The Neighborhood Restaurant — Restaurant in Somerville

This particular time, I would rate it closer to 3.5 because of some negative staff situations observed. But overall, this is nearly always a 4.5 star experience.

More Pros than cons, of course.

Cons: On the weekend, be prepared to wait. They'll usually provide coffee and something delicious from their bread basket (once they provided cinnamon toast, yum). Also, Somerville parking is jazzy and Union Square is currently under construction. Finally, there is a reasonable wait - a testament to how good they are. I will tell you these are minor annoyances in exchange for the sensory explosion you will experience.

Pros: I've only had lunch once, which was good, but they do offer both breakfast and lunch. There are regular menu items (e.g., eggs, omelettes, protein sides, pancakes, etc.), but the true glory is found in their specials' menu. I think the prices for the regular items are more than fair and the specials are somewhat higher and, again, worth it.

The meals come with a choice of fruit or cream of wheat. Ladies and gents, if you were reared on traditional European porridge it will put all that you know to shame, seriously. Order it. (In the winter, the fruit is baked/poached apples & pears - get a friend to order the latter, mix them and enter foodie nirvana.) The next course, if ordering a meal, is a hodge podge of moist, fresh baked goods. In addition, you receive OJ (I think it's freshly squeezed) and coffee, which may come with refills.

This last time, I ordered my mom a garden omelette, my sister received the Belgian Waffle special and I ordered french toast w/ a side of corn beef hash. Included with the meal - 2 eggs, the bread plate, hash browns and the cream of wheat. My total was under $40 and there were a lot of leftovers.

No matter where I eat out to brunch, I always compare it to...

The Neighborhood restaurant is one of the best hidden gems of Boston. It was my first stop the morning we brought my son home when he was born and the place we take out of town guests to wow them. In the driveway of a mixed use Portuguese family home there is a breakfast and lunch spot with colorful vinyl-cloth covered tables, picnic benches and the family's mature grape vines. In the spring it's a joy to see the first leaves appearing and in the lat summer a bit of Napa sitting under-the full ripe boughs of grapes.

Very inexpensive large breakfasts are the main fare and waits can be up to and hour and a half on the weekends. We head here on the rare midweek day off. This is a good place for an AM staff meeting if the company is picking up the tab. We've done that a few times since it was an easy meeting spot for the Somerville/Boston/Cambridge people.

While you wait for your table there is a juice place next door, nice coffee at bloc cafe and the national famous Union Sq. Donuts across the street. Parking can be a challenge. You'll have to circle the block midweek.

Kids will love the pancakes and eggs, the Benedict are popular and ever meal comes with coffee, juice and a choice of cream of wheat (YES) or fruit.

The bathrooms are way down a flight of stirs which I found to be a big challenge when I was very large in my second pregnancy.

Once you order the time from food to check is fast and you're on your way.

Tips: CASH! Bring cash. This is a cash-only place. All small businesses and servers appreciate small bills. If you have a yellow jacket allergy avoid the Neighborhood in August as grapes bring them in. Travel light, this is a crowded space. Bring small toys for the toddlers. I do not remember coloring pages and crayons. You may need sunblock...

I mean, it's just the cutest place and there's no beating their unstoppable cream of wheat. If you've never been before there's nothing I can do to explain how delicious this cream of wheat is, so you'll just have to try it to understand but the nice thing is that you can have it with any of their entrees as an included "side" so you won't have to choose between that and a full meal, although it often is enough to fill me up on it's own. Similarly, all breakfasts come with a glass of orange juice, coffee, and fresh breads/cakes included in the price of the meal, which is very cheap. The one thing to know is that they are CASH ONLY, although they have a ATM in their place just in case you forget :)

It's the essence of hospitality embodied by the charming Portuguese family who owns and runs the place. Also in the summer they open the patio so you can eat outside under their trellis of grape vines.

Go earlier on the weekends (try before 9:30) if you're looking to cut down on the wait, because this place is super popular and I recommend against groups larger than 4 if you can avoid it, although I've gone with groups up to 8. Even so, they have free coffee and cakes while you wait so if you've got a 30 minutes wait, it ain't all that bad.

On weekdays, the wait is almost nothing, and this became my parents favorite place to go each morning when they were visiting...