The Red House

eggplant contadina 8.50
thick sliced roasted eggplant topped with parmesan, tomato, fresh mozzarella & basil oil

There's this super cute little red house situated in Harvard Square a little above the street. From the inside, the house seems to be so small that the beauiful outdoor patio appears to overpower the actual dining/bar area. Truth this, several hidden and private dining rooms actually make this place much bigger than it seems.

Originally built in 1802, this house was once a private residence before beginning its second life as a restaurant (with a short stint in between as a Harvard University office building). Do you wonder why it's built slightly higher up with a retaining wall on the outside? To protect against the waters of the free-flowing Charles River!

Things are really different today, more than 200 years later, but the little red house still looks pretty much the same. It's become a quaint Italian restaurant now, with a delightful outdoor patio that's worth trying to get if it's a beautiful summer day outside.
Here's a peek at the dishes we got during our last visit!

mixed greens salad with mussels, red beets, pickled onions 

linguini con carciofi   13.95/22.50

artichoke hearts, arugula, plum tomatoes, garlic & crushed red pepper, tossed with linguini

add grilled chicken, $3 add grilled shrimp,  $5

Special of the Day: linguini with chicken tossed in a pesto sauce  13.95/22.50

five spice roasted duck breast breast  14.95/23.50
with fennel, orange & ginger compote

Thoughts
We really enjoyed our meal here! It probably did not hurt that we managed to grab the last remaining outdoor seat on a gorgeous summer day, but that's a big part of the charm of dining here. Overall, we really enjoyed the food. I absolutely loved my liguini con carciofi - such a celebration of summer vegetables with deliciously al denta pasta. I thought the texture of the homemade pasta was excellent. Bryan's pasta dish had great texture too and rich flavors. I personally preferred my dish, but I tend to like lighter dishes in general. I thought my eggplant appetizers was pretty good, though it was a bit oilier than I would have liked. Bryan really enjoyed his mussels salad.

What I really like about this place is that the menu offers half portions for almost everything. For those with smaller appetites, it's a perfect opportunity to order a smaller amount of something and actually be able to finish everything on your plate. For someone with a bigger appetite, it allows you the opportunity to try several different things. Bryan got a salad and two half portions for his dinner (sort of like a true Italian experience with a primo and a secondi!).

The portions sizes are rather generous. All the dishes you see pictured above (except for the appetizers) are half portions! I thought the duck dish was big enough to be a main entrée!

All in all, even though the prices are slightly on the higher side, the portions are generous enough that you could really enjoy a great meal just getting a salad and a half portion of one of the entrée. We thought the service was excellent, and the bar made pretty good mixed drinks.

All in all, if you can get one of those outdoor seats, it's a fabulous way to experience Harvard Square outdoors on a beautiful summer evening.

GIVEWAY!

It's not too late to enter the Giveaway for the reusable produce bags! So far there aren't that many entries, so the odds are pretty good!

The Red House
98 Winthrop St
Cambridge, MA 02138