Bergamot

At Bergamot you get BergaMORE (see what I did there?)
I went here with my husband to celebrate our anniversary and we opted to get the Prix Fixe three course MealDeal (which is a word I just made up) for $ 44 per person and let me tell you not only is it worth every penny but it is a TOTAL BARGAIN for the kind of quality Tasties you get to ingest.
First, Jocelyn was our server and she was an absolute charmer! She had great recommendations and was really knowledgeable on the entire menu from Soup to Nuts. We had such an amazing time with her and actually the entire staff. Everyone was so friendly and accommodating. All smiles the entire night — you could tell the folks working there were really passionate about the kind of food and services they were providing. Paul who works the bar brought over a special beer to pair with our Goodbye Cookies (which is a THING THERE — Hazelnut Coconut Macaroons? Um, YES PLEASE). He was so friendly and personable and gave us free beer so basically, we need to be best friends now.
Second, THE FOOD. I want to go back everyday and try all the things. To start they brought out a slice of delightful bread with, wait for it, lemon-​chive infused butter. Can I just interject that they probably could have given me a plate of that butter and I would have been happy as a clam? But I digress. it sounds like they change up the bread and butter flavor combinations and I’m sure they are all delightful. I mostly just really appreciate it was a singular slice of bread instead of the typical basket o’carbs that we all tend to accidentally fill up on. You can of course ask for more but DON’T because you’re probably going to want to eat your face off. Anyway, between me and my cute date we had the Steak Tartare, the Scrapple, the Lamb entrée, the Salmon entrée, the Chocolate dessert (aptly named CHOCOLATE) and the Winter Pavlova. Everything was cooked to perfection. Every course got better than the last.
Third, the atmosphere. It’s a pretty small space but they really work with what they have. The enormous windows prevent it from becoming too stuffy and while it seems to be a ‘fancier’ dressed crowd it is by no means stuck up. Would I show up in gym clothes? No. But think of the attire and general vibe as comfortably polished. Look like you tried and you’re fine. Plus as I mentioned the staff is just so awesomely down to earth and welcoming — there are no egos here, just good people trying to give you the meal of your life.
This was hands down one of the best meals I’ve ever had and the price really can’t be beat. Can’t wait to go back and to do the 7 Course Tasting Menu and Beer & Bar Menu Goodness (I heard there are reasonably priced oysters, a phenomenal burger and based on the two drinks I had a really great cocktail menu I need to finish so really, what more in life could you want?)
In closing I would just like to say go here but not too much because I want to go here all the time and I don’t want you to take up all the space and time of my new buddies Jocelyn and Paul.
Good talk.

I really appreciate restaurants that have drapes which protect patrons from the blistering cold as others enter. The restaurant is small but cozy with warm lighting and I love the tall ceilings. It’s an open dining room and you see all the hustle and bustle. The option of a 3 course meal was only $ 45 or so, which was a good deal my date chose. We tried the parsnip soup which had popcorn in it! I could appreciate an inventive dish. I loved my duck and while I do not like meat cooked medium rare, I was afraid of a well done duck. It was cooked medium and it was perfect. It was super succulent and the sweet sauce paired so well. My date got steak or sirloin and that was a delicious savory dish too. The service was attentive and the server really knew her stuff. The GM walked over to ask us how we were doing and when we left, even helped us with our coats. I love the intimate-​ness of this restaurant as well as the food. OH!!! I FORGOT TO MENTION DESSERT. I think it’s a trend right now for dessert to come out in all sorts of geometric shapes. The ice cream was shaped like an oblong nestled on top of a triangular piece of chocolate tort with wafers of vanilla cookie and slices of a cheesecake scattered prettily around the tort. I would come back for this. They have a different collection of wines and ciders, the staff are knowledgeable enough to help you find something you like and they are patient as you sample 2 and then finally decide on a cider (thank you and sorry)

Good food that looks and tastes great! Never had a decent meal here– it’s always been spectacular!
We had the 7 course tasting last night and it was over the moon terrific– especially given the price, $ 85 for 2 on Groupon. Ambiance, service and food all top notch.
Absolutely one of the BEST restaurants in MA! I’m a total carnivore but their vegetarian dishes could make me a vegetarian in a heartbeat.
Can’t wait to go back!

One of the best restaurants in town. Great service. Lively, fun, tasty and efficient bar. Consistently great food with a changing main menu but some stable core favorites and a great/​separate bar menu.
Homemade breads with a variety of wonderful butters.
Creative but tasty wine menu that keeps changing.
And don’t try to tip them when you get your coat back from cloak check — they will turn you down.

Overall: Medium quality food prepared in an elegant way priced to impress.
Pros: Friendly staff, short wait, food as advertised. The mushroom app was unique and delicious. The lamb was the best entrée — perfectly cooked. (Pork entrée was fatty and left us with some aches). Dessert was elegant but lots of meringue. Street parking.
Cons: There are other places in Cambridge that serve better food in this price range. Craigie on Main has much better wine and uses less oil with much larger plate sizes; Harvest has generally higher quality food; Dalí across the street is more interesting.

A group of us went out for drinks and appetizers and stopped in here.
The cocktails were excellent with the house specialities very tasty.
All the appetizers were very tasty, a tad pricy for the size but we all enjoyed them.
The staff was wonderful and I can’t say enough good things about them.
We will be back there soon for dinner.

Wow, wow, wow! The Colombian and I had the most wonderful experience at Bergamot!
We showed up around 8:30pm without a reservation, but had cocktails while waiting for a spot at the bar to open up. We got a seat at 9 or so, and ended up staying until wellllll past closing time.
The food was just totally fantastic*. We got the Prix-​Fixe Menu, which is an appetizer, entré, and dessert. For an appetizer, I got a sweet potato soup*, which was tasty and had the surprising addition of popcorn. For an entré, I got scallops which were perfectly cooked with a delicious crisp layer on top of melt-​in-​your-​mouth flesh. It was supposed to come with green beans, but we were sadly informed that they were out, and would I like brussel sprouts inside? OF COURSE I WOULD! They are my favorite! Delicious. The Colombian got sausages, eww. I didn’t steal much of that. For desert, we first split a cheese plate, and then followed up with a sweet dessert called «Milk, Chocolate.» This chocolate torte just instantly dissolves into a rush of sugar and happiness, and the ice cream, mmmmmm. It was finished off with some tasty fudge and a dessert liquor.
BUTTER. The butter gets its own paragraph. Bergamot has a butter of the day, and on our particular day, it was called «everything but the bagel,» a mixture of garlic, onions, and poppy seeds blended into the butter. It was so good that we couldn’t stop eating it, and even convinced the bartender to make us little to-​go cups of it, which we used for the next two days of brunch. Ahhhh, I still think about this butter.
The thing that really makes Bergamot stand out though were the two wonderful bartenders who served us. I’ve never had a better experience with waitstaff, and this is coming from an introvert sitting at a bar where they’re 2 feet away. They gave us space when we needed it, made jokes and casual conversation, and mostly just marveled at how much two people could possibly giggle so much while eating dinner. The woman even told us as we left that they enjoyed watching us interact. :)
*The one pretty unforgivable issue I have was that they didn’t list peanuts as an ingredient in the soup I ordered. Yes, I’m supposed to let restaurants know about my food allergies, etc etc. But not listing a common allergen that is also a major component of your soup (ie, a half dozen whole peanuts in a soup where one would never anticipate peanuts) is inappropriate. I ended up eating one not realizing that it was a peanut (again, why would there be surprise unlisted peanuts in a sweet potato soup?!?) and getting all nauseous and scratchy throated. We had a such a good time there and I was so happy by the time we left that I forgot to mention it to the waitstaff, but it’s somewhat dangerous. So, if you have an allergy, keep a major eye out for surprise issues in your food.
That aside, Bergamot is the bestbestbest, and I can’t wait to go back sometime!

We went for a Chef’s tasting menu. What a gem! (Note — we wouldn’t have ever heard of the place if not for the Groupon a friend purchased for 6 ppl).
We booked about 2 months in advance, because we wanted a Saturday night. They have off-​street parking (a Godsend for that part of Somerville!!) in a private lot which we found to be super convenient.
Food was superb — even the Atlantic Char which I found to be too much like Salmon (which I don’t care for) was prepared well. They offered us the opportunity to do a wine pairing for $ 50/​each and I am kicking myself that we didn’t do it (peer pressure — nobody else was doing it so I opted out). I had a lovely cocktail and 2 of the gents with us had craft beers (we discovered an AMAZING bacon-​smokey German beer — Helles Schlenkerla Lagerbier — that is now my favorite).
Nice ambiance — smallish place, tables a bit closer than I’d like, but the layout was more intimate than «tight».
The service was excellent — prompt, attentive, personable-​without-​being-​in-​your-​face. The servings, NATURALLY (that’s why its called a TASTING MENU !) were small, but by the end of what essentially was 10 courses (with a free amuse bouche, sorbet and chocolate fudge) I was pleasantly full. Even the bread was divine, with this lime sesame-​seed butter!
Was pleased to see they do a prix fixe dinner special all the time, so that provides a nice opportunity to come back and more «fully» taste the things I liked the best.
TIP #1: Don’t be afraid to speak up if you don’t care for something. They will cater to your tastes. For example, we had folks who didn’t like onions (ME!), seafood, and who were lactose-​intolerant and all 3 were very pleased with the choices the Chef provided.
TIP #2: If you don’t like to try new things, don’t come here. That’s the whole point of a tasting menu… to taste things you haven’t had previously. Just see TIP #1, to be sure you have a good experience.
Will definitely go back — thank you GROUPON for this discovery.

Had an 8:15 pm Reserv. at Bergamot for 4 persons on a busy Mid-​Dec Sat nt.
They were pretty much on time, (2^nd seating?) The entrance is a bit unusual, since you go thru a curtain to get in. But it opens to a nice large space with seating for maybe 75 persons? large mural of Bergamot flowers (?) (and what my sons referred to as «Zombie paintings», which it turns out they were not!), with a small sit down bar as well. The Manager greets you, very nice friendly, casual fellow.
I was surpised to find this… but we had bought a Groupon special 7 course tasting menu, and we were planning to use it. And we in fact did, but only thanks to the friendliness, and good graces of the manager on staff, who said he would do it as a special favor, because of our Birthday celebration. The waiter informed us that the 7 course tasting menu must be ordered in advance, and also I think that you need to tell the rest. that you are using the Groupon deal too. Otherwise this 7 course tasting menu is quite expensive, 2X the price! The Groupon Cert price did not include any wine or drinks, which added about $ 130.00 to the meal, for 2 drinks per person. The coupon saved us a lot of $$!
All the dishes were very well prepared and thought out. We enjoyed most of all the Pork Shoulder Choucroute Garnie, and the Fresh pasta dish (don’t recall the name) The arctic Char also was nice, as was the dessert. Their drinks are very well crafted too! Good bar. They have excellent fresh warmed sourdough bread and butter («Bagel Butter with Poppy seeds» ?). The service was really excellent. they fill the water glasses up very frequently. We were drinking a lot of water… not sure why (the food may be a bit higher in sodium?) .
The meal took 3 hrs! ended at 11:00 pm, but it was truly an unique and enjoyable experience for all. The manager was really nice, even when we spilled a full goblet of water onto the table top, and he had us simply change tables (It was late and the table was free.)
All in all, a really excellent experience, (quality and creativity of the food, ambiance, service and management staff!!) and the parking in Somerville was also free! Who could want more?
Beet Salad
Satsuma Tangerine, Frisée, Sunflower Seed, Sunchoke & Fennel Jam
Duck Crépinette
Smoked Almonds, Green Beans, Sunchoke Purée, Huckleberry Gastrique
Caramelized Sweet Potato Soup
Cracker Jacks, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Golden Raisins, Pancetta
Escabeche
Chicken Thigh, Mixed Peppers, Figs & Dates, Yukon Gold, Piquillo & Olive Smear
Choucroute Garnie
Confit Pork Shoulder, House Bacon, Lyonnaise Sausage, Sauerkraut, White Beans
Seared Arctic Char
White Asparagus, Prosciutto, Maitake Mushrooms, Cider Jus
Dirty Chai Ice Cream Sandwich
Fig Jam, Hazelnut Macarons, Rooibos Crumble,
Espresso-​Milk Chocolate Fudge Sauce

We went for the Chef’s tasting menu. We had a Groupon. We had a pretty enjoyable experience. The service was first rate. I loved almost everything, save the main course. They were very good about not serving us things that we didn’t like, however. I forgot to tell them I wasn’t a fan of lamb. Lamb was the the «main» course. The courses were small and one of my friends was still hungry after. I was satisfied. I guess if you have a giant appetite, the tasting menu may not be for you. I did not love the expensive soda/​coffee/​tea. $ 4.50 for a Boylan’s diet cola and $ 6.50 for coffee and tea. Mostly, it was a fun night at a relaxed but not too relaxed pace. I would go again, perhaps try some ala carte dishes.

This place just claimed a spot in my top ten favorite places to dine. I had this place bookmarked in what seems like eons ago and yet the commute from my home in Brookline to Somerville seemed too «far» to make it here. What else could be keeping me from coming here?! A dinner voucher as a wedding gift from my husband’s colleagues finally got us here.
Food — it’s one thing to say that the food is delicious and great. It’s a whole another challenge to get creative with your ingredients and still get it right! Sun-​dried tomatoes blended in butter? Fig jam with a hint of ginger? I could go on but you get the point.
Service — top notch. When they found out that we were recently married, they made our experience all the more special.
Can’t wait to be back here :)

After 2 visits, I’m a big fan! I’ve had the pleasure of attending two Chef’s tasting meals and they were both delicious and filling. I was stuffed when I rolled out of there. Servers were friendly, knowledgeable, and napkins folded each time we left our seat. A few times I though, this is a bit salty, but otherwise, the tastes were on point. I love that their menu changes constantly with the seasons and that they use the freshest ingredients. The one thing that i didn’t like was that it took so long in between courses. I understand that they are freshly preparing our food, but I was about to fall asleep at the table! Maybe this is just an exhausted mom out late complaint, so please ignore if you enjoy long leisurely dinners. I would definitely recommend the food, atmosphere and look forward to going back.

Thank you, Groupon! Without you, it would’ve taken me a while to discover Bergamot. During this visit, my group and I all did the 7-​course chef’s tasting. On a regular night, they have a 3-​course prix-​fixe special. Oh, and dollar oysters! There’s also a parking lot to the left of the restaurant that you can access. I was a huge fan of Bergamot. Love the ambiance, the service, and food. Overall a great experience!
Favorites:
–Seared cod with shaved brussel sprouts in hollandaise:
I have never been a huge fan of cod, but Bergamot changed my mind. The fish was cooked perfectly and everything blended together so well. Bravo!
–Bavette steak and fingerling potatoes:
Another flawless dish with the steak cooked to a tender medium rare. Wouldn’t have it any other way. I would speak up if you like your meats well done though.
–Veggie dish with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and curry
–Blood sausage with egg yolk jam and caramelized onions
–Carrot cake, sunchoke cream and pineapples
Good:
–Mushroom Ragu
–Roasted beets with pastrami and pickled radish
–Lemon Sorbet with toasted coconut
Subpar:
–Pasta with apples, kale, and goat cheese:
This dish was flat-​out not enjoyable. Call me dramatic, but that first bite made me cringe. The pasta and cheese made for a very strong taste of salty and sour.

Even though our visit was nearly two years ago, I am posting an E-​mail I sent to two friends who treated me to my birthday at Bergamot. We did take advantage of the Groupon Tasting Menu. We were well treated by several of the waitstaff. We intend to revisit and I thought I had posted a Review just after our dining there. I didn’t so here is the message I sent my friends. It reads like a review.
Bergamot Birthday…
January 12, 2014 — Sunday
Jim and Sandi,
Again, thank you very much for a great and unforgettable Birthday at Bergamot Restaurant in Somerville. Unique dining experience made even more enjoyable with your company.
Thanks,
Dan
Post Script — The Menu from memory (and from my immediate memory and for telling people about the experience. Copied and Pasted from the Menu — the Salmon may be different but it is pan seared). The exact Seven Course Meal is not listed.
Wheat bread with Olive infused butter.
Grapefruit and Roasted Golden Beet Salad
Goat Cheese, Mesclun Greens, Banyuls Vinaigrette, Sunflower Seed Wafer
Beef Carpaccio
Heirloom Chicory, Hard Cooked Egg, Sauce Soubise, Sweet Sherry Vinegar, Parsnip Chips
Braised Chestnut Stew
Venison Sausage, Apple, Cabbage, Red Pearl Onion Petals, Panettone Croutons (I love these Croutons)
Buccatini
Braised Short Rib, Hedge Hog Mushrooms, Nicoise Olives, Parmesan
Pan-​Seared Atlantic Salmon
Endive, Leeks, Sunchokes, Wheatberries, Red Verjus and Tangerine Sauce
Grilled Hanger Steak
Phở, Broccoli, Bean Sprouts, Pickled Carrots, Thai Basil
Dessert —
Crème Freche with Pomegranate Ganache (my memory not Menu)
Coconut Tres Leches Cake
Tangerine Curd, Black Sesame, Blood Orange Caramel, Lime Sorbet, Grapefruit
Accompanied by — Southern France — Rosé
2011 Bandol, Provence | Château de Pibarnon (I’m guessing this is the one since it’s the only Rosé listed)
& Sandi’s Red that I can not recall.
Corrections welcome.
Thank you two, again,
Dan
Added Comment today, November 8. 2015. Excellent all around. Looking forward to a return visit.

My friend and I came here for the 7 course menu! It was great and each dish was small (obviously they had to be, but it was just the right amount), but very very intricate. I did not list all of the ingredients because I could not remember them all. I will definitely come back!
We had :
1)Beets with house cured pastrami and a delicious sauce
2)Maple glazed butternut squash and apples with an awesome pecan sauce
3)Sweet potato gazpacho with raisins, pine nuts, and shiitake mushrooms
4)Home made pasta carbonara (my favorite)
5)Scallop with Brussel sprouts, pancetta, and squash
6)Steak and potatoes with parsnips
PRE Dessert) Pear sorbet with warm granola
7)Sesame and sunflower seed baklava with pumpkin
One complaint: the steak was chewy
Overall, the waitstaff and food was definitely fantastic and the ambiance was cozy yet hip.

OOOOOOH we had SUCH a lovely time at Bergamot! Simple, unassuming, unpretentious décor meets STANDOUT menu. Although we were sad to have missed the Groupon deal, we felt VERY satisfied by the $ 44 Prix Fixe — excellent, seasonal foods prepared imaginatively to perfection!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND — FOODS:
APP — sweet potato bisque — NOT too sweet at all and the PERFECT blend of textures so this isn’t just a sweet creamy blech… REALLY enjoyed this app!
ENTREE — S C A L L O P S –perfectly prepared, with a great mix of flavors throughout the dish.
DRINK — Bourbon and Branch is a lovely cold mulled cider that is very booze-​forward (unlike most sweet autumn «cocktails,» which tend to just be mega sugar-​fests)

The food here and ambience are stellar. I was at the bar, and my bartender, Pedro, was fantastic, witty, and friendly.
The risotto (Brussels Sprouts, butternut squash) and calamari were amazing as was the scallops. The chef was a genius, and his name is Collen AKA Pasta Batman.

I came back to Bergamot to try the 7 course tasting (Groupon is 85 for 2 people). Overall the tasting was nice. Nothing wowed me but for the price I felt like it was worth it. We ended up spending another 50 or so on drinks. Still water is 8.00, (which they do not warn you about).
We started with a complementary melon and mustard seed. Simple.
1^st — Beet and goat cheese salad. I love beets so this was good but teeny.
2^nd — Bean salad. Not a fan. Pretty boring.
3^rd– Mussels and sausage with a parsley purée. I liked this.
4^th– Salad with eggplant.
5^th– Mahi, fish was good. The sauce it came with was terrible :(.
6^th– Korean short rib! SO GOOD. The rice cake was my favorite. The meat was a bit on the salty side but overall this was my fave. It didn’t flow with the rest of the dishes though.
pre dessert– blueberry sorbet. Very very tasty.
7^th– Vanilla ice cream with graham cracker crumbles and fruit. Ice cream was good.
The dinner was good/​light but it left something to be desired.

Bergamot (ber-gah-mott…should’ve looked this up sooner, I’ve been leaving out the «t» all along…)
b. took me here for my birthday as a sort-​of-​surprise. (I guessed where we were going before we got there… I know, I know, it’s really annoying for the surpriser but it’s just so much fun for the surprisee!) We got there a bit early so were asked to take a seat on the couch while we waited for our table to be prepared. The couch faced the dining area, which is one big open space so that was a little awkward especially since we were so close to one of the tables of diners (one of whom is a food blogger I follow! I was a little star struck and trying my best not to be creepy about it). We didn’t have to wait long for our cozy table in the corner by the wall-​length windows. And the night went like this:
Pretty much perfect. Yup.
Got a couple of glasses of a muscadet (moos-cah-day…yeah, didn’t get it right that time) wine with their 3-​course prix-​fixe (pre-fix…this one I knew!) menu, which they offer every night. $ 42 for a choice of any appetizer, entrée, and dessert! And their menu seems to change often enough so you won’t get bored. If they have the lobster risotto, GET IT. You’re welcome in advance. Everything was tastefully presented and delicious. And they even brought out a candle for me with dessert.
Service was impeccable, higher end without the pretentious air. Fancy as in dinner napkins are promptly refolded and placed back in place on the table even when you leave temporarily to use the restroom. Our waiter was knowledgeable and courteous. And the food is just so good! We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and I look forward to coming back!

Came in with a groupon for the 7 course tasting. Most importantly we weren’t treated like we were dining at a discount. Bergamot provided excellent service and a nice atmosphere. Service was extremely polished, knew every ingredient in every dish, knew when to come to the table, served dishes to the entire party (of 4) at once using multiple servers (for every course!), and timing was on point!
The food was very good, well prepared, beautiful to look at, and used many fresh ingredients that worked very well together. Was there anything that wowed us? Not really, but everything was very good. The tasting menu was nicely balanced with 2 salads, a couple fatty meat dishes (pork belly and sirloin steak), a salmon dish, and a dessert. Stand outs were the fresh salads and pork belly. Dessert was disappointing as it was very tiny. While portions seemed to be good enough for a tasting and I felt content leaving the restaurant, I was hungry a short time after leaving. I recommend grabbing extra bread with some of that mushroom butter (one of the other highlights of the meal). Mixed drinks are not to be missed, well prepared and definitely well worth the price tag.
Overall Bergamot provides an all around very good dining experience. Is it a unique experience? No. Do they do everything extremely well? Yes.