Area Four

A massive, fire-roaring brick oven in the center of the room.

A huge chalkboard neatly filled with the day’s food and drink offerings.

Floor-to-ceiling windows streaming in tons of sunlight.

The moment I entered into the space, I instinctively told myself, “I love this vibe.” Area Four is modern yet relaxed; trendy yet chill. It’s very, very Cambridge. I immediately decided I really, really wanted to love this place. Who wouldn’t want such a cool and inviting space to also have fantastic food?

Thankfully, after that visit, Area Four has become one of my favorite new restaurants in Cambridge.

The huge oven signaled to us that we should at least try their pizzas, as that seems to be one of their specialties. Bryan and I opted for a caramelized onion pizza. I also ordered a Brussels Sprouts salad, recommended highly by our server.

The Brussels Sprouts salad consisted of shredded Brussels sprouts and kale, shaved Parmesan, and toasted hazelnuts. I loved the idea of such rustic, healthy ingredients. We thought that the salad was a little under-dressed and could have benefited from just a little bit more tartness (from citrus, maybe?) and just a tad more oil. Other than that, the ingredients were extremely fresh and the salad was definitely quite healthy!

We loved the smoked fish pate, which went perfectly with the crackers.They even gave us extra "toasts" after we ran out.

We split the caramelized onion pizza between the two of us. We were both really pleasantly surprised at how good this pizza was. The crust is thin and slightly crispy, with just enough chew to make the pie quite satisfying to eat.

I really enjoyed the flavor combination of the sweet caramelized onions, savory tomato sauce, cheese, and fragrant basil. Seriously, it's become one of my new favorite pizza places in Cambridge (though I still reserve soft spots for some of my other favorites!)

Homemade vanilla soft serve

I have a super weak spot for soft serve, so I was thrilled to find a place that actually makes it fresh from scratch (hard to find non-yogurt places that still offer this!). You could still see the little specs of vanilla bean in their ice cream.The ice cream was light and refreshing, though I decided that I still much preferred the ice cream from some of my favorite, dedicated ice cream shops.

Their coffee is excellent. We tried their French Press, which they serve tableside.

Overall, my first visit to Area Four was excellent. I loved the ambiance, the food, the location, and everything else!

Of course, I've only had a brief sampling of the menu, so it's hard to know what everything else is like. Nevertheless, I am thrilled about this place (along many other great places) opening up in Kendall Square. Bummed it didn't happen while I was a student at MIT, but I'm still excited it's happening now.

Area Four
500 Technology Square
Cambridge, MA 02139