Inman Square

They’ve got movie nights! Tons of fun, tons of kids at Labyrinth… seemed like some parents didn’t know what they were in for because they left.
The free food that was served was great and makes me want to go back and try more places.

Christina’s Ice Cream
Christina’s Spice Shop
Punjabi Daba
the Druid — lively pub with live fiddle music
Lilypad for jazz
1369 Coffeehouse, the original.
and a cool bookstore

Love this place! One of the cutest areas in Boston/​Cambridge area. Really reminds me of the type of picturesque places you could see in SF or Austin or just any town with characters. The signs and buildings are old timey and plenty of places to eat, drink and be merry over all. Also indie coffee shops galore!

Alcohol. Food. Coffee. Brunch. Hardware store. (Not necessarily in that order).
Inman Square has everything you need.

I’m going to call Inman Square one of the coolest neighborhoods in the country. I’ve seen a pretty good amount of the country, and most of it is far, far less cool than Inman Square.
Living there makes you feel like you’re part of a family. Shopping there makes you feel like you’re in the 50s (in the best possible way), and eating there will fill you up with some of the best food you can eat in town.
I love you, Inman Square.

I love Inman Square!
So many good bars:
1. Trina’s Starlite Lounge (great drinks and friendly bartenders)
2. Thirsty Scholar (Cheap and you can always find a seat)
3. The Druid (GREAT fish and chips, nice Irish live music)
4. Ryles (listen to a live band while you have a drink!)
5. The Ginger Exchange (Good sushi and drinks)
6. Bukowski Tavern (very interesting beer… that I actually like!)
7. Ryles (Great music and a good crowd)
So many good restaurants:
1. Olé Mexican Grill (Fine mexican dining and make your own salsa)
2. Oleana (It gets 4.5 stars on Unilocal with more than 400 reviews.)
3. East Coast Grill (The mahi mahi and plantains make me so happy)
4. City Girl Café (Hipster joint with ridiculously good food)
5. S & S Restaurant (Best Monte Cristo I’ve ever had)
6. Punjabi Dhaba (Cheap and OMG delicious Indian food)
7. Midwest Grill (YOU WILL NOT LEAVE THIS PLACE HUNGRY)
8. All Star Sandwhich Bar (Best sandwiches in the world. seriously)
For dessert, try Christina’s Ice Cream. They use spices from their spice store next door. I’m not a huge ice cream fan, but this ice cream is AMAZING! (Try burnt sugar.)
Okay, and then head to Inman Oasis after for a massage.
Did I mention there’s a grocery store in Inman Square (extremely cheap and carries wine/​beer.)
Oh, wait there’s a Whole Foods close by too!
Lots of locals, lots of fun. Come on by!

I like this square. It’s often forgotten, and sometimes people don’t even know it exists!
It is home to S&S, 1369, my insurance broker, HESS, KFC, Tupelo, and various other fine establishments. You can take a nice walk though the square in the summer, eat dinner and grab ice cream at Christina’s — and it offers much less congestion on the sidewalks than the neighboring squares.
There is ample parking, and it caters to those of us who have Somerville parking stickers, and Cambridge parking stickers too. There really isn’t anything better than free parking…

One of the coolest areas in Boston Cambridge area. A short walk to get to Inman but soo worth it for all it offers! cafes, bars, shopping, everything local.

Inman Square is a pretty rad place on the Somerville/​Cambridge line easily walkable from the Central Square stop on the redline. Inman Square is all about shopping and good eats without all the crowds that bigger neighborhoods have due to subway proximity.
Looking for a place to have good beer? You have to stop at Bukowski’s Tavern, and if you don’t know what to drink just spin the wheel and let it decide for you! Best Indian food in Inman by far is Havaeli with Punjabi Dhaba in a close second. The S&S is the deli to stop in at for breakfast or brunch with family and friends. City Girl is my new favorite place to eat lunch in Inman Square with fantastic salads and sandwiches.
Inman Square has a lot to offer for shoppers with Stellabella Toys, Loreum Ipsum used books, Broadway Bicycle School, peruse Bird by Bird and Boutique Fabulous for unique and eccentric gifts.
Constantly going through change, Inman Square is lacking in th entertainment aspect since the close of the Abbey Lounge. Bring back live music and this area will flourish. There are a few new places I haven’t checked out yet but plan to like Lord Hobo and some long standing establishements like Ryles and the Lilly Pad.
Don’t just pass by Inman Square because you are on Public Transportation, its a well kept secret on the outskirts of Central and Kendall Squares worth checking out. I do recommend not driving because parking is difficult and there are plenty of buses that go through the 83 and 69 being the most accessible.

These five stars are for whoever blows bubbles out of their window onto Inman Square. You know who you are.
I want to high-​five you so hard.

A much smaller, cleaner, saner alternative to central sq (im not a hater, im a realist!).
I lived there for almost 5 wonderful years.
Excellent shops, restaurants and general businesses. Indan food (sit down) Haveli is excellent!!!
As others have mentioned, parking is not great (there s a parking lot on springfield st but it holds about 20 cars… seriously…)
The S & S restaurant however has 2 parking lots on Hampshire St, only if you are eating there tho.
Id like to throw in a moment of silence for my lovely «Montien,» which is now «Ginger Exchange.» I’ll miss u baby.
Inman is a lot of fun. Enjoy.

A little off the beaten path, Inman Sq offers a great variety of neighborhood conveniences, restaurants, niche nightlife, and a lower cost of living than most of the rest of the People’s Republic of Cambridge.
After living in Allston Village and Malden Center, Inman offers the city life I really wanted. The neighborhood is quiet enough for almost everyone, but not staid and stale like some of the other surrounding areas– Malden comes to mind immediately! Inman is someplace where owning a car is definitely an afterthought pending you are OK with the occasional bus ride and walking 15min from the T. The walk from Central is more convenient for commuting than one would think. Whole Foods on the way to the T is a great place to stop on your way home to pick up a few things and is not off-​route. T buses 69, 83, and 91 stop right in the middle of things, with the ultra-​convenient to Allston/​Brighton bus 64 just three blocks away to the south west. Union Sq is also close (ten min plus a short jaunt over the commuter rail tracks) – this should be even better when the Green Line stop for Union is located on Prospect St on the Somerville/​Camb line. I wouldn’t hold your breath for that, but still would make this neighborhood even better.
Highlights include: location to the rest of Cambridge and points south, MIT/​Harvard & other schools, mainstream shopping, decent ethnic cuisine. Rents are attractive to many a city-​dweller.
Downfalls include: If you and your friends are hardcore suburbanites and/​or bus-​averse, Inman can be a very tough sell. Parking is limited and walking distances average 15 min from Central, just over twenty from Harvard, and almost a half hour from Lechmere. Parking is rather challenging. Inman Sq can feel a bit spacey as Cambridge St has some gaps in points of interest.

I *heart* Inman Square.
After living in Inman for a summer, I can honestly say that it’s been one of the better places I could have chosen to live in. The atmosphere is wonderful — full of post-​college young professionals, people just starting families, and of course a fairly large immigrant population. This means great culture.
There’s tons of great, delicious restaurants in the area. Punjabi Dhaba, Olecito, and City Girl Café jump to the top of my list of favorites for cheap, while Tupelo, Dali, and Muqueca hold down the fort on the expensive side, but you really can’t go wrong in the neighborhood. Decent other stores, including Walgreens and Foodmaster, an excellent local hardware store, and a cheap dollar store for inexpensive necessities.
It is poorly served by the T, but there are three bus lines that go through it, one going Central-​Porter, one going Central-​Sullivan Station, and one going Harvard– Lechemere, so it’s not completely inaccessible. I imagine parking isn’t great, but I don’t drive so phbbbt. It really is centrally located, though — about 15 minute walk to central or Harvard, 20 – 25 to Kendall. All in all, I don’t think I could have asked for more in a Cambridge location.

I felt the need to review this lovely little area of Cambridge, because it’s my HOME! I’ve lived here for almost a year, to be exact. Right on Inman Street, baby.
I love Inman Square. The first time I accidentally set foot here, I was looking for Ryles to go Salsa dancing. I was pleasantly surprised by the little funky shops and unique restaurants.
Christina’s has delicious homemade ice cream. I love going here in the summer and taking ice cream over to what my roommate and I affectionately call ‘pigeon poop park” nearby. Punjabi Dhaba has some of the best Indian food in the area, and S &S has delicious food, too, especially their breakfast and matzoh ball soup. I can’t even count how many times I’ve gone there to eat! The Druid has great cheap beer and very good food. Also, Bukowski’s Tavern has delicious sweet potato fries. Gotta try them!
Also, Ryles is a fantastic place. They have the best Salsa dancing in the Boston-​Cambridge area, hands-​down. They also have great jazz music and supposedly, a delicious jazz brunch (which I have yet to go to).
Inman Square has a lot of character. It’s a unique and quaint little area. I like it because it feels CLEANER and SAFER than Central Square, by far. I never have to worry about walking alone at night in my neighborhood. It has everything you could want. The only downside is that the T is a bit of a walk-​maybe 15 minutes? But if you are desperate, the 83 bus makes an appearance every so often, and that will take you to Central to catch the T.

Inman Square is my beat.
There’s a lot to love here:
–1369 (dirty, but I love you)
–the Druid
–Lillypad (good music)
–the All Star Sandwich Bar (do they know that their initals are ASS Bar?!)
–Christina’s (rose flavored ice cream!!!)
–that Christina’s spice store
–Muqueca
–Rosie’s (day old chocolate chip cookies half price)
–Urban Oasis (30 minute hot tubs make winter bearable)
–Punjabi Dhaba (cheap samosas!)
–that damn Walgreens (thank you Harry the pharmacist, we love you!)
–Foodmaster (their signs crack me up
London Broil
Beer/​Wine
$ 1)
–Biscuit (even if the scones are bricks)
–Bow St florist (best tulips in town)
–Lorem Ipsum bookstore (even though the books are weird prices… $ 9.22?! Really?!)
The only down side is there’s no T.
But there is the lowly and irregular #83 bus.
Oh, and the other down side–
sometimes it feels like Inman Square is just one side of the street. If that other side (across from Christina’s) ever manages to shed that auto body shop, Inman Sq could get some real shops on both sides of the street. This would be a massive and exciting break through!

If you don’t live here, Inman Square wants nothing to do with you. There’s not very much parking if you don’t have a Cambridge sticker for the area. It’s not especially convenient to the T. And if you bike, it’s sort of off the beaten path, so unless you’re looking for it or especially lucky, you may never find it. Like I said, Inman doesn’t really seem to like outsiders.
That said, in and of itself, it’s a bustling little community, proud of its independent shops, righteous biking community and Portuguese heritage. The independent shops and restaurants offer a pretty diverse (and yummy) selection. Unfortunately there’s not much to eat after 11pm. But then, this is a family place, right? And who doesn’t love Jesus Baby Heads?
For what it is, it’s a great little place. I love to visit. Unfortunately (fortunately??), it’s just not for me. But then, I’m one of those pesky outsiders.

Christinas.InmanOasis.Druid.Bukowski.BSideLounge.S&SDeli.Dali.BoutiqueFabulous.A-Wines.
AbbeyLounge.1369.EVOO.CityGirlCaffe.7/11.KFC.Ryles.ThirstyScholar.
CLM Auto.PunjabiDhaba.ThirstyScholar.WineandCheeseCask.
My home.

Hey,
What’s not to love
About Inman Square?
Christina’s is there
My cheap date would be
Have some fried yucca
at Muqueca
Then maybe some drinks
at Atwood’s Tavern
Or just run down
to Christina’s
You– a cone, I– a sundae with bananas
Just take me there, just take me there
To Inman Square
With cone in hand,
We will walk down
To Darling Square
Yes, there is a small sign that says «Darling Sq.»
I got my love
for Inman Sq.
[Just gotta exclude S.S. Deli (eck!)]
Just take me there, just take me there
From Darling Sq.
We will walk down
Hey!oh! Let’s get a samosa!
From that okay-​ish Bhangra-​pop music playing Punjabi Dhaba!
That Inman Sq.
I like it there

This is my ‘hood. We bought our house here in ought-​two because back then this was an affordable place to buy, and we didn’t know just how lucky we got. It’s been a blast to discover Inman, a place of which I hadn’t even been aware beforehand. Five years later and I’m still in love. Sometimes there’s a weird, awful smell wafting over Cambridge Street. Sometimes I’m berated by one of the neighborhood junkies at the convenience store. But as long as I’ve got the Druid and the Abbey and Christina’s and East Coast and the crazy mishmash of cultures and this central-​ness to so many other great places, I can overlook just about any downfall.

Sandwiched in between Harvard and MIT, this little neighborhood shares a unique blend of local and international flavor. My girlfriend and I stumbled into this neighborhood after our 69 bus route going from Lechmere station to Harvard was interrupted by a parade. As traffic came to a standstill, we had noticed several interesting restaurants and decided to have lunch here instead. This turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip to Boston.
What you’ll end up discovering here are quiet streets, ordinary local services like tool shops and dry cleaners, and a collection of local hot spots including Christina’s Homemade Ice Cream and East Coast Grill & Raw Bar, which we tried out, that served some awesome and unique food. We also spotted a sandwich shop, a Brazilian restaurant, and a Thai restaurant all on the same street.
If you go to school in the area, I’m sure you’ve spent some time around here. But if like me, you’re not a local, and want to stay away from the tourists and the crowds, and want to sample a few homespun dishes, I suggest taking a leisurely walk through Inman Square. You won’t regret it.