Spoke Wine Bar

"Spoke is the kind of restaurant that automatically makes a neighborhood cooler. Their combination of a great wine-by-the-glass list, snacky plates, excellent cocktails, knowledgeable staff, and intimate space pretty much guarantee you’ll have a good time. And that’s whether you’re alone taking down a plate of the mini sunchoke donuts with powdered leeks, or on a promising date tasting a couple of different pours and flexing some wine knowledge (that maybe the staff taught you the last time you were here). Pretty much anything on the menu is delicious, vegetable-centric, and often the perfect drinking accompaniment, like the milk-braised cabbage or tagine bean dip. It’s an excellent spot to wind down on a weekday after work, but for the weekends, make a reservation." - tanya edwards, lala thaddeus

"Gorgeous small plates come out of Spoke’s tiny kitchen; one might find a dish such as sunchoke doughnuts with XO gouda and powdered leeks on the compact menu, or perhaps chocolate-beet torte with pistachio and fennel shortbread. Nestle in with a glass of wine you’ve never tried, and get to know your date over braised lamb or crudo." - Celina Colby, Valerie Li Stack, Rachel Leah Blumenthal

"It’s amazing what can come out of a kitchen like the one at Spoke; it’s one of the tiniest in town, but you’d hardly know it from the beautifully composed small plates that play with seasonal ingredients and inspiration from around the world. One might dine on sambal-cured mackerel, for example, with coconut, milk bread, and Thai basil, or savory doughnuts made with sunchokes. And it’s a wine bar, so don’t forget the wines, which dance around familiar and lesser-known regions. Cocktails with interesting ingredients — fermented plantain, habanada pepper, “secrets” — round out the menu." - Eater Staff

"You’ll want to be a regular at Spoke Wine Bar, a cozy Davis Square spot with a staff that will remember your name (and order) after a few visits. The always-rotating small plates also mean return trips are not only a good idea, but necessary. Load up on under-$25 bites like coffee-poached duck breast and sweet and sour bluefish, or keep it plant-based with grilled chickpea tempeh and sunchoke donuts. The curved bar is where you want to be, lingering over one of the many $60-80 bottles or wine, or sipping an interesting cocktail with ingredients like vermouth and roasted dandelions. Even though the whole space is pretty small, you can usually get a last-minute reservation. " - tanya edwards

"Spoke is the kind of restaurant that automatically makes a neighborhood cooler. Their combination of a great wine-by-the-glass list, snacky plates, excellent cocktails, knowledgeable staff, and intimate space pretty much guarantee you’ll have a good time. And that’s whether you’re alone taking down a plate of the mini sunchoke donuts with powdered leeks, or on a promising date tasting a couple of different pours and flexing some wine knowledge (that maybe the staff taught you the last time you were here). Everything on the menu is delicious, vegetable-centric, and often the perfect drinking accompaniment, like milk-braised cabbage or tagine bean dip. It’s an excellent spot to wind down on a weekday after work, but for the weekends, make a reservation." - lala thaddeus