Catalyst Restaurant

Dear Catalyst,
I appreciate that you are a high-​end restaurant in Kendall Square. What I don’t appreciate is that high-​end = a multiple hour lunch. We are not in France. And when my boss who is literally from France gets antsy, you know it’s bad. Let me tell you, lunch = less than 1 hour. I hope you start to get this. I can’t continue to live this way. I have experiments I need to deal with and I can’t let a 2+ hour lunch get in the way. Please fix this. Otherwise we and other scientists in the area will need to part ways with you.
Best,
Jessica

WOW! Came here for brunch on Sunday with a 12:30 pm reservation for two and was SO IMPRESSED.
When we first walked in, we were shocked how large the restaurant and bar were. We also saw many others table with enormous bloody mary’s.
Upon sitting, we immediately looked at the blood mary options. You get a huge mason jar (1L) bloody for 15 dollars and can customize it (i.e. alcohol, spicy mix, lime, lemon, horseradish, blue cheese stuffed olives, cream cheese stuffed olives, jalapeño, pickles included; meats, cheese are extra). We each ordered one of these.
For food, we split the panko-​crusted french toast and the american breakfast. The american breakfast was really something else — succulent bbq chicken hash with perfectly prepared eggs on top and just-​right crunch ratio for the toast. The panko french toast resembled the taste of a fried dough; it had some whipped cream and fresh bananas on top. I wish it came with more bananas on top. It was pretty sweet so I am glad we split the dishes to try each.
The bloody’s came right before the entrees. I wish they came out a little after ordering them and not right before the entrees, but everything was still finished.
Great food, service, and overall experience here. Can’t wait to bring friends for brunch and also try dinner.

Found a shard of metal in my burger — staff barely even acknowledged it, pretty unacceptable.
$ 7 for a badly pulled espresso is daylight robbery.
Pity, rest of the meal wasn’t awful.

Okay… so it takes a lot for me to go from a 1 star experience to a 4 star experience. But here goes…
About a week after posting my not so nice review I got an email on Unilocal from our server. He had a few choice words to say to me (which I won’t share, because I’m a lady)… I immediately followed up and sent this message to the general manager. It was late, around 10:00 PM. Within an hour I had received emails from both the general manager and the chef/​owner of this restaurant. They both apologized profusely and assured me the situation would be handled. They were just as appalled as I was, by both our experience and our waiter’s reaction. In addition, the owner made a point to call me after work today to discuss not only how we felt, but also to tell us what he was doing to ensure that nothing like this would ever happen again.
It takes a lot for a business to own up and say, «we screwed up, but this isn’t us and we can do better.» As someone who used to fly United and is a still a Comcast customer, I am familiar with the attitude of «I’m sorry you’re upset we screwed up, but we aren’t going to do anything about it.» The response from the great leadership team at Catalyst was a welcome change to our typical customer service experience.
Okay, Catalyst, you messed up the first time, but thank you for owning up and trying to do right by us. We’ll call this a customer service win.

Pricey classy modern Brooklyn inspired cavernous restaurant.
service adequate. portions small.
food ok. price high for Brunch.
tried $ 11 mimosa of the day. tasty. grapefruit prosecco St Germaine. easy.
I am not a Bloody Mary lover but they had a double size they served to the table next door which looked like a gallon serving. they must be known for this as they have a lot of variations on Bloody Mary possible.
$ 5 cappuccino with soy the smallest I have ever seen. looked like an espresso cup. good but even Starbucks is more generous.
Brunch shared fried panko breaded French toast with bananas foster and carne asada.
French toast tasty but ratio to crunch exterior and soft interior off– needed thicker slices. skimpy banana portion. 4 half slices of toast.
carne asada room temperature simple dish one baby poached egg with nice ripe tiny slices of avocado. star of plate was perfect rich moist cornbread.
brunch options overloaded for savory — nothing sweet except French toast.
overall might come here to see if lunch or dinner better mainly because décor appreciated and perhaps brunch is not their forte.
But would pass on brunch here again.

Mediocre food, high prices, sterile atmosphere. The only real plus is that they have a decent drink selection, and most of the bartenders are a skilled and friendly bunch.

This place has a cool vibe. Went there today for a lung meeting, had the fish tacos. They were a bit spicy (which I like). The waiter substituted French fries for Brussel sprouts which were good but salty.

I really liked this restaurant, minus the fact that the service was a bit slow. Plan to be here longer than expected. Décor is very modern and I definitely think this would be a cool place to hang and catch up with friends over good conversation.
I didn’t even know of this restaurant, but my friends family was in town and they took us out to eat. We started off with drinks and we ordered some «undecided» drinks, which is essentially the bartenders choice. They started us off with some bread and a butter-​olive oil combo, which was interesting, but delicious because we were starving.
We ordered the potato puffs, which comes with smoked paprika aioli… And wow these were amazing. It was like a fried puff ball of mashed potatoes. Between my friend and I, we shared the tournedos of beefs and the bucatini pasta. They both were delicious! I loved that the beef was cooked perfectly and was very flavorful. The kale that came with it was a little salty. The pasta was al dente and the flavors of the mushroom brought out some great tastes to the dish.
We ended with a dessert to share: olive oil ice cream and the a chocolate brownie dessert. I don’t think I really liked the olive oil ice cream, it was ever so slight, but a little weird. The chocolate dessert was yummy, but very chocolate-​y.
Overall, aside from the service being slow, great experience here! I would come back and try other things on the menu!

Three of us came for dinner on a Monday evening. The restaurant is spacious and airy, with extremely dim lighting. Huge floor to ceiling windows all around. We were seated in the booths beyond the generous bar area.
Our table ordered Catalyst fries and a Chiogga beet salad to start. The fries were solid with a side of ketchup that had smokey kick which was a nice touch. For the main course, I ordered the cavatelli with braised lamb neck. The homemade pasta was perfectly chewy and well-​coated with a marsala-​style sauce that was on the heavier side. The addition of diced turnips to the pasta added a pleasant crisp texture and helped offset the heaviness of the sauce. The squash ravioli and roasted cod were ordered by my friends. The fish was well roasted, and juicy, with a chowder as sauce that was on the creamier side. Overall, the meal was tasty, though a little underwhelming with no dishes or flavors standing out in particular.
Service was nice though a bit on the sparse side. Our main courses were slightly delayed coming out which was surprising as the restaurant did not seem busy, with only a handful of other guests seated at tables.
Unfortunately, as we are finishing up our bill, I saw a small round ball scurrying across the dining area. Its path was out in the open enough that I had time to do a double take and make sure that indeed it was a mouse, little tail behind and all. The sighting was mentioned to the host as we exited the restaurant, who assured us they would look into it.

If you’re coming here from Broadway downward and not from Main, you might miss this place. I came here for a wedding reception, not really knowing what to expect and what we’d have for dinner that night. The entrance was a little dark, with a fireplace nearby. The décor was somewhat intimate, but modern at the same time. The reception room itself was well-​lighted and airy enough to not feel constricted.
The first course of salad was fine, nothing too special. The thinly-​sliced granny smith apples did not offend, as its tartness didn’t over-​power the salad. The second course of lobster ravioli was fairly nice. The filling was okay, with a passable lobster taste to it. However, the pasta was delicate and cooked properly., not to mention it wasn’t too thick as well. Ravioli that’s too thick and starchy can cause a sad face. The roasted artichokes somewhat cut into the richness of the ravioli.
The beef tournados was surprisingly excellent and the best part of the meal. The tenderloin was cooked at a reasonable medium. I generally like my meat medium rare but this medium was fine. The butter on top gave the beef a velvety finish. The creamed kale was a nice variation of creamed spinach, with the former having a bit more of an earthy bitterness than spinach. The cream wasn’t too thick, yet not watery like some creamed spinach offerings I’ve had in the past.
Service was polite and prompt. The staff definitely did a venerable job handling this reception. I’d consider this spot for a date night.

If there was the possibility of zero stars for this well-​upholstered dump, I’d give it that. Brought the family here at 10 on a Sunday morning. First clue was when we were asked if we had reservations from a young woman standing in front of a completely empty establishment. Clue 2 dropped when it took the pretentious snob of a «waiter» 20 minutes to bring us a bottle of warm tap water. Start to finish was 2 hours for an over-​priced, under-​cooked catastrophe of a breakfast. DO NOT GO!

We came here with a gilt city deal. I like both the service and food.
The bartender is a skilled mixologist. We just told him what spirit and taste I like and he just crafted two perfect drinks for us. I would come back just for the cocktails alone.
The food was great too. We ordered the buffalo duck strips, which is quite unique. The mushroom homemade pasta is one of the best I had. Just the perfect amount of sauce, high recommended. For main entrees, we got cod and beef. Both are good but not memorable.
Tip: come on Sunday if you prefer less crowd. They have lounge couches by the fireplace, perfect for a night drink.

First visit to this restaurant and we enjoyed ourselves. Here’s the run down:
Nice ambiance. Cool décor. almost wish we weren’t seated right away since it would be nice to hang in the bar area where there’s a big fireplace.
Good drink menu. Not a huge selection of wines by the glass and a bit on the pricey side, but I liked the Malbec. Decent beer options too.
Bread was decent. The whipped butter bowl with olive oil was cute but would prefer olive oil with some spices.
Menu was not huge but very interesting and I wanted everything on it.
My husband got the burger, which was really good beef, cooked to perfection and aside from being a bit too big to fit into his mouth, was a great choice. He liked the condiment accompaniments and the fries.
I got the blue cod, which is their signature dish. It was very nice … a big piece of thick fish, nestled on top of a potato, chowder, baconish mélange. Nothing I’d write home about but pretty yummy.
For desert, we split a new item that was a chocolate pudding type cake thing with a sprinkling of a pistachio mixture next to a small scoop of olive oil ice cream. It was a good combination … light and only a touch of sweetness. The olive oil ice cream really tasted like vanilla … good though. Maybe a touch of sea salt chef?
Good waitress. Water pourers kept our water glasses full. Nice place!

If you are looking to drive your business into the ground – you must absolutely contact Catalyst management! They will assist you in driving away business in a hot second and can outline each step to take. Step 1. Post a deal on GiltCity to «drive new business to your establishment» Step 2. Don’t notate restrictions on the voucher but insist that customers can’t use them on the day they go and be confused about which days you do allow vouchers. (Previous reviews say the «manager’ said they couldn’t use them Saturday but we were told yesterday it was only for Saturday and Sunday – again if you’re trying to grow your business-​pick the busiest nights to lure that new business in ;)). Step 3. Take your frustration for a mistake your vendor may have made out on customers and refuse to honor their voucher. Not only do you lose business doing this and people think you are bat-​shit nuts for chasing business out of your establishment but you have created a killer marketing campaign of people who will tell everyone they know not to go to your restaurant. Work itttt! Step 4. Make sure you hire management who is rude, can’t own mistakes and can’t think 2 steps ahead in terms of what that backlash will look like to ensure you tank all business development efforts that were made. You guys rock that counter productive effort like I have literally never seen. I then battled it out with the manager (gotta practice that fake apology more) with the fact that Gilt has made mistakes before and almost immediately issues a retraction to all people who purchased it and they never did so that’s on Catalyst. Keep in mind everyone – they were refusing the take the voucher when the place was EMPTY on a Friday night. After being treated like crap by the manager and getting them to take the voucher she had the audacity to come and pitch the «power lunch» and brunch — we literally had to hold back from laughing in her face it was so pathetic and unwarranted.
Food – husband pegged it –«It’s like airplane food!” — my god it is. Tiny portions, unseasoned, lacked any punch flavor-​wise and it all made sense why it was empty while A4 across the lawn was completely sold out (clearly not a location issue).
Service – waitress was in a tough spot and her hands were tied with the voucher but she tried to make an effort (we tipped her 20% given she has nothing to do with the extreme incompetence of management). The other servers lacked grace and poise delivering dishes and literally took a plate from my husband while he was still finishing his food.

The goat cheese ravioli is so so good. Also the beef ribs were crispy and amazing.
Good selection of drinks available too.
Nice atmosphere. Great service.

In a wonderful location, with a cool looking bar and restaurant its hard not to be successful here, i’ll have to go back and try more food as the beef rib special app i had was not good. The rib was difficult to eat, couldn’t get the meat off the bone as the sinew was so tough. The blue fish pâté was nice though and the bread is delicious, i think some of the drinks are a little overpriced along with the food, but your in the middle of Cambridge so you expect to pay premium prices.
I’m sure i’ll head back at some point, i hear good things about Catalyst, i will just have to try something else and report back later!

I’ve only been here for business lunches, but it is always a solid choice and is impressive to whoever you bring. The lunch prices are incredibly reasonable (in the $ 10-​$ 16 range) considering the atmosphere. Their menu changes every month or so, and they often have specials. The spaciousness makes it very comfortable, however the food can sometimes be a tiny bit underwhelming.
The bolognese pasta I had here was extremely rich and flavorful, while the sriracha lemonade I sampled was unique and habit-​forming (and I’m not one of those sriracha addicts either). On the other hand, my roasted cod today was underflavored (though good texture), and the desserts I’ve had here so far have been too heavy (very large bricks of chocolate). I would give the food a ~3.5, but the overall rating gets a bump up for the atmosphere.
Overall, solid choice for a meeting or a date, and one of the many great fancy places in the Kendall area. However, there is steep competition in Cambridge over this sort of modern American /​European gourmet food and I’m not sure if this place would quite rank in the top-​5 because of minor misses with some dishes. I’m curious to see how this place develops.

Stopped in for a late night ‘light bite’ and had the Watermelon Salad with Crispy Pork Belly — Delicious and hit the spot! Love the décor and great service. It’s a nice gem in Kendall Sq and a little pricey, but overall great place to eat. I’d like to come back and try some other things there in the future — can’t wait!

Catalyst was a blind Unilocal find by a coworker. I don’t have a whole lot to report, other than it seems to be a sort of upscale American place. The menu seems to be the kind of stereotypical fancy that I kind of expect with these kind of places — unusual vegetables, unique ingredients, but all surrounding a somewhat traditional meat.
I went simple — just a burger. I’d say the burger was… OK. Not spectacular, not bad. It didn’t have a ton of flavor, but it was cooked nicely, just a tad south of medium, so definitely not overdone and quite tender. It came with bacon, cheese, and sauteed onions, all of which were good, and the fries were tasty (if not even a tiny bit oversalted).
Others reported good results with the chicken and the beef tornadoes, although the chicken serving seemed quite generous and the beef serving quite small. To be expected, I suppose.
Our service was… fine. Not particularly involved, but definitely not lacking either. I honestly am having trouble even remembering the wait staff, at this point, and the meal was just earlier this evening. So you can decide on whether that’s good or bad, just depends on whether you want to make friends with your waiter. Prices kind of ranged — the burger was significantly less expensive that the rest of the menu, but still a little pricey for a burger at $ 16. I’d come back and try something else, as there was really nothing wrong here, but I’d probably also try other spots in the area before that.

Organized a large group dinner here, and definitely had to jump through some hurdles.
I called in about a week in advance to set a group of 15 for a Saturday night dinner. I was able to get my information in, but pretty much right away it was an uphill battle. The woman on my phone kept getting my information wrong. I had to repeat my credit card number (for the reservation) literally 5 times before she finally got all the numbers. Things like my name, email, date and time all had to be confirmed at least 3 times before I could be sure they were correct (there were mistakes every time).
I was told that for parties larger than 9 they had to arrange a set menu — totally fine. I’m told that they’ll contact me either the night of or the next day to arrange the menu. The night passes — no contact. The next day passes — also no contact. I call them again the day after and am assured that I will be contacted very soon.
I proceed to call in every single day that week, because no one ever reaches out about arranging the menu. One of the hostesses was actually quite rude, dismissing me by saying something along the lines of «we’ll contact you eventually, stop calling, we’re too busy because we are doing full dinner service right now.» Okayyyy…
I call in the night before, and finally get through — apparently there had been some personnel changes and my reservation had slipped through the cracks. Arranged the menu on the phone right away — why couldn’t this have happened the four other times I called? Opps, Catalyst…
When we got there, dinner service was pretty good. The food was definitely decent, and their prices are very reasonable. However, the service was SLOOOOOOWWWWWW. It literally took 20 – 30 minutes at least between courses, and our entire party spent a lot of the dinner sitting around twiddling our thumbs. Our dinner starting at 5pm did not end until past 8pm. I thought the whole point of having a smaller menu for large groups was that they could get the food out faster? There is no reason a four course dinner should take more than three hours. Throughout the dinner, we were constantly asking them about status updates and asking them if they could speed it up. The worse part was the restaurant was not even very busy during most of the time we were there.
The food was pretty good, which is what’s redeeming them one extra star. I can see myself coming here and really enjoying dinner, but I would avoid if you had a large group or some kind of event.