Cuisine en Locale

The rain did not let up during our wedding day. JJ and her team made delicious food, created a warm environment for our guests. We couldn't have been happier!

JJ and her whole team were incredible to work with for our unconventional wedding party. From the outset it was clear how important it was to her to understand what we wanted and the vibe we were going for, and she drew on her expertise in food and entertainment to help us bring it to the next level! So many helpful ideas and options without ever being pushy in the slightest. Every part of the process was met with great care and flexibility. From early planning to coordination day-of, it felt like we completely avoided the stress typically associated with a several-hour, eighty person event like this. That genuine spirit and passion for food really extended to her entire team, who were uniformly wonderful to work with during all portions of the event. If you're looking for delicious food and a nimble team with a solid ethos, look no further

We booked JJ and Natasha for preparing and serving a private dinner at our home, a pretty small group of 10 friends/family, and it was great : ) JJ and Natasha were super helpful and flexible when coordinating the event, and the food was delicious!! They worked with us on everything from menu items, to serving flow, and even ppl flow through the home at various parts of the night. We gave general outlines on likes, dislikes, and food limitations, and they came back w/ recommendations for everything else. On the night of the event they were lovely to work with, friendly and fun, they made an amazing meal, and cleaned up everything on their way out; we'd highly recommend JJ and Natasha if you're planning a special event and you'd like a professional touch and some delicious local food!

We have only the most positive things to say about JJ and her team! They were extremely professional throughout the planning phase and the day-of, while also being so calm, warm, and friendly to communicate with. JJ is clearly extremely passionate about her craft and proposed a creative menu that featured local ingredients and had plenty of options for our guests with dietary restrictions. Each dish that JJ came up with was deliciously prepared, perfectly fresh, and arrived piping hot. The food was also very generously portioned for our buffet style wedding meal. Over the course of the evening our guests raved about each of the dishes that JJ and her team put together. In the days that followed, we continued to hear from friends about how much they loved the lamb, lasagna, etc., even while we were still enjoying the leftovers! JJ and her team went above and beyond in preparing food for our special day and for this we are extremely grateful. We would recommend JJ and her team to anyone without hesitation.

JJ runs a classy establishment. The menu changes daily, and you will always be surprised at the offerings. Just try it, you will like it. Also--this is THEE place to see bands-- you and your kids can go on different nights and hear bands that will make you happy. Excellent for private functions-- best dance floor in Somerville!

We've seen several shows at this venue (including the infamous and ever-awesome Amanda Palmer) and not had time to eat dinner, but since it was a special occasion (our 10th anniversary) we made special arrangements to try the "fresh local fare." When we arrived we found most of the seats taken but we snagged a high top and I approached a waitress to ask if the high top had a server or should we go to the bar. She told me that we were in her section and that she would be right with us, so we waited a few minutes and she did get to us eventually. (I've been in the restaurant industry for over two decades so at this point we were very understanding.) She brought us a menu and we immediately decided on dinner and drinks and gave her our complete order. She then completely forgot us for over twenty minutes. We watched her wait on other tables nearby and then finally waved her down, at which point she said she had been asking all her tables if they had ordered our drink order (we were watching, so this was obviously not the case - mostly she spent her time chatting with her friends at the bar), then comped our drinks (thanks?) and brought us waters about five minutes later. Another five minutes and our drinks finally arrived (if you're counting, that's half an hour for two margaritas), and she said she felt bad so they were bringing us a dessert on the house... ummmm, what about our dinners?!? Clearly flustered, she re-took our dinner order and we watched her go to the cook station (a catering station set up in the dining area) and plate our food (this took all of one minute), WITH the comped dessert we never asked for in the first place. She brought the dinners WITH the dessert, and left. So we flagged her down again to ask for silverware so we could actually eat. Just... wow. The food was good but not great. The rice and beans dominated the plate and the "fresh local" pumpkin was heavily overseasoned. The lamb enchiladas were cold. The people plating the food seemed agitated and the entire scene was unprofessional. In the meantime we missed most of the opening act to the show we paid to see in the first place. Another waitress (possibly a manager from her demeanor) noticed us trying to yet again get the attention of our server so we could pay and go downstairs to the show, and while the excuses were plenty it's easy to say that it is the worst dinner out we've had in twenty years. They did comp some of the check (I'm not counting the flan dessert they gave us, because we hadn't asked for it, wouldn't have ordered it, and it wasn't great). I would have preferred to pay full price and have had decent service! Hoping we could get a decent drink downstairs, we caught the last bit of the opening act (Bonnie Bishop, who was amazing!- wish I could have seen the whole set after paying over $50 for the show!) and tried again at the downstairs bar. I ordered a drink off the menu that was listed as "whatever we decide to make you... ahahahaha" thinking it would be adventurous and fun. The bartender said she didn't have the ingredients for that... ummm... what? It says you make it up?!? How do you not? Okay, at this point, not surprised. So I switched to their version of a screwdriver (they called it a "Monkey Wrench") which was terrible. Apparently they think just by adding more and more alcohol it becomes a good drink. It does not. Thank goodness we finally got to see the main show (Bob Schneider - who is awesome in all ways). We are HUGE Bob Schneider fans so our night was redeemed in spite of everything this venue threw up against us. The sound quality was just okay but very quickly Bob's sound engineers were able to adjust for that so after the first two songs the sound was perfect. I've attended other shows here where the sound engineers were less competent and so that's hit or miss depending on the show. If they booked another show I was dying to see I maybe would go back for the show only, but I've completely given up on the venue for food and drinks. The service is below below.

We are THRILLED with the meal delivery service. We get fresh, tasty, healthy, locally grown, restaurant-quality food delivered each week. We get incredible variety, all with fantastic flavor. This is our best secret tool for modern life... We are family with two kids and two working parents and Cuisine en Locale has breathed new life into our family routines. We feel great about the food we are feeding our family, and we have no stress procuring quality ingredients or prepping it (the dishes are truly ready-to-go, requiring only reheating). We work with Sean O'Brien who is just fantastic. Can't say enough good things about the whole thing!

The sound here is awful. Low ceiling and decor more suited to sweet 16s, wedding receptions and bar mitzvahs avoid unless you really want to see the band. Would be fine for any number of the functions listed above though.