Rafiki Bistro

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Rafiki Bistro
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Rafiki Bistro

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Address:
1682 Mass Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138

Neighborhood:
Cambridge

Getting there ›
Cuisine:
French

Price: $30 and under

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More Details ›

Rafiki Bistro Details

Dining Style: Casual Dining
Website: http://www.rafikibistro.com
Email: info@rafikibistro.com
Phone: (617) 661-7810
Hours of Operation: Dinner: Sunday - Wednesday: 5:00pm -10:00pm, Thursday - Saturday: 5:00pm - 10:30pm
Payment Options: MasterCard, Visa
Cuisine: French, Seafood, Organic
Executive Chef: Jeff Burgess
Dress Code: Casual Dress
Accepts Walk-Ins: Yes
Additional Details: Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cafe, Farm to Table, Full Bar, Late Night, Non-Smoking Area, Non-Smoking Restaurant, Takeout, Wheelchair Access, Wine, Wine Bar
Catering: We offer a full range of catering options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or special events. Our catering menu is customized for your event and features our all-natural and organic ingredients.
Entertainment: Live Music Wednesdays 10 pm to Midnight
Special Events & Promotions: Restaurant is available for special events. Please call us to discuss.

Getting there

Cross Street: Hudson St
Public Transit: Near Harvard Square and Porter Square stops on the Red Line. We are also on 77 bus line and accessible from all bus routes to Harvard Square.
Parking: Street Parking
Parking Details: On street parking, no meters after 6 P.M.

A word from Rafiki Bistro

Rafiki Bistro has brought the taste of Provencal country-style cooking to Cambridge and the Agassiz neighborhood. Rafiki features classic Provencal country fare prepared with the freshest, locally-sourced, all-natural ingredients. Our offering focuses on flavors and ingredients in a simple,… elegant yet hearty style. Please visit the re-styled Rafiki Bistro and experience our Provencal menu, a raw bar that offers a selection of local oysters, clams, tuna tartar, an expanded wine list with a selection of affordable French wines, and an inspired specialty cocktail list…all presented in a cozy, attentive, and friendly atmosphere. Rafiki Bistro is open for dinner and cocktails every night at 5 pm. Our menus change often and we feature specials daily but sample menus can be viewed on our website Continued

Rafiki Bistro

3.6

114 $30 and under restaurant

Featured Reviews

More Reviews ›

Reviews from OpenTable Diners Learn More

125 Current Reviews

Summary of Diner Ratings & Reviews

Overall

(Very Good) 3.6 / 5

Food

(Very Good) 3.4 / 5

Service

(Very Good) 3.9 / 5

Ambiance

(Very Good) 3.8 / 5

Noise Level

Moderate

125 Current Reviews

Summary of Diner Ratings & Reviews

Overall

(Very Good) 3.6 / 5

Food

(Very Good) 3.4 / 5

Service

(Very Good) 3.9 / 5

Ambiance

(Very Good) 3.8 / 5

Noise Level

Moderate

Filter Reviews By:

Diners classify this restaurant as:

neighborhood gem(45)
fit for foodies(36)
romantic(33)

special occasion(23)
notable wine list(11)
good for groups(10)

Current OpenTable.com Diner Reviews (125)

Overall rating

(Good) 3 / 5

Average Place, but worth the visit

OpenTable Diner Since

Dined on 04/12/2012

2010

Dined on 04/12/2012

2010

Food

(Good) 3 / 5

Service

(Very Good) 4 / 5

Ambiance

(Very Good) 4 / 5

Noise Level

Energetic

"Heard the mussels here are really good, unfortunately they were sold out by 7pm on the evening we were there. The food is pretty good, not great and certainly not bad.

What we had:
Small plates - tuna, scallop, avocado/crab (scallop was my favorite)
Appetizer - calamari (pretty mediocre)
"Main" - Croque Monsieur - nothing too special but definitely tasty (was a bit salty)"

Dined on 04/12/2012

2010

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Overall rating

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

Great place for a nice dinner

OpenTable Diner Since

Dined on 04/11/2012

2010

Dined on 04/11/2012

2010

Food

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

Service

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

Ambiance

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

Noise Level

Quiet

"Great place for a nice dinner date! The food was delicious and all of the produce used in the dishes we tried was amazingly fresh. I can't wait to go back."

Dined on 04/11/2012

2010

Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, notable wine list, romantic, special occasion, hot spot

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Overall rating

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

best meal i have had in a

OpenTable Diner Since

Dined on 04/11/2012

2005

Dined on 04/11/2012

2005

Food

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

Service

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

Ambiance

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

Noise Level

Moderate

"best meal i have had in a long time"

Dined on 04/11/2012

2005

Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, romantic

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Overall rating

(Very Good) 4 / 5

Great bistro and a fine addition

OpenTable Diner Since

Dined on 04/10/2012

2010

Dined on 04/10/2012

2010

Food

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

Service

(Very Good) 4 / 5

Ambiance

(Very Good) 4 / 5

Noise Level

Moderate

"Great bistro and a fine addition to the choices on Mass Ave by Harvard and Porter"

Dined on 04/10/2012

2010

Special Features: fit for foodies

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Overall rating

(Very Good) 4 / 5

Scallops were great, the steak

OpenTable Diner Since

Dined on 04/06/2012

2012

Dined on 04/06/2012

2012

Food

(Good) 3 / 5

Service

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

Ambiance

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

Noise Level

Moderate

"Scallops were great, the steak was good but not great, the meat a little chewy and fatty on one end. Great fries. All in all, a pleasure but not something memorable. Nice room. Probably not worth the $70 we spent. For that kind of money, either the serving should have been more spectacular or the food something out of the ordinary. It was neither. Great service. We had a nice time!

Good place for an appetizer and a drink."

Dined on 04/06/2012

2012

Special Features: neighborhood gem

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Overall rating

(Good) 3 / 5

I went here with my boyfriend

OpenTable Diner Since

Dined on 04/07/2012

2012

Dined on 04/07/2012

2012

Food

(Poor) 1 / 5

Service

(Very Good) 4 / 5

Ambiance

(Very Good) 4 / 5

Noise Level

Moderate

"I went here with my boyfriend for our 2 year anniversary, and although the overall experience was nice and the service was great, the food was NOT up to par and NOT worth what we paid. We got a bunch of appetizers and everything was just "eh." I ordered the scallops and they were cooked well but the flavor was lacking and the bed of "melted leeks" seemed to be just microwaved frozen veggies. The pickled kumquat salad was good but there were only like 3 kumquats! The only redeeming thing about the meal was my boyfriend's steak, which he said was excellent (I of course do not eat meat so I did not enjoy this aspect of the meal!). Overall the experience/ambiance was great but the food was extremely disappointing for the price we paid."

Dined on 04/07/2012

2012

Special Features: vibrant bar scene, special occasion

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Overall rating

(Very Good) 4 / 5

Everyone was super nice here!

OpenTable Diner Since

Dined on 04/05/2012

2012

Dined on 04/05/2012

2012

Food

(Good) 3 / 5

Service

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

Ambiance

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

Noise Level

Moderate

"Everyone was super nice here! I think they're making a huge effort and it shows. On the higher end of moderately priced. The decor was interesting to me in combo with the French menu. "Rafiki" is an African (swahili) word, so the decor has a bit of an African bent to it, which is interesting in contrast with the posh French menu. I'm not sold on the quality of the food, especially for the price, but all else was great."

Dined on 04/05/2012

2012

Special Features: neighborhood gem, special occasion, great for lunch

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Overall rating

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

This was a delicious meal

OpenTable Diner Since

Dined on 03/31/2012

2011

Dined on 03/31/2012

2011

Food

(Very Good) 4 / 5

Service

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

Ambiance

(Outstanding) 5 / 5

Noise Level

Energetic

"This was a delicious meal - scallops were so tender they melt in your mouth! Only "complaint" was lots of butter was used to cook the vegetables served with it but... still overall it was delicious from appetizer through dessert plus a tasty martini. My boyfriend had the duck meal and that was also tender and delicious. Appetizers - mussels were large and flavorful; calamari was tender and breading was very light and seasoned well. Creme brulee for dessert was good - similar to other restaurants but was a nice way to end a delicious meal."

Dined on 03/31/2012

2011

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Overall rating

(Fair) 2 / 5

We ordered an appetizer and

OpenTable Diner Since

Dined on 03/28/2012

2003

Dined on 03/28/2012

2003

Food

(Good) 3 / 5

Service

(Fair) 2 / 5

Ambiance

(Good) 3 / 5

Noise Level

Moderate

"We ordered an appetizer and a main course and the whole meal lasted 1h45mins. That's very long especially considering that the restaurant was far from being full. The food was OK. Prices were reasonable."

Dined on 03/28/2012

2003

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Overall rating

(Fair) 2 / 5

The servers were friendly,

OpenTable Diner Since

Dined on 03/27/2012

2009

Dined on 03/27/2012

2009

Food

(Fair) 2 / 5

Service

(Fair) 2 / 5

Ambiance

(Very Good) 4 / 5

Noise Level

Moderate

"The servers were friendly, but not very good. Brought wrong drink, 3 timed offered bread but then returned with out it ( which we didn't even want). We reviewed the menu on web an hour before dinner and then learned their was a new menu. The oysters were good, the eggplant starter was tasteless as was the broth of the mussels. The cod was very good and the green beans with it were excellent, but the sweet potato with cheese tartine was dreadful. The steak was good, not great, but the frites were limp pale steak fries. Nice atmosphere but marginal food, you are better off next door at Temple Bar for less money and better quality."