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    Gato Exotico

    4.0 (28 reviews)

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    Date night
    Michelle M.

    Trendy (and new) spot in Cambridgeside perfect for date night or even a birthday dinner with friends. They offer a vibrant cocktail menu served in cute cups (we had a frog) and menu featuring Latin flavors. We just got drinks and dessert but everything looks great. I loved my margarita. The drink in the frog glass was a little strong but tasty. Our bartenders were very attentive. Plus the decor inside is beautiful, very good for photo ops! Also, they validate parking!

    Tacos, ceviche, empanadas, esquites
    Monica C.

    Such a fun experience at Gato as expected from the sister restaurant of Wusong Road! The food and drinks were excellent - we ordered several plates to share including ceviche, cochininta tacos, empanadas, and esquites. I personally quite enjoyed the ceviche and esquites. The drinks were served in super fun mugs - we had the Tijuana Taxi (tequila and mezcal based) and Jungle Pear (gin based with pear and mango notes). The mango margarita was also delicious! Fun decor throughout the restaurant including the wallpaper and framed cat photos leading to the restrooms. And wonderful service!! An overall lively yet laid back environment

    Taco Pescado Frito
    Paul E.

    Gato Exotico is new addition to the reimagined CambridgeSide dining scene. When you walk in you feel transported & could not even tell this place used to be a beer hall. It is pretty tight between the tables but with how loud it was you could not hear any conversations around you. The chips & salsa are fine but not worth the calories when you'll find all the main items delicious & flavorful. The tortilla on the Mahi tacos was great & I found 3 to be the perfect amount. It is al la cart so you can mix taco choices if you want to try other ones. The service was friendly but a little slow. The margaritas come in pitcher size so if you have a group it makes it easier. Beer choices are pretty limited & did not include Pacifico, but did have Corona & Modelo.

    Birria fries
    Rosanna N.

    Decent Mexican food in the cambridgeside mall. Best item we had was the tres leches cocktail. Got birria fries ok a tad salty. Fish tacos were ok. Esquites ok not enough lime or chili

    Newest restaurant in the cambridgeside mall
    Sasha M.

    The newest restaurant at the Cambridgeside Mall, run by the same team behind Wusong Roadis a much-needed addition, especially since Cheesecake Factory was the only dining option there before. I was excited to check it out during their soft opening. They're operating with a limited menu until the grand opening on December 8th. I ordered the birria tacos and the asado de puerco, both of which were delicious. I also tried their margarita with a Tajín rim. Service was excellent, our server was attentive, and the food came out quickly. The interior has a fun tiki-inspired vibe reminiscent of Wusong Road but with its own unique twist. I'm looking forward to coming back once they fully open. A great spot to stop by for any occasion.

    Calamari
    Kevin G.

    I had a chance to try Gato during their soft opening and thought it exceeded expectations in every possible way. The decor leans full-on maximalist (which I love), with super cute tropical wallpaper, greenery hanging from the ceiling, and incredible woodworking with alligators and jaguars carved right into the tables. The cocktails (Sapo Pero, Tijuana Taxi, Tres Leches Colada) were all reasonably priced, balanced, and a good mix of complex/refreshing/boozy. Food wise, everything we tried tasted incredibly fresh and hit the spot. The calamari was complemented well by the cherry peppers, cabbage, and mango it was served with, and the lengua tacos/quesadilla were tender and rich without feeling heavy. For those apprehensive about lengua, I'd encourage trying - I'm always surprised by how tender it is. Overall, it's the rare place that nails atmosphere, drinks, and food equally well. Make no mistake, this place will get busy very soon so get in before it gets too crowded!

    Haley F.

    Fantastic experience. As fans of Wusong Road we had high expectations and the experience lived up to them! Delicious drinks of course and a flavorful, fun selection of tacos. We stopped in for lunch but are planning to go back soon for dinner. Can't wait to try more things here. The decor is so cool and the waitstaff were pleasant and attentive.

    Sonya Y.

    We came for the fun drinks, delicious food and funky ambience! Warm chips and salsa to start (on the house) and I ate every bit of the Plato carne (though the hot pepper was HOT!) No doggy bag for me My husband also enjoyed his margarita and beef tongue tacos! Validated parking up to 3hrs only $3

    Kevin L.

    pretty good restaurant! stopped by to get takeout on a Tuesday night. the mall was boring. but this place was popping. the atmosphere was very lively and the decorations were styled very well. staff was nice and helpful with menu items. I bought the habanero wings, yellowfin tuna Toscana, and taco de lengua. flavor was great on the Toscana. the wings were a bit bland and was drenched in mango habanero sauce, so it could've been a bit crispier. the lengua tacos were good, not the best lengua I've had but very good potential, would've been better with a slice of lime in there as well. Will definitely be back here whenever im in the area.

    Ceiling
    Maria A.

    Went for lunch today. Had high hopes based on the people who opened this restaurant since I love their other restaurant in Harvard Square. Chips were just like a grocery store bag was opened and poured into a bowl. Why don't they make their own chips?! Salsa was medium spicy and very good. Warning that the lunch menu is quite limited. I got tacos and the tortillas were homemade and quite good. The chicken could have used a bit more spice, but not bad. Our greatest disappointment was the margaritas. Tastes like bottled margarita mix and our margaritas tasted exactly the same even though one of us ordered passion fruit and the other ordered spicy. Maybe dinner is better and they just don't care about lunch guests?

    Drinks!
    Anna B.

    A friend and I visited this restaurant on Christmas Eve. The service, ambience and drinks were good and we and LOVED their tacos. I had fish, short rib and braised pork and want to go back to try more of them. And of course, drinks are served in fun tiki mugs and there was fun artwork in the bathroom (if you've been to their other place in Harvard Square you know this is a thing). There are lots of fun details in the decor if you look around. I loved this new spot!

    Beef tongue taco, fried fish taco, and shrimp taco
    Trinity B.

    Went on a Monday night with a reservation. 4 of us waited for about 10 min for a greeting from a server at the table. I got a frozen margarita that came with a tamarind straw. 10/10! Enchiladas were very good and had a kick that wasn't overpowering. I didn't love the tacos, but my boyfriend really enjoyed them. The restaurant itself is dark, quiet, and intimate. I drop a star because the server wasn't very attentive.

    Menu
    Alice Z.

    The owners of wusong road have done it again!!! Love how they kept their theme of tiki and custom mugs. Came during the soft launch and their drinks are sooo good. Plus all the decorations and ambiance are really unique.

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    4 months ago

    Ambiance great, Enchiladas were good, Margaritas were fine, wings were not crispy, service couldn't be less attentive

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    Darling - Noodles with veg

    Darling

    4.4(57 reviews)
    1.3 miCentral Square
    $$$

    Had such a fun girls catch up at darling in Cambridge! Best restaurant I've tried in a while…read more Lively mysterious vibes, creative drinks, and good food! The colossal shrimp was my favorite - massive and grilled to perfection. The dumplings were my friend's favorite. We both enjoyed our drinks especially the "hope I packed a parachute" which was topped with taro foam! Will be coming back for a date night and to try the HK french toast cocktail for sure. Make sure to snag a reservation early :)

    I've been looking forward to trying Darling for a while, and I see why everyone is raving about it!…read moreThey had an interesting and varied drink menu, with combinations and ingredients I hadn't seen before. It was hard to choose one, but I got the A Perfect Circle and it was quite tasty. I'm eager to try some of their other drinks, since the cocktails were definitely the highlight of the experience for me. The dim sum portions were larger than I expected, which meant we ordered way too much food. We had the fried chicken, the cucumber salad, the shrimp, the pork wontons, the soy sauce noodles, the daikon/enoki dish (I forget the name) and the charred broccoli. There wasn't anything I didn't like, but I did find that the flavor profile seemed very similar for many of the items--it seemed like most things were topped with a generous portion of chili oil, scallions, and sesame seeds. I found that this contributed to a fairly uniform flavor experience and was getting a little weary of chili oil after several dishes. The food was also spicier than I anticipated (though to be fair, I have a low spice tolerance, so others might disagree.) I would have enjoyed some less spicy options to balance out our meal. Overall, all the food was good, though, but I think if I come back I'd get fewer items (3-4 would have been plenty for 2 people) and that might also help with everything blurring together. The service was great and our waitstaff was helpful and attentive.

    Photos
    Darling
    Darling - Jumbo shrimp

    Jumbo shrimp

    Darling - Five Amaro Julep - ok, taste like a regular tiki drink.

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    Five Amaro Julep - ok, taste like a regular tiki drink.

    Saigon Babylon

    Saigon Babylon

    4.0(58 reviews)
    1.2 miCentral Square

    Was not expecting the food to pop off but everything was delicious. We had a reservation and came a…read morelittle late but were still allowed in. It was pretty busy and we were seated at the bar which was a little crowded. Loved the decoration, it was black interior with red lighting and interesting seating arrangement with tables down the middles and plants around. For drinks we got the Saigon Sunset which had a little sour flavor and was my personal favorite, the Gimme with an interesting flavor, and the Old Fashioned which is what you expect (old fashioned are not for me). The bartender was great, he was so patient even with how busy it was making sure to always check up. For food, the Goi Ca/Fluke was so good. It was flavorful and the texture. The peanut butter sauce wasn't too nutty and went so well with the fish. I ate every little piece up. We also ordered the Wagyu Viet Carpaccio which was also good. It was refreshing to eat and came with a large cracker for eat bite.

    The lemongrass carpaccio is exactly as good as everyone says. Definitely my favorite dish of the…read morenight, but I'm interested in going back and trying other menu items. Not a fan of the layout of the restaurant. I don't like the long table in the center for parties of 2, it felt a bit awkward to be so close to other groups and there were large vases of fresh flowers which, albeit were very beautiful, I think should have been moved after parties are seated. A huge bouquet of fresh lilies were taking up a lot of space on the table when I went and they got in the way at times.

    Photos
    Saigon Babylon
    Saigon Babylon - Duck with rice noodles

    Duck with rice noodles

    Saigon Babylon - Interior

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    Interior

    Remnant Satellite - Cider-Mass Appeal

    Remnant Satellite

    4.5(17 reviews)
    0.8 mi

    This burger was pretty fire, had it well done with the sweet potato fries and got the roasted beets…read moretoo. Everything was solid and the burger was fat with good salt. I would hella come again to this place. Vibe seemed alright like a typical pub but the burger got my heart.

    Enjoyed my dinner here at Remnant Satellite. We went on a Monday night early so didn't hear the…read morelive music but that's okay. I got a hard cider, the Stormalong Mass Appeal which I really enjoyed. My boyfriend got a vanilla latte which he liked. We then split the spinach artichoke dip which came with pita bread and carrots, the dip itself was only lukewarm and it was okay. I got the mac and cheese and added bbq which was really good, smaller portion but it filled me up. My boyfriend got the burger which was really fresh and the sauces were tasty. Towards the end my boyfriend noticed there was a Monday night rib special--which we were bummed because this was why we came here since they won first place at Rib Fest. I didn't get his name but the waiter we had was so nice and we ended up trying one. The meat melt off the bone and the sauce was incredible, so many flavors I couldn't pinpoint. It was sweet and tasted like a jam almost. Plus we learn they source a lot of food locally which is cool. The atmosphere too is very rustic inside and cozy, plus they have many events throughout the week from trivia to live music. Check out this nice spot in East Cambridge!

    Photos
    Remnant Satellite - Ambiance on a Monday afternoon. Not pictured is a bar counter and several other tables

    Ambiance on a Monday afternoon. Not pictured is a bar counter and several other tables

    Remnant Satellite - Spinach and Artichoke dip

    Spinach and Artichoke dip

    Remnant Satellite - Vanilla Latte

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    Vanilla Latte

    Cloud & Spirits - New Year's Soup

    Cloud & Spirits

    4.0(84 reviews)
    1.1 miKendall Square/MIT
    $$$

    We had reservations for 7:30, and when we got there, the place was decently busy - a few empty…read moretables here and there - so we were seated immediately. We ordered quickly after perusing the (rather short) menu, most of which was either small plates and cocktails . Our first plate was the hainan chicken arancini. I really liked the contrast in textures between the crispy exterior and the tender chicken and rice mix on the inside. Overall flavour was not bad, too, but I'm not sure that it was exactly good enough to merit the price point of $18. Next was the Xi'an street noodles, which was probably my favourite dish of the meal. The noodles were very well cooked - chewy but not too soft - and I loved the sauce, with the gentle peanut aroma on top of the various spices they used. One comment was that the chilli crisp, which was tasty, was very lacking (in amount) and as a consequence the dish was really not spicy at all. Finally we had the chilli crisp buffalo chicken. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the chicken was boneless (I was expecting something more like chicken wings), which made for very clean eating :) The buffalo sauce was nice (and perhaps a bit spicier than the aforementioned chilli crisp) and the chicken itself was very rich and juicy. Portion size was quite large too and overall I was very happy with this plate. For drinks we ordered the Jaded, which was a fun matcha-themed cocktail (even the marshmallow was matcha-flavoured) and a (spirit-free) cranberry limeade, which was surprisingly refreshing and sweet. Overall a yummy meal, but definitely very expensive. I would be interested to try some more of their cocktails, which seem very creative, but I'm not sure if I would be keen to come again primarily for the food. (To be fair, though, this is often the modus operandi of these restaurants that specialise in small plates and drinks )

    Great Cocktails, Average Food. I hovered between 3 and 4…read morestars here - ultimately deciding on 3 because while this is a great place to hang and grab drinks, the food is disappointing. Everyone was friendly and attentive but the food took a while to come out and it was just average. The best thing was the curry noodles and even those were a little bland. Also it was fairly expensive so I expected bigger portions or at least better flavor. Drinks on the other hand were delicious!

    Photos
    Cloud & Spirits
    Cloud & Spirits - Forager salad + chicken arrancini

    Forager salad + chicken arrancini

    Cloud & Spirits - Outside

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    Outside

    Althea - Rib and Fried Green tomato

    Althea

    4.1(33 reviews)
    1.2 miCentral Square

    Food was terrific. We all loved the Brussels Sprouts small plate to share. Two chose the Baked Cod…read moreover gnocchi that was delicious. The Salmon plate is always a winner. Perfectly cooked medium rare as ordered and the gnocchi bolognese was good as always. Cocktails for some and wine for others (except our designated driver) hit the spot. Too full from dinner so we passed on dessert. Service was perfect and the ambiance allowed for cheerful conversation. It helps when everyone is enjoying the wonderful food and relaxed atmosphere.

    I thought Althea was just ok. Glad I tried it, but probably won't be back, at least not for brunch…read more The ambiance is lovely - lots of plants, comfortable seating. Service was very friendly and timely. The food was just not great. I ordered the mushroom and goat cheese omelet, and they were nice enough to let me swap goat cheese for Parmesan. To drink, I got a coffee. The coffee was fine - not amazing but not bad either. The omelet was just okay - it could have used some more salt. A little bland. I did love the home fries - crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and very well seasoned. The toast tasted like grocery store bread, so that was a little disappointing for the price. So to sum up: on the positive side, ambiance and service were great. Home fries were delicious. Portions were generous. On the meh side, omelette and bread were bland (plus they were no longer hot by the time they came out, so that was strange). The only really bad thing I have to say is that they served my mom sour milk for her coffee, but they were very apologetic and gifted us blueberry muffins to make up for it, so I won't hold it against them.

    Photos
    Althea - The view walking inside from the patio.

    The view walking inside from the patio.

    Althea - Spicy Crab Spaghetti

    Spicy Crab Spaghetti

    Althea

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    Nook - Interior

    Nook

    4.5(26 reviews)
    1.4 mi

    My friend found this spot online and suggested we check it out, and I'm so glad we did. When we…read morearrived, I did not expect to find an entire courtyard filled with shops and restaurants tucked behind this little alleyway. It was such a cute hidden area, and I was already excited before we even got to the place. We headed upstairs into the bar, and the vibe was perfect. It's small, cozy, dimly lit, with vibey music playing. Since it was our first time, we were a little confused at first, but the waiter was super kind and walked us through everything. I ordered the Elly the Elephant and my friend got the Laughing Gull, and we both really enjoyed our drinks. One thing I thought was really nice is that they allow you to grab food from the surrounding restaurants and bring it in to eat there. We didn't end up doing that, but we did get the charcuterie board they had. It came with cheeses, crackers, and some fruit, and you can add meats for $10, which we opted out for. I will say I was a little disappointed by the fruit portion. The menu mentioned fresh fruit, so I expected more than three thin orange slices and one sliced strawberry. HOWEVER, when I asked for more strawberries, our waiter kindly brought out a whole bowl for me, which I really appreciated. We stayed for about two hours, and as the night went on the place definitely got more crowded, so we headed out. Overall, this is such a cute and cozy cocktail bar. I'll definitely be back when the weather is warmer to try the other drinks and restaurants in the market.

    I can't believe I've never been to Bow Market before but I will definitely be back! So many hidden…read moregems. Stores, cocktail lounges, restaurants, etc. It's also lit up very nicely at night. So fun! I'd imagine it's poppin in the summer/on a warm night. I just went to Nook (located upstairs once you're in Bow Market) and it's such a vibe! They've got an extensive drink menu, a couch area to lounge on, high tables and bar seating, cool interior design, and dim lighting. I mean the ambiance is there. Highly recommend the fruity drink! I forget the exact name but the bartender suggested it to me, and it was from the "West" menu page.

    Photos
    Nook - Smokey delight

    Smokey delight

    Nook
    Nook - Inside

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    Inside

    Gato Exotico - mexican - Updated May 2026

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