Charlie's Kitchen is a restaurant serving American fare with New England specialties in the Harvard Square

Harvard Square

Harvard Square is a large triangular area in the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street. It is the historic center of Cambridge...

 neighborhood of Cambridge

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. “Charlie’s” houses bars on two separate floors; additionally, a front patio and backyard beer garden are open seasonally. The Boston Phoenix named it one of the best dive bars in Boston in 2009.

History

Opened by Charlie Lambrose in 1951, Charlie's Kitchen is considered to be one of the last vestiges of "old" Harvard Square. It is located at 10 Eliot Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Waitress Helen Metros has waited tables at Charlie’s for over 50 years.

Green Initiatives

Despite the grungy exterior, Charlie’s Kitchen's management has undertaken several eco-friendly initiatives. Solar panels on the roof heat water for kitchen-use and the restaurant composts all of its food waste and recycles. Some plastics, including the beer garden cups, are also compostable. Three vehicles run on the restaurant’s waste fry oil.

Awards

Charlie’s Kitchen’s jukebox has won the Boston Phoenix’s reader-polled "Best of Boston Award for Best Jukebox" for the past five years, most recently in 2010. It also won The Improper Bostonian’s Boston’s Best Bar for the Harvard Square Neighborhood in 2010 and the Weekly Dig’s Dig This Award for Best Outdoor dining in 2009.