West Side Lounge

01/31/07

Great people, space and food

by 6755foodie at Citysearch

This place is such a gem. Great atmosphere, drinks, prices and the food is fantastic. I just tried the new asian dolma apps and I have never tasted anything so good. They melt in your mouth. I think it's also one of the friendliest places in Cambridge. Keep up the great work. I'll be back soon!

01/30/07

still the best!!

by lmtherapist at Citysearch

We went to the West Side last night. I had to write a review, not only to let people know how great it really is, but especially after reading the negative reviews on cs. We started with a warm yellow beet salad..the beets were so delicate in a light dressing with pine nuts and toasted garlic - definitely order this! We had a bottle of Viogner which went perfectly with the salad and our entrees - great and only 33 bucks. Upon our servers suggestion we both went with the black cod entree. This was a beautiful piece of fish, with brocoli rabe and cauliflower in a delicious light sauce. We finished with warm chocolate chip cookies with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!! yum yum. A wonderful experience, bolstered by the restaurant's funky and comfortable vibe. They always have great music playing that you can hear well and still hold a conversation easily. Still the greatest spot in Cambridge for dinner and drinks...

01/20/07

Fans of the WSL

by carache at Citysearch

We are neighbors of the WSL and have always loved the food, drinks and atmosphere so it was the first venue we considered when we decided in November to get married. I came across the bad reviews while looking for the tel #. Comments about a recent precipitous decline in quality gave us real pause and we started looking at other places to have the wedding. In fact, we were about to sign with a place across town when we realized that we hadn?t actually eaten at the WSL since the new chef had arrived. We headed over for dinner to see for ourselves.

Lucky thing we did. Everything we had that night was fabulous and the service was terrific. Things moved quickly from there and we were married a couple of weeks ago. Particular kudos go to the general manager, the asst manager and, of course, the new chef, not to mention the bartenders who worked the actual event.

From the first meeting right up through the wedding itself, the staff handled themselves, us and the event with warmth, calm and professionalism and the food was spectacular as well as wonderfully presented. We settled on an eclectic menu of appetizers that drew on several different ethnicities: a silky white bean and hummus spread; exotic grilled lalots (lamb wrapped in grape leaves spiced with toasted sesame oil); shots of roasted cauliflower soup; fried plantains with harissa, grilled scallop skewers and garlic risotto. We also included two items from the regular menu that we ate that first night -- thai short ribs, which are scrumptious with a depth of unusual flavor from the seasonings, and a grilled romaine salad -- who'd have thunk that lettuce would take to the grill with such wonderful results? Everthing was perfect and, btw, our guests (70 in all) raved about the food, which is not what one ordinarily expects when it comes to wedding grub.

I urge anyone reading this to give the WSL and the new chef a chance before relying on the views of any one diner. We're certainly glad we did