Noir

It is good place to go if you are looking for a small group gathering. It is calm enough specially in week days. Its location in the Charles hotel, allow you to benefit from the lounge area annexed to the Bar if you want to regroup prior to drinks. There is a parking opposite the bar where you can park for 10 $ for 3h but place is limited. They don’t offer beer on the tap but have various cocktails. It is a smart/​casual place with no pressure for additional orders once you get the first drink.

Solid 4.5 stars. One of the best lounge/​bar experiences I have had in Cambridge in a while!
I came to Noir with a friend a few weeks ago, and was immediately able to find two seats at the bar. The ambiance was great, the oyster special was a steal, and I really liked the crispness of my digestif (after dinner) cocktail!
Perhaps what notched it up for me was the service. The bartender (I wish I’d gotten her name — she was fantastic) quickly shared menus and was extremely responsive. She was extremely helpful in choosing a drink that fit my palate for the soirée, let me taste the liquor before she used it, and re-​mixed my drink when I made a face (accidentally!) after tasting what was too sweet for my taste.
It’s a cozy, classy spot that’s centrally located yet still tucked away. Can’t wait to go back.

Nice atmosphere. Love the corner with movie projection on the wall. Drinks are great and strong enough. Love the honey bee cocktail and the one featuring coffee. The missing one star is for the waitress who gave us check before we wanted to order more. (And we did) It’s just not polite.

I used to love this bar and the atmosphere. All of the nice bartenders are no longer there. My bartender was rude– she was borderline mean to me. I almost walked out but I had an amazing parking spot so I stuck it out. The menu is very limited, I know it’s a small kitchen. The awesome drinks and once dark sexy atmosphere make that forgivable, but not with a mean bartender.

Nice enough location. Didnt eat so cant comment in the food selection. Coctail selection was interesting but the coctail I got (black dahlia) was –OK and the second one was bleugh (la vie en rose) And Definately a concept bar they have noir movies playing on a project or so that was interesting.
The only reason it’s 4 stars is because the service was exceptional.

Rounding a 4.5 star review up– the food, ambiance, and drinks were all stellar! Had a wonderful 21^st birthday celebration here on a Friday night (Whispering City was A+). Can affirm that the turkey sandwich was amazing, but all of the food overall was delicious and very affordable (contrary to how expensive Noir’s exterior may appear). Great for a classy night, whether you’re in the pre or post game stage in the night. Will be coming back soon to explore more of their drink menu and try some of their $ 1 oysters!
*Service was a bit slow even when the space was fairly empty, with a third of our table receiving their food well after everyone else had finished their meal, so a deduction of half a star there.*

Whack! It was supposed to stay open until 2 o’clock. Got there by 1:15 a.m. and it was atrocious. I was looking for a good time and all I got was an empty bag with the groceries

Nice stop specially late at night since they’re open an hour later than other bars in Cambridge…

Noir is sexy. Located in the Charles Hotel, this is where you would think a a rendezvous that hopes to go undiscovered would drink and share a flatbread in a cozy dark corner of this elegant bar. The ambiance is so intimate and nice for pre dinner drinks or even a light dinner. Cocktails are excellent!

Probably most «Manhattan-​like» place in Cambridge. Open late. Friendly bar attenders. Great food.

Noir is such a welcome contribution to the Harvard Square scene that it’s hard to capture in a Unilocal review the qualities that it so wonderfully brings to the neighborhood. Noir leaves behind the kitsch and fluff of the area and instead offers clients (at the hotel and beyond) an intimate, calming, and truly elegant option for drinks.
I’ve been on several occasions to this spot, and very much enjoy the bar, tastefully illuminated in an otherwise very dark room. Awesome! I stuck with a classic – Gin & Tonic, but did see some pretty interesting cocktails on the list. Service was appropriately thoughtful and responsive.
Really, I don’t know how this spot could be improved – generally excellent! Looking forward to having a drink next time I’m in town.

Impressive selection of well made cocktails. Good food & ambiance.

You have to know what to order. Honestly, I would skip the grilled chicken flatbread (not a taste upgrade on Uno’s…sorry, I said it).
But the smoked turkey sandwich is awesome… and worth $ 11. And the cheesecake dessert is decent (and affordably priced). Go there! Kitchen closes at 11pm… so you can go at 10pm and still get great food.

This place is open late, so once you’ve exhausted the other H-​Square bars, you can crawl here. 2AM, folks; a majestic thing generally reserved for Boston proper.
Otherwise, it’s a lonesome-​looking piece of shit hotel bar. Yes, a hotel bar. Where you go to cheat on your wife. So why are you here? Because you’re an alcoholic that can’t stop after Cambridge’s 1AM last call.

Came here with my Unilocaler friend! It was a weekday night so I probably didn’t get a completely accurate representation of the place. It was nice and dark and was playing fun alternative rock songs from the early 2000s, but the place didn’t really stand out to me. The flatbreads were interesting in concept (I got the chicken, avocado, and chocolate sauce one) but didn’t strike me as particularly memorable. The drinks also were tasty but didn’t leave a strong impression.
One good thing about this place is that they have a $ 1 oysters deal on Tuesday — Saturday, and they were extremely fresh and delicious! One negative thing is that you have to use the 2^nd floor restrooms of the hotel (and the stairs are currently under construction so you have to take the elevator).
Overall, it’s a decent place with nice enough food, drink, and service, but nothing overwhelmingly amazing to make you want to come back again.

My 5pm-​sharp-​drinking-​buddy and I headed into Noir on a weeknight recently, Groupon in hand. I had never been in the bar before, so I didn’t know what to expect. It was super dim and sleek inside — I can imagine it being a hot late-​night spot. While we were there though, the crowd was mostly suited-​up Harvard types having meetings over drinks.
The drinks here are both delicious and super strong, which is really all I ever ask of a cocktail. My black dahlia (vodka, triple sec, blackberries and pomegranate juice) was one of the sexiest looking beverages I’ve had in a long time. My friend got a periodista. I forget all the ingredients, but I know there was apricot involved, and I also know that it was highly delicious. Win win. (Win)
Of the two flatbreads we ordered, I definitely preferred mine: white sauce with red onion, mozza, boursin, roasted tomatoes and prosciutto. The other flatbread was good too though: prosciutto, pineapple, mozza, and tomato sauce. I think the tomato sauce on that one just threw me off a little bit. The flatbreads are the perfect size for one person, so if you come with friends, I highly recommend that everyone get their own.
The service was fine, though the typical start-​of-​night cursoriness was in full effect. I think I have to dock a star for that. Really though, the experience was a good one overall. After seeing their snack menu deal ($ 5 flatbreads? YASSS), I am extra committed to hanging out in Noir more often.

Nice bar for a late drink in Harvard Square.
Staff seems to have some snobby Newbury Street attitude, which seems out of place in Cambridge. Nevertheless, service was attentive and efficient. They even insisted on replacing the drink that I knocked over.
My verdict: I’d go back, but I wouldn’t get out of my way to get there.

Great food and great drinks can this place get any better? Love it! Mike makes my drinks right

With a group of about ten friends we went to Noir for an evening of fun and we truly enjoyed our time there.
1. Our waiter was extremely nice and professional, no attitude or eye rolling when we asked for 10 separate checks!
2. The side dishes and appetizers are very reasonably prices, are very tasty and come in large portions!
3. Drinks are also reasonably priced and are well-​made
4. The place is not large but modern and nicely decorated.

I only came back here because every other bar was full, and I STILL regret it.
When we walked into the bar, there was no one to greet us or seat us. We wandered through the small room looking for a place to sit and wondering if we should seat ourselves. The staff saw us, but still ignored us. Eventually I asked if there was a place to sit. The waitress looked at us dismissively and said, «Uh, well, all these [unmarked] seats here are reserved, but you can sit anywhere else that’s open.»
The only tables available had just two seats. «We’ve got another person coming,» I explained. «Could we have another chair?» She shrugged. «Yeah, if you can find one.» Really? At an expensive hotel bar, the waitress couldn’t even bother to bring an extra chair to our table?
When we finally sat down, another waitress approached the table, threw a pile of three menus onto it, and quickly walked away without even saying «Hello.» We waited too long to order, get our drinks, AND to settle our check. We were in here nearly an hour, and only spent about 15 minutes on one round of drinks.
This place just keeps getting worse and worse.

This place is hidden in the Charles Hotel. Luckily, it closes at 2 AM so this is usually the last stop before the customary Shawarma run across the street at the end of a night out. Hotel (or non-​hotel) patrons can come here for classic (old fashioneds and the like) and crazy drinks (like «The Good Guy»). Most of the time the drinks are fine, though sometimes they will make them with slightly lower level liquor.
Never had the food here, so can’t comment on it.

Noir just did not meet my expectations.
Located in the Charles hotel, it is very close to Harvard. The interior was passable, the darkness did not give it any extra chic. It was not busy at all on a Wednesday night, and being from out of town, I was instantly taken a back when the waitress and bartender were wearing jerseys and t-​shirts. I am just not used to this kind of casual attire at these kinds of bars – even at sports bars they bring their A-​game; however, they were nice.
But perhaps it is because they know the drinks suck. There are simply no measurements of the different components – my drink was pure alcohol. No mixology going on here, or any attempts to alter the state of these «cocktails.» Its only redeeming quality was the music, but I would never come back.