Bukowski Tavern

Went here for date night last week and had a great meal. The weather was great so the front of the restaurant was open to the street, which was nice. Good service and good food. We started with the tots and split a beat salad and each had a burger. I had the bison, which was very tasty. We will likely go back, but there are so many great places in the area to try, it could be a little while.

Everything about this place, from service to the food was terrible. Went by on a weekend afternoon with a friend and sat at the bar, place was pretty quiet. Bartenders didn’t know even know how to pour a beer — both arrived with a head that was ¹⁄₃ of the glass. We got food menus, usually a sign that someone wants to order food. Instead had to wait for 10 minutes while the girl that couldn’t pour a decent beer shot the shit with friends at the other end of the bar. Finally flagged down another bartender to order clam chowder, which arrived as mostly a butter soup type concotion that was flavorless. Hopefully some relative of the author sues this place out of business so a bar that actually cares about serving the craft beer they brag about can take its place, and put Inman square out of its misery.

I’ve revised what was originally a babbling rant; tried to keep it simple:
The bartenders here were unprofessional and the food sucked. My buddy and I received under-​poured IPA’s and a sad excuse for clam chowder. We waited too long, received little service, and left hungry.
Will certainly not be returning.

I haven’t updated since the renovation (oops) but have been back a number of times, and each time, it has been above and beyond. I am OBSESSED with the duck burger. Obsessed. I salivate whenever I think about it. I’m a condiments girl, and their 3 signature «fancy sauces» are delicious. I’m not sure if the duck burger is 100% duck, or if there’s beef in there too, but it is absolutely incredible. Yum yum yum.

Pathetic service. We were four people. We ordered beer and one of us didn’t get his order. He asked the waiter, and the waiter got offended. He said, «wait for your beer or leave the place. You don’t get to ask about your order in front of me.» This is the worst response we have ever got. Will never ever come to this place again. many other good places to go in Cambridge.

love this place, no complaints on any front.
Firstly, their hobo special, which is a hot dog and a choice of a 40 oz. is hilarious and awesome. The buttered bun makes the hot dog far better than the average.
Secondly, their burger selection is crazy! my brother got an emu burger and it tasted so good! I got the poe, which was a kobe beef burger with lobster and ham, and it was incredible as well. Compliments to the creative burgers! Poe tots were also the bomb.
Thirdly, wait staff was awesome. They helped us order (we had no idea it was really emu) and were friendly and attentive the whole meal. Props to you guys!

The food is really wonderful, always been a big Poe fan and this is some of his best work! The menu is full of extremely inventive hot dogs and burgers (amongst other things). Get the duck burger, just do it. And the tots, you won’t be sorry.
The vibe is also great, very lively. But also a big enough bar that you’re not elbow to elbow with everyone in there. Good selection of beers although very IPA-​heavy.

I’ve been here 3 or 4 times now. I absolutely love the hobo special and their burgers are delicious. They have all sorts of different meat (elk, bison, kangaroo…) for their burgers, which is really cool.
The music is a little too loud, but overall I think it’s a good place to get a slightly more upscale /​yet still comfy food.

Loved the Tots and The Sloppy Poe! Great prices and beyond delish! Great place to watch the game (gooooo Syracuse) and learn about different types of beer! Great space.

Truly impressed! They have a variety of burgers: elk, camel, bison, antelope, and a couple veggie options. Everyone in my group tried a different burger and there were no complaints! My craft beer friends are a huge fan of this place. I have been here on a couple occasions and the service has always been great. They will easily put a couple tables together for a big group. Parking is easy! There is ample street metered parking outside the restaurant. A previous reviewer had mentioned that Bukowski’s accepts cash only. This is not true. They will happily accept credit card or cash.

The only good thing left from the old place is the hobo special. Its like a TGI Fridays inside, so generic and feels nothing like the rest of Inman. This place is over. Goodbye Bukowski’s.

The lentil burger is one of the best burgers I’ve ever had in my entire life. I’m not into fried foods so I appreciated that I could get a side salad. Love that their beer selection is always changing. I had a coconut porter tonight that was incredible. Can’t wait to go back to try different things.

Stopped by here on a frigid galentines night for some food and beers and had a great time. The duck burger is one of the best burgers I’ve ever had — the flavor is incredible and the portion is perfect! The service was awesome, and our waiter was really great about checking in and helping us pick different beers (free samples!).
This is a very chill place with good food and a great beer selection! Great place to enjoy with friends :)
Belgian Wit salad is a hard pass tho…

I can’t speak for the food; we just got beer. As far as the beer goes, this place gets 6 stars! Ever since moving to Boston from Michigan, I’ve been longing for a bar that includes a selection of more than a couple Sam Adams’, Guinness and Bud Light. This place has a beer selection that will have something new for even the most well traveled beer snob to try. Prices were reasonable. I’ll definitely be back to try the grub.

I really love this place, the first time I went the antelope burger was AMAZING. The past few times it’s been a bit overcooked and not quite as good, but I recently tried the avocado burger and it was phenomenal. They have a great selection of beers and ciders and the overall vibe is fun. Definitely recommend.

Tons of beer, allllll the sweariness, salads dressed with cascade hops vinaigrette.
A mountain of sweet potato tots, all lubed up in maple sage butter… this has GOT to be what Bukowski was contemplating when «find what you love and let it kill you» flowed from his pencil.
Cool place!

It was okay to me. Nice set up as far as tavern’s go – but the prices kill the joint. Beer prices are entirely too marked up, well, unless you want PBR. I just hate I when places do this to make their joint seem more high-​end. You’re a tavern – not a high-​end establishment. I mean, I ordered 7 beers and it cost me $ 130. That was without tip. I was really put off by the fact their beers on average were more than 7 bucks a beer. Don’t get me wrong, some beer is worth paying 7 bucks for, but this selection, while okay, was totally off point. Oh, did I mention this is draft beer, and totally shouldn’t have been marked up as much as it was. Oh, Bantam apple cider was about $ 10 a bottle. It’s made in Somerville and you get a growler for the cost of one cider here.
As for the food, PULEASE, I was more unimpressed with how poorly the burger was made. initial flavor was good, then after a bite or two it turned into something I cannot describe. It was simply – okay – and doesn’t register on the gourmet level it’s advertised to. Oh, and I think Crystal’s burgers are bigger! I’ll only go back if I’m forced to by some schmuck who’s not been there. I gave them a 2 because I’m not planning on going back, which I normally would to offer another chance, and don’t want to totally ruin their rep.

After leaving here I can’t feel but angry after the bill of $ 200+ with tips between 4 people. Burgers are good. I got the Poe and although it had lobster, meat and foi gras it tasted a little garbage. The duck one was good. But the portions were small. I think the owner is trying to go up market but to just add expensive ingredients and charge $ 18 for my mint cider without telling me goes a bit beyond my budget for casual drinking. We didn’t know much about the town and the menu looked cheap, they’ll just get you on the drinks. I’d try the Druid instead. We were contemplating on going there after our first drink but I was with cry babies who didn’t like moving. Avoid and go Druid lol

12/​10/​2015
I went to dinner last night at Bukowski Tavern/​Cambridge with my best friend and initially I was expecting a good experience. Lists of draft (and bottled) beers were everywhere and it looked like it could be a good place. I WAS WRONG. My friend and I waited more than 10 min. (once we reached our table) to be approached by _​anyone_​regarding service (the restaurant had only ONE waitress working — a staffing error that is so egregious that it defies imagination) and the person who approached us was the hostess herself, AFTER I HAD BEEN FORCED TO INQUIRE about _​actually_​getting served. She took our drink order and wandered off. I should mention that she never acted as if she was actually happy to see us or anything or that perhaps her JOB was to greet people warmly and make them feel welcome… I think that would have been significantly beyond her limited talents.
FINALLY a man wandered over… didn’t bother to tell us about specials or anything or ask us if it was our first time at the Tavern… I suspect that whoever is in charge of training the staff at Bukowski probably failed to mention to his/​her staff that those kinds of things are actually IMPORTANT.
The guy took our order and he, too, wandered off. Not a THANK YOU or ‘can I get you an appetizer’ or anything like that… just wandered off. I didn’t see him again.
Our food came eventually and here’s the thing about Bukowski: They list about 15 different kinds of burgers: EMU, ANTELOPE, CAMEL (that was a new one on me), Portabella (this isn’t a burger, by definition, since burgers are GROUND meat and that’s not what you do with a Portabella mushroom), but I digress. They also offered Bison, and a few others that surprised me. My reaction, after eating the ‘standard’ cheeseburger is… DON’T BOTHER with the others. If what they do to Bison or Camel or Emu is as crass and pathetic as what they brought me for a cheeseburger, it most certainly won’t be worth the $$ that you’ll be asked to pay.
My burger (medium-​rare, thank God) was $ 12.95 — and it was LESS than 3″ across and 1″ high. It was served with approx. 4 oz of rather pathetic, unremarkable french fries — certainly not an amount that anyone would consider ‘generous’. NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE’S does a far superior Burger for $ 1.00 less… without any of the pretense.
As for the beer? WAY OVER PRICED. I ordered an ACE BERRY cider — $ 6.50 — that I could have bought at a local package store for $ 11.00/6-pack. Robbery by anyone’s definition. I wouldn’t have carped if they had brought out a 20 oz. tumbler, but NO… this was the standard bottle.
Our total meal was $ 42.45 + $ 2.97 tax. I left no tip and I explained at the bottom of the charge slip that their ‘service’ didn’t justify a tip and that it was mediocre at best. I WOULD NEVER, EVER go back to Bukowski’s.

Bukowskis is one of my favorite places to go for a drink. Love the atmosphere there, especially when they open the front up in the warmer months. Also, my cousin and I had one of the best things I’ve ever eaten there. It was tater tots with pork belly and Brussels sprouts and cheese on them and omg. I need to get them again.

Stopped in for a quick drink before dinner at East Coast Grill. It was 6:30 on a Wednesday and the place was pretty quiet and empty, which is totally fine by me. They had a great selection of drinks — tons of beer, wine and cocktails. We were a mixed bag — one got a great beer that I had never heard of before but was totally awesome, I got a local cider (yum!), another got wine, and another got a retro cocktail. We all really enjoyed our drinks. We stood around one of the bar tables and we all really enjoyed the atmosphere. I’d definitely come back by if I were in the area.

Good service. Excellent beer selection. Not a better place in the local area for game meats.
The one thing that I always get when I go are the potots — unbelievable tater tots. Their buffalo chicken is above average along with their venison and elk burgers. One hidden gem are their deserts — save room!

How much is in a name? Just enough, as it were.
Bar food. Yes. Can be prepared with extra grease, or a little less grease, maybe. Ya know, as needed. Table service, as you ask for it. No one is going out of their way here, but why would they? It’s not like they need to, I guess.
Let us be clear — the ‘downtown’ bukowski’s is a pain in the ass, with cash-​for-​crap as a food menu and a rotating craft beer selection of I-don’t-care. But the Cambridge location has some kitsch and some window going for it. It will allow you to check the boxes as far as an atmosphere. It will keep you full (too full). The staff will not steal your date.
Maybe you dream that some withered, elder soul will spearhead your journey into adulthood? I fear not. Model Café, maybe. But here, you’ll just be letting your own life take it’s course. Waste Not, Want Not? I dunno

I have never met more rude and annoying people In my entire life in a place of Business
I will never return here and I will recommend that people do not go here I am surprised this place is still here and that they have not changed the name .
maybe they Hired some friendly people ?
Good luck Good Thing that was two years ago. Maybe. It has changed. That’s. Possible

Really enjoyed this place after it reopened. Nice seating by the open «windows» (glass wall opens up). Gluten free menu has great options with rare meats — buk, wild board, etc. Some other rare meats are only possible on the gluten menu but apparently delicious — especially alligator in a blanket.
Never tried the gluten free buns, have only done lettuce to hold the meat. But overall delicious. Fries and tater tots are fried in same oil as other things containing flour — I always appreciate being told this up front, not having to ask. Service is usually okay, never bad.

I ate here last night and my food was so good. I ordered the DUCK with bbq and cranberry spiced, truffle rosemary cream, fried onion. AMAZING! Well worth ordering. The flavors were so complimentary. The burger just worked. My boyfriend ordered the lamb with tzatziki, which he claimed was good but seemed so basic when comparing to my sandwich. The place was recently renovated, so the inside still has a new cleanness to it. The beer selection is extensive here. A drink for even the pickiest of beer snobs. I love the front windows are also sliding doors which open to the street. The seating near the front feels a bit like sitting outside when they are open which is great in the summer. The waitstaff were really friendly and helpful. It was a fun mid-​week date night.

I can only hope that some distant, aggrieved relation of Charles Bukowski sues this place into oblivion, or that the ghost of the man ties the bar owner’s arms in a knot and burns his eyes out with twice-​smoked cigarette butts, or worse. This place sucks, it does no service to Charles Bukowski, and I fear it may be the bleeding edge of turning Inman Square into Kendall Square.
The Catholic notion of sin and atonement says that sin puts the world out of order, and atonement is the process by which the would is put back into order. In that spirit, and in the spirit (but not imitation) of Charles Bukowski himself, let me just say this:
Bukowski used to be a seedy, divey place where the menu cursed at you, they had a lot of beers, and your shoes stuck to the floor. Now it has a sterile Five Horses-​type ambiance, but way way less authentic. It feels like the owner revamped it to be generically «bar,» kept the name, and counted on the tech douchebag bros to keep the place afloat. No more Cambridge weirdos here, no more rough and tumble locals — hell, not even the hip of Camberville would dare go near this nondescript cynical palace to capitalism named after one of its sharpest critics. Freaking gross. Will the entire world be turned into the South End? God help us.
Sure, they had a late-​season glass of Smoke & Dagger for me, and a good but pointless «Dark Saison» from Idle Hands, and service at the bar was fine. These days, I look upon 23 draft lines as a burden rather than a luxury, a sign that a bar is trying too hard. Style upon unnecessary style of beer available to satisfy your most twee of hyper-​local hyper-​artisinal, hyper-​bitter sensibilities, this masquerading as sophistication. The intolerable snobs from
have convinced lazy bar owners that the road to riches is through more than 20 draft lines of microbrewed beer, all of which taste bitter, sharp, and piney. It is summer: I’ll just take a Pilsner, please.
I thought the crowd at this place might be similar to other bars nearby, people who live in the area, cool professors, people with one leg, and the odd couple on a date. A few weeks ago I was at a bar down the street, there was a live bluegrass band with an electric mandolin, and there was a dude with plugs in his ears, covered from head to toe with aggressive tattoos, wearing a spiked collar, and just totally into the folksy old-​timey music. He was from Saugus! I liked that guy! He doesn’t go to Bukowski.
No, I don’t even know where they found these people in Cambridge. Un-​reconstructed fans of Glen Danzig, tech dudes with huge dense beards and a disgusting sense of financial and sexual entitlement, bald old guys in suits hitting on waitresses, grad students young in their career as grad students who don’t know better, and just generalized bros.
Don’t go here, seriously. Don’t encourage these people.

This place is sleek and shiny and new and … plain. It boasts a large beer list and comfort foods, but seems overpriced and not necessarily worth the stop with so many other cozier places nearby. Simply put, it has the feel of a sterile airport bar that is trying hard to be quirky but falling short.
I didn’t try any but they have burgers of many animals. Duck, tuna, bison, yak, turkey… you name it. And alligator hot dogs. I’d stick with the mushroom burger or mac and cheese.
The windows in the front open all the way up when it’s nice out, so that’s a plus. And like 4 different girls were our waitrewss, so that’s confusing. The music was fun but way too loud for a 5p.m. stop.
They have decriptions of different beer types on the wall, so that’s fun to read. They also have a wheel indecisive drinkers can spin to pick their drink.
All in all, a decent place to grab a drink, but passable.

I wonder if the owners realize the irony in the chalkboard statement, «Another F’n Burger Joint» near the entrance. They sucked the soul out of this place and then try to slap on some hokey attempt at a Bukowski-​esque slogan, only to make you painfully more aware of how intolerable this place is. Come on down for an over-​priced menu, a Jon Taffer style — your dad will think this is cool — atmosphere, and a playlist full of Maroon 5. I almost feel like I’m being cruel, but these are simple things that can be fixed. Until then, this place sticks out like a sore thumb — they should just call it a gentro-​pub.
I will gladly bike, walk, or crawl the extra 2 miles to get to Bukowski’s off Boylston or the Lower Depths if I want a trip down memory lane.

Guys, are you serious? I am blown away by the newly renovated Bukowski’s! I seriously spent most of my evening there completely dumbstruck by all the changes. I had a very hard time believing it was the same bar (in a good way).
For one thing, the layout is completely flipped. While we were there, every table was full, but we felt cozy, not crowded. Highlight: the bar has coat hooks AND electrical outlets. Sorry, but this millennial ALWAYS has a dead phone. So nice that I won’t have to bother the bartender or search for somewhere to plug in when I need to!
Brian Poe’s new menu for Buk’s is absolutely fantastic. We each got a different burger with tots, and each person in our party was thrilled with the outcome. I got an Elk burger, and damn but I felt majestic. We all agreed that we were comfortably full – the burgers seemed small, but they were hearty. We split the three desserts on the menu. My favorite was the caramel pecan tart, but there was something for everyone for sure.
Our server was ON IT – our water glasses were never empty, and she kept the beer flowing. I’m picky, and she didn’t mind. She brought me samples of a couple things I probably wouldn’t have ordered on my own, and I found a new favorite! Great success!
One fun thing I noticed was that the room filled up for dinner. We weren’t the only ones enjoying these incredible burgers. I can’t wait to go back, everything was so good. THIS is what a renovation should be (coughcough, Brass Union/​Precinct, take note)!
For those complaining that their favorite dive bar is gone… there are still countless dive bars in the area. Druid, Atwoods, Bull McCabe’s, Sally O’Brien’s…need I go on? Don’t begrudge me this awesome culinary experience! You can still get a hot dog and a forty for $ 7 here.

Disappointing is the key word here.
I feel like we were duped. When Bukowski’s closed for renovations, it was upsetting, but at least we had the notion that it was coming back.
What came back wasn’t Bukowski’s. It’s got nothing that made me a fan of the previous restaurant. The atmosphere stinks of a low-​budget version of an upscale bar, where there once was a homey feeling bar with character and history (literal history).
Our waitress didn’t bring us our appetizer. It happens, so not a huge deal. They sat the two of us next to a large party, then added a chair to that party so they were practically sitting with us. It was strange.
Then there’s the food upgrade. The burger options are actually interesting, but let’s be real. The adventure of exploring a menu only lasts so long. This menu doesn’t have any staying power. It’s not driving me back there. The truth is, if Bukowski’s didn’t renovate, they could have replaced everything on their menu with a basket full of rocks, and I still would have gone. They’ve ruined something great.

I’m torn about this place.
I remember the shifty looking joint it used to be and came to appreciate it in all of its glory. The place wasn’t meant to please your eyeballs and bring out your inner bourgie lady. You get a beer, greasy but good food, and you hang out with friends and scramble –just enough– to pay for your food and give a good tip (side note: math is hard).
Newly renovated place: this is a completely different place. This is not the Bukowski we knew and loved! The bathrooms have good lighting, it seems much cleaner, the menu got fancy-​pants, and the writing on the wall is educational and non-​offensive. Food is still good, so I can’t complain about that. Beer selection is great.
I’m still adjusting to the new atmosphere, so I can’t at this moment, give it a great rating. I still need to mourn the passing of the Bukowski that once was.

Bukowski in Cambridge has reopened as bizarro alternate-​dimension Bukowski, with completely new décor, brighter lights, a completely new menu, new management, and the bar on the opposite side. Not to knock it (I enjoyed it!), just saying it’s very different.
Some things are the same: It’s still a good place for late-​night grub (though maybe not as late as before?), the beer menu is extensive, some of the eccentric Bukowski food items (the «white trash» dip, the «hobo special») are still there.
But mostly, the food menu has been redone around a core of snacks /​burgers /​hot dogs /​salads. The snacks include some very addictive dressed-​up tater tots, and the burger menu looks like they backed their van up to Noah’s Ark and said «give me what ya got». The (kind of cool but rarely asked for) giant cocktail book has been replaced by a short menu of classics.
It remains to be seen if this Bukowski becomes as much a staple of Inman as its previous incarnation. It’s going to take quite a bit of getting used to, but I still welcome the new addition /​the return of the old favorite to the heart of Inman Square.

Bonne taverne, a 3, on a pris 2 burgers (avec un œuf sur le plat, tomates, salade, cheddar et cornichons et de délicieuses pommes de terre en accompagnement) et une assiette brunch (œufs brouillé, bacon, toast, les délicieuses pomme de terre et une salade de fruits frais). C’était très bon et très copieux. On en a eu pour 38 $ avec un jus d’orange et un coca en plus. Tout cela dans une ambiance PUB ou il y a un large choix de bières.