Michelin came to town this year and the city got starred – er, a star. (Though that single guidebook honor went to a restaurant in Boston.) The fanfare was fun, but we didn’t learn anything deliciously new: fine Italian, funky Vietnamese, spicy Asian noodles and small plates seemed to lead the way. We tried them all and told you about them to highlight the right places to spend dining dollars with the maximum amount of yum. Listed below are a few of our favorite things from 2025 that you may wish to put on your 2026 culinary calendar. Bon appétit!
Lobster this and that: I’m a lobster freak and have been firm about how my lobster should be served – succulent in its natural, naked state, not overcooked, drowned in mayonnaise or mixed with gobs of cheese, let alone overwhelmed by some other sauce in a fancy twist gone wrong. But 2025 was the year I gave up being a purist. At Bar Enza in The Charles Hotel we encountered the fisherman’s soup, a savory bisque thick with tender lobster chunks. The broth is not your typical, but a hearty brown akin to a Bermudian fish chowder. It’s a unique and satiating spin on a New England classic, and not the first time executive chef Lydia Shire has thought outside the shell about lobster; across the river, sister eatery Scampo serves a lobster pizza that’s divine. In Cambridge Crossing, the spicy lobster spaghetti at Will Gilson’s Geppetto is a pleasure that brings the heat without spoiling the meat, with nuggets of buttery lobster in a fra diavolo-ish sauce, making for a complex and nuanced dish with nothing overpowering about it. We appreciate the housemade, al dente pasta, too. Between Porter and Harvard squares there’s seafood-focused Moëca, which, with sibling eatery Giulia around the corner, ended up on the Michelin Recommended list. It serves a hearty lobster gnocchi with some of the softest potato pillows of pasta you will ever have. The sapid broth or sauce is a lobster stock reduction with celery crescents that still have a bit of crunch despite steeping – and yes, there’s plenty of meat. The dish supplants a lobster spaghetti, which was previously a fave. When I saw the swap, I thought, “Oh, no.” Now I think “Heck, yes!”
The tasting table at Urban Hearth: The little bistro that could and did, as it was one of the eight Cambridge eateries making the Michelin guide without stars. I cannot praise enough the virtues of Urban Hearth’s buttermilk biscuit with smoked maple miso butter – try one before you die – but the tasting table is a value-laden experience well worth the splurge, where chef-owner Erin Miller serves savory small plates that pull from the regular menu and inventive concoctions of the day. More than that, it is an event, seating four at a time inches from Miller and crew as they meticulously prep plated victuals: You get to see the artistry and perhaps take home a culinary hack or two. Reservations for the table will always be highly recommended, though there’s a relocation next year from smallish digs in North Cambridge to a much bigger space in Inman Square.
Quail kebabs at Oleana: Another Michelin selection in Inman Square. People rave about Oleana’s baked Alaska, and rightfully so, but it’s the Mediterranean-leaning menu’s juicy quail kebabs that light my fire. The well-seasoned cubes come out near sushi style on a square of moist, deeply flavorful rice. Other recommended items to round out your small-plate contentment are the attic char and ricotta dumplings.
Noodles and scallions, please: Another Michelin champ here in Jahunger of Cambridgeport. We cannot get enough of the hearty hand-pulled noodles that are the centerpiece of its Original Meefen with spiced ground chicken, a mound of diced scallions, crispy soy beans and a special house sauce that brings it all together. The combination is exotic but comforting – not as spicy as much of the other Uyghur-inspired cuisine at Jahunger. (If you want a kick, get just the meefen and its red sauce.) My other fun noodle dine is the ob woo zen at Dakzen in Davis Square, succulent glass noodles in a savory sesame sauce with plenty of scallions and Chinese broccoli. Perfect for these cold raw days. Get it with prawns and thank us later.
The affogato espresso martini at The Hourly: Not something immediately obvious during these colder days, but you could consider this drink a deconstructed hot cocoa with an adult boost. It comes with a spoon for good reason: What makes it so good is a dollop of rich vanilla bean soft serve, which is creamy but not sugary, in an espresso pour-over that bears a touch of barista art. The best setting for this is likely a summer day, when the Hourly has its cafe-style windows opened onto Dunster Street, served with a half-dozen oysters – and The Hourly is truly one of the best in its curation of shucked shellfish. The lobster bisque’s not too bad either, and maybe that’s the better seasonal accompaniment before the first crocus pops through the snow.
Ham sandwiches: Probably the most unassuming and underrated lunch staple, often looked down upon, pooh-poohed and ignored. There’s a mundane quality to some, but have you had lean, quality jamon, sliced thinly onto the right bread with the right accents? Ham, butter and brie – sometimes with fig jam – works for me, though in 2025 we sampled a few takes on this traditional sandwich with unconventional twists. The Causeway at Pronto in The Charles Hotel is a big boy sandwich in every sense and insatiably delectable in every bite, served with barbecue sauce, arugula and aged cheddar on a hot pressed brioche bun. The honey ham and smoked turkey Reuben at Hot Tomatoes in Somerville is another two-hander, coming on pressed marble rye with your choice of slaw or potato salad (do potato). There’s ham with hots at Cafe Rustica, which serves up some of the leanest, thinnest Black Forest ham in town in a hot baguette. It’s a crunchy good eat that will make your eyes roll and your mouth water (from the hots, if not the whole dish). Get it with the works, though I tend to skip the mayo and onions.
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.
Tom Meek is my favorite part of Cambridge Day.