The Hourly Oyster House — Restaurant in Cambridge

Context: 7 PM on a Saturday night Overall: Nice place. Like a bar but with more booth seating. Food and value: value wasn't great, I thought most of the food we ordered was overpriced. However, the one item I thought was worth the price was the special (at the time of this writing) lobster cake. For $21 you get a decent-sized, crispy cake with pickled stuff on top and a remoulade sauce on the bottom. Visually, the dish was stunning. The cake was generous with lobster and lobster flavor and the texture was pleasing. The sauce added a tangy creaminess that cooled down the spiciness of the cake. The pickled fennel slaw was both deliciously vinegary, but also had an interesting flavor and crunchy texture in itself. The clam chowder ($10) was good but nothing amazing. The portions of the crackers included with it was better than the chowder portions. We also had a bucatini frutti di mare ($32), which is a tomato and cream sauce with seafood (and pasta). I think there could have been more pasta, but there was a good amount of 4 different types of seafood. I was told that this sauce is usually watery, but this sauce was indeed creamy and thick. The sauce itself was very salty (briney?), acidic, creamy, and tasted smokey (in a good way). It was definitely a unique pasta dish (to me). However, despite the creaminess, the acidity just killed my stomach. I didn't like it, personally, but I do recommend it if you want a unique frutti di mare pasta. Service: fantastic. Service was prompt, they kept bringing us water, and they were just generally attentive despite how busy the place was. Summary: Good place for seafood, including oyster. They have cocktails and wine. Great service, but pricey. I wouldn't go there again, but I would recommend it to people who want a different seafood experience, or large parties (since they also have non-seafood...

Went there couple of days ago to celebrate birthday. Here my honest opinion about the place. Location is the nuzzling Harvard square, they have indoor and outdoor seating .. we could only get outdoors area we got was not bad as it’s the backside of the restaurant which is covered , the other outdoors is like tables on an active road. Please be very specific when you book and don’t forget to ask name of the person who does your reservation if booking on phone, as they tend to forget what they offer while reserving tables for you :). We ordered a bottle of Cabernet which was average as wine choices from the list are just ok. For appetizers we tried shrimp ceviche here which come with some brittle fried chips .. ceviche were shrimp pieces in salsa and fried calamari was average but the plate had jalapeños in 5:1 ratio with calamari. The Cobb salad was good and the halibut was also good. But not exceptional . For the type of ticket price vs the quality of food .. they don’t match but may be either they have too much one time customers who don’t have an option or people in Cambridge MA don’t care for good food. I have eaten far better in this area and Bostons of course .. Dessert was a disaster cannot comment on the taste as the service left a very bitter taste . They told us that we can make aerate special with a candle and stuff but first they never brought the dessert and then was the show of arrogance as if they don’t need to serve us .. it could be the server and the manager on that shift don’t know but they are a good case study how not to treat a customer. Would recommend this as an average seafood place on Harvard square. I found this place highly overrated for the quality of food , flavors...

Hourly Oyster House – A Solid Seafood Spot in Harvard Square

We stopped by Hourly Oyster Bar while wandering around Cambridge and decided to try a few of their seafood dishes. Overall, it was a great experience—good food, chill vibes, and the location right in Harvard Square makes it a fun spot to relax and people-watch.

We ordered the lobster roll, Fisherman’s stew, and the lobster mac & cheese. • The lobster roll was delicious—fresh, flavorful, and the bun was nicely toasted. What really impressed me was the price. It was reasonable, especially for such a prime location. You don’t feel like you’re getting ripped off like at some touristy places that charge $40 for a dry, flavorless roll. • The Fisherman’s stew was pretty good too. It came with a lot of seafood, which was great, but the broth was a bit thinner than I expected. I was hoping for something heartier and more savory. Still enjoyable, just not my favorite of the bunch. • The lobster mac & cheese was easily the star of the meal. Super creamy, packed with lobster, and had this smoky Gouda flavor that made it feel rich without being overly salty. I could’ve eaten the whole thing myself.

If you’re in the area and craving seafood, Hourly is definitely worth checking out—especially for that lobster mac. Would go back just for...