Brunch By De Martino — Restaurant in Somerville

The hour plus that my chum and I waited to be seated here seemed much longer than that (we were already hungry), and yet after we finally got a table, and after we finally got our food, and after we finally took our first bites...it was all worth it. This is really something.

We stopped by for brunch yesterday in the late morning. Given the amazing weather and the overall popularity of this place, I can't say I was too surprised when the hostess informed us that the wait was presently over 70 minutes. Downtown Somerville has tons of legit eating options and yet something told us to stay on the waitlist and white-knuckle it for a while (the woman waiting in the vestibule who referenced a similar prior wait time to her companion was a pretty strong selling point - she knew what she was getting into and came back for another long wait). I think this is actually the first time I've encountered/used the waitlist feature on Yelp; in hindsight we would have added ourselves to it when we were still getting ready to go out, not when we physically showed up to check out the situation. Let that be a lesson to us. It was also a source of delight and anxiety as we roamed around the main drag of Somerville constantly checking the app to watch our position on the waitlist slowly move up.

De Martino sort of has a bougie Cuban vibe - if you were just looking at the décor, you'd think it's just a generic, slightly upscale American restaurant, but the art on the walls featuring images of mid-century vehicles and Havana nightlife gives the Latin game away. During weekend brunch, it's definitely crowded in there, and we felt a little claustrophobic when anyone at the table next to us had to squeeze past to exit for the bathroom, but that's the price one pays from time to time.

We'd intently studied the menu beforehand and both decided to get the Guava and Coconut Cream Cheese Pancakes ($19), along with sides of bacon and home fries (both $6) to check off the savory box. Everything was perfect/incredible. The minute we started eating, the wait seemed completely immaterial. The guava/coconut cream cheese drizzles were applied to each individual pancake, not just the top of the stack (a common mistake, in my opinion) so you didn't have to deal with moistening up super dry bottom pancakes. They came with a side of maple syrup, but I saw zero need to get into that with the majestic toppings already covering them. And it came as zero surprise, but the bacon was juicy and scrumptious, while the potatoes were seasoned just right.

De Martino's has a 90-minute dining policy for the weekend brunch, but I didn't see that as much of a negative - it guaranteed a pretty speedy turnaround for everything. Our waitress even apologized for the wait on the basis that the table next to us (which ordered right around the same time, literally within a minute or two) got their food first, but it honestly wasn't necessary. Still classy though. Price point-wise, the pancakes ARE on the expensive side, but they're literally some of the best I've tasted so it's hard to ding them too much on that. This is several cuts above what you'd expect at even one of the higher tier Jersey diners, and you're paying for that.

Absolutely coming back. Every dish that went by looked heavenly, and I couldn't locate a single item on the menu I wouldn't be interested in sampling...

Hadn’t been here since the son had taken over his dads restaurant and moved it to Davenport St, and had been hearing such amazing things about this place. Recently read that it was the best brunch spot in Somerset County, so I had a bug in me to really get there. Last weekend we had a birthday to celebrate so I thought it was the perfect time to go! We were greeted by the hostess, who was so nice and had such a pretty outfit on, the place was jumping. I was surprised we got sat to be honest but there was a little table for two tucked away in a corner. As we were served water by Ina, our waitress and asked if we wanted menu’s bs the scan code on the table, I happily looked around and the beautiful decor. So many delicious things on the menu to choose from, non traditional strawberry, banana & Nutella pancakes or waffles, blueberry buttermilk pancakes, hot honey fried chicken & waffles, tres leches french toast, various omelets & eggs benedicts, Huevo Ranchero, lots of Salads, short rib empanadas, and grilled cheese served with a spicy tomato soup, various sandwiches, quesadillas and taco’s. Something for everything. A fabulous breakfast, brunch a lunch menu with a kids menu too. They also had a “mocktail” menu, great coffee & teas as well as other drinks as it is BYOB. So many people there from dates, families, young and old, groups of kids and young twenty something’s and friends catching up. The food came quickly and was bussed efficiently. We didn’t feel rushed although people were waiting for tables. I had the short rib grilled cheese with the soup, was a huge serving & took half home, the soup was creamy, with just enough spice to make you want more! My friend had the hot honey fried chicken & waffles, cooked to perfection & stood up to any that I’ve had down south. Just mad at myself for not coming in sooner. I had thought Brunch was only on a Sunday. I texted a friend that she had to go, and tried to make a reservation for the following Friday night for 8 of us, turns out since April they no longer do dinner service, they are now open daily 8-3! So get in for breakfast, brunch or dinner. Beautifully decorated, excellent staff, great kitchen, outside seating, bathrooms are really cool! Has a modern Cuban feel to it, definitely the...

I can't say the food was bad, but it could be done better. It seems they're trying so hard to make the dishes unique and insta-worthy that the ingredients are a little too "extra" and the quality/execution of the food is hindered. For someone like me to say that the plates are going overboard says a lot...I like unique dishes that you don't usually come across, I like mix-ins in my ice cream, and I like a lot of flavor in my food. This place has a lot of good ideas, but the execution slightly misses the mark.

I had the avocado toast. The multi-grain bread was tough and hard to cut. It's served as one whole piece and topped with lots of ingredients, so it's quite messy to pick up and eat which is why I wanted to cut it. But it took an unusual amount of effort to do so, to the point where I gave up cutting it and just let my hands get messy. The menu said it comes with eggs, but it didn't specify it comes with eggs on top of the toast. Kind of strange to serve it that way, but to each their own and I scraped it off to the side of the dish and all was fine. But what really seemed to hinder this dish was the amount of fig guava jam which was slathered on so thickly to that I was getting tired of the overly sweet flavor halfway through my meal. I barely tasted the other ingredients because the flavor of the jam took over. And then towards my last few bites I noticed bacon... which reminded me that yes, there was supposed to be bacon in there but I never noticed it until the very end. This means either there wasn't bacon on the majority of the toast, or there was bacon but the jam was so overwhelming that I didn't notice it.

I do appreciate that they have a variety of non-alcoholic juice concoctions, which is good for people who can't drink and also works for people who want to bring their own liquor to turn it into a cocktail. I would give them another try again because who knows, maybe it was an off day. But I definitely wouldn't go back on a weekend when they're really busy because you can find just as satisfying food elsewhere in Somerville without so long of a wait. I imagine the wait will be less of an issue as time goes on and more people have tried the place and the novelty...