ArtBar
Week One: MARCH 2 2020- MARCH 7 2020
Week Two: MARCH 9 2020- MARCH 14 2020
SUNDAY- DINNER ONLY FOR DINE-OUT BOSTON
MON-FRIDAY- LUNCH AND DINNER DINE OUT BOSTON
SATURDAY- NO DINE OUT MENU AVAILABLE
ArtBar is a warm, intimate retreat for food and art lovers located inside Royal Sonesta Boston hotel in Cambridge, MA. The ArtBar boasts stellar selections from the hotel's world-class art collection while the restaurant features innovative, regional American cuisine, a well curated wine list and specialty cocktails. Seasonal patio seating with unparalleled views of the Charles River and Boston Skyline, make ArtBar a neighborhood destination.
***Reservations are recommended. Seasonal patio seating is first come, first served.
Popular dishes
Pan Seared Sea Scallops
sunchoke puree | shaved radish | snap peas | pancetta crumbs | micro herbs
2 reviews
Clam Chowder
traditional new england-style | potato | applewood bacon
1 reviews
ArtBar Burger
niman ranch chuck | cheddar | applewood bacon | a-1 aioli | shoestring onions | brioche bun
2 reviews
I ordered a peach bellini and the fruit plate. The fruit plate was good but the drink - not so much. It basically was just a glass of champagne. The drink had no puree at all and was just not good as I wasn't looking for a straight glass of wine.
Interesting place. Liked the menu, which had a nice selection of appetizers and entrees. The food (chicken wisps appetizer and lobster risotto) were good (but not great). The dessert was creative - s’mores in a skillet - and tasty but I was full after the app and dinner and only had a few bites.
The atmosphere is odd. The casual open bar area with prominent TVs, the bright lighting, and the light paneled wood flooring presented a very casual look and feel, which seemed out of sync with the menu and the prices. Would have preferred a toned down quieter setting for a nice meal,
Good staff. However the food was not very good. Portions were small. Maybe I am spoiled by American Diners but for the same menu, you cant do justice to the guest if they are able to see 30% of their plate underneath the scanty food your serve. And even the taste didn't compensate for that fact.
This was a great meal. My only suggestion would be to play softer music
the valentines day menu was great! my bf and i were both able to find foods we enjoyed
The food was absolutely delicious. Everything ordered was fantastic and beautifully presented. Service was extraordinarily friendly and prompt. Went for a couples valentine's day prix fixe menu event and all options available were worth it.
Outstanding chicken & waffles! & we are from L.A. (hint- Roscoe's as comparison)
The food was excellent! Possibly the best burger I’ve ever had. However, that’s kind of where my praise ends. I’m not sure why it’s called art bar- there’s nothing artsy about the place. The service was sub par... especially considering we were one of two parties there at the time (7pm on a Friday... kinda weird).
I went a few years back for Thanksgiving and it was amazing. Christmas the sirloin overdone and fish was so very plain. I though the squash soup was great.
Terrible. Just terrible. 50 dollar Christmas buffet that was dried out and nasty. Family and I got up and left before ordering
Food was great so was everything else Highly recommend
Went for Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner was served family style, different dishes were brought to the table and we could order more of anything if he wanted to. The ginger pumpkin soup was delicious. The turkey was first rate. There were several plates of vegetables, brussel sprouts with squash, mashed sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans with fried onions, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, a large salad, and good bread rolls, finishing with several seasonal pies. The service was friendly and efficient. My criticisms are that the food cooled quickly and it would be better to serve fewer vegetables concentrating on their individual qualities.
We had a family style Thanksgiving dinner that was delicious. Our server was great! Only thing that could have been improved would have been slightly lower lighting and more candles, but overall, for my first ever Thanksgiving in a restaurant, it was great!
We had a spectacular Thanksgiving dinner this week! We especially liked the "Family Style" of serving. And the generous provision of boxes for our leftovers made it almost like Thanksgiving at home because who doesn't love leftovers! Thank you for a special meal.
A real shame that we chose to eat here for thanksgiving. The restaurant apparently had a failed heating system, so we sat and ate lunch with our coats on. Food wasn't bad but we really couldn't enjoy it in the cold.
Harvest Bowl was poor - mostly rice, poorly cooked and few vegetables. Not up to their normal good standards
Better in summer when you can enjoy the outside seating and ciew
Quiet night and good for relaxing conversation with well prepared food at reasonable price.
Limited menu but enough to please all.
The staff was accommodating when they delivered us food that had been mislabeled on their menu. The food itself would be tough to recommend (we ordered an Impossible Burger and a salad, both elicited pretty quick frowns from us after taking a bite— the burger was overdone and the salad was mis-prepared). Might be nicer when the patio is open during warm weather months but ArtBar largely gave off Nicest Dining Hall on Local Campus vibes during our visit.
It was my daughters birthday. They brought her out a birthday s’mores for the table. It was super nice and the food was great. Ricky was our server and he was super nice and courteous.
It was okay- but for a city that has so MANY options, I wouldn't go back.
Great and friendly service. Wonderful art. Average food
Food was decent but nothing exciting. The hostess who seated us was lovely and accommodating but our server was inattentive, didn’t come around to take our main course orders for a while, and took the leftovers away without even asking if we wanted to take them home. We all had decent amounts left and frankly I HATE wasting food and hence money. The chairs weren’t very comfortable so wouldn’t do a lengthy dinner there again. Views were nice.
Very good food. Burger had great taste. I would definitely order again.
Nice view sitting outside.
Servers friendly and nice but 1 of 3 orders was incorrect and had to be sent back. Then toast missing. That meal was generously comp’d.
I will absolutely go to ArtBar again.
Lovely meal to celebrate our 26th wedding anniversary - we were married in the Royal Sonesta 26 years ago! Our server was excellent. ArtBar brought us a special anniversary dessert too - thanks, ArtBar!
Called for reservation and when we arrived were shown a table. Neither time did they tell us they had a large group and service would be delayed for an hour. Server was very nice, but it was out of her control.
Did offer bread during wait. Just overall not a good experience. Food decent when finally came.
It was busy and bit noisy.
Seat quality could be better.
Food and service good.
Hotel Sonesta in Cambridge. Food and beverage excellent. Had gift certificate and was unable to use completely during evening meal. Was planning on using balance at breakfast. Was informed by waitstaff that we could not carry balance forward had to be consumed in one meal. Turned out to be a very expensive meal for two.
A very disappointing experience. I'd read an article listing artbar as a top Cambridge restaurant, but the food was average and the service slow. The only nearby parking is in the garage, and the validation gives you a very slight discount. The service was so slow for two of us (with no drinks nor dessert) we had to pay for two hours of parking. I would only go here for the views from the patio -- when it's nice out.
the most scenic place to have brunch in Cambridge! we enjoyed a wonderful brunch with varied menu, spicy Bloody Marys and the best Bellini around while admiring the Charles River and the Boston skyline. Ask for a table outside and you'll be delighted!
I went here because I had a Dine Out Boston gift certificate, and I love to try new spots. The vibe seemed classy so we turned it into a date night.
I started by ordering the Fire Tonic that I had seen on a food Instagrammer’s account because it was the prettiest drink I had ever seen. The drink that I received was just a purple gin and tonic (nothing special) that tasted very tonic heavy and lacked the edible flowers in the menu description.
Four of us had lunch at the ArtBar on a Saturday after finishing a kayak adventure at the Charles River Kayak a short walk down the street from the restaurant. The ArtBar has a wonderful outdoor patio that overlooks the river and the Boston skyline. The lunch menu on Saturday was a more of a brunch menu which was perfect for our party. I had the Chicken & Waffle and it was amazing. The staff was extremely friendly and attentive and the service was fast and efficient. If you are ever in the area give it a try.
I had stayed at this hotel before and remembered it favorably.
However thing have clearly changed. It was a sterile and unappealing environment. The noise level was uncomfortable, I have never walked out of a restaurant before but almost did. I was embarrassed to have brought a friend. The service was disinterested. The food thankfully was good. This is the first negative review I have ever written.
WE had a reservation for 2 at 7:00, when we arrived the only table available was for 6 people - not conducive to conversation and catching up with a friend. The fish tacos tasted good but the tortillas were so soggy they were inedible - the view is great so a good place for drinks outside but I wouldn't go to the indoor restaurant again.
We were there for the brunch! Service was outstanding! The food not so much! Didn’t have too much flavor to it! And the floor was dirty with big food crumbs!
It was a beautiful Sunday to enjoy brunch on the patio overlooking the Charles. Service was pleasant; food was very good: lamb burger -cooked perfectly; brioche French Toast - delicious; omelet made to order. Reasonably priced.
Overall, pretty bad. we made a reservation for our anniversary thinking we’d give ArtBar a try, especially since the menu looked like it had quite a few options for our dietary restrictions. I’m allergic milk, my wife has Celiac and is gluten free.
We arrived 5 minutes early and were told that if we wanted to sit outside it would be a 30-45 minute wait. No one was seated indoors and we decided we didn’t want to extend the evening that much (or longer). Disappointed, we opted for inside, for our special occasion. Even though there were many other options we were seated at the busiest spot in the place - right outside the kitchen doors.
I asked about the lobster roll and was told, after a consult with the chef, that the aioli contained milk products so any dish with that would be sauce-free. Other answers further reduced my options. Also, the gluten-free calamari apparently contained milk. For similar reasons my wife’s gluten free options were limited, even though there were a few gluten free items on the menu.
At this point we had ordered our drinks and a bowl each of the yellow tomato gazpacho - which was excellent - but the place was overly bright, quite noisy, and our entree options were limited, so we decided to cut our losses and ask for the check. To his credit the waiter noted our disappointment, asked us to hang around, and sent us a bowl of what the server described as coconut ice cream. I am allergic to milk products so we sent it back. He came right back and told us it was sorbet. We did accept it then. But with some trepidation.
As it was a holiday weekend, we had two more nights to try again for our celebration. The next evening we had an excellent night out, elsewhere.
Our waiter Ricky was amazing. I would definitely come back just because of his service.
Food delicious, excellent service. Very accommodating of gluten sensitivity.
Questions, if I come for lunch...can I order something from dinner and breakfast menu....namely the dinner cheese plate appetizer and the breakfast fruit plate?
FAQs
ArtBar offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (617) 806-4122.
ArtBar is rated 3.9 stars by 618 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.