Charlie’s Kitchen

This is true to form dive bar. It’s dirty, it smells, the bathrooms are uni-​sex, the people are a little rough, and the food is pretty great. The cheap drinks make it all worth it. The menu is extensive, so if you’re looking for a good dive bar burger (or $ 13 double lobster rolls… yup, you read that right!) this is a good place to check out. People watching is a must, because the characters that show up at this place are definitely one of a kind.

We were heading to the Chuck Ragan show at The Sinclair, and wanted a cheap, quick dinner beforehand… I got a lobster burger, and my husband got a cheeseburger with bacon. What you see is what you get. Divey as F%&K on the outside, divey on the inside. Food was decent. Lobster burger was nothing to go crazy about, yet for a local dive– there were actual REAL chunks of lobster claw and tail in the patty. Not bad there… My husband’s burger was good, not pretty or anything, it was sloppy and it hit the spot. The waiter was super nice, bonus points for that guy… We would visit again, as we have in the past. No frills, no BS, just decent gut-​filling food that won’t kill your wallet!

This is a thin double cheeseburger washed down by a cheap beer kinda spot. I got the double cheeseburger for $ 6 which was delicious. If you’re a burger snob stay away. This was just what I wanted from a «double cheeseburger» kind of place. Talk to boy bud heavy’s are only $ 3. Price is good and the food is delicious. No complaints here but not gonna take mom and dad here.

Great place for casual burgers and beer. The beer garden is really fun place to hang out once the weather gets warm enough to sit outside. Can be noisy and busy.

One of our favorite places on Harvard Sq. The food is great and they’re open late (for Boston). Favorites: steak tips with sweet potato fries.
The only downsides are that it gets really noisy on the weekend and the price is definitely not 1 $ sign!

This place is truly, truly nothing special. Average food, a beer list, the usual. It’s nice that they have a decent veggie burger and couple of other options. The beer fries are crispy, how I like them. and yet, I still find myself unsatisfied at the end of an experience there. Waitstaff was a bit brisk as well. So la di da whatever.
The inside diner vibe is weird when you go at night and the music is raging and college kids are slinging back drinks on the cutesy stools. Outside, however, if you come early and can snag a table is a totally different experience with a nice patio space and relaxing atmosphere.
Only advice? Come during the summer, sit outside, only order drinks.

I was walking along Winthrop and heard a bunch of chatter from below the street. Looked down and I saw a biergarten style patio that I had to check out. Tables everywhere, and large groups here and there. There’s a tiny tiny bar, but thankfully a hostess makes her way around the tables. Students everywhere, so I wasn’t exactly out of place when I wanted to pop open the textbooks. I would make the most friends at Harvard from this bar, so that’s my lasting memory. Sign out front said 7 dollar burger and fries and that just pretty much sold me.
-=-Burger and Fries-​=- Very no frills standard tasting burger. It tasted like something out of a work picnic. I really was confused after that first bite and wondered if it came out of a Weber grill. Fries would fare a little bit better, but not much more. Ketchup is the answer to all your questions. I’m a rare complainer, but I had the worst stomach aches after eating here. Maybe just a bad batch, but man that got me good.

We visited in November, it was a perfect to hangout in the beer garden. The food and service was awesome and the beer was on point. Try the grilled cheese double cheese burger. Wow, it was amazing. You get the feel of a local pub that is all about the beer and food. Give it a try, enjoy.

The epitome of a dive bar. Super grimey and full of hipsters but that’s not necessarily bad if you’re into that sort of thing (my friend’s definitely are). The food is pretty good for the price — the lobster roll was definitely not as flavorful and filled with lobster as many other places around but what do you expect when you can get two for a total of $ 13? They have a bunch of cheap drink options too. Charlie’s is fine, the beer garden is nice is the summer, but I feel like it calls for a certain kind of night/​mood.

I like this place. They serve my fav. beer «Carlsberg». Good prices, service and Yes! Delicious food

Charlie’s is a casual, divey joint where I can reliably get a diner-​good tuna melt and fries with a draft beer. What’s not to like?
I prefer to sit upstairs at the bar or in the beer garden, weather permitting. Inside, the jukebox is free and bartenders are helpful about tuning the tvs to your sports game of choice. Outside, you’re going to be more hit-​or-​miss on the sportswatching (although there ARE tvs), but you’re outdoors, which is nice. The tap selection is pretty decent and goes well beyond your Bud-​Miller-​Coors (thank goodness).
I don’t recommend Charlie’s for a first date or a business dinner, but it’s pretty great if you want to spend short money on delicious greasy food and beer.

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fyi mice can be found at this establishment in the beer garden patio. search reviews within this Unilocal page to confirm other sightings. if mice don’t bother you, then this is a good place for reasonably priced burgers/​bar food for the area. somewhat large variety of beer selections

Terrible in every sense of that word.
I don’t mind the fact that it took legit 10 full min to get our menu. I can totally get past by that. I understand how difficult it is to be under-​staffed during busy hour so I can be reasonable in that regard.
What really set my alarm off was we saw a huge rat casually just walking around on the floor. It went under one of the tables and never came back out and it was the table that people were sitting on to eat their food. I can tolerate a lot of things but that was the last straw. Had to just leave. NEVER COMING BACK HERE AGAIN!

If you haven’t been here, def go check it out!
Great place to stop in and grab a bite or a drink whether you prefer to sit indoors or outside on their patio. With friends in Boston, Cambridge, Watertown, etc. it’s very easy for everyone to get to, and this is our ‘go to’ meeting place when we attend the Head of the Charles. Very relaxed atmosphere, good food and beer selection.

What a great little place. My buddy and I were looking for a late dinner, and we were recommended to Charlie’s by a friend.
We got:
Double cheeseburger and fries
Lobster rolls
Mozza sticks
Beer battered fish and chips
The food was super good, especially considering the price. The burgers were juicy and tasted exactly like a BBQ. So good! The atmosphere was also awesome (wicked music too!). Definitely worth checking out if you’re around the Harvard area!

As my first experience in Boston being taken around by some locals, this place was the perfect introduction to not-quite-but-let’s-just-call-it-Boston. We walked down into the beer garden out back and found a seat surprisingly quickly (we lucked out I think). Great beer specials of things I had never heard of before, and burgers on burgers on burgers. Oh, and a specialty menu with about 15 more burgers. Jesus. Can’t a guy get a lobster roll?
Of course you can. You can everywhere. Silly question.
Anyways, we all got burgers. The lady got a salmon burger, and I got one of their specials. I would review it, but it probably wouldn’t provide any real insight to anybody since it’ll most likely be gone by the time you get there. But it was definitely good! And yes, everybody is right, get their waffle fries, they’re worth it!
Overall, I think you go to this place for the ambiance. It’s a really cool place, and I can’t recommend their beer garden enough. It’s a fun space, not too big, and a great hangout in the heart of Harvard!

Natalie Portman got seated at a table next to me one Saturday afternoon in July 2008 where she appeared to be catching up with her friends from Harvard, and I had to keep my (then) boyfriend from keeling over now that his life was complete.
Charlie’s has an air of nostalgia to me. While I may not be old, I have memories of Charlie’s ranging back to a decade or so when I was a wannabe punk kid hanging out in Harvard sq and trying to be a vegetarian.
Like those days, Charlie’s isn’t exactly the cleanest or more pristine place. The food isn’t full of substance or care to go on and on about (but I will, and others will too).
Don’t go to the bathroom here. Have an escape plan or wait till you’ve had too many beers to care. The tables are clean enough, and I haven’t spotted a mouse *inside* the establishment.
The waitstaff does their job, my most recent server didn’t even write down our order as we were likely the only people eating close to 11pm on a Sunday. The jukebox churned out a steady stream of ’77 style punk and the neon proudly glowed. Our food came super quick, and my companion was pleasantly surprised at his crab cake and waffle fry plate, which frankly made me honest at first.
The menu has a nice little chunk of veggie friendly items, and food for the more carnivorous amongst us. I’ve had my fair share of tuna melts and veggie wraps, all with their perfectly cooked shoestring fries. This time around I went for the veggie Reuben and it was good, really good. The bread was crisped up perfectly on the grill and the sauerkraut and dressing didn’t make the Sammy a wet mess.
Don’t expect AAA diamond food here or sanitary bathrooms and you’ll likely love this dive too.

Solid 3.5÷5
We got the prime lobster topped burgers and creamy tomato soup.
The server was really nice and friendly and the
a/​c cold inside!
The burgers both a a good deal of lobster on them, especially for $ 13.
They were cooked good and they subbed a salad instead of grains.
We will be back to try some other burgers for sure.
See Photos.

This is easily the single most awesome bar to which I have ever had the pleasure of venturing on Friday night after a hard week’s work. The food is not exactly first-​class, but then again it is dive bar food, so what do you expect? I especially love the beer fries and waffle fries, particularly to supplement those big juicy hot dogs. If you have a big enough stomach, get the double! These dogs are if super high quality! I am also quite fond of the mozzeralla sticks and calamari; my best friend and I are always sure to get at least one of these as our appetizer.
The beer is priced very fairly also, depending on what kind it is, and the staff are very attentive. This place does get very busy on weekends, and they do the best they can accommodate. I have worked at restaurants before, so I would know. Dikshawn (did I spell that right?) and Lila are the BEST!
My best friend and I have also found this place to be an ideal means of getting away from the mainstream scene just to rock it out, and crank up the jukebox with some Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Slayer, etc. and not have to hear any of that stupid, generic, pointless pop dance or rap garbage that is being slammed through peoples’ heads on a regular basis. Plus, it’s always fun to scare away any wimpy, yet stuck-​up preppies who think they can come in here and ruin us rockers’ fun with any of that stupid mainstream trash… priceless!
Bottom line — if you are looking to «get down on the dance floor» then you can forget about coming to Charlie’s Kitchen! You are going to LOSE! GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!!! We don’t want your kind here, because Charlie’s is the type of place where we anti-​mainstream folks come to get away from people like you! There are PLENTY of bars in Cambridge that will be more than happy to have you play your generic pop dance garbage, but Charlie’s IS NOT one of them! Thank you!
All in all, with the food, the drinks, the crowd (particularly my fellow regulars Bob and Steve — you know who you are!), the scene… it’s all there and great, and I would strongly recommend this place to anyone who wishes to unwind and get away from the mainstream scene. Also worthy to note is that this where my best friend and I have had the pleasure of doing a Blues Brothers dance impersonation to «Gimme Some Lovin» on Halloween night of 2014, invoking laughter in many. Ever since then, our tabs have been marked with the name «Blues Bros» — HILARIOUS!
Oh, and to Ian B. — As I have said, we don’t want your kind here, so don’t even bother coming here again! As I have said, Charlie’s is the type of place where we anti-​mainstream folks come to get away from people like you. Not having scum like you or your GF around is what makes Charlie’s an awesome place. Thank you!

Very fun spot for drinks and late night food! Came here with a pretty large group of people, some of us sat in a booth and got food and others say at the bar! Food is well priced and portions are pretty good, and hey have a nice variety of options. The beer garden is super fun, it was kinda chilly when we went but I can see it being a great spot in the summer.
Just a note: it does get kinda busy during peak hours, but the rush doesn’t really last, if you are patient enough to wait for a seat you’ll get served quickly.

Charlie’s Kitchen has been around for quite a while, so you should really check it out since it’s a local favorite.
I got the lobster roll, while my friends got a cheeseburger and a milkshake. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of the lobster roll because it had celery in it (which I hate), but as far as lobster rolls with celery in them go, it was pretty decent. The fries are also quite good, as are the other selections.
The servers here are also really friendly, and they have a really good selection of beers and other alcohol, so make sure you try something you haven’t had. They also have televisions here, so if you want to catch a sports game or something, this is a good bet.

Charlie’s Kitchen offers the most bang for your buck in Boston when it comes to lobster rolls. Double lobster rolls for $ 13 with a side of fries located in the heart of Harvard Sq.
+++The fries was crack. Was one of the best I’ve had in Boston. The bf devoured all of his fries before eating his rolls and ate off of mine as well. Hot with a crispy outer crunch.
++There were 1 – 2 big claw chunks of lobster per roll, however most were on the smaller/​chopped end. Fresh celery and lettuce mixed.
–More investment needs to be taken regarding interior décor. We initially intended to sit inside, but the dingy lighting and aged booth seats was not attractive so out in the patio we sat. Table was wobbly and the wooden wall acting as a divider between the sidewalk and the dining area had a bee buzzing occasionally around due to the presence of modest plants.

I want it like this place but every time I eat here I’m so under impressed.
Last time I got the lobster role. It was fine. A cold lobster salad made in light mayo placed in a unbuttered, untoasted bun. Nothing fabulous. The cole slaw is solid: creamy with a light spicey thing going on. Their fries are shoe string fries which are fine but they don’t come salted… In fact, the flavor factor here is bland to the max. The clam chowder was watery and had almost no clams but a ton of potatoes (which were sliced too big to eat in one easy bite.) the flavor was not bad but not good because it had no flavor. I had to add a ton of salt and pepper just to get through it.
Today I ate lunch here and order the fish and chips. The fish was nondescript white fish. maybe catfish? It had literally no seasoning on it! Not even salt and pepper! It didn’t come with lemon slices either or a cocktail sauce. I had to hunt down the staff for a few lemons… I was too embarrassed to ask for cocktail sauce even though I desperately wanted it.
I am not a big drinker but it seems like that’s all it’s good for: drinking late night. Just make sure you’re wasted when you eat here I guess. /:

Mischung aus Burgerladen, Kneipe, Sportsbar, Biergarten, Studententreff.
Der Laden war knackevoll, als wir da waren, im Biergarten keine Chance nicht mal nen Stehplatz zu bekommen. Die Atmosphäre ist laut, fröhlich, jung, unkonventionell, locker. Um ein lustigen Abend mit Freunden zu verbringen und leckere Burger zu essen, fand ich es ideal, (aber) viiiiele Studenten.
In der Gegend ist lobster ja DAS Gericht, da habe ich mich nicht so wirklich rangetraut, an das Gepule usw. Dafür gab es hier nen lobsterburger, so mag ich lobster! :-)