Earls Kitchen + Bar
| Address: | 698 Assembly Row #102, Somerville, MA 02145, USA |
| Phone: | +1 617-666-1790 |
| Site: | earls.ca |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–11PM 11:30AM–11PM 11:30AM–12AM 11:30AM–1AM 11:30AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 10AM–12AM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
MI
Michael Collins
I stopped by Earls, a higher end Canadian chain, for a late lunch around 2pm on a Saturday afternoon. The place was busy but there was plenty of seating around the restaurant and at one of their bars. Decent amount of TVs around the primary bar (they have 2) but not enough to be considered a sports bar. The staff was friendly and attentive. The food came out pretty quickly and they had creative cocktails all of which had their own separate glass and presentation, giving it a craft cocktail feel. The food I had was mostly good but there were clear hits and misses. So if you pick the wrong items you could be disappointed with this place, however if you pick the right ones youll love it. Here is what I tried: Bees Knees Cocktail - Sweet but not overly so and comes in a cool glass. This drink goes under the refreshing category. Crispy Thai Shrimp - This great little appetizer was the highlight of the meal. Crispy crunchy flavorful shrimp in a slightly spicy light broth Croque Madame - So they apparently do brunch on Saturdays here so I ordered something off that menu. If you like Eggs Benedict this is like its cousin. Overall I liked it but the sauce on the dish could have been a little warmer Fish Tacos - These were the biggest disappointment of the meal. They werent bad, just lacking in flavor. I thought at the least it could have used more salt and probably a different kind of fish. Truffle Fries - So these were just Ok, essentially they dont really have truffle fries they just give you truffle aioli. Even as a truffle fry lover Im not sure if it is worth the extra $2 Toffee Pudding - You must get this dessert! It comes with a scoop of of vanilla ice cream inside a bowl made of toffee. The cake itself is similar in consistency to a lava cake except this one is toffee based.
SC
Scott Nelson
Came here on a busy Saturday night. Were told about 1.5 hour wait. We got a table in the bar area while we waited for a dining table. Very friendly staff. Less wait than quoted (about 45 min.) and we got a great booth near the kitchen. Now in most places this wouldnt be a plus but here its great. You can see all the interesting dishes they make. I ordered the 1/2 rack of ribs and the BBQ chicken with the potato salad. WOW!!! Absolutely delicious!! The ribs were perfect, not falling apart but just the right amount of bite and the chicken was just spicy enough but not too spicy. (Think tangy Caribbean jerk flavor) and now one of my all time favorites, the potato salad. They add bacon to it and BOOM my world has been changed. Ive always loved potato salad but this was by far my favorite Ive ever eaten. If for no other reason TRY THE POTATO SAALAD!! Earls is great because it has a great selection of food to satisfy even the choosiest groups. No more of the one person in the group is not happy because they want xyz. So many items to choose from that if you cant find anything to eat here you just arent trying. I cant wait to go back and have the potato salad again and try more on the menu.
PA
Patrick Costello
Nice atmosphere, and above average food for Assembly Row. However, a member of our party explicitly stated to our waitress that she has a deathly food allergy to nuts (tree nuts specifically). When the food arrived, she found a Walnut in her salad. She did not eat the walnut and no allergic reaction occurred, but how management handled the situation was poor. The manager on duty came over to our table more than 10 minutes after we saw our waitress inform her of the issue. She profusely apologized, but didnt seem to grasp the severity of the situation. After explaining anaphylaxis and how quickly a reaction can take place (needing treatment in the ER, even with the use of an epipen) she offered to comp the meal and drinks our entire party of eight. This was a very nice gesture on behalf of the restaurant and management. The head chef came to our table and explained that accidents happen, he would meet with the staff and go over food safety protocol in detail. We were told that there would be follow up from the GM, which we never received (Im writing this a month after the incident). The way in which this unfortunate situation was handled by management was very unprofessional.
KA
Katur Patel
Came here for the first time since it opened on a Sunday night for dinner with a few friends and was surprised to see it fairly busy. The space is very open with 2 separate bars (one with TVs showing sports) and another without which is nice depending on what you are looking for. The room has a mix of higher book type tables and lower tables closer to the open kitchen. The music they play if fairly loud but not bad where you cant hear people speak which is nice. The drink menu is fairly big with a mix of craft cocktails, beers and wines. The food menu is a mix of asian, american, salads, sandwiches and Italian food so can please a mix of tastes. I would have given them more stars but I was disappointed that out of 4 main vegetarian dishes they had, 3 of them were out so leaving me with only 1 choice. The food overall was good but a bit on the pricier side. I will definitely come back and hopefully they wont have run out of everything!
DO
Doris Wong
The restaurant is not good for large groups, especially over 4 or 5 and they dont take reservations. Our party of 7 missed a seating at a large table because most of us werent there at the scheduled meeting time. After that, it was a 2-2.5 hr wait. We had invested an hour waiting at the bar, getting drinks and catching up, so we decided to stay. Service was excellent and they comped our apps. However, the food is just mediocre. My salmon dish came with baby potatoes but they were undercooked. When I had them bring me some new ones it came back still undercooked. I decided to keep my dish and eat the rest of the food which was okay. Salmon was a bit overcooked. Their service was why they got an extra star for this review. Otherwise, I think you would be better off waiting 2 hrs at Cheesecake Factory.
KA
Kaitlin M
This is the perfect spot to grab lunch while youre at Assembly Square shopping or seeing a movie. The decor is fun, the booths are cozy, the waitstaff is friendly college students (most girls in tight black dresses), and the food is good. Ive had their fish taco, the brie, fig, arugula sandwich, the chicken curry, and most recently a warm kale salad. All were good, though the curry could have used some veggies. The sandwich gets high marks (the french fries are shoestring and crispy), and I really liked the warm kale salad (similar to spinach salads Ive had before, but kale instead). For a chain, it doesnt feel too chain-like. Ive enjoyed it. Its a top spot for me at Assembly Square.
LY
lynnfieldwoods
We were able to find seats at a long communal table adjacent to the bar as soon as we walked in on a Friday evening, but it quickly filled up afterwards. The noise levels are quite high here. If you want a nice, pleasant and quiet atmosphere, youll need to try somewhere else. The food was just OK, nothing too special. I tried the bibimbap and it arrived hot at our table. And stayed hot for another 6-7 minutes. Not spicy hot; temperature hot. The rice was undercooked and hard to chew. Our Chardonnay arrived at room temperature. We asked to have it replaced with a chilled wine. Overall, average at best.
