Hit Wicket

Didn’t surprise us too much that this place was closed. My wife and I went for dinner one Friday and were were the only people there. The food was OK at best, most of it seemed to be frozen then friend/​reheated.
And they were setting up for one of those «Paint while drinking» nights. The kiss of death.

Very disappointing service.
We were there for two hours and there was not a single person available to serve us. Very over crowded and not managed well.

I had very high hopes for Hit Wicket. As an Aussie living in Cambridge, the concept of a cricket themed pub was cool. To then find out that the menu paid tribute to all the cricket playing nations sealed the deal.
So the good stuff — the stock some good Aussie beers. They have meat pies on the menu. They play the cricket when it’s on. They have a life-​size mural of Glenn McGrath.
The bad stuff — we had to teach the bartender to roll the Coopers. I’ve never actually managed to eat a meat pie there (they’re always out). You have to ask for the sound of the cricket to come through the speakers (even when it’s the Boxing Day test). There’s nothing bad about Glenn McGrath.
I’m not writing this place off, after all, it’s one of the few places that feels a little like home, and what I have eaten, I’ve eaten well. I just wish there was a tiny bit more effort put in given the target market is people like me.

Calling the service RUBBISH is actually a compliment. It’s most unfortunate as they have potential. I can’t really call out the ONE lonely waiter and ONE lonely bartender — perhaps the ownership could forecast and manage bringing in additional staff, or better yet pitch in and serve the patrons themselves instead of continuing the ‘meet and greet’.
Very badly run from a service point of view.
I was NOT fortunate enough to get any food. Seeing the odd and rare plate delivered to a starving table, the visual presentation looked good. I am guessing the recipient was so hungry they just wolfed it down regardless of the taste and would be scared to ask for anything or send it back in case it NEVER returns.
Alas I will not return for a while — many other businesses serving me better and getting me food in a reasonably timely manner.
If you can tolerate the lottery of getting lucky with service and actually getting to eat — give it a shot. I suggest maybe eating a pizza slice before going to hold you up in case you DON’T win the lottery, or perhaps carry a bag of snacks…
Good luck should you venture and play the lottery.

I was so disappointed with this restaurant. I had read and heard good things about this restaurant and the food, so I was excited to try the different dishes from different countries. I am so disappointed with what I was served. They were out of most of the things we wanted to try and the ones we got were not very good.
I ordered the black bean burger, and it tasted like a frozen patty on a cold stale bun with practically none of the chutney that I was excited about. Another person ordered the Aussie pie and the crust was so greasy he couldn’t eat it.
The service left a lot to be desired as well. I made a reservation through OpenTable since we had a larger group. Unfortunately the restaurant happened to be hosting a paint night, which is not the restaurants fault, just an unfortunate coincidence. What was the restaurants fault was the fact that it took 25 minutes to get our drinks, 45 minutes to get our appetizer and order our disappointing meals. We at one point asked if we could order from someone who worked there (possibly the manager/​owner) and he said no and walked away.
I would honestly never come back and would not recommend it. The alcohol was good, the service was disappointing, and the food was bad.

The food is so delicious! I want more people to know about it and go there! It’s reasonably priced, the service is great (server/​bartender with a sense of humor). Go go go!

The place is pretty unique.
Great food, Great beer, nice people, decent service.
Other than that all I got to say is give it a try!

Went here on Saturday night and there were only a few people hanging out in the friendly bar section. We grabbed a booth and the bartender came over to take our order. He was super-​friendly and had great sense of humor. My wife and I ordered a couple dishes to share and started with the Masala Pappad — you have to get this if you go, best pappadam I’ve ever had.
For our main meal we had Lamb Sliders and Crispy Yam Crepes. Everything tasted excellent. The Crepes were served sort of like fajitas, where you get to put them together yourself. The Lamb Sliders were amazing — done perfectly!
The beer list in cans and bottles looked great, but I went for a draft beer. Most of the draft beers on the menu had been replaced by various local brews, predominantly IPAs.
Thematically, it’s a sports bar with an emphasis on cricket, but when we were there, they were just playing music that wasn’t too loud and no one was really paying attention to the games on the TVs.
Looking forward to heading back here again soon! I highly encourage people to give Hit Wicket a shot — there’s no reason this place should’ve been so empty on a Saturday night!

Wow, incredibly bad service on delivery.
Tonight, we ordered «Salmon with potatoes and vegetables» and somehow got Salmon with a whole load of wheat pasta.
That’s a problem because one of us has a gluten allergy that we noted to them. After calling the restaurant and talking with the front desk and the cook, they simply said: «oh well, the online menu is wrong,» without any offer to substitute something that was more compatible with a gluten allergy or refunding us.
On top of it, both the salmon was overcooked and the pasta was super dry, so the half of us that could eat the gluten pasta thought it was pretty awful.
Thanks, Hit Wicket, for not being responsive to our request for gluten-​free food.

I’m giving this a 5 star rating for the whole experience in the bar area only. First, I’m am out of towner from N. CA. I walked by earlier from the place I was staying at and made a note to myself to stop in later because, it’s a sports bar. That’s my type of place. This was during the SF Giants run for the World Championship, and yes, I’m a huge fan. So when my teenage daughter took a nap in the late afternoon, I sauntered over to find out if they would be able to show the game later that night. Not only was I welcomed by the super friendly bartender upon my entry, but I enjoyed the next 3 hours feeling like Norm from Cheers. I got to meet the owner, who shared some of his dinner with me, which was perfect for a seat at the bar (lamb sliders, yum). The clientele varied within the duration of my visit, from MIT grads, to young blue collar workers, to hipster types, and I fit right in there with all of the Bostonians. I enjoyed the conversations with them as well as the attentiveness of the awesome bartender Chad. I never entered the dining area (pretty much never left my bar seat) but the ambiance was interesting, and even felt safe with a couple of issues going on with some of the patrons in the bar. The food was good for the scene. The beer on tap was varied and very tasty. The TV’s were plentiful. Even the background music was enjoyable (the Killers Pandora station? Yes please). I was made to feel special and important. What more can you ask for? I garnered a great Boston experience in this cute little place in Cambridge. If and when I’m back in town, I’m coming back here again, and hopefully Chad will be there when I do.
Oh, and the Giants ended up winning that night. Not to mention the eventual game 7. Good times.

My husband, 10 month year old, ended up here a couple of weeks ago after visiting Flufffest. We looked at the menu are were pleasantly surprised by all the vegetarian options. It was a little on the loud side as their was an alumni viewing of a college football game but that didn’t bother us. The three of us split the rice crepes, veggie burger, the aussie veggie pie. We were happy with all the food, the fries and the veggie burger especially. The chutney sauce on top was a nice touch. We will be back to try out all the other veggie options that sounds great as well. We had great service as well.

Inspired by previous Unilocal reviews and on the occasion of my birthday, I made an opentable reservation for Saturday night dinner here — and all of my friends enjoyed their meals.
As for me, I ordered a fish entrée from Bangladesh. The fish was WHOLE! Head and all. I wish it was filleted but that’s part of the authentic street food experience, eh?
Try the calamari, too. Even my seafood hating friend liked it!

Took my family for lunch to one of my favourite spots in Inman Square. The non-​vegetarian curries, one kids chicken tenders, one kids noodles with chicken and one order of roti wraps. The kids raved about the chicken tenders for flavour, seasoning and crispiness, the fries were proper chips (home cut). The noodles with chicken seemed to have an ale-​like flavour that my daughter found overpowering although she did eat all the chicken.
The chicken curry and rice received mixed reviews. My wife was not thrilled with the seasonings while my two daughters devoured their meals. My Roti wraps with paneer and plaintain chips were as good as always.
Football (soccer) was on one screen, ESPN on another and a cricket match on two other screens so all of us were entertained. The staff were friendly and helpful (as always).
Hit for six!

Joined a group to watch a college football game on a Saturday afternoon. It’s the old Spice’N’Rice without any changes inside except a bunch of TVs lining the walls. Which is good — I liked that place.
The food menu is interesting — so this place is all about cricket. And the menu is food from countries that watch cricket. So they have a number of Indian and Asian-​inspired dishes. And beverages — including cocktails, beers, and even mango lassi. Mmm.
Anyway, we started with a basket of fries and some masala peanuts — boiled peanuts with all sorts of seasonings. The fries were solid and the peanuts were quite tasty — not super salty or anything. You get a whole bowl of them — which is like 2000 calories and SO easy to eat.
Moved onto a chicken tandoori salad — small salad with decent amount of sliced chicken tandoori meat. The salad itself was fresh, but otherwise lacking in flavor. In general, that salad didn’t have a lot of flavor — disappointing.
As far as the liquor goes, there was a short list of draught beers, a page of cocktails, and a bunch of bottled beers — mostly imports with a few locals. None that great.
Overall, we liked the atmosphere and the food was interesting, but needs some work.

They have cheap pitchers. The place seems to be empty most of the time. It’s an interesting concept for a bar. It is cricket themed and the menu highlights foods from the various countries that play cricket. It is quite eclectic, which can be viewed as either a good or bad thing. Service was kind of slow even though my group was literally the only one there. They have daily specials and the prices are reasonable. Cricket is always playing on the tvs, and it is fun to watch. It has potential to be something great, but I’m afraid it doesn’t quite pull it off currently.

I do not understand why this place doesn’t get more stellar reviews. Firstly, the food is diverse, delicious, and generously portioned. I can bring a vegetarian or a meat/​potato lover (or both), and not worry about finding something they’ll want to eat.
The service is just fine… we’re talking about a Sports Bar, not L’espalier, so if it takes them a minute to bring my drinks, hey, it’s not a crisis.
They do have sports on, so the atmosphere can be a bit loud at times, but it’s a great place to go with friends and have early dinner on a Friday or Saturday night.
Clearly if you’re prone to not understanding how to enter a building, are spooked by oddly shaped tables, or bamboozled by why a bar would theme itself around a beloved international sport, stay away. If you’re not completely neurotic and enjoy British pies and Pakistani curries, go, and have a great time.

They say showing up is half the battle. I’d say that’s no small task if your battle will be fought at Hit Wicket. There are three doors flanking the exterior of this sports bar, and two are decoys (surely placed there by your nemesis). There’s almost nothing positive I can say about this place. I like the concept of a cricket-​themed sports bar, but the execution is so poor that they just end up making Cricket look bad.
The mixed drinks were small, weak, and almost all tropical juice or lassi-​based. They supposedly have a full bar, but they don’t list their spirits on the menu. We ordered chicken wings and plantain chips. The chips were fine. The wings were $ 2/​lb, which was their wings special. A pound turned out to be around 5 small-​to-​medium wings in a Tandoori sauce. The ones I ate were not fully cooked. I can’t confirm their pinkness because it was so dark in the bar I could barely see, but they definitely tasted raw on the inside. Fortunately I didn’t get salmonella poisoning. Even if they were fully cooked and melt-​your-​face-​off-​spicy, they still wouldn’t be worth it.
Also, for a sports bar, there are surprisingly few TVs. Most places have multiple TVs on every wall, playing different sports, but HW had two, and both played the same thing with the sound off. They are on opposing walls, so depending on where you sit, it’s actually quite hard to see the game. This place was as dark as a movie theater, so I don’t know what they are expecting us to do if not watch the game. Their one redeeming quality is that they seem to be very lax on accepting really big groups of people. Both times I was here, was with a large (greater than 20 peoples) group of 20 to 30-​somethings looking for a cheap drink and a host that didn’t mind our obnoxiousness.

A group of us came here for an evening of snacks and drinks to watch the Olympics opening ceremony, and to play our obnoxious game of «guess how many athletes each country fields». The staff was accommodating with our large party request, and had a kind and friendly waitress serve us.
The portions were a little odd — salads were very small for the money, but fried apps were well-​proportioned. The lamb kebab entrée I ordered was incredible, but just came with a hunk of steamed rice. The drinks were very good, wine pours were generous, but things moved a little slowly. We had no really terrible complaints, it was just a bit slow.
We enjoyed the atmosphere, and were happy to be served by the friendly staff. I’ll come back again. Cricket themed sports bar!

I saw this menu and was pretty amped about the diversity of food options — food themes that spanned different cricket-​playing countries. I think it’s a super-​cool concept for cricket lovers especially, and I give the bar many props on that.
I was super excited about the menu, but the execution was mediocre. I got the «Hat-​Trick» — a pick-​3 menu option. With it, I got the Roti Wrap, the Lamb Sausage, and the boiled-​then-​fried Taro.
With so many interesting-​sounding menu options, I’d say the Taro got too cold too quickly, which made it firm up and get kind of mealy on the inside. I didn’t care for the flavor on the lamb sausage at all, so traded my second for a friend’s jerk chicken wing, which was fine, but not one of the best wings I’ve had. Best part was definitely the Roti Wrap, though — I thought that thing was delicious, and would definitely recommend again.
Also got a virgin cocktail that sounded intriguing — cilantro/​jalapeño/​lime. It could’ve benefitted from some crushed ice or some sparkle so that it tasted lighter/​a little less syrupy, but I don’t really drink a lot of ultra-​sweet beverages so it may have been a taste thing.
Anyhow: was I super wowed by the food? Naw. Would I come here again? Yeah. There are lots of interesting menu options that I was torn between and I’d give some of the other ones a go.

First, I want to give a billion high fives to this place for really sticking with a brand new theme for a bar and restaurant! I have to say that I have never been to a Cricket themed bar before, and I definitely think I will be back here to try out more of the menu! Any place who has their menus literally on mini cricket bats, cricket jerseys hung all around, drink menus shaped like cricket balls, center pieces on the tables with best of cricket coffee table type books and a laminated handout outlining all of the differences between baseball and cricket for you… I mean talk about dedication to a theme!
That being said, it is a little bright in here to really have a true bar feeling. I came here with two other girls for drinks and snacks and it was around 8:30pm on a weeknight and there were maybe 5 other people in here, but clearly we were all the bar type of crowd, not the restaurant type of crowd, so I would have liked slightly dimmer lighting. Especially since this place really is like a fancy cricket themed sports bar, just as advertised. They have a bunch of flat screen TVs here, making it super easy to catch a game here, plus they even had a 22 ounce Sam Summer beer on special for $ 6 which is pretty cheap for beer I say.
We got their plantain chips which were crispy and addicting and it came with some dipping sauces including a habanero one that was actually spicy! Hooray! Leave to a place whose menu is infused half with British and Half with Indian influences, and you get some spice in your life! We also got their chicken wings half of which were breaded in lentils and it was only okay. But the rest of the menu did look pretty intriguing which is why I will need to go back and try out some more stuff. Until then!