John Harvards Brewhouse - Cambridge

No Longer In Business

Visited on a friday around 11 am. Nobody was here. Cool, old timy looking place. Service was pretty slow. Only full pints are available. $7 for a pint of golden ale. Wouldn’t come here, even if close by.

Easy location close to the Harvard subway stop. Kinda hollow ambiance, I don’t know how much the atmosphere would improve if it was full. Selection is pretty much their own stuff, which is decent. Not bad, but not awesome either. Friendly staff, cheap sampler plate.

I went here for lunch while visiting Harvard. The atmosphere was ok, nothing special. It was basement like, very spacious and nice seats but pretty boring scene. The beer was all brewed there but not a huge selection, maybe only 6-8, I did not see what other beers they had. I had the sampler and got beers picked by the brewer. In general they were pretty good and arranged appropriately. The food was typical bar food, ok but nothing special. The bread they serve is outstanding and they have some really good fries. The service was kind of lacking, the waitress was drab and not very beer knowledgeable.

Pretty good brewpub, with a nice variety of food and a rotating list of daily beers. I had a couple of decent IPAs here (neither of which is listed on Ratebeer), and a good burger on one visit, and tasty baked meatloaf on the other.

I like the atmoshpere . This is a large cellar bar and restaurant in an old building. Staff was friendly enough but I am sorry to say, inattentive. I didn’t care for the french dip veryuch but it was well made. The beers are the sort found at every brewpub in America., in my opinion, but there are quite a few to choose from, and the 5-beer sampler is inexpensive.

After having visited the Manchester, CT location, I lived in Somerville/Cambridge four years before ever bothering to visit here. When I finally did it turned out I actually like it. The beers are quite solid, and there’s always something more than the standard pale-amber-brown lineup you see at the less adventurous brewpubs. The food is focused on English style comfort like meatloaf and shepherd’s pie, with standard burgers, pizza, nachos, etc. You can do much better in the area if you want serious dining, but if you’re going for something low key but satisfying it’s not a bad choice. On top of all that, the atmosphere is strong as well. There’s a big bar area with lots of TVs and of seating, making it probably the best sports bar in the neighborhood. It gets loud and busy on weekends with lots of Harvard types, but as long as that’s what you’re up for it’s a good spot. If you’re in from out of town I wouldn’t make visiting here a priority; go to the other brewpub and the top beer bars first. But, don’t avoid it forever like I did either.

Stopped in here for brunch after a bit of sight seeing over the weekend. Decent atmosphere with a large space. Long bar looking into the brewhouse with some TV’s above it, a large dining area behind you. Quality was decent enough but nothing over the top. Selection was a good variety but nothing overly amazing. Service was ok, he forgot a few things I asked for but he seemed to have an ok beer knowledge. Since I was there for brunch I went with their platter. Eggs were not the greatest, I only finished about half of them, and their in house sausage was quite dry and rather bland. Decent pricing on the beer and food for the area. I had a cask ESB with my food, it was ok but it tasted a little dull. Overall an ok stop but I doubt I would return with so many other places in the area.

One of a small chain of brewpubs, the Harvard Square branch is in a basement with stone foundations and bare brick walls. It’s a large place but divided into sections, with the brewery behind the bar. A triptych of backlit stained glass windows representing events in John Harvard’s life gives it an olde worlde feel. Actually, no one knows what John Harvard looked like and the statue of him in Harvard Yard was modelled on a student called Sherman Hoar. Hoar subsequently had a distinguished career as a lawyer and politician and the statue is perhaps a more fitting memorial to him than it would have been if, like other luminaries, he’d had an undergraduate house named after him! But I digress – the beers at the brewpub are generally good with, typically, six or eight on keg plus a cask ale. I seem to remember from several lunchtime visits a few years ago that the food was good – along standard lines and nothing exciting or different but quite solid. It was here that I was first introduced to sliders (the miniature burger, not the television series). (Last visited 21 October 2012).

I was here in my pre-RB days, and the place looks exactly the same. The beer kist has gotten mote adventurous, and I like that they’ll do ten ounce pours of anf beers. The beers themselves were OK, and staff was helpful.

cozy atmosphere. nice place for a chat. some harvard folk around these parts. dont take too kindly to their type. books and shit.