Bukowski Tavern
Type: Bar, Eatery
1281 Cambridge St
Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139-1338
United States
(617) 497-7077 | map
bukowskitavern.net
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Added by Todd
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View: Place Reviews | Events
Reviews: 57 | Ratings: 76
Reviews by SunDevilBeer:
More User Reviews:
4/5 rDev +2.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4
A solid spot if you are in the Cambridge area. A nice tap list that featured various styles and nice selection of interesting beer. Definitely has a college bar feel and was packed with students and hard to find a seat. If you are in the area, it is wotrh checking out just to see what they might be pouring.
★ 311 characters
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4
A solid spot if you are in the Cambridge area. A nice tap list that featured various styles and nice selection of interesting beer. Definitely has a college bar feel and was packed with students and hard to find a seat. If you are in the area, it is wotrh checking out just to see what they might be pouring.
★ 311 characters
4.24/5 rDev +8.4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4
4.24/5 rDev +8.4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.75
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.75
3.91/5 rDev 0%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
4.12/5 rDev +5.4%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.5
I frequent the Bukowski in Back Bay, but I must say I prefer this one. First off it's probably three times larger and not nearly as divey. Second, I find the tap selection to be more varied featuring more unusual brews. Third, this one opens up to the street.
The single room is 30 x 40 feet with a 20 foot bar to the side. The tap list is about 25 - 30 different offerings. And with the exception of Pabst Blue Ribbon, all of the beers are craft. On this Saturday afternoon (May 31, 2014), it was active but not not too busy. There were a couple of bar stools and several booths available, although all of the tables near the open garage doors were taken.
Although I didn't try the food, the menu could be described as creative bar grub. It is also a sparse choice of eight items and one dessert. Still, everyone seems to enjoy what they ordered, but then again, one doesn't come here for the dining options.
The service borders on indifferent and friendly. Not bad, but also not that attentive--my glass was always empty for about five minutes before I was asked if I wanted another. Not that I would come here strictly for the service.
So, if you are near Inman Square in Cambridge, this would be the place to go. But if you are willing to walk a half mile down Hampshire, you could go to Lord Hobo's, one of the finest beer joints in the area.
★ 1,355 characters
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.5
I frequent the Bukowski in Back Bay, but I must say I prefer this one. First off it's probably three times larger and not nearly as divey. Second, I find the tap selection to be more varied featuring more unusual brews. Third, this one opens up to the street.
The single room is 30 x 40 feet with a 20 foot bar to the side. The tap list is about 25 - 30 different offerings. And with the exception of Pabst Blue Ribbon, all of the beers are craft. On this Saturday afternoon (May 31, 2014), it was active but not not too busy. There were a couple of bar stools and several booths available, although all of the tables near the open garage doors were taken.
Although I didn't try the food, the menu could be described as creative bar grub. It is also a sparse choice of eight items and one dessert. Still, everyone seems to enjoy what they ordered, but then again, one doesn't come here for the dining options.
The service borders on indifferent and friendly. Not bad, but also not that attentive--my glass was always empty for about five minutes before I was asked if I wanted another. Not that I would come here strictly for the service.
So, if you are near Inman Square in Cambridge, this would be the place to go. But if you are willing to walk a half mile down Hampshire, you could go to Lord Hobo's, one of the finest beer joints in the area.
★ 1,355 characters
4.16/5 rDev +6.4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4 | food: 4
I had read about Bukowskis and finally had a chance to have a drink there when I visiting friends in Cambridge.
It's a very unpretentious place and low-key hipster. No attitudes here.
I was impressed with the server's knowledge of beer, and she poured possibly one of the best wheat beers I have seen in a bar.
The beer menu is varied. Some excellent beers and some macro fare. I drank a Berkshire Brewing scotch ale which was quite good. My friend had a Port Brewing Board meeting which was far superior to a bottled beer I had bought a few months earlier and full flavored.
Our friends had German beers.
The appetizers are very good. The sweet potato fries were better than in most restaurants, and the pita and hummus was fresh.
Overall, an excellent Cambridge bar. Perhaps too hipster-grungy for some folks, but craft beer drinkers should check it out.
★ 861 characters
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4 | food: 4
I had read about Bukowskis and finally had a chance to have a drink there when I visiting friends in Cambridge.
It's a very unpretentious place and low-key hipster. No attitudes here.
I was impressed with the server's knowledge of beer, and she poured possibly one of the best wheat beers I have seen in a bar.
The beer menu is varied. Some excellent beers and some macro fare. I drank a Berkshire Brewing scotch ale which was quite good. My friend had a Port Brewing Board meeting which was far superior to a bottled beer I had bought a few months earlier and full flavored.
Our friends had German beers.
The appetizers are very good. The sweet potato fries were better than in most restaurants, and the pita and hummus was fresh.
Overall, an excellent Cambridge bar. Perhaps too hipster-grungy for some folks, but craft beer drinkers should check it out.
★ 861 characters
3.61/5 rDev -7.7%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3 | selection: 4
as far as Boston-area bars which are filed under the craft-centric heading go, Bukowski's to me is somewhat middle of the road. (measured against your everyday bar it impresses considerably more, obviously.)
atmosphere is good; dimly lit, with booths lining the center of the room and the bar stationed off to the right. a collection of high tables is arranged at the front, opposing floor-to-ceiling windows which are removed during warm weather.
service is very hit or miss. I've had bartenders/waitstaff be friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive, and I've had servers such as the one we had last night; while not overtly rude, definitely caught a strong impatient/unfriendly vibe from her - not the level of affability you kind of expect from someone in the service industry (expecting to be tipped).
selection is solid, covering a broad range of styles and breweries. that said, have never really found anything rare or off the beaten path. again, if you're looking for some good craft brews in general? you won't be disappointed. if you want to be blow away? you'll probably be disappointed. if you're in the area it's absolutely worth a stop but not the kind of place you need to go out of your way for.
★ 1,214 characters
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3 | selection: 4
as far as Boston-area bars which are filed under the craft-centric heading go, Bukowski's to me is somewhat middle of the road. (measured against your everyday bar it impresses considerably more, obviously.)
atmosphere is good; dimly lit, with booths lining the center of the room and the bar stationed off to the right. a collection of high tables is arranged at the front, opposing floor-to-ceiling windows which are removed during warm weather.
service is very hit or miss. I've had bartenders/waitstaff be friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive, and I've had servers such as the one we had last night; while not overtly rude, definitely caught a strong impatient/unfriendly vibe from her - not the level of affability you kind of expect from someone in the service industry (expecting to be tipped).
selection is solid, covering a broad range of styles and breweries. that said, have never really found anything rare or off the beaten path. again, if you're looking for some good craft brews in general? you won't be disappointed. if you want to be blow away? you'll probably be disappointed. if you're in the area it's absolutely worth a stop but not the kind of place you need to go out of your way for.
★ 1,214 characters
3.13/5 rDev -19.9%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4 | service: 2 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3
I keep going back to Bukowski's, and I almost always leave wondering why. This place could be so great--the open garage doors along the front in the summer, the collection of booths, high-tops and the bar, the very solid beer list and pretty good menu. But it messes almost everything up, and it almost always has to do with unreasonably high prices and rude staff.
The room is great--dimly lit with booths in the center of the space and high-tops in the front. But the music is always blasting in a room that would be loud already from conversation. I like music and human voices in a bar, but when I have to shout for the person next to me to hear, there's really not much point in going out to a bar. On quiet evenings in the summer, when you can seat by the windows, it's great. Otherwise, the noise level ruins any chance at having a conversation over your beers.
Some (maybe even most) of the servers are friendly, but some are incredibly rude, unknowledgeable about beer and simply full of themselves. Last night, our server stood waiting for me to finish my beer, so he wouldn't have to come back to pick up another empty glass the next time he passed by. Well, tough shit. I just paid $7.50 (plus tax) for a 12 oz glass (full to maybe 10 ounces) of beer that elsewhere would be $6 for a pint; I'm not rushing so you can save five seconds.
The beer list here is often very good, but rarely astounding. I take that back, the prices are always astounding. Last night, not a single beer (Harpoon IPA and PBR excepted) was under $7. And most of those came in 12 oz glasses (or smaller), with the at least honest qualifier that that is the glass, not the pour size. Add to that that when the bill came, I remembered that unlike most bars, the price at Bukowski's doesn't include tax. So the bill for five beers last night came to over $40. That's insane! An otherwise good tap list with nothing reasonably priced can't be described as above-average.
And it's a similar story with the food. $10 for onion rings? Are you kidding me? The food is fairly (and in some cases very) good, but for the prices, like the beer, it's unreasonable. And I don't mind when local businesses are cash only--I don't want my and their hard-earned money going to Visa--but when Bukowski's is charging upwards of $7.50 for a 10 oz pour, they can eat the credit card fees.
I want so badly to like this place, and I understand that Boston is an expensive area--I pay rent here, too. But when I can consistently get the same beer--sometimes in a larger serving--for $1-2 at other, nicer bars where I can have a conversation, there's really no excuse for Bukowski's absurd prices.
★ 2,662 characters
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4 | service: 2 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3
I keep going back to Bukowski's, and I almost always leave wondering why. This place could be so great--the open garage doors along the front in the summer, the collection of booths, high-tops and the bar, the very solid beer list and pretty good menu. But it messes almost everything up, and it almost always has to do with unreasonably high prices and rude staff.
The room is great--dimly lit with booths in the center of the space and high-tops in the front. But the music is always blasting in a room that would be loud already from conversation. I like music and human voices in a bar, but when I have to shout for the person next to me to hear, there's really not much point in going out to a bar. On quiet evenings in the summer, when you can seat by the windows, it's great. Otherwise, the noise level ruins any chance at having a conversation over your beers.
Some (maybe even most) of the servers are friendly, but some are incredibly rude, unknowledgeable about beer and simply full of themselves. Last night, our server stood waiting for me to finish my beer, so he wouldn't have to come back to pick up another empty glass the next time he passed by. Well, tough shit. I just paid $7.50 (plus tax) for a 12 oz glass (full to maybe 10 ounces) of beer that elsewhere would be $6 for a pint; I'm not rushing so you can save five seconds.
The beer list here is often very good, but rarely astounding. I take that back, the prices are always astounding. Last night, not a single beer (Harpoon IPA and PBR excepted) was under $7. And most of those came in 12 oz glasses (or smaller), with the at least honest qualifier that that is the glass, not the pour size. Add to that that when the bill came, I remembered that unlike most bars, the price at Bukowski's doesn't include tax. So the bill for five beers last night came to over $40. That's insane! An otherwise good tap list with nothing reasonably priced can't be described as above-average.
And it's a similar story with the food. $10 for onion rings? Are you kidding me? The food is fairly (and in some cases very) good, but for the prices, like the beer, it's unreasonable. And I don't mind when local businesses are cash only--I don't want my and their hard-earned money going to Visa--but when Bukowski's is charging upwards of $7.50 for a 10 oz pour, they can eat the credit card fees.
I want so badly to like this place, and I understand that Boston is an expensive area--I pay rent here, too. But when I can consistently get the same beer--sometimes in a larger serving--for $1-2 at other, nicer bars where I can have a conversation, there's really no excuse for Bukowski's absurd prices.
★ 2,662 characters
Bukowski Tavern in Cambridge, MA
3.91
out of 5
based on 76 ratings.
vibe: 2 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5
Hadn't visited here in nearly 9 years since a miserable visit, but a friend visiting town wanted to meet there so...
Visited around 7 on a weeknight. About half full, met my drinking partner at the bar.
Admittedly I had low expectations given my prior experiences at Buk's/Lower Depths. The hipster/tatooed barkeep met us pretty quickly and cordially to take our orders. Ordered a Harpoon 100BBL Rye IPA, my friend ordered a Brooklyn Lager. My beer arrived in a 11/12 oz glass, my friend got a foamy pint. Both beers tasted OK, but were small for the price.
During our visit the music escalated in volume immensely. Crappy techno punk from the barkeeps ipod....ick.
Bartender was checking back often...kudos. Was surprised at the service level given Buk's reputation & my prior disappointing visits.
The thing that really derails this place is the pricing....1 to 2 dollars more than the rest of Boston for drafts. Looked at the bottle list and most of them were out and out ripoffs.
Cash only here. Bullshit.
Not a place I'm anxious to return to, but better than I'd previously thought.
★ 1,095 characters