Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

The Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA, location devotes most of its space to dining, but there is long wooden bar with chairs towards the back. The bar serves a full selection of liquors as well as the microbrews. There are about 6 televisions around the brewpub. During my visit there were 6 brews on tap. Of the six beers, two were good (the IPA and the Oatmeal Stout), and the others were above average. The atmosphere is clean and bright and comfortable, but there is not a lot of character to the place. The bartender was pleasant enough. The food I tried was very good: an excellent burger and fries, some very good fried calamari, and a decent Asiago cheese dip.

The atmosphere of this place is still a bit reminiscent of Brew Moon, and some of the BM sterility still haunts this location, however its nice to grab a pint in the airy bar as natural sky lights bleed into the area. I just wish they'd lose the big TV's over the bar which tend to kill the mood and can become sports bar-ish.

Service is very inconsistent and staff turnover seems high. You often have to wait for ... everything, but if you're not in a rush it's fine. Food is a bit pricey and the portions are huge (too huge in my opinion), but its consistent and always good.

This place can be hit or miss with the beer selection (number wise), but my visit last night was redeeming. They had a full house of beers from their core standards to seasonals. All were quite good. I highly recommend their Double Barrel IPA.

Overall worth a visit ...

What happened? The beer selection is the same four or five with maybe two or three specials. The occasional cask is shady and not recommended though if you feel a bit daring give it a try. The service varies from slow to snobbish, this is from mostly being under staffed. The food is good but a bit pricey yet the portions are normal to huge. Most patrons are drinking wine or mixed drinks … though beer seems to be making a come back after the last few visits.

I do like how it's built - within a 3 or 4 story atrium, with a huge glass ceiling way up there. Other than that, though, it seems a bit of a cookie-cutter place. Biers were fairly good, but no particular style really tickled my fancy. Maybe try it again, who knows. Doesn't have the feel of a good "local" like Cambridge Brewing, for example.