Russell House Tavern — Restaurant in Cambridge

A random choice was a good choice. I was in from Chicago for the week while staying at one of these hotels on the Boston Harbor and I made my stop to beautiful Harvard. Before going for a stroll throughout the square, I wanted to clean up and get some lunch. I came across this place which seemed to have some good reviews and it seemed to be very popular as well. When you first walk in, you’re greeted and asked where you would like to sit. Since I was by myself, I sat in the dining room with the upstairs bar. Within just a few short minutes of sitting down, I was greeted by Sarah. Right off the bat, Sarah seemed genuine and I knew she loved talking to people. She got me a glass of water and took my drink order. After browsing the menu for a few short minutes, Sarah came back and asked me if I had any questions. As a matter fact, I did and I wanted to know more about the Pappardelle Bolognese. This is where it gets fun… Sarah seemed passionate and she has no problem showing that when she describes this dish. There was hand movement and body movement and she just seemed to take ownership of what she was trying to explain. I loved it. She was confident in the dish and I was confident with her decision. So, I went with it! While waiting, Sarah brought my drink and filled my water back up. She asked if everything was OK and she even asked if she could bring my coat downstairs so that people wouldn’t step on it. I thought, this is excellent, sure!

Everything was going smoothly. I wasn’t being overpowered, over questioned and the atmosphere was just cozy. People were having a good time, the staff seemed to have smiles on their faces and there were no issues. If there were issues, the staff wasn’t showing it and that’s professional. After about 12 minutes, my food came out and it looked amazing and tasted amazing! While dining, I just listened to conversation, checked some emails and on occasion, Sarah would check in with me to make sure everything was OK. She even poured me another glass of water. (Something so simple but a nice touch.) When everything was said and done, I finished my water, finished my drink and Sarah checked in one last time to make sure everything was good. She asked if she can grab my jacket for me and I just smiled. I was amazed. Everything was in perfect rhythm. Got my check, wrote a little note of thanks and was on my way. Honestly, this was a great visit and was at quite a few places in my first 72 hours. They’re all great but this place really stood out. I loved it and I would definitely come back again if I’m back in town. Oh and by the way, as I was leaving, I learned that day was...

Although my table enjoyed our food for the most part, the service was subpar. When we first arrived, we were assigned a lovely waiter. About fifteen minutes after we arrived, our waiter’s shift ended and we were given a different waitress. Our appetizer arrived swiftly and was quite delicious. I believe it was called the Harvard Square Fries or something, but if you’ve had poutine it’s essentially the same thing. I’d recommend these, as they had a nice flavor and were served in a decent sized dish to share. Additionally, we chose the nonalcoholic margaritas to drink. I’d also recommend those! Our problems began when it had been a significant amount of time since ordering, yet our food wasn’t at our table yet, the waitress wasn’t updating us, and was chatting with coworkers. In fact, many employees were in a clump by the entrance in deep conversation. We suspect that this could be due to the manager meeting going on downstairs, so there was no one to keep them in line. After QUITE a while, our food arrived. Personally, I loved my meal, the Little Leaf Greens salad with chicken, however for the other people in my party, it was a different story. Their main dishes, the Roasted Beet Salad and Grilled Cheese were good, but both of them received a nearly inedible side of chicken, inconsistent with my side of chicken. In fact, I tried their sides of chicken to make sure they weren’t being picky, and I found that it was not only burnt, but dry and hard. We finished our food and waited about ten minutes for the waitress to show up, as she hadn’t yet checked up on us, even though it was mid afternoon and not busy whatsoever. We ending up calling over a different waitress to ask her for the bill. When our main waitress returned with the bill, we alerted her of our overcooked chicken, and she was apologetic and easy to deal with, taking the chicken off of the bill. Overall, if you’re in the area looking for a decent restaurant with a nice atmosphere, Russell House Tavern isn’t the best option, but worth a stop if you’re interested in enjoying heartier...

Went to Russell Tavern with my girlfriend for some drinks and some appetizers. The service was slow and sub par but we were having a good time and hanging out so it wasn't a big deal (yet). The food came, we got the wings and some oysters. The food was alright, the cocktail sauce was right out of the bottle (nothing home made, no fresh horse radish, just high fructose ketchup with a little tang). The server ended up mischarging me twice which in the middle of covid was very inconvenient. It took the manager 5 days to resolve it and get the money back to me. After this issue was resolved they ended up messing up my charge as well, the bill was 66 dollars and I tipped 12 dollars which was 20 percent before tax (even though the service was subpar at best). They ended up charging me 88 dollars which was a 22 dollar tip which the service absolutely didn't warrant and so I'm out another 10 dollars. The manager said he would call me back to resolve the issue, nothing has been done to try to placate me or show some sort of apology for the fact that they have charged my card wrong twice to the amount of a total of 98 dollars...88 dollars for the incorrect second charge and 10 dollars for the second charge with the incorrect tip. As you can imagine going their two weeks ago, near the first of the month, bill pay time, was more than inconvenient to be down 100 dollars for 2 weeks. And the fact that the manager never followed up or made any attempt to do the decent thing says a lot. If you find yourself in Harvard square, don't waste your time or risk the headache, there are many other places that are worth your...