Russell House Tavern

Reviews

• Jenn W.

  star star star star star_border 13 June 2026

  Really 3.5 stars, but rounding up cause I'm feeling generous.
  
  Came for brunch with a friend. Had the Maria Basilico and Fruit Loop Cosmo for drinks. My friend is a fan of super sweet drinks so she enjoyed her cosmo. The Maria Basilico was ok; nothing special and got hard to drink with the straw due to the crushed cucumber pieces in it. For food, I had the Smoked Salmon Breakfast Pizza and my friend had the Benedict with avocado instead of bacon since she's a vegetarian. Everything was tasty and came out in a timely manner. Our server was nice and accommodating with our dietary restrictions; we sat for awhile after finishing to chat and we didn't feel rushed to leave or pay the bill which was appreciated.

• Melissa R.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 6 June 2026

  Very disappointed in Russell House Tavern. I've come to learn that if a place has over 1,000 amazing reviews, it's probably not going to be my most favorite place (too many 4.5/5 star places have let me down!)
  
  I could tell the waitress was overworked and didn't have much help. I ordered an Irish coffee which usually has cream on top and I got it almost an hour later (not blaming the waitress she looked very busy with very little help) and it was straight up coffee with whiskey and just not that appetizing.
  
  Thankfully the waitress understood that this wasn't what I was expecting and after an hour of waiting I really didn't want it anymore.
  
  My boyfriend got a breakfast plate and was extremely underwhelmed.
  
  I got the cheeseburger with salad and to be honest I was pretty underwhelmed.
  
  Atmosphere was nice, but doesn't make up for the subpar experience.

• Courtney N.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 6 June 2026

  This place was very mediocre and I'm sorry to have to leave a poor review (really wish we could do half stars!).
  My dining partner and I wandered in on an early Saturday afternoon. It was pretty busy but we got a table on the upper floor. I'm not a fan of stools and would have preferred to sit at the bar actually but our waitress didn't return for so long that we decided to stay put.
  They had their brunch menu available. A lot of interesting cocktails based on cereals. I went with the fruit loop cosmo. It was awful. Adding bitter cranberry juice to something that should be sweet is never a good idea. My partner went with a Nitro beer that they had us wait on because it was almost out and they were changing it, then they brought him 1/3 of a mug and said sorry but they were out so they'd take it off of the bill. He decided to drink my cosmo and I tried the peanut butter banshee cocktail. While slightly better than the cosmo it was still a very weird flavor with a very bitter aftertaste. I liked their bar menu that listed drinks and ingredients but after two fails I didn't want to order another and stuck with water.
  For lunch we went off of the brunch menu. I got the farmer's market omelette. It was super thick and fluffy - very strange texture. I loved the roasted butternut squash but that was about it. Egg didn't taste right at all. I was disappointed with the home fries. No where on the menu did it say they were glazed (in maple, I believe) and it really didn't taste good. English muffin was fine.
  My partner got the salmon breakfast pizza. Interesting idea, poorly done. It was basically burnt thin crust with cream cheese topped with pieces of smoked salmon, tons of capers and then totally covered with arugula. Good thing he's a fan of that because it made up most of the meal. I tried it and we both agreed we'd never order something like that again.
  Finally, and reason this is 2 and not 3 stars, I ventured to the lower floor to find the restroom. The woman on my floor said go down and I'd see it. Well, I didn't see it. I asked the woman at the desk and instead of acknowledging me, she looked right through me and started flirting with some male waiter who was moving chairs around. Really great customer service.... anyway, I found it but found that encounter pretty poor.
  All in all, overpriced weird food, bad customer service and relatively gross breakfast cocktails make this a place we definitely won't return to nor recommend.

• Christine B.

  star star star star star_border 18 May 2026

  Arguably one of the most popular restaurants in Cambridge...and with good reason! This place serves a variety of food and the atmosphere is chill/romantic/lively. During my last visit, I tried one of their pizzas and I found it to be really good. I forgot the name of the pizza, but it had a mix of salty with a little bit of sweetness... making for a very tasteful pizza. This is a great place for drinks after work, dates, or a meal with friends or family. It is the perfect backdrop for every occasion- definitely worth a try. I bet all the locals would agree :)

• Catherine F.

  star star star star star_border 15 May 2026

  Really liked the atmosphere of the place. It was much bigger than I imagined and reminded me of a classy, upscale tavern that was still lowkey and chill.
  
  I liked what we ordered, although I felt like the portions could have been bigger. We ordered the peach and burrata salad, steak frites, Jordan's Dream pizza, and pork belly steamed buns. The peach and burrata salad was pretty good, but then again, I don't see how you could go wrong with burrata. The steak frites was not enough steak and too many fries. The steak itself was cooked decently, though. The pizza was fairly tasty with prosciutto, asparagus, tomatoes, arugula, and balsamic on top. The pork belly steamed buns were a miss for me. I probably should've known not to order these at an American restaurant, but I thought I would give it a fair shot.
  
  Overall, probably will just be coming back for the atmosphere and a drink next time!