Boston Harvard Square recommendations

Technically, you'll be staying in Cambridge. I would not say that you need a car, although I will warn you that the T is not pleasant. However, finding and paying for parking is less so... Although there is one caveat - if you are staying at the Doubletree near the Pike and Route 3, you'll want a car - because you are a fair distance from public transportation across a few very busy roads. Grendel's Den in Harvard Square is a neat pub and a landmark. For stores, Louis Boston down on Newbury is always worth a look, and Drinkwater's off of Porter Square is cool. The J. Press in Harvard is kind of a landmark but they are also evil in there. There's a Cambodian/French restaurant next to Drinkwater's on Mass. Ave called the Elephant Walk, which I like, and I know that Eastern Standard & Ivy are good restaurants with excellent bars. Finally, there's a cool pub next to the statehouse called the 21st Amendment - you can imagine why! Good luck, and have fun!

Leo's Place - great diner with great food. Richie I think his name was that runs the place with his brother, Raffi I think his name was. Really nice people, they the type of people you talk to if you want to know about the history of the place. I remember them talking about Matt Damon and Ben Affleck coming in to the store when they were younger or how some rock group, hungry for burger came in after it was closed. They got their burgers, ate without a fuss and left. For their generosity for opening the store after it was closed the brothers got free tickets. Great place.. an institution... have your dinner there.

I recommend checking out Stel's on Newbury Street. It's right underneath the Newbury Comics. It's a nice cozy store.

On Harvard Square cuisine recommendations,
-Bartley's is pretty famous, and the menu is fun. It's an interesting hamburger joint.
-Pinochio's has solid pizza.
-Finale has some delicious desserts. I think they are a chain all around Boston.
-I've heard JP Licks has great ice cream, but I've never tried.
-There's decent Indian food around the square, I've tried two good places who's names are slipping me.

I wouldn't get a car. The public transportation system works quite well.

Have fun!

Upstairs on the Square (formerly Upstairs at the Pudding) is quite nice, if you can get by the acid-influenced aesthetic. And I second the Elephant Walk (Porter Square) recommendation. And no, don't bother with a car. Very stressful trying to dodge pedestrians around there. You can walk everywhere you need safely and easily. The subway is fine if you're going elsewhere in Cambridge or Boston.

Having spent St. Patrick's in Cambridge, I can reccomend Grafton Street, and don't quite remember Tommy Doyles...

For shops worth visiting, definately J Press and Leavitt & Peirce.

Yeah, Leavitt and Pierce is great. Anything a man could ever need - watches, chess sets, tobacco, cigars, knives, pipes, card/cig cases...

I just got back from Boston...when in Harvard Sq. I would always go to Pho Pasteur (now called Li's at that location) in "the garage" for a giant bowl of Vietnamese soup...it used to be like $5, now its $7 or so but it will fill you up! Probobly a bit warm for soup...I always get the Goi Coun (sp?) summer rolls with shrimp and shredded lettuce and peanut sauce, those are great for summer. Remember to stop at Herrell's down the block for ice cream! If you take the red line one stop in to the city(Charles MGH) you can try Ma Soba...just went there for lunch yesterday...$12 gets you a nice meal in a very pleasant atmosphere. Had the Bar Menu at McCormick and Schmicks in Quincy Market...sat in a glass enclosed patio eating $1 oysters and a $2 burger with my UFO draft on a Monday at 5...amazing..if only I dodn't have to go to work here in NY

Great burger at Bartley's.

It's been a number of years since I lived in that area, but I concur with the others recommending Elephant Walk. I used to like a lot of the bars around Mass. Ave. near Central Square, which is walking distance from Harvard Square. It's been almost 10 years, so I guess things could have changed, but they were a lot of fairly small, fun pub-style places with a good crowd and good beers on tap. I used to go to the Plough and Stars a lot. I used to love Upstairs at the Pudding, but know nothing of the new place.

Places to avoid:

The (Hong) Kong
John Harvards


Places to check out:

Wagamama
Om
Upstairs on the Square
Bartley's
Pinnochio's (pizza)
Temple Bar (further down Mass Ave. towards Porter Square)

Enormous Room?

Definitely forgo the car. It's hard enough for people who live here to navigate the convoluted streets, never mind an out of towner. Besides, the T is easy to navigate and can take you pretty much anywhere you want to go in Cambridge/Boston.

Elephant Walk is an excellent suggestion for dinner. Grendels Den and Charlies are good pub type places. The former serves an excellent dark n stormy and the latter provides food until midnight. If you want something a little more upscale, Noir at the Charles Hotel is a nice lounge with a good drink menu. I'd skip Bartleys. It is famous for it's burgers, but the line is usually long and it's very cramped quarters once you're inside. The burgers are just OK, imo. The best burger I've had in the area was actually at Miracle of Science in Central Square (one stop down on the Redline from Harvard). While you're in Central, you could pop into Enormous Room if you're into comfortable couches, electronic type music, and tasty drinks.

For shopping, Newbury street is the way to go. Stels carries SF approved gear and someone mentioned Loius Boston, which is also good to visit. There's also an Allen Edmonds store. There is a Saks one street over on Boyleston St. and you can get to Barneys in Copley Place through the Prudential Center. You could also stop by Drinkwaters in Porter Square and say hi to Gary (who happens to be a SF member.)

Hope this helps. Have a great stay!

+1 on Bartley's, +1 on avoiding Andover and J Press, -1 on Elephant Walk, +1 on Drinkwaters, +1 on Stel's, -1 on Louis, +1 on Hong Kong sucking, +1 on Temple Bar (was just there tonight), +10 on Pho Pasteur - great food and service is very friendly/courteous, +1 on Grendel's, too many bums in Central, but I love it.

Anna's/Felipes - very cheap Mexican. Boca Grande between Harvard and Porter is my current favorite though.

Henrietta's Table (in Charles Hotel, might also try to catch a show at the Regatta Bar - great jazz there sometimes) is interesting for locally farmed fare.

Harvard Sq theater usually has interesting movies; so does Kendall.

If you plan to spend most of your time in Harvard Square, I would avoid driving. There's construction all through it now in what was a nightmare drive to begin with.

I like Daedalus, but Yelp tells me my opinion is wrong.