Parlor Sports is close to being the platonic ideal of a neighborhood sports bar. A leafy patio strewn with umbrella-topped tables proves an excellent venue for picking over French toast or linguica. This family-run restaurant was in Union Square long before small plates and serves hearty, affordable American diner fare for breakfast and simple Portuguese dishes for lunch. The fact that Neighborhood Restaurant is decidedly un-hip is perhaps its best selling point. Next door is the connected Fat Hen, which delivers a small menu of antipasti and pastas like a pistachio pesto linguine or squid ink bucatini in lobster broth. The space is dominated by rough-hewn woods and a tremendous fire pit that turns out wood-fired oysters, cilantro chimichurri skirt steak, and an 18-ounce T-bone. La Brasa may stand apart from the mom-and-pop ethnic spots of East Somerville, but it’s anything but fancy. While it hasn’t quite eclipsed the Craigie burger, the kimchee Russian dressing-topped cheeseburger at KT&T has earned a following of its own. The grass-fed cheeseburger at Kirkland Tap & Trotter.Ĭraigie on Main’s more casual sister restaurant serves grill-centric pub fare as imagined by Tony Maws, including fried pickles, swordfish skewers, and a bacon-wrapped chicken liver and bone marrow pate. And finally, Sunday night marks the emergence of Romeo’s, with a pasta-centric “Sunday Supper” menu. Weekend brunch transforms the restaurant into Juliet’s Cafe, with breakfast tacos and smoked salmon toast.

On Wednesday through Saturday evenings, Juliet serves a themed, monthly changing prix-fixe menu, while a separate a la carte menu is also available for walk-ins. This small Union Square spot with whitewashed walls is really three concepts in one.

A daily late-night menu served until midnight offers buttermilk fried chicken sandwiches and poutine with Guinness gravy. Its food and drink focus is more modern, featuring American comfort food, local classics, and a cocktail menu that’s heavy on Negroni variants. This 16-year-old mainstay - recently refreshed by a 2017 renovation - capitalizes on Union Square’s place in history with colonial-inspired digs. Take in its funky decor, which includes a mounted steer head and a jukebox, while feasting on a plate of buffalo fried Brussels sprouts or coconut curried goat stew. Gently priced classic cocktails and just-funky-enough twists on American comfort food have earned Highland Kitchen a fierce cult following. The blackened catfish po’boy at Highland Kitchen.

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