Cambridge Common Restaurant — Restaurant in Cambridge

Rarely give out 1-stars, but this place made me and my friends feel extremely unwelcome last night. Just overall a bad experience, I probably won't ever come back to the restaurant. Lizard Lounge has good enough shows where it might be worth going there when someone good is on, but the restaurant just doesn't seem worth it. The cocktails were weak, the food was bland, and the hospitality was nowhere to be found.

Granted, it was a rainy day and we were on the patio, so I imagine the waitstaff weren't having their best night, but I felt like they took it out on us.

It was like we did something wrong from the very get go, but we did our best to be courteous throughout (even though at times we might have been indecisive). I thought it was just me, but then my friends at the table also felt the same way. I thought it was just one server, but it ended up being multiple. We got the feeling that we were imposing on them, and that we should just hurry up and finish as fast as we could to get out of their hair.

We showed up at 8, and stayed until last call, but we made sure to order throughout the entire stay so we weren't freeloading. At the start, even though we were at least 8-9ft away from the closest person not in our party, they chided us for not being close enough to our own table (we were all wearing masks and being diligent about social distancing even among ourselves). They kept coming up every three minutes at the start and were visibly frustrated when we hadn't yet figured out what we wanted to order, but not really giving us enough time to figure it out. It was tough to order more rounds because they rarely stopped by our table to see how we were doing, we had to call them over. When we were packing up, they shut the heater as we were warming our hands, and closed the umbrella right on top of us while we were still under it, rushing us out, even though we were not the last people there (there were at least 4 other groups still there, and we were clearly on our way out).

Maybe it was just an off night, but probably not worth trying to...

Lively Spot in North Cambridge with Solid Food, but a Few Hiccups

(Really 3.5 stars, but rounding up)

We recently had dinner at Cambridge Common on a hot summer evening, and while the food was solid, the service had some issues.

Booking was easy—we used RESY, and the host who answered the phone was polite, helpful, and welcoming. The restaurant offers outdoor seating, which is a great option on a nice day, though we sat inside.

We ordered the Buffalo Mac & Cheese, Carnitas Tacos, and a Fried Fish Sandwich (swapped with sweet potato fries), plus a Brownie Sundae for dessert. Everything was tasty and satisfying, especially the fries with chipotle aioli.

That said, a few things detracted from the experience: • It was hot, and we felt a bit overlooked—we both needed refills on our drinks, and no one checked in for quite a while. • There was a screaming baby nearby. Not the restaurant’s fault, but it made for a less relaxing atmosphere. • The most frustrating part: one of us left a credit card at the table, and while we were away, the staff added a 22% gratuity without consulting us. We hadn’t signed or closed out yet, which felt presumptive. The receipt listed Alana Y as our server, but several staff members rotated through. • Also good to know: they calculate tip on top of tax, so if you’re aiming for 20% on the pre-tax amount, tipping 18% on the full bill gets you there.

Service was disorganized. The food was enjoyable, and the atmosphere is lively and casual—but this isn’t the place for a peaceful dinner.

We’d give it 3.5 stars if we could, but rounded up to 4 for the solid food, good vibes, and easy...

Could not recommend this place, especially for a professional/academic gathering as the bar insisted on humiliating me in front of a large group of colleagues. A month ago, I filed to renew my license (another state) before my current license expires, so now I’ve got a valid US drivers license and a paper document valid an additional three months explaining that I’m waiting for a new one in the mail. The bar refused to take it, and fine, any bar can refuse to serve someone regardless of whether an ID is legal. My colleagues wanted me to stay so I stayed without ordering. Finally, 45mins later, the group gets the table we’ve been waiting for and others were excited to order pitchers of beer, while I planned to get a glass of water. Some minutes after ordering, another server comes back and tells the entire table that they will not be allowed to order pitchers because one person does not have a valid ID. Given my ID is valid and the bar has just chosen not to accept it, this felt like an unnecessary humiliation in front of the group. None of us have been in college—let alone high school—in a long time, so there was no concern for underage drinking. Simply put, the whole situation could have been avoided and instead the manager chose to humiliate a customer to the point I had to stand up and leave the group. Please consider before you take a professional gathering or other important group here as they might single someone out in this manner instead of handling...