BISq

Super cool small plates, interesting wine, and superior service… That’s how I explain Bisq.
Our server, John was excellent. He definitely bumped this review up to 5 stars. He was really accommodating and knowledgeable. I had no idea what wine k was ordering and he told me I made the wrong choice in a cool and very not awkward way. He then suggested a wine that I loved. This place is good for dates– it’s small so I don’t suggest going with a group of over 4.
We ordered an appetizer and four small plates. The oysters were great and the sauce to top it was very tasty. The Brussels sprouts were hearty but had a lightness and kick due to the pear and curry they were cooked with. The shrimp toast was filling and so delicious. Perfect to split with another person. We also got sword fish two ways (grilled and fish-​stick breaded style) as well as Parisian gnocchi. The Gnocchi was amazeballs. It was light/​fluffy but also tasted like they were encrusted with Parmesan. We almost ordered another serving, but opted for the dessert instead.
The dessert was muddy buddies, honey comb, and other chocolates on a charcuterie board. Creative and delicious!
I’d definitely go back again… Though it is expensive. Worth it though.

5 stars all day all around. Food was excellent and original. We got 8 tapas dishes and each one was amazing. Atmosphere was great and the service was absolutely perfect. Favorite dish was a hard choice but loved the shrimp toast. Server was really knowledgable about all the dishes and wines and have great recommendations. Would definitely come here again and would highly recommend!

We had the six course tasting menu with our Groupon for two. The place was very casual while I was hoping for something more fancy. Be prepared for a very light dinner since we felt pretty hungry afterwards. We agreed that we would have never gone here without a groupon since it’s quite pricey.
We had salmon ceviche, her marinated beet salad, sausage, potato gnocchi, steak and the charcuterie for dessert. Each dish was very unique, and explained to us by the server when he brought it out. My favorite were the potato gnocchi and the steak. The other ones were okay, nothing too outstanding. The dessert tasted a little burnt to us so we didn’t enjoy it at all. I wish the portion was larger so at least we don’t feel starving after. Halfway through the dinner, we kept wishing that it would be over quickly so we can go get something else to eat. We finished each dish in less than a minute and the timing between dishes was about 10 – 15 minutes so it was a really long wait. So maybe if you go for the tasting menu, make sure you have a back up plan to get full after!

Not overrated whatsoever! The portions of each plate are perfect to share with two people and packed to the punch with flavor! Their Friday roasted pig special is such a treat. Will definitely be back again

This is a very pleasant discovery.
We went there with a groupon offer and we were very well received.
The tasting menu is original, the food presentation is lovely and the quality is perfect.
We can’t wait to go back!

I came here on a tasting menu that I found on groupon and overall I’m super pleased with the experience with most of the credit going to the food.
When we were first seated, it was very busy in the sense that not all the seats were filled but the fact that there were not enough servers to serve the people. I swear I saw one lady run across the restaurant. I assume from all the movement the staff probably turned down the heat since I was freezing just sitting there and I wasn’t even close to the door.
It took a while to get situated and served drinks but once the tasting menu started it went very well. All of the food that came out was explained to us by the servers. My favorite part about this tasting menu was that fact that there were so many interesting elements on each dish that were put on there to compliment each other thus creating the perfect bite.
One thing to note however, is during the reservation, I had informed them that someone in my party is allergic to avocado. One one the dished that came out clearly had avocado on there. So there was a lack of communication between the host and kitchen. We had told out waiter who brought it back to have them remade. However, the funny about an open kitchen concept and with me sitting right in front of it, was the fact that I saw the chef roll eyes when the dish came back. Sorry, I’m not sorry you had to remake a dish due to an allergy we told you ahead of time.
Overall, I would come back to try some of there main dishes on their menu, but probably not right away.

Brunch was a mixed bag. The ingredients are individually great, but some of the flavor combinations were really unappetizing to me. The biscuits were delicious, but after a small taste I stayed far away from the «mint butter» that came with them. The ceviche was excellent. The ambiance exudes a desire to bring in the hip crowd. A little weird to have explicit rap blasting on a Sunday afternoon, was a little uncomfortable bringing my folks in. So I guess I’d suggest going here if you live in the neighborhood, but I wouldn’t travel out of the way for it. And I’d probably only go back for drinks and a small plate.

i wanna love this place more but i just can’t. i’m a huge fan of their sister restaurant bergamot but for some reason, bisq was just lacking in almost every area and i could only give them a 3.4 at most
two things i can commend them on are how quickly they were with bringing out food, leaving the perfect time between each of the six courses, and filling our water glasses (i should note that that is a luxury for me because i down the amount of agua that 8 camels would)
we came here with a 6 course tasting groupon. they started us off with a ceviche and when it’s the day after tomorrow weather outside, that’s the last thing i want to eat (after having downed a glass of ice water). i also came here with 3 other people and every time they brought out food, our portions and plating would all be different. i am definitely a tad detail oriented but even the guys noticed how off everything was as far as presentation and quantities of ingredients go!
i get that they tried to mix things up and bring a new spin to their charcuterie plate but adding fish sticks was not going to fly. the tartar sauce has some potential but i don’t like the idea of warm foods on that wooden board. it almost seems blasphemous. not to mention that it was seafood! this was good intention, poor execution.
my favorite thing was the dessert – it was a charcuterie of muddy buddies, pistachio macarons (the cookies tasted good despite being mismatched in size but the fruit filling was too subtle), lemon bars, some other candy jelly that was similar to marshmallows, and truffles (kind of flat tasting). the presentation was amazing and everything tasted pretty good
the cost was $ 30 per person through groupon and i understand that they take a $ 15 cut leaving bisq with just $ 15 to pocket, but that doesn’t mean it’s ok for them to send us home hungry. i wish they charged more money but gave us larger portions. by the end of it, i hadn’t felt like i was really served a dinner (i know i was served a proper dessert though). it felt like i had taken a lap around a fancy costco given how small the portions were. most of the places felt like i was eating a bunch of garnish but nothing really substantial
i’m pretty sure our waitress was brand new because she seemed pretty nervous and was dropping stuff. she sounded like she read from a script but there’s nothing wrong with any of the above since we’ve all had to start somewhere at one point. my main issue was that i specifically asked if all items being served tonight were from the menu and available a la carte and she said yes but with some modifications. i found that half of our food did not come from anything even remotely similar to normal menu items. when i asked her and the other waiter that had been bringing us food what certain ingredients or components of a dish were, they were not able to answer me
i do like that they are constantly changing up their menus though and their alcohol selection seemed pretty solid. i do think that they should offer a pairing option to go with the tasting menu because 1) why not 2) it can help them bring in more revenue from the groupon-​ers
bonus: i really liked the sliding bathroom door and general décor

Tasting menu is bad, bad, and bad. Salmon ceviche has too much lime juice. Then two more cold veggi salad dish, followed by mushroom dish. The fnal «savory» dish isca pork, which is dry like card board. Chef’s complementary dish is burnt brussel sprout,
. It is so burnt it looks like cuarcoak. We will never return to this place ever. Mostly veggie dish and bad preparation.
One more thing, each dish is literally two bites. My wife eats like a bird and she is still hungry afterwards. They advertise ths as a $ 50 per person meal compketely faulse and a total rip off.

The restaurant owner should apologize to me and my family for the following reason:
(1) false advertisement on the groupon. They didn’t deliver the advertised value.
(2) terrible combination of the dishes. I was confused for a sec if it is a vegetarian restaurant
(3) it is a total disgrace to give burnt dishes
as «chef’s complementary «dish.
(4) two chocolate thing to share among four people. You can’t be this cheap.
True, we bought Groupon for the tasting menu at $ 30 per person, but it is valued at $ 50 per person deal. I am expecting a $ 50 value per person meal instead we got nano sized dish, vegetarian delight, very dry pork thing, and two tiny chocolate thing to shared among four people. I even asked only two? They just repeated what it was. Sigh! I give up. I am a 103 pound woman and my appetite is very small. When I finish, I was only 30% full. That is how nano the portion is.
Then a burnt Brussel sprout was giving to us. It is so burnt it looks like charcoal. It is really a total disgrace .
Menu
Salmon ceviche
Cold veggie salad
Cold veggie salad again,
Mushroom ‚(veggie AGAIN, at least the first warm dish).
A small slice of pork (dry like cardboard)
A sharing plate of chocolate cereal, fruit candy and TWO pieces of chocolate something for four people
TOTAL DISGRACE

We finished up at Clover next door, had some time to kill, and stepped into bisq for a drink. The place probably has 10 tables in front, plus a bar with another half dozen seats and two more tables in the back.
We had a glass of wine and the dessert, which was presented as a charcuterie plate. I especially enjoyed the puppy chow (which they had some other name for), and overall thought the presentation was fun, if trying just a bit too hard. The bartender was nice, although he did seem overwhelmed.
The wood in the restaurant, now a requisite review category, was medium, so you know what that means: serious, food-​and-​drink-​centric, artistically presented small plates and serious wines. They did have the Edison light bulbs that all places have, but they weren’t overdone (my prediction for 2016: the Edison Light Bulb industry bubble pops. Blazing LEDs next?).
Food looked expensive, but good. The crowd inside was severe, a bit older, and looked like they were from somewhere other than Cambridge. Maybe not Newton, probably Brookline. We went on a Monday, and although we didn’t eat, there were some empty tables around 7:30, so it might still be possible to get in here early in the week without a reservation.

Bought the Groupon for the 6 course tasting menu, and went this past week. I loved all 6 courses, and it left me full but not too full.
The salmon ceviche was some of the best I’ve ever had. The pork was great, and I don’t even usually like pork. The beet salad was also really good, and I don’t usually like beets either. I thought the dessert charcuterie board was very creative and delicious.
The wine was really expensive; we ended up spending more money on wine than we had intended to, but that happens.
I would definitely recommend the Groupon for this; it’s a great deal. I will go back, but probably not for a while.

After having an amazing experience at Bergamot, I had to check out their sister restaurant Bisq. The 2 restaurants are quite different. Bisq is more of a small portion/​tapas with local ingredients and local craft beers/​wines joint. The restaurant is set up with an open dining area in the front, and small bar in the back. Make sure you dress warmly, because it’s quite chilly there. During this visit my party had the 6 course tasting menu, and I enjoyed every single dish.
1) Salmon Ceviche with Cucumbers — Such a refreshing dish and not overpoweringly sour. Really blended in well with the fresh veggies and fruit.
2) Herb Marinated Beets with Indian Spiced Yogurt — Beets seem to be a common theme between the two restaurants, but I’m not complaining! Another clean, refreshing dish!
3) Charcuterie Board with Copa, Lardo, Cured Pork, Liverworst sausage, and Blood Sausage — This was definitely my favorite course of the night. However, I did wish that they had told us they’d bring out 2 boards at the same time. I have a nut allergy so they brought out the nut-​free one first, but they didn’t tell us there’d be a second board. So the four of us shared 1 small board that was meant for the nut-​allergy peeps. However, the manager did offer to bring us a refill of some meats of our choice. There wasn’t a single thing that I didn’t enjoy on this board. My favorites were the two sausages.
4) Squash Risotto — I’m not usually a fan of risotto but this wasn’t heavy at all.
5) Butter Braised Pork Loin — For being the main entrée, I thought that this pork loin could’ve been a little better. I didn’t think the meat had enough flavor, but it was cooked perfectly. It’s really hard to cook pork so bravo.
6) Lemon and Blood Orange drops, and some hard to chew dessert– Loved both the drops, but there was this one thing that was insanely hard to eat and it stuck to your teeth. I expected a little better from the desserts
Overall a great dining experience, minus the part where we had to watch the Pats crumble to the Eagles. If I had to choose, I’d say Bergamot is better.

Bisq was a new spot that I really wanted to try. We went here with some friends for an engagement celebration. It’s a great place to go with a bunch of people because of the small plates and the community sharing of dishes. Some of the memorable dishes were: The bread and garlic so delicious, the cornbread brussel sprouts were so amazing, definetly the one of the best preparations of brussel sprouts that I have ever had. Also the much talked about shrimp toast was quite tasty. Finally, the dessert board was really good, the only beef with it was that it didn’t seem like that much for 4 people, each person had 1 bite of each thing that was on there. Overall, this is a great place for a casual feel dinner but great good. I would live to try some of the other menu items next time I come.

Heard pretty good things about this new place and strolled in to see if they can deliver. Glad to say I was very impressed. I loved coming in here with no expectations and leaving thinking wow, this can really be a culinary contender.
We went with their 6 course tasting menu (basically just smaller portions of the dishes on their regular menu) with pescatarian dietary restrictions and it was so easy for them to accommodate and so delicious!
FOOD:
Course 1 — Salmon Ceviche — Loved the fresh citrusy taste and the mixture of the cantaloupes and cucumbers added a nice crunchy texture.
Course 2 — Beets — Oh how I love beets. I even had them the night before at Babbo’s but this was even better. The yogurt dressing gave it a nice flavor and the granola seeds added a great contrasting nutty crunch.
Course 3 — Pan seared cod — Arguably the best course of the night. The crispy exterior was delicate and scrumptious and the inside nice and flaky to the fork but it was the grainy Dijon mustard based sauce that made this fish wow our taste buds.
Course 4 — Hazelnut Risotto — A nice grain course. I don’t think I’ve had risotto mixed with nuts as it’s usually cheese in my case but I must say, I’m a fan.
Course 5 — King Mushroom Carpaccio — Wowsers. I don’t think I’ve ever given King mushrooms enough credit before. Maybe it was the Asian style preparation with the peanuts and soy vinaigrette but hey, hats off to this dish. It was amazing and the perfect last main course.
Course 6 — Desert charcuterie — Sorry to say about the very last course. After 5 outstanding courses, we thought this would blow our minds. The dessert needs work but based on our overall experience with the main 3’s (service, food and décor), I won’t ding them on the rating for this minor oversight.
This one is a diamond in the rough. Come try them out. You won’t be sorry!

Bisq is a hot new restaurant in Inman Square, which is a spin off from Bergamot’s sous chef Dan Bazzinotti. It is a wine-​and-​charcuterie bar with a small plates concept and a Peruvian twist. We had an 8:30pm reservation but were not seated until 9:15pm and I am with Jerry Seinfeld on this one:
«You see, you know how to *take* the reservation, you just don’t know how to *hold* the reservation. And that’s really the most important part of the reservation: the holding. Anybody can just take them.»
THE GOOD: We started our meal off with salmon ceviche with cucumber, cantaloupe, corona beans, tiger’s milk. This dish was light and refreshing and an excellent start to our meal. The n’awlins barbecue shrimp toast followed and I highly recommend it as this was our favorite dish. The toast was crispy and crunchy and the shrimp was flavorful. The combination was quite a delight and I am going to have to say that this is Bisq’s «signature dish»
THE BAD: For our main course, we tried the chicken stuffed with chicken sausage and served with apple-​beet slaw and rocoto aioli which was our least favorite dish. It was actually was some of the most dry chicken I have ever encountered. I took one bite and suddenly lost my appetite. It lacked flavor and was so dry that I had difficulty taking it down even with a beverage. If they had served it with gravy or something maybe that would have helped a tiny bit. We also ordered the roasted Brussels sprouts with cornbread dressing, which were tasty but nothing special.
Overall, the food, service and experience were about average. The restaurant did provide us with a complementary mushroom appetizer since our table wasn’t ready on time. I wasn’t a fan of the dish but it was a kind gesture and I took that into consideration in my three star Unilocal rating for the restaurant. I would have given the place 2.5 stars if they didn’t at least seem apologetic considering 45 minutes is a long time and we were STARVING. In terms of price point, I found that most of the dishes were reasonably priced except for the chicken. At most restaurants, chicken is about $ 20 and is also much more moist and flavorful.
THE UGLY: Only at Bisq will you wait 45 minutes for a table despite having a reservation and pay $ 32 for a dry piece of chicken.

We had the 6 course tasting menu and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!
Our favorites by far was the charcuterie plate and the lamb chops! The good but not great ones in our opinion was the salmon ceviche and the dessert charcuterie (I like dessert to be less nimblely and more like a complete dessert).
We were seated by the kitchen and BY FAR the most commonly ordered items were 1) Shrimp Toast and 2) Potatoes with Eggs. I plan on trying these the next time I come!
Also, love the wine list here … tons of stuff from the Loire Valley (a Parisian waiter once told me that the best wine is from the Loire Valley and I would say that’s true!) Interestingly, the wine is actually more economical if you drink by the glass (the bottles are different and start at around $ 50 and goes up to $ 300+) and I loved the different options that they had!
We will be back!

So they say, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Well, Bisq gets aces for serving us beets and lamb (faves of my DC), and pasta (one of mine) when we came in for their 6 course tasting menus for two, which is normally $ 90, but we had come with a voucher that evening.
Bisq is located on Cambridge St, a just a block down from the Midwest Grill. We managed to find metered parking out front, and found that the narrow storefront hid great depth of space within. Their bar area is hidden in a separate space in the back, just past their individual bathrooms with sliding doors. Tall shared tables, two toppers, or at a seat along a counter by the open kitchen — take your pick!
Still or sparkling? Still for me. No bread was brought to the table, but we started with a bottle of their ginger beer, poured into a fresh glass at the table. My DC liked it lots, but as for me, it was a bit too strong a flavor.
The dishes presented to us for the 6 course tasting turned out to be mainly items from their regular menu, with the exception of the meat dish, which was their daily special offering, available for $ 30 (likely a larger portion of what we sampled).
salmon ceviche* 9
cucumber, cantaloupe, corona beans, tiger’s milk
herb-​marinated beets 7
raita, sunflower seed granola
charcuterie board
with thin sliced lardo, whipped lardo 6, chicken liver mousse 6, sausage, and a pair of lovely bites
spaghetti squash + walnut agnolotti 12
string beans, braised watermelon radish, leek fondue, aged balsamic
a most sumptuous sliced leg of lamb
dessert charcuterie 6/​person
mignardises to share
The ceviche had a bit of heat that needed some taming for this spice wimp. I personally enjoyed the pasta and lamb dishes the most, while offering props to the composed bites from the charcuterie board and the gooey lemon bar and the dipped husk tomato from the dessert board.
The same menu is available at the bar as the dining room.

Truly exceptional food. It was one of the better meals we’ve had in a long time. Casual, comfortable atmosphere with great service. Our waiter, Dan, was attentive and very knowledgeable about the food and wine. Extensive wine list with lots of reasonably priced ones.
We started with the hook up board, a selection of salamis, chicken liver pâté and whipped lardo with grilled bread. Each was really tasty. The chef clearly has a commitment to top-​notch quality charcuterie. The favorite of the night was the nduja, calabrian sausage with scrambled egg, a touch of maple syrup, tomato molasses and parmesan. A taste sensation that we’ll definitely order again (in fact, a double order). We also had 3 other small plates, mushroom carpaccio, roasted baby brussel sprouts and spaghetti squash and walnut agnolotti. Each had interesting and distinctive flavors.
We had read in one of the reviews that we had to get the dessert charcuterie board which was a dessert tasting that included chocolate salami. Each item was better than the next. We finished with delicious french press coffee.
Stunning food and we can’t wait to return.

Yummmm. I’ve been here a few times since it opened. Everything is so tasty and the menu is always changing. Must try the shrimp toasts and the Bazz hook up board. The ribs are also out of this world. For dessert get the charcuterie board– what a great idea for sharing and picking after dinner!
Service was great. Awesome space for after work drinks and sharing new foods with friends. I’ll be a regular here in no time.
Pro tip — look at the art — they rotate in local artists. Who knew?!
Perfect addition to Cambridge.