Project P.U.B. — Restaurant in Somerville

Though I am writing the review for project pub, it may very well be the review for Tapastre, the sister company, or whatever, situated in the basement of the same building.

I visited the establishment last week. The cauliflower appetizer was great. I got salmon sliders and was disappointed with flavorless, sauce soaked sliders. Now comes the part of utmost disappointment, which made my trip to this establishment as the first and the last one. My wife and I ordered Old Fashioned with Whistle Pig Bourbon. We got up charged $12 per drink for this ask. A lot of bars use this underhanded dirty trick to rip you off. I am well aware of the scam and I usually take it off of the tips. However, the waitress was very nice so I did not do that this time. Whistle Pig, compared to the house bourbon would have costed them $20 more for a 750 ml bottle, and yet I am getting charged $12 more for 2 OZ of alcohol. They did make a decent cocktail though.

Considering the disappointing food and the price, this place is a no for me.

Edit: I am glad the proprietor of the establishment responded to my review. My complaint is not about the up charge or the practice of it. Rather, it is about how much is reasonable. Let us go with the proprietor’s claim that premium bourbon is $70 and I am choosing the house bourbon to be at $10 to add t his advantage. The $60 difference needs to be recovered. A 750 ml bottle makes 12 drinks. The establishment needs to minimally charge $5 per drink to make up the difference. The question is what this amount should be. I think $7 to $8 is fair...

Great place, have been there 20 times ever since it opened including their first Halloween party. Food really good Bar, restaurant, patio seating nice. Current selection good , as well as when they used to host brewery’s (bring that back) Service is good no complaints

Only reason I take stars away is the upstairs bar is often closed due to “staffing issues.” Upstairs re-opened a little later in 2020 which was understandable but since it has been very inconsistent. For example, upstairs project pub bar (not Tapastre) was closed Oct 21st 2022 of this week - a Friday evening at 5pm. It has been closed on numerous “busy” (peak) days in past when I have tried to come in due to “staffing issues” (would say 4-5 times since I’m local) Shame they can’t manage, every bar in town has been fully open at any point for over a year. They have all figured it out you guys have to as well. (Verve has 2 bars and staffs them on peak days, Village staffs all week, Alfonso’s , Manions no issues). Based on this I assume the owners don’t care and/or very poor management, but don’t blame staffing since a lot of locals have managed. PS: they try to run this as one large restaurant/bars with Tapastre which is a big mistake. Servers/hostesses are great but running around accommodating is rough.

This is a great place …. When they decide to open...

My first experience with Project PUB is during COVID-19 and from the start I am impressed with their efforts to provide a safe and sanitary customer experience. There is plenty of outdoor seating, the staff is very cognizant of personal space (social distancing) and are all wearing masks.

The beers on tap are very unique and I'm glad I had the opportunity to try them! I'm not sure I would have easily found them in stores or outside their respective breweries. The pizza was also interesting. The crust was crisp and thin like a standard bar pie, but tasted buttery like a biscuit. It actually was quite delicious in conjunction with their excellent cheese and the thin, juicy tomato slices. I also enjoyed the basil/oil lines that added extra flavor. I am looking forward to...