, hard to get order placed, get a check, forget about clearing empty plates or anything beyond basic service. If it’s not for other people filling in for her, it’d be disastrous.

When we asked why 30 min.s passed and we only got half of our order, she responded it’s a very busy night. That’s a very reasonable reason, except when we were seated and ordered, the restaurant’s almost empty! With her “very busy” reply, we continually waited until someone else came to fill our water and asked how’s everything, we shared we’re still waiting for half of our order, he went to check and immediately brought us our order. Hard not to think our dishes had just been sitting at service area and not being served by our waitress. It’s not like she’s busy serving others, we barely see her in any part of the dining hall. Slacking may be the best...