UpStairs on the Square

Upstairs on the Square (Harvard Square) offers whimsy and romance. The food and service are always impeccable. They accept reservations and you can request a quiet out of the way table. more

should probably give this place 4 and 1/2 stars, but there are no fractions on Judys Book, so 4 is the call. Upstairs used to be Upstairs At The Pudding as it was over The Hasty Pudding Club, but they have moved over Grindles' Den. The location is similar yet different. You still have to walk up a bunch of stairs yet it now has 2 dining rooms, a "green" or more informal area or a "pink" or more "formal" dining area. Did not know that pink was more informal, but colors are subjective, I guess. After deliberating for a bit, we chose pink. My first course was an interesting soup, mostly because I am not a cream soup kind of guy. Not Lactose intolerant, mind you, more like Lactose Indifferent, either way it was quite good. My friends enjoyed their salad as well. The salmon did not disappoint either, and my friends both liked their steak. Service, wine and dessert were all excellent as well more

My friend and I met at Upstairs on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, which turned out to be very handy. The wait for a table indoors would have kept us hungry for some time, but there was no wait for an outdoor table. Once we got settled, we faced the eternal problem of deciding if we wanted appetizers or dessert since the portions are large enough to keep us from going for both with our main course. I imagine it will not surprise you to discover that we decided that dessert was the way to go. We passed on wine and went with Kir Royales as our drink of choice. (In case you wondered but never actually tried them – they are champagne with raspberry liqueur added – and they are delicious.) From there we went on to order our meals. My friend ordered the quiche and I had the eggs benedict with home fried potatoes. They were excellent. The eggs were beautifully done. The yolks were just the right consistency to be sopped up by the English muffins. The sauce was divine and the ham was some of the best I have ever had. The edge of it was covered with ground peppercorns, so it had a nice “bite” that worked well with the saltiness of the ham. The potatoes had a bit of spice to them too. We asked our server for recommendations for dessert and she suggested the butterscotch pudding with pecan tartlet or the coconut bread pudding. My friend had the butterscotch pudding and I went with the bread pudding. Mine was wonderful. The bread pudding was dense and rich with a lovely coconut flavor and came with fresh whipped cream, a berry sauce that was a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the dessert and a diced mango salad on the side. My friend really enjoyed the pudding but found that the tartlet was salty (perhaps someone mistook one thing for another in the baking process). The service was wonderful. Our server got us settled outside and took our orders. After we had eaten our main course, we found it was pretty chilly (due to the sun shifting) so she found us a table inside for our dessert. The outside eating area is lovely. If you go during a time of the year when it is warm enough, make sure you eat outside. There are trellised plants everywhere and the atmosphere is very comfortable. Inside is also lovely. With tips and the drinks we had we each dropped about $30 for brunch. If you have something to celebrate, this is the place to go. more

UpStairs on the Square is sophisticated yet hip and fun! Lot's of wine by the glass to choose from. The place is decorated with pink and zebra print carpet and lots of fireplaces. Their is a formal dinner room ( Soirée Dining Room) as well as a more causal room (Monday Club Bar). Both serve great food. Kinda pricy but worth it. Great place to go for a celebration! more