Darling — Restaurant in Cambridge

I really wanted to love this place, but I only liked it. If I could give it another half star I would. I was able to get a last-minute reservation on a Thursday night, which was nice. We arrived 30 minutes early for our reservation, and since our table was already available, they were able to seat us right away. The bar was fully packed, and most of the tables were also occupied. The décor and style of the restaurant are very intimate, perfect for a nice date night or a cute girls’ night out. The staff were also very nice. The music was great as well. They played current rnb songs.

The drinks were amazing. We got the “Hope I Packed a Parachute,” which had taro foam and was unlike anything I’ve ever had in a cocktail. We also ordered the “Common Trope,” which was light but not too sweet. I’m still thinking about the drinks and would absolutely go back for those. I’d love to try the others on the menu.

Now, on to the food. The star of the show was the fish baos. They looked underwhelming but turned out to be delicious, hot, and satisfying. The table next to us ordered them too and agreed. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about the rest of the menu. We ordered the wontons, cucumbers, lo bak go (daikon cake), braised ribs, and noodles. The wontons were good, but they were over-garnished, which took away from the flavor, and they sat in chili crisp oil that made them a little too oily. I still enjoyed them, but the cucumbers were cut very large and were covered in the same oil, and so were the noodles. You can probably see where I’m going with this: the flavors all started to blend together of chili oil only, yet something still felt like it was missing to make the dishes stand out and be amazing.

The soy sauce noodles were more of a fried noodle dish loaded with bok choy. They were fine, but I wished they had a stronger soy sauce flavor. The lo bak go was good, but very fried on the outside. I’m more used to the traditional style where it’s soft throughout. The shiitake mushrooms on top, however, were excellent. I honestly hope they turn those into their own dish. The braised ribs were tender and fell off the bone, but I was concerned when one bite was cold and another was hot. I understand that braised dishes are often prepped ahead and reheated, but I would expect them to be consistently warm when served.

We had considered getting dessert, but after feeling disappointed and honestly full, we decided to pass. The table next to us tried the OG Burnt and told us it was more of a mousse than a cheesecake, and too sweet for their liking.

It was towards the end of the night and the restaurant was slowly emptying out yet our food took a while to come out. I would assumed the rush left so food would come out faster.

Overall, the restaurant is still very new, and with a changing menu, I hope they find their niche in the sea of Cambridge restaurants. I could see myself coming back just for the cocktails and the fish baos, but I’d skip the rest of the menu for now. Hopefully, they’ll add something amazing that makes it worth a return visit. If you’re expecting traditional Chinese food, this isn’t the spot. But if you’re looking for fusion dishes paired with excellent cocktails, it’s worth...

I very much enjoyed my time at Darling. The food and drink are all spectacularly crafted, you can tell they put a lot of care into what they're doing. The Suan La Chow Show was delicious, perfectly balanced. The Soy Sauce Noodle was good, very good once I added a side of chili oil, but it needed a bit of acid and sweetness to take it to the top. In hindsight I should've saved the abundant extra sauce from the Suan La Chow Show for the noodles, since it had vinegar along with the chili oil.

The cocktails are bangers. The Holy Trinity is a savory and spicy Asian twist on a Gibson that I'd say every cocktail lover must try. And the Hope I Packed a Parachute, to me, is a perfect end of meal dessert-esque drink.

So what keeps me from the 5 star rating? One thing is price point, like many places, the pricing is a bit high for the everyday person. I deserve 5 stars for places I believe everyone should go and is either affordable or worth saving for a while. Don't get me wrong, Darling is very good, but I don't quite think it's "save for a special occasion" good... Yet. Another is the menu from a literacy standpoint, I knew that the Suan La Chow Show were dumplings, but based on the description on the menu, you'd have no idea. You wouldn't know if something is Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, or any other allergen/dietary restriction information from the food menu. Which is disappointing since they do the toxic masculinity friendly task of showing what drinkware the cocktails are served in. (Yes I know this is also accessibility friendly, but it started as a toxic masculinity capitalism change look it up). Finally is pricing, $17 cocktails is now the norm, doesn't mean it also isn't accessible. 5 dumplings for $12 is a bit much. The Soy Sauce Noodle is actually a good potion for price. But to me, a 5 star place is somewhere everyone should go and be able to have an easy care free time. Darling is so very close to that, and honestly if Google allowed half stars, I'd probably give it a 4.5. Alas it doesn't and here I am, left to give it a 4. You should go if you have the disposable income and no dietary restrictions. But if you have dietary concerns or aren't flush with cash, I think you can skip it. Until they give you 8 dumplings for $12, then maybe it's a...

Exquisite cocktails (and decent food).

Cambridge has always needed more cocktail bars outside of Harvard Square, so my friends and I had been waiting for this one to open for a long time. We finally made it in on a Sunday evening without a reservation. No fuss, just walked in and got a table right away.

The concept hit all my favorite notes: Asian-fusion snacks and Asian-inspired cocktails. Drinks were fantastic overall, but the food was a bit underwhelming.

The cocktail menu came printed like a small pamphlet, complete with the date stamped on top. Maybe a hint that the lineup changes regularly(?). We went for three cocktails, and their popular sweet cocktails were excellent. Hope I packed a parachute and HK French Toast were two of our favs.

Hope I Packed a Parachute – Maybe it’s my matcha/red bean bias talking, but this was phenomenal. Smooth, lightly sweet, and clean on the finish, with that gentle red bean note lingering just enough to remind you it’s there.

HK French Toast – More nutty than other French toast cocktails I’ve had. Less dessert-y, more like biting into a thick toast slabbed with peanut butter.

Food-wise, only dish I really liked was the Dashi-braised daikon (Lo Bak Go). Expected the usual melt-away daikon, but they served it meatball-style—minced, compact, with spicy and buttery layers. Denser than traditional braised daikon, but the kick of dashi plus browned butter was sublime. Honestly could make a full meal out of these alone.

Other dishes we ordered were fine overall, and we enjoyed the pork wontons. Soft, juicy, with just enough heat to match nicely against the...