Ten Tables, Cambridge MA

Ten Tables
5 Craigie Circle
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 576-5444
www.tentables.net

After being big fans and pretty frequent patrons of Ten Tables in Jamaica Plain, we decided to try the new Ten Tables in Cambridge, right down the street from us.

Location:
Ten Tables is located on Craigie Circle, a little side street right off Concord Ave. There is permit parking & a couple spaces owned by the restaurant, which faces a condo/apartment complex.

Decor:
It's a small, quaint little stone building, and you walk down a flight of stairs to get into the restaurant. Inside, there are about twenty tables (much larger than it's JP counterpart) in two open rooms, which were all occupied when we entered the restaurant at 7:45. The space is pretty dark, with hanging lights illuminating each table with a soft light, and done in light brown/black hues throughout. The tables are somewhat close together, so although you could hear everyone's conversations around you (the couple next to us was fighting about her job & his criticism of her work),the place felt homey.

Food/Service:
The waiter came over and told us a little bit about the restaurant. He told us that there was a four-course tasting menu for $45, which includes both a vegetarian and a meat-lovers option. Josh and I quickly decided on the tasting menu (which we've done at Ten Tables before), and we were informed that it would be the Chef's "surprise" - meaning, you don't know what you're getting into before you order it. This was fine with us, but I informed the waiter that I didn't eat fish - something I had done with the tasting menu at JP's Ten Tables before. He told me that the Chef could not do the tasting menu without fish, which I thought was a little strange because they could just substitute the vegetarian options for the fish ones; the waiter didn't mention this as a possibility. Ultimately, we decided to choose our own courses (the tasting menu must be done by all members of the party), and elect what we both wanted seperately.

Josh ordered a bottle of wine, and chose the Red Hill Pinot Noir (Pinot Noir is my favorite). He did the whole sip-the-wine-and-say-its-good ritual, and the waiter poured us both glasses. I'm about 95% convinced the wine had gone bad, but we didn't want to say anything because our "expert" taster had already confirmed that it was okay. I drink a decent amount of Pinot Noir (as my friends will attest), so I'm pretty confident in saying that the wine had gone bad. If not, it was just an awful bottle of wine...lol.

After taking a few sips, I decided I couldn't sit here all night and drink the wine, so I asked the waiter for a soda. He informed me that Ten Tables did not serve soda, and I was kind of surprised, and just said "nevermind". We've been to a couple restaurants that don't serve soda (the idea is that they want to be fancy, and soda cheapens their brand), and I think the idea in general is pretty ridiculous, but restaurants that do this usually make their own non-alcoholic drinks. I asked the waiter the next time he came back if this was the case, and he said that they only had iced tea and sparkling water. So I ended up just drinking water throughout the meal, which was highly annoying to me ;)

The bread was yummy.. soft little rolls with olive oil, which Josh and I added a little salt to later (the salt at Ten Tables is on the table in a tiny bowl, with a miniature spoon, which we always think is a cute touch). The bread was hot and (unfortunately for my diet) extremely tasty, so we asked for more.

For my first course, I ordered the Ten Tables Handcrafted Sausage: Merguez with roasted peppers, French feta and fennel ($10). The sausage came served over a bed of white beans and some sort of soup with green foam, and in a sizeable portion. The sausage itself was good, and the meat was very tender and flavorful, as I cut and ate it with my fork. The underlying "bean soup" was good as well, but could have been a little saltier. I think it would have been even better if it were served with little pieces of bread or crostinis.

For dinner, I ordered Ten Tables ever-changing pasta dish; tonight, it was Handcut Fettucine Carbonara Style with Native Parsnips, Peas and Pancetta ($18). I really liked the Carbonara, and thought it was (comparitively) light and creamy. I liked the pasta and sauce a lot, and the little breadcrumbs on top were an interesting touch, while the parsnips were kind of a cool and unique addition to the dish. I think I ate almost all of it. I would have loved if there were little pieces of chicken or more pancetta throughout, though... I thought the dish was missing a little something.

Dessert was by far my favorite part of the meal, the warm Sticky Toffee Pudding ($8). It came in a little round ramekin, which had been baked and vanilla bean ice cream spooned on top. The top was a harder caramel-like crust, while inside was soft, moist layers of cake and warm toffee sauce. The ice cream was a perfect compliement, and I ate every bite of the decent-sized dish they gave me. I did share with Josh, but I kinda wanted to keep it all for myself. I wish I could make something like that at home.

We weren't crazy about our waiter, who we felt kind of rushed us and wasn't as accomodating as he could have been. He wasn't bad, just wasn't very graceful either.

Reaction:
All in all, I think Cambridge Ten Tables was a decent meal, but not comparable to similar restaurants in the area in the same price range. I think it's lost some of the quaint little charm that goes along with Ten Tables in JP, but still seems to serve solid dishes that aren't entirely creative, but pleasing nonetheless. We probably wouldn't be back to this location, but I'm sure we'll give JP Ten Tables another shot.

Grade:
B