The Longfellow Bar
Restaurant · Cambridge ·
Stylish bar with elevated snacks, creative cocktails, and a hip vibe
Stylish bar with elevated snacks, creative cocktails, and a hip vibe
"There’s no silverware at Longfellow, a cocktail bar above Alden & Harlow, as the food is supposed to be reminiscent of bar food you eat with your fingers. But we can’t think of any other bars that serve deviled eggs with ikura, or pigs in a blanket with black truffle and honey. Aside from the fact that you eat with your hands, Longfellow is civilized through-and-through, and it’d be wise to make a reservation - especially on weekends." - dan secatore
"Longfellow, a swanky place with furniture that looks like it came from the set of a mid-’90s legal thriller, calls itself a cocktail bar, but the best reason to come here is for the food. Everything on the menu is designed to be eaten with your hands, but instead of standard bar food like nachos and mozzarella sticks, you’ll find wild green and cheese pupusas and deviled eggs topped with crumbled potato chips and ikura. It gets crowded, but unlike most cocktail bars, you can make reservations (which is yet another reason we’re not totally convinced it’s a cocktail bar)." - dan secatore
"Just upstairs from chef Michael Scelfo's popular Harvard Square institution Alden & Harlow is Longfellow Bar, a sexy, two-story lounge with a seasonal roof deck. The 130-year-old building exudes charm, and Scelfo's loving restoration of the space has created one of the city's most intriguing places to have a drink. The bartenders here spin housemade seasonal syrups, infusions, and bitters into intriguing, somewhat surprising drinks. Consider the Fire in the Hole, a potent mix of Irish whisky, charred peach, and chartreuse." - Todd Plummer
"You've just walked in: Give us your first impression. Just upstairs from chef Michael Scelfo's popular Harvard Square institution Alden & Harlow is Longfellow Bar, a sexy, two-story lounge with a seasonal roof deck. The 130-year-old building exudes charm, and Scelfo's loving restoration of the space has created one of the city's most intriguing places to have a drink—think globe lights, cathedral-ceilings, original window panes, and a stunning Carrera-marble bar top. Cool. So who’s there? The best of Cambridge: intelligentsia coming or going from Harvard; good-looking young professionals on after-work dates, and coworkers catching up over drinks and snacks. What does the bar do best? The bartenders spin housemade seasonal syrups, infusions, and bitters into intriguing, somewhat surprising drinks. Consider the Fire in the Hole, a potent mix of Irish whisky, charred peach, and chartreuse. Food-wise, anything good to pair with those cocktails? The menu is filled with decadent, elevated comfort food favorites like pigs 'n' blankets with black truffle, honey, and dijonaise. The Longfellow Messy Fries come with an indulgent slather of beet chili, queso, and pickled jalapeños. How's the service? The bartenders here know their stuff. If you don't find something on the cocktail menu that tickles your fancy, they're happy to mix up something bespoke. Wrap it up: what are we coming here for? When you have an hour to kill in Harvard Square, this is the place to do it." - Todd Plummer
"This bar, listed among the chef’s neighborhood businesses, was implicated in the same 2020 staff complaints alleging sexual harassment and mistreatment by management. The chef’s staff letter promising change was met with skepticism from employees, and some staff say those who raised issues were not asked back when operations resumed later that year. Reactions to news of the chef’s new opening in 2024 split the industry: some peers publicly condemned the decision in solidarity with former employees, while at least one colleague who worked on the bar’s opening and later rejoined the company defended the chef and emphasized the importance of the jobs and livelihoods supported by the business." - Erika Adams