The Pantry

At the Verge hotel on rt 9, two excellent rooms, very different décor — pantry is bright country kitchen and violet is black light satin, same menu — menu has fish and meat, both cooked well and flavored. Whole hotel has a pretty neat retro theme. Both were completely empty on a winter vacation evening, not sure how long they will last but sitting in what feels like a triple sized country kitchen, with Viking appliances and pots and utensils ready to use. is definitly worth the trip, especially if it feels like it’s all for you.

Came here with my parents (out-​of-​towners) for Thanksgiving Brunch and was more than impressed! The spread was nothing short of outstanding– a slightly upscale take on all of your standard Thanksgiving fare, plus a few extras– and definitely something for everyone. Ambiance was lovely (except for the family whose horrendously behaved children made it difficult to enjoy the meal), the staff was attentive, friendly and helpful and the options were plentiful and well-​executed. There was definitely something for everyone, and I would consider it to be very reasonably priced. The executive chef was available to answer dietary needs questions and concerns, which made it easy for my mother to navigate the menu. Would definitely recommend for anyone looking for a Thanksgiving meal out in the area.

I had high hopes for this place but they just under delivered on every aspect. Not enough to complain but enough to reconsider going back.
The positives: nice décor, great menu and good service. Prices are reasonable but portions are small.
Needs improvement: the lighting is too bright. We ordered the burata with pistachio pesto and honeycomb with crostini. The crostini was rye sandwich loaf that was lightly toasted. Sliced bread is not crostini and the rye spiked the who flavor balance. For entrees we had the mussels with salad and the snapper. The mussels were good, the salad was half wilted. The snapper selection needs to be better. The sauce and veggies were great but they need to change their fish source. Dessert was a complete bomb. We ordered key lime pie but we got a pastry tart 4 inches wide with a ricotta lime ish filling. Practically no lime flavor and a rip off at $ 9.
If they make a few small changes they can be great but don’t hold your breath from a restaurant in a hotel.

Ambiance was sweet! Popcorn prior to the meal was awesome! Food was excellent! Service was pretty good! I definitely recommend The Pantry to others!

Wow, what a horrible place to go on a Friday night. Extremely bright lighting and feels like a college cafeteria. The main courses weren’t bad but definitely overpriced, desert was mediocre and the appetizer was disgusting with frozen centers in our meatballs GROSS! Should have read the other horrible reviews. Also — we didn’t enjoy the multiple fruit flies buzzing around us all night :)

If I could rate this a negative I would.
We went out with some friends for a night out. The first sign was it was empty on a Friday night. That should have foretold the meal…
A few different dishes were served. I got the steak… or should I say salted beef. It was so salty I think I put down 2 pitchers of water and a few beers.
I woke up in the middle of the night feeling terrible. I turned on the lights and my fingers were swollen and looked like baby sausages. Weighed myself and I was up 4 pounds of water weight. If I didn’t have high blood pressure before I do now.
Just Terrible

Service was good, I ordered the carbonara and it was delicious and filling, reasonable prices and makes you feel at home, hidden in the crown plaza but definitely give it a try.

Don’t believe the reviews below that are bad this place was great! I recommend it. I was worried I would not like it but I used my Groupon and had a great experience with my boyfriend. I really loved the food and the presentation. The service and atmosphere were great. Overall I would go back again and would recommend this place for dinner to everyone.

The restaurant is nice, but not comfy. Don’t plan on sitting in the chairs very long, certainly not long enough to eat a meal. But the décor is cute, albeit very bright. Too bright.
The food was good, almost very good. Presentation was superb, while the quality of the food was generally good, except the mashed potatoes were soupy. The double high burger is probably the thing to come for.
But the prices are way overpriced. Even if you are staying at the hotel, there are better & cheaper places to go within walking distance. That have comfortable chairs…

Very average would not go back. Too bright for dinner. Service was very slow and there weren’t a lot of diners in the restaurant

Went here for brunch this morning and was disappointed. Two stars for the cute ambivalence of kitchen ware and other cutlery and multiple Tvs. But food-wise…whomp. whomp. whomp. You could choose from the breakfast buffet that was a typical hotel buffet: eggs, breakfast meats, cereal, coffee/​tea for $ 14. Other breakfast menu items sounded great and with affordable pricing ranging from $ 9 – 12. But when the food came out it was blah. My friend got an omelette that she created and said it was like one she could easily make at home. I ordered this turkey/​bacon/​cheese cranberry sandwich and it was dry and bad bread choice. The only redeeming food item was the blueberry pancakes. Service was super slow and it was not crowded.
Unless you’re staying at the hotel or have a family, I would skip this and head some place else.
The hotel itself was definitely fun and funky… reminding me of hotels in Vegas so it was a disappointment that Pantry didn’t live up to at least 3 stars.
Maybe lunch or dinner are better???

We ate their last night and despite the bad reviews we were really pleasantly surprised. Yes, the ambiance could be a lot better, it’s way too bright for dinner although I guess it works for breakfast and lunch.
I had the salmon with a lemon risotto which was fantastic (and rich), and my SO had the sirloin which was also fantastic and again rich with the demi glaze and scalloped potatoes. Drinks were a bit pricey $ 11 for a Jack and $ 8 beers. Service was slow to start but once we got our initial orders in it was fine. I’d go back for the food but they really need to work on the ambiance… it’s odd eating nice food in cafeteria lighting. I should probably take another star off for that, but the food was good.

In a word, disgusting.
In many words, this dinner was so underwhelming and stomach churning, it pains me to drive by this hotel in the morning on my way to work. Here’s the story.
I was starving one night when my SO came home, and neither of us had any intention of cooking, so we decided that we’d get on Rt 9 and stop at the first place we saw. Unfortunately, that place was the Pantry. We went in and it was completely empty, usually a bad sign but I was starving so I didn’t care. The décor should have tipped us off, it was tacky and disorganized. We hastily ordered a «bruschetta» and were sent out some vile piece of bread with odd tasting cheese and soured tomatoes. We could only have a few bites before giving up and waiting for our main course. I was brought a «beet» salad, which was just a pile of turning arugula with three little pieces of raw beet on the side, and what looked like deep fried beets. It was disgusting, and not a beet salad. My SO got a croque messier, which should be simple as its just a grilled cheese with ham, but they managed to send out old and funky tasting meat with a limp and overbuttered loaf of bread. We called for the check and left this disgusting meal on the table.
What was even more infuriating was that there was NO ONE there, but the 4 waiters on staff couldn’t be bothered to bring us water, ask us how our food was, or bring us the check in a timely manner. That may have been ok if even their beer tap was working, which it wasn’t, so we had to suffer through this «meal» completely sober. I wouldn’t wish this dining experience on my worst enemy.

We ate here for the first time tonight with a groupon. The food was really good and presented beautifully but we felt a little rushed and there was only one other table of people there at the same time as us. I’m not sure if it was because we had the groupon but they wanted to know everything we were ordering at once. Dessert even before we had dinner. Then the dessert came out immediately after, I usually like to sit for a minute and digest! It was amazing though. a salted caramel chocolate torte. so pretty I had to take a pic of it and I don’t usually take pictures of food! So other than feeling rushed the food was worth it and we might go back and see if the service if different minus a groupon. Awesome décor in the hotel also!

The food was excellent, came in generous portions and was reasonably priced. We went on a Groupon which provided plenty to choose from the menu. The pork rilette was delicious and creative. It came with beautifully toasted ciabatta, homemade pickled cucumbers and onions. My husband’s salmon was nicely cooked, the sauce was a nice complement and the risotto was rich and flavorful. He rarely eats risotto but was enthusiastic about this one. My lemon sole was fairly standard on it’s own but the spicy Asian slaw that came with it provided plenty of flavor when they were eaten together. We both enjoyed the salted caramel tart as well.
We really look forward to returning. The service was pleasant and attentive and the timing was excellent. We plan on trying the entire menu, including breakfast. We eat out all of the time and consider this restaurant to be a great find.
The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five was because we were told that they couldn’t take debit cards when we arrived. I told the hostess that we planned to use a credit card and she said that that was OK. But when the server brought the check, it turned out that they couldn’t take any plastic at all. I believe that this was an honest misunderstanding on the part of the hostess but it did send us scrambling for cash. Fortunately we had a good enough time that we thought it was kind of funny but they really should have made a better effort to communicate the issue with us.

If you love mediocre food and terrible service, this is the place for you!
I need to preface this by saying that we are seasoned restaurant goers. We have experienced a continuum of good and bad and always try our best to be «good customers». We were seated, completely ignored for some time and then greeted with attitude from what we would later find out was the MANAGER…
First and foremost, it should never take 90 minutes for raw eggs and an untoasted bagel. The food was at best mediocre, the eggs were raw and when we pointed this out to the «manager», we were told that we were wrong. It took forever for anything to arrive and the poor service and attitude persisted with every new person we met.
All in all, a terrible experience in what could have been easily a lovely setting. The staff’s behavior ruined this and it is clear the management influences this terrible service from top-​down.
Don’t go. Even if you’re staying in the hotel. You’d be better off walking over to Starbucks.

Attended a social event at the hotel. We made a weekend out of it.
Food is basic.
Service is poor. I have not seen so many employees who did not give a shit in one place.
This is reflective of most of the hotel staff. I guess customers are a major inconvenience to them.
Help them out (yourself too) and stay away!

Business took me to the hotel. I’m a desert rat, it’s November in Boston, and to me it was cold. So ate in a fair bit.
First night, I had something with Chicken the waitress recommended. It was not really very good. I don’t even remember what it was. Had a good desert though.
Breakfast came with the room. And the buffet was very overrated. Same exact food every morning. And the one place where the fruit was, was way too tall. I’m not horribly short, but I could barely reach the food and that’s not a good thing. They need to do something to make it different.
Coffee was mediocre at best.
Had dinner there on the last day as well, had their clam chowder. Was better than Legal Seafood.
All in all, it was okay. Not great, but okay.

I was here with my family over the weekend, and my mum asked that I write a review since she didn’t think these were representative.
We had a large group for a birthday. Food was pretty much as described on the menu — I think the only surprise was how big the grilled cheese sandwich was. Overall, the food was fine, the kind of comfort food I would like to have in my hotel if I was traveling for work for a week. That said, service was funky. They tried, but seemed to be missing at times. We were asked if we were ready to order as soon as the waiter finished passing out the menus; my 12 year old cousin’s soft drink didn’t make it to the table until after the entrees arrived and the waiter was reminded (though all the beer and one diet coke were served promptly), and requests for extra pita for the hummus platter were acknowledged but not fulfilled until everyone was done with their meals.
They’re trying, and in the right circumstances I’d return. I’ll give them three stars for food, two for service, and round the average up since the staff was nice and seemed to be making an effort.

Friday morning business breakfast made me look like a food jedi… Breakfast was wonderful, service was very pleasant and the renovated restaurant is retro and full of light. Great experience.
I had a cheese, tomato, prosciutto and arugula frittatta that was perfectly executed and presented — gooooooeeeyyyy cheese, lots of salty prosciutto and a gorgeous mound of arugula on top. Had to share it, was big!
My fellow diners enjoyed their offerings as well — perfect eggs benedict — such a relief after the nasty stuff my son had at Whitlows in Arlington…
Good food, well priced.