Suggestions for a restaurant for a work lunch? One of us coming from Somerville, one from Belmont and hoping to meet more or less in the middle. Criteria: must have parking nearby, must have a table available where we can sit for an hour or so. I immediately thought of Sofra, but the table situation makes it not a good option. Open to any type of food, and as far as price, I would say “normal” lunch prices fine.
Henriettas Table can be good for that sort of thing. The food is OK, but there is parking nearby and in the hotel garage. There is plenty of space and they don;t mind you lingering for a conversation.
Hmm. I think the price might be a stretch on that. While we’re “working,” we’re footing our own bills…
I had many a lunch meeting at Henrietta’s Table, but that was over ten years ago, and the “office” covered it.
It is quite expensive, and seems to be so to this day. As is the garage parking there.
I love Sofra food but agree, you can’t be guaranteed a table, and it is cramped and kind of stressful, so not a good place for a work lunch.
I wonder if Cambridge Common might work for you? Food not great, but you can get a booth, and prices reasonable. Reasonable chance of street metered parking and parking lot behind the restaurant.
I recently met a former colleague at Chang Sho, the been-there-forever Chinese place near Harvard Law School on Mass. Ave. We had the buffet and the food was better than I had expected. On the day we met, it was calm and peaceful and they didn’t mind when we spent over 2 hours talking. The buffet is fully stocked at the beginning of lunch and I suspect that they stop replenishing it a bit before the end of lunch. I haven’t been there in years (decades) but it was a surprisingly agreeable solution to catch up without feeling hassled in any way. I think they have a small parking lot as well. They bring choice of soup to the table.
I don’t know much about lunch places on the Belmont side…
The Abbey on Mass Ave is fairly mellow at lunch. I think you could sit for a while; they wouldn’t be anxious about turning the table. Street parking only (unless the lot behind the old City Sports is open to the public), but I find it fairly easy to find spots during the day.
