Cantab Lounge

Really enjoyed this place on a Saturday night. I picked this place because I knew they had live music and heard people danced here. I made a great choice. The Cantab it divvy but quaint; was busy but not jammed packed where you were uncomfortable. There was a $ 6 cover to get in before 10pm. I think the price for admission was worth it because the regular Saturday night band was actually very good. They played some oldies but goodies and Theresa could really hit those high notes. The bar is cash only, but that was not a problem considering it was only $ 6 for fill-​to-​the-​brim glasses of white wine. The staff was nice enough, they kept my drink full. I danced the night away. I will certainly be back.

Tuesday night is Bluegrass night. It’s something special to see a thriving Bluegrass scene so far north.

I’m only referring to Tuesday nights, which is the only day I go, because that’s bluegrass night, and it is the best place to hear bluegrass for at least 100 miles. Love it! Love the dive bar atmosphere, love that you can bring in food, love the jamming, love the great performers, love the wonderful musicians I’ve met and played with there, love Geoff Bartley for keeping it going for more than twenty years! Clickitticket names it one the 50 best live music venues in the USA, and there’s not even a cover. I miss Christine the waitperson, though…
So when I see Heather M. whining and giving only one star because brilliant musician and host Geoff Bartley told her off for not contributing to the band and saying she had no money because her boyfriend pays for everything, and then I read her other reviews for Lasik and a four-​hour hair coloring appointment, I think, wake up girl, pay for your own drinks, support the unpaid musicians who are the reason you’re there in the first place, treat Geoff with the respect he deserves, and recognize that he has an excellent point and you are a spoiled selfish brat.

Quality entertainment, a friendly atmosphere. Superb place to meet people and hear good music.

Avoid the Cantab Lounge if you don’t want to get verbally assaulted by the staff on your night out!
I was here on Tuesday’s Bluegrass Night with my boyfriend and a friend, both of whom are musicians and have performed and jammed at the Cantab many times. Geoff, the guy who runs Bluegrass Night came around with a collection hat for the band (also friends of ours). My boyfriend generally is the one carrying cash, so he dropped money into the hat, as did our friend. Geoff shoved the hat at me and started aggressively telling me to put money into it. I apologetically said that I didn’t have cash (the truth!), to which he leaned across my boyfriend, into my face and begin swearing and spitting at me. He yelled and swore at a guy standing behind me who didn’t put money in as well, and when he finally started to walk off, he turned around and screamed ‘FUCK YOU’ at us across the bar.
We were all speechless and appalled. I have never in my life been treated by someone like that, especially with so little provocation. When Geoff was confronted about his outburst, he was still aggressive, rude, and righteous. I will never go back and I urge others to stay away as well. You can read other reviews here on Unilocal describing despicable customer service and completely out of line behavior by the people who run this dump. The Cantab is only popular because of the outside talent it brings in… which it doesn’t even pay! If Geoff felt so strongly about the band getting money, he should be advocating for them to get paid by the actual venue.
This is a horrible, bad-​smelling bar that takes advantage of its musicians and abuses its patrons. Supporting our local talent in Boston is important… just please don’t do it here. You’re supporting the awful people that run this place and risking the chance of being mistreated yourself.

This is a dive bar. When you first walk in you will be concerned. Swallow your fears and hang out, it’s not as bad as it first looks. Actually, it’s great!
Awesome live music and good drink prices (CASH ONLY). The staff are all wicked friendly and the bathroom was actually clean and well stocked with toilet paper and soap. We didn’t have food as we were just there for the live music. No cover for great blue grass bands. Not sure if that’s always the case or just cause it was a week night.
I will say, while she was super sweet, the waitress was wearing this teeshirt with huge holes cut out along the sides at her love handles — not a flattering look on absolutely anyone. I just thought it was pretty unprofessional even for a dive bar.

We just went to cantab lounge with my husband and my mother. It was very loud and just not our scene. Having paid $ 20 at the entrance and having spent 1 minute at the cantab lounge we asked the guy at the door named Rich to give us our money back. He offered us some tickets to go to the lounge another night or no refund.
We are not really from the area and were surprised we cannot get our money back for 1 minute spent there.
Rich refused to help us, called us a piece of shit and was very rude. You’d be the judge of whether this place is worth visiting:-)

The least pretentious bar in Boston! My housemates and I have started frequenting Cantab ever since we moved into a place near Central. The bluegrass night is always a fav and offers a chill Tuesday night vibe. We love the Friday/​Saturday night dancing and the poetry night is excellent!
It’s a pretty divey place but seems to attract a pretty good crowd. It’s never too overrun with college students or obnoxiously drunk people so that’s always a plus!

Went to the Sunday night blues jam. it was incredible. A guy named Jay Henderson. on lead guitar and vocals. along with his brother on bass and the drummer. blew me away! Could have been Jimi Hendrix at his finest hour blowing the place away with blues to the core. Never saw anything like it. except for one time when I was about ten feet away from Albert Collins in Chicago and I could see his eyes… and hear his guitar. on fire… about 1981.

After my experience tonight I have never been more upset by service at a bar. I honestly wish I was making this story up but this is the truth.
My friend invites me out to this place to see his friends band in the basement. I arrive and pay the somewhat steep 8 dollar cover to go downstairs. I actually don’t mind the place really divey feel which is kind of refreshing from the uptight bars around Boston im used to… but honestly charging a cover for the place kind of takes away from the charm of it.
I go downstairs and see a little bar with a cash only sign above it. Luckily I took out some extra when I knew there would be a cover. I order a Sam Adams Octoberfest from the bartender. Who quickly poured me a small plastic cup. I paid, left a dollar tip and took a few sips. This is where things started to take a turn for the worse.
I could immediately tell something was wrong with the beer, either the lines were dirty or the keg had gone bad but it tasted terrible. I have had the Octoberfest many times before and I was pretty confident that I used to enjoy it. The friend who had invited me said, oh the drummer in the band also said they were bad, ill get you a PBR, and comes back with one.
There are very few times in my life when I enjoyed the taste of Pabst more than the taste of a Sam Adams but this was one of them. I walk up to the bar to inform the bartender of the bad beer, and the exchange goes something like this:
Me: Hey just wanted to let you know something is wrong with the octoberfest.
Bartender: *immediately gets extremely defensive* Theres nothing wrong with it I just had some.
Me: Theres something wrong with it, Im not asking for my money back…
Bartender: ITS FINE!
Me: Somethings wrong Im not drinking it, just get rid of it
Bartender: Not My Problem you get rid of it
Before i toss the drink in his face, I leave the beer on the bar and turn around and walk away completely stunned that someone who supposedly works for tips would react this way, I honestly was trying to tell him about a problem and help out before more people order it and he completely shuts me down.
But that’s not even the end of the story. Another friend shows up and before we think to warn her, she orders the same thing. Realizing right away that the beer is off she hands it to my friend who had invited me who takes a taste and makes a terrible face. They march up to the bar together. The bartender has the same reaction, defensive and dismissive, even pouring some for himself and taking a gulp «see nothings wrong!»
Luckily a manager comes down and my friend complains to him, he says go upstairs and get some from the tap up there. So we do so, the bouncer… who probably had about 3 brain cells left… told us it was 6 dollars just to go to the other bar. We tried to explain but he just kept repeating 6 dollars. Eventually the manager who told us to head up waved us through and we went to the bar. We again plead our case, the bartender pours us 2 octoberfests and says 12 dollars completely ignoring everything we said. Luckly we still had a cup of the offensive liquid from downstairs and it only took one sip before he gave the glasses to us no charge.
Now I could have at least given a star back because despite our difficulties we did get the beer we originally ordered. However, the bartender from downstairs, who apparently hates money, flat out refused to serve my friend after the ordeal. We are relatively reasonable people and I think considering how terrible the service was here we kept our cool and were pretty amicable. Why are you in the service industry if you hate serving people?
After talking to several other people, they all had similar experiences and ended up dumping the beer out in the bathroom because he refused to take them back. Anyway, after finishing our drinks we felt so uncomfortable staying we left, we felt really bad for the next band that had started playing because so many people had filed out… I’m sure in no small part to the friendly bartender.
So even though i didn’t mind and even enjoyed the divey atmosphere and the drinks were cheap… I never have been treated so poorly at a bar before. I can’t even fathom why the guy acted the way he did. He lost out on tips, the establishment lost out on sales, I will never return and I will be sure to discourage anyone I know considering going there,
I guess the only question left to ask is, if this is at all a normal occurrence… how the hell are they still in business?

I absolutely love this place! I’ve only been there Thursdays and Fridays, but since my first visit there hasn’t been a Friday in Cambridge that I haven’t at least thought about this place. There are two words only: Genuine Fun! Yes, it is cash only! Yes, it is dark! Yes, the staff is not going to lick you a. Yes, it has a cover! Yes, it gets crowded sometimes! And these are just some of the things that make this place one of the few places around that is as authentic as it gets… If you’re looking for a fancy, clean, neat, well-​mannered place — that’s not it! If you’re looking for some real fun, good live music and real people — don’t miss the Cantab! :)

I was really disappointed with the service at Cantab Lounge and for respect of the other patrons there at the time, I took to Unilocal and mailed a hand-​written letter.
So it was my first night back home from Afghanistan and I decided to go out to town. Cantab has had some buzz with the poetry scene so I figured-​hey why not!
Downstairs was a nice grungy setup and the staff was friendly (downstairs). I paid my cover and ordered 2 cokes (I don’t drink). After spending most of the night downstairs, I went upstairs to catch a breath and a bartender came up to me and it went like this:
Bartender: What are you having?
Me: Im all set for now.
Bartender: Are you sure?
Me: Yea, Im fine for now but thanks.
Bartender: Well, you gotta order something, you can’t just be hanging out here. This is a business.
Are you serious? It’s pretty obvious that it’s a business, don’t insult my intelligence… so my cover fee and 2 non-​alcoholic drinks doesn’t tickle your fancy? On a Wednesday with less than half a crowd? Mind you, I wasn’t even sitting at the bar. What if I was the DD out of a group of friends? Or if I downed a couple of brews downstairs beforehand? I asked the doorman who the manager was to inform him/​her of the establishment’s lack of customer service. Come to find out, the manager was actually the SAME bartender! I had high expectations but now, I will never spend a cent there and I’ll make sure none of my peers do either. If you keep reading the reviews, there are others with similar experiences to mine at this inconsiderate, incompetent-​in-​basic-​service place.

I LOVE the Cantab. Been here a few times for live music nights — sometimes there is a cover, and sometimes not. A divey place, the crowd it attracts is much different from a typical Boston bar, but… that’s good people!
The front area where stage is gets pretty packed with chairs and such — doesn’t give much room for people to stand as they’d be blocking the people sitting. Therefore people stand on the other side of the divider, which is actually worse because that’s where the bar is, and the pathway gets super crowded.
Their prices are reasonable, and service hasn’t been the best, but on Friday /​Saturday night… who’s judging that much.

In response to Maria F comment .I don’t know of one bar, restaurant or any place of business where you can go to and enjoy live entertainment free of charge and not expect to make a purchase in this case a beverage because it is a bar if your looking for free go to a library

This place is really cool! I like the jazzy bluegrassy vibe and they have open mic which is cool! I like the mojitos and the beer is also cheap which I appreciate as a poor college student:)

The Cantab is cash only.
Bluegrass night has great music but gets crowded.
I have had two very bad experiences here, both on Bluegrass night. The music is good but not worth having to interact with some of the jerks who work here– I was called rude for not giving a «donation» to the band after my friend put in a $ 5 bill for the two of us. Another time my friends and I got drinks and one of my friends didn’t order one even though the other 2 in our group did… the bartender looked her in the eye and said he would be back and she better order something because she shouldn’t be taking up space at his bar otherwise.
Wow.
That being said, they have the nicest server in the whole entire world who always runs around on bluegrass nice being helpful and kind– kudos to her for making up for the other guys enough to make me think I might enjoy myself there.
Overall…I don’t recommend.

We came here after the graduation and lots of wine as well as hefty portions of champagne with lots of friends. We wanted to check out good local music and we were amazed. Pineapple Jam played an amazing set while we enjoyed some great local brews on tap for very reasonable prices.
The venue has two rooms for music and the $ 10 cover was extremely reasonable considering how good their drink prices are. The music was loud, the energy was way up there and everyone had a blast.
If any of the other local bands that play through here sound anywhere near as good as this I would definitely recommend coming back any weekend. We were able to find parking at a lot around the block and the line to get in wasn’t a long wait.

I had an extremely bad time there.
I was there for a band’s live show, ordering a bottle of beer and listening.
When I was about to leave, I asked a man working there what I should do with the rest half bottle of beer. He was sitting outside the gate so I walked outside to ask him. After I asked:” Can I take this bottle away?” He was pretty rude and yelled something like” you are in FUCKING America!“
He yelled so crazily that his saliva splinted on my left eye.
I didn’t know what he meant so I went back and asked the guy in the bar how I would deal with that bottle, then I was told that I should give the bottle back to him.
I felt really violated and sad so I talked about this with my Lyft driver. The driver thought that guy was rude, too, and he comforted me that most American would never act like this. Then, he told me that in bars, beer bottles can not be allowed taking away from bars.
I am surprisingly angry that even a driver could tell me this rule gently, a guy working for the bar failed to do that. Instead, he yelled to me with his saliva on my eye.
I got a very bad time in the bar and I will never go there again. Even if I don’t want to sue the guy of his violence and racial discrimination coz it would take me a lot of time, I think he should be fired.

On the nights when the crowds are gone the weird still rule this place. We went last Wednesday and it was like some kind of David Lynch or Tim & Eric fever dream jam sesh of deadbeat dads. Shattered post-​middle aged men cycled onto the stage to girate and pant out rock covers. At one point the ancient keyboard player wrapped his Casio up in plastic bags and disappeared out into the street for two hours. After a few rotations it became clear that we were the only ones there not in the band.

4 stars for the Wed open mic, 3 stars for the cantab itself (I do love dive bars).
Came here on Wednesday for the Boston poetry slam’s open mic. It’s in the basement starting at 8pm — from 8−10pm it’s the open mic, then a short break, the featured poet, and then the poetry slam itself. I only stayed for the open mic. $ 3 cover to get in, taken in the basement.
We loved it! There were all kinds of people — high school kids and older people, all races and genders, etc. It felt really inclusive, also because a lot of the people clearly knew each other well — it felt like a really open and friendly community. The poetry itself was usually very good or thoughtful — of course some wasn’t as good, but everyone cheered just as loud. If it were someone’s first time performing, they cheered an extra time just for that — so I imagine it’d be a great space to begin performing!
As for location, the basement of the cantab is dark and kind of like a frat basement. Or the basement of some old church where an angry teenage band plays on weekends. There was a small stage, rows of chairs, and a bar in the back — and when we got there at 7:55 we couldn’t find a seat or a place against the wall. You can sit on the stage or the floor though. Didn’t try the drinks but they seemed cheap.
Overall, had a great time and will definitely return on Wednesday open mic nights.

This is a great place to play an open mic. The acts are usually excellent. First timers have the option to ply early. Otherwise it’s by lottery (which can run late).

I like that this is a place people head to specifically because there is live music, but man alive, that basement performance room gets crowded!
I assume the crowd here gets a bit out of control and the doorman was getting frustrated and required multiple ids for me as I’m from the far away foreign land of Rhode Island, but I get I could be some underage mob daughter infiltrating a crappy dive bar. Perfectly good fear.
Downstairs is nasty. A dark room just teeming with bodies you may or may not see before you feel them. There is a bar in the back with a lone bartender who couldn’t keep up with the walks of life bellying up to the bar on this rainy and oddly cold Saturday night. As with the rest of the establishment, cash is king down here too.
Getting into the bathroom is a bit of a feat, as you have to make it by those creeping around the side of the bar.
Once the band starts playing forget about hearing much, the sound isn’t really mixed or controlled all that well, but when a place allows pretty much any band to perform you can let certain things slide. It’s nice that there is still a jumping off point in the Cambridge music scene.

Dive bar ambience (complete with Johnny the grumpy bartender) with lounge drink prices and no food.
Performance venues and bars on main level and lower level.
Pretty good place to watch a band/​show but wouldn’t go there otherwise.

In order of awesome:
Tuesday Night Bluegrass
Everything else in Cambridge
Seriously, if you’ve never been, go! Be warned the bar is cash only and, though there is no cover, you are expected to donate when they pass the hat.

2 stars because the full blown tantrums from the door guys were at least entertaining. Customer service isn’t for everyone, nor is math.
But seriously, it’s not 1996, what kind if establishment is cash only?

I spent a summer in Kentucky, and ever since then I’ve had a strange appreciation for bluegrass music. So if I ever find myself in Central on a Tuesday night (which is surprisingly often), I make sure to stop by Cantab. It seems like many people have the same idea, as the dark, crowded space is definitely the place to be. There’s no cover, affordable beer, and some solid foot-​stomping music. Sounds like a good time to me. I recommend getting here on the early side (around 9) to grab a seat or standing space with a view of the stage.
There’s typically an opening act as well as a headliner, so the music continues until around 1 AM (although I’ve never stayed that long. It is a school night, after all). The night has a laid-​back vibe and is the ideal intro for anyone who hasn’t yet experienced this musical style.
Although Boston is nowhere close to this music’s motherland, the bands are often casually clad in jeans, beards, and flannel, giving the experience an authentic vibe. I’ll admit, I’ve only ever been to Cantab Lounge on Tuesdays, so I can’t comment on different nights. But if I can get a weekly dose of bluegrass on an otherwise uneventful night, I’m very happy. Thanks for spicing up my Tuesdays, Cantab!

Dear The Cantab,
«I wanna thank you, for letting me be myself… again!»
Both a wonderful song to dance to at the cantab and the truth. Whether your having a knee slapping good time at Tuesdays Bluegrass or moving and grooving with the Chicken Slacks, the Cantab is always a great time.
The drinks are modestly priced, the music is great, and the people are pretty swell too.
Bring cash, as its cash only.