You started in Harvard Square, but one right turn, and you’re suddenly in Middle-earth. Or so this hobbit-hole-like hideaway might lead you to believe. (As would the professors, students and charming nerds debating the sociopolitical import of The Lord of the Rings.) Hearty spreads like the Beggar’s Banquet, offered half-price during certain happy hours, are washed down with frothy pints of eclectic beers. Grendel’s name nods to Beowulf, and this place is pretty epic.
Grendel’s Den
89 Winthrop St., Cambridge • (617) 491-1160
grendelsden.com
Other Winners
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Neighborhoods: Harvard Square
2015 Winner: Russell House Tavern
Look, little shaver: When you’ve graduated from cheap scorpion bowls and karaoke at the Hong Kong, we’ll see you at this smart but still-fun cocktail den where two bars’ worth of masterful vest- and tie-wearing mixologists can school you on spirits one second and chat indie rock the next…...
- 14 John F. Kennedy St., Cambridge
- (617) 500-3055
- russellhousecambridge.com