The Urban Kitchen + Bar

Service was extremely slow. Took over 45 minutes to get a burger. Waiter said it was because of a function

As of mid-​August 2015, this restaurant is now closed and the space is planning to be leased by British Beer Company sometime in the future.
The Urban was fine but did not do enough to distance itself from other restaurants on Shrewsbury Street or in Worcester. Service was always decent, food was pretty good, but the prices were high and the menu was limited, so you expected truly exceptional food for the price and limitations. Decent beer list with a good number of local craft beers.

Had a nice time. The décor is hip and urban. Love the chandeliers. Great atmosphere.
They have dollar oysters every day! I forget the hours tho. Bartender was great and drinks were great too. Can’t wait to go back. A really nice restaurant with excellent service.

Décor is cool. Open kitchen, bar is nicely decorated… However — the atmosphere was cold, the bartender was very uncomfortable and the place was deadville. Two stars because it was clean, minus points because it took 15 minutes to bring out oysters… !!!

OK, I get what everyone is saying about the décor. It’s

OK, I get what everyone is saying about the décor. It’s interesting and edgy. I think the mural is gorgeous and I liked the chandeliers. I think what is weird is that the walls are painted white. There are such huge windows that they could get away with painting the walls a darker color, and then I think the décor would be more cohesive.
Now that we have that out of the way, on to the review. I thought the service was excellent. Our server was super-​friendly, and they accommodated me when I wanted to order something off the Restaurant Week menu a la carte that wasn’t on their regular menu. I’m glad they did, because the gazpacho I had was delicious. I also had the grilled octopus, which I enjoyed. I docked one star because it is a tad bit on the expensive side. Other than that, it was great.

This place is new in Worcester and offers a different take on shrewsbury street dining. I would say this place is good, I’d return, but it is pricy. Probably spent as much as I’d spend at Bocado but the portions definitely aren’t as much. I loved the scallops I got and subbed bok choy instead of the fingerling potatoes it came with. I was underwhelmed by the bok choy but the five scallops it came with were tasty, well-​cooked and had some tasty bacon marmalade on it. I still think $ 26 is steep for what exactly came out. I also got a bunch of oysters, which were $ 3/​each. I had a major hankering and they were good but still, I could eat great quality for a better price elsewhere. I really loved the Bloody Mary I got — finally someone in Worcester knows how to use horseradish in this marvelous drink. My guy got the fish and chips, which he liked and I did, too. Tasted just like something from the beach, so maybe that it why it had that beach price bc the portion again wasn’t that big.
Everyone was wildly friendly here and they sang a very nice happy brithday while I was here. I hope they make it but hopefully they have more weeknight specials than the happy hour oysters ($ 1/​each from 5 – 7) so they can draw folks during the week. I will return for a really nice occasion when maybe the in-​laws are treating :)
Ps their menu was seafood heavy (which I adore) but if you have a person in your party wanting chicken or steak, they may spend more time peering at the appetizers to supplement.
Our server was very nice and we loved the atmosphere in here.

My husband and I tried this place a month or two ago. I forgot to write my review but unfortunately we weren’t that impressed. The environment didn’t go with the menu at all. They had a graffiti type sign hanging up with a red chandelier, but the menu was fancy and pricey. I just didn’t «get it.» The food was good. Our waiter that night was slow. I’d say skip it. Worcester has more to offer.

This restaurant doesn’t make any sense: the décor is disjointed and out of proportion, and not in a wittily juxtaposed sort of way. When we walked in tonight I did not have a clear sense of what this place really wanted to be. It just felt flat and unfinished with some expanses of blank white walls, a giant piece of unappealing graffiti «art» over the bar, red chandeliers hung too high in the middle of the room, minuscule lights over the tables, and tiny b&w photos between some giant windows. Just not good.
From the moment we were greeted the service was uncomfortable. The host was visibly nervous. We were just 3 girls hoping for a relaxed night out and some food. He kept sort of bowing to us and apologizing.
The drinks were okay and the food, for all 3 of us, was just okay to poor, and for a pretty high price. My salad was oddly salty and sparsely dressed, my friend’s pasta was flavorless for $ 20, and the other friend who had fried calamari said it was good, «But you can’t go too wrong with fried food.»
When we left all 3 of us laughed at how bizarre and uncomfortable the whole dinner was. We felt more relaxed after we left. Ugh.

Having come to visit from NYC, finding an amazing dining experience is unexpected by comparison to all the great restaurants in the city. This restaurant sets the bar and holds its own against anything I can think of in New York. Great service, flavors and the plating was amazing. Well worth the price for the meal. Go here– you won’t be disappointed.

I’m shocked this morning, the day after dining at Urban Kitchen, to read some of the reviews of this place — I don’t recognize the restaurant I ate at last night. My experience runs counter to the glowing reviews posted here.
The menu I found completely boring, just the usual salmon, sirloin, a token pasta dish, the ho-​hum fried appetizers. The classic gin martini was small and not very cold. I had the Lobster BLT with bacon on brioche. Sadly, the lobster salad was chock full of lobster scrap meat — the rubbery ‘thumbs’ of the claws. One of these in a sandwich, okay, I get it … but four? C’mon, this is New England where people actually KNOW what makes a good lobster salad, and it is not a lot of scrap claw meat.
On a positive note, our server was super sweet and fawned over us in a delightfully attentive way. But given that there was only one other table of customers (at 6:30 on a Thursday evening), it wasn’t like he had too much to do.
The french fries were delicious but with the bill at $ 82 before tip, that seems like an awful lot of money when only the french fries are worth remarking on.

Fantastic!!! Atmosphere is elegant yet super comfortable. Perfect place for a luncheon with a friend, or a quite dinner with a partner. The Urban Kitchen is also a great restaurant to bring a business associate, where you can impress them with the AWSOME assortment of «organic» dishes!!!
My friend and I arrived early (before Urban Kitchen was open) we met the owner (I think his name is George) out side planting flowers to give a fresh look for spring!!! (Yay it’s finally here) without hesitation George let us in anyway (it was 82 degrees outside) and made sure we had a glass of ice water! Tom the bartender (the best Bloody Mary’s ever!!!) came on for his shift of the day and was surprised to see he had customers already waiting!!! Lol… Drinks were outstanding, food was quick and fantastic and I can’t say enough about the service!!! We will be back next month and we can’t wait!!! Oh FYI, it takes my friend and I and hour and a half to get there!!! I come from the south shore and she comes from the Amherst area!!! Believe us it’s worth it!!!
See you next month Tom!!!

My friend and I had a fabulous meal here recently. It was pretty empty when we arrived around 8:30pm on a Wednesday night, which gave me pause. But our server, Tom, was fantastic and the food and drinks were delish.
I had a drink called Chandeliers, which was just right, and my friend and I shared 5 small plates. The lobster rolls, mashed potatoes and mushroom bread pudding were stand-​outs.
I live in the Bay Area and had low expectations for food in Worcester, and I was really pleasantly surprised.

This is the third time I’ve been to the urban. There food is delicious but the price is a bit too high in Worcester. We ordered a half dozen of oysters, lobster BLT, and scollops. The oysters were just fine with $ 2.5 each. Mother said the lobster sandwich is tasty, but there is only a few pieces of lobster. Didn’t worth the price. My scollops were cooked perfectly! However, the quinoa was too salty. Overall, there service was good but the food was slow. Even though there were only three tables including us, we still waited about 25 mins for our food.

The reviews looked great & we got a reservation last minute. Should have been a warning sign on a Saturday night.
Classic empty restaurant — it was maybe ¹⁄₃ full at 8:00pm on a Saturday — never a good sign — and the place is big and cavernous, which made the emptiness only worse.
The food was very good, if expensive. However, the portions were borderline embarrassingly small. I had seared sea bass, which was very good. However, my wife ordered the dinner portion of Black Pepper Tagliatelle and it was tiny. Didn’t even come close to filling the giant bowl it was served in. When she asked if she was mistakenly given the appetizer portion (both are on menu), the waiter counted the number of pieces and said — nope, that’s the dinner.
The staff were ok — nothing special, certainly not enough personality to make up for the fact that no one was in the place. The restaurant is new — and they are still trying to make the space their own. However, the whole experience was a bit of a let down.

We invited another couple out to try The Urban after an event last night. Because of snow (and a flipped car on the road) they decided to bail, but we had a great time at The Urban. The place looked great, the music was fun, and the menus were appetizing. The massive windows let us enjoy watching the snow slowly falling, like being at a ski lodge!
We happened to land on Worcester Restaurant Week, which I’m kinda hesitant about because the venues get crazy busy with people looking for a deal and because I think the restaurants sometimes «simplify» the food to keep up. The Urban’s Restaurant Week menu, however, looks great with a nice selection of options from their real menu (including vegetarian options), not full of «restaurant week specials». Cocktails were interesting and good, and a fairly broad by-​the-​glass wine selection made pairing with both dinners easy and successful! The food itself was all fresh, cleanly presented, and very tasty. For the quality we got, the Restaurant Week prix fixe price ($ 23.15) is a real steal.
Toward the end of several tables’ meals, the manager came by to check in, and he suggested an after-​dinner drink for us that worked well with dessert. Very nice.
I’m very happy to have The Urban in Worcester, and look forward to returning with friends!

I wish I could give this place a review but never even got acknowledge by the bar tender. Was sitting there for about 10 minutes people came right in and sat at the other end of the bar and were served immediately.
Just very poor customer service. Too bad because I heard good things about the food.

Trendy, friendly, and delicious!
What a tremendous experience. These folks have been open for less than a month but they already have dinner down to an art.
We called ahead to make a reservation for 5 on a Friday and they got us in (although I feel like they’ll soon start being booked all the time!)
Urban took Coral Seafood’s location (it will be missed), but the head chef at Urban is the Coral head chef’s brother so the property stayed in the family.
The waitstaff was great, our waitress said she used to work for Coral so she transitioned to Urban no problem. You can tell from the attentive and friendly waitstaff that they’re excited and proud to work at this new place — which bodes well for the place as a whole. Also, we were in a rush as we had a show to get to for 7:30– our waitress rushed out order and we were in and out within 35 minutes — extremely impressive.
As for the food, the butternut squash homemade gnocchi I has with lamb was to die for. The pastas can be ordered as a small or large plate (that’s what the slash marks are on the menu). We weren’t sure whether to err on the side of small or large, but we decided worst case scenario we take home leftovers and opted for larges. The portion was not huge, rather the perfect meal size. The bread at the beginning was great with the rosemary butter and I heard the duck was excellent as well.
Overall, an awesome new asset for Shrewsbury Street.

I dined in a group of four at Urban on Wednesday evening. I was eager to try out the restaurant after hearing about it, given their emphasis on local produce, simplified ingredients and their new-​American style. What I experienced was a restaurant that is unlike anything else in Worcester and is a welcome addition to the dining community in the city.
The chef clearly takes pride in his food and prioritizes presentation in his dishes, making them look extremely appealing and contemporary. The idea of classic contemporary reaches everywhere, as the silverware mimicked this type of thinking as well. I especially enjoyed the open brick and large windows of the area, although I think they need to do something about the massive white space above the bar (perhaps repaint a less stark color or a mural). I thought the lighting over the tables was very creative.
I had the clam chowder app to start and was a little taken aback when it was delivered with the shell but appreciated the creativity. The presentation was gorgeous and I loved the clam chowder. So much chowder is usually heavy but they gave it a light touch that let the ingredients, not the sauce, be the star. We also ordered the tuna crudo app, which went over well.
For dinner, I ordered the artic char, while others in the party ordered the sea bass, black pepper tagliatelle and seared duck breast. I enjoyed my artic char very much, and it paired extremely well with the horseradish. I would have liked to see a bit more pickled onions on the dish as the bites that included the onion were the star of the whole dish. The skin of the char was difficult to cut through on the top, so I ended up sliding it off the fish, breaking it apart and then putting it back on top of the dish. Overall, I was pleased.
While I did not try the bass and duck, the diners who ordered these meals were quite impressed and were scarfing them up. I had a bit of the tagliatelle which was fantastic with the cauliflower alfredo. Like the clam chowder, most alfredos are just too heavy and steeped in sugar while the cauliflower alfredo brought a light touch (and those who dislike cauliflower would have NO idea it was cauliflower) and made the pasta dish delicious.
After hearing raves of the zeppole from two separate waiters, we decided to order it for dessert. WOW. I went to Italy several months back and had zeppole for the first time there. I would easily take Urban’s zeppole (Italian donut) over what I had in Italy. The dough literally melted in your mouth.
The pricing was a little on the high side but not outrageous. For the experience we received, it was very reasonable.
One member of our party had very strict diet restrictions and they were extremely accommodating and took some initiative to make it happen, which was nice to see. How restaurants handle his diet restrictions can sometimes be an issue.
The waiter service was tremendous — our waiter had a good personality and was very attentive, and we received a visit from the manager to make sure we were pleased. We certainly were and intend to return.

OMG. Go! We sought this place out after hearing that the owners of the terrific Fish wine bar in Marlborough had opened up a new restaurant in Worcester.
This is a true 5 star dining experience in Worcester, and honestly, I think the prices offer great value for creative, amazingly well-​prepared food and impeccable service.
I went with a group of women and we shared a number of small plate appetizers. Not what I would have picked to order, but the whipped ricotta and the chicken liver pâté absolutely knocked my socks off. Delicious!
I had a ½ portion serving of the duck tortellini as my main course– it was a stand-​out with fresh mushrooms and delicious gravy sauce, and shared the artistic beet salad with a friend. For dessert, we all shared the chocolate panna cotta and the zeppole. EVERY single thing was delicious!
The space is well-​designed with exposed brick, candle lighting, and a lot of rich colors. Our waiter was a pro and offered great suggestions and fielded questions well. If you really want to impress someone, or just have a guaranteed fantastic dinner out, take them here. I will be back!!!

Mom and I tried to call up Coral Seafood one Saturday night and accidentally stumbled upon the Urban. A quick check of their menu and we decided to give them a try. I’m so happy we did. They weren’t booked solid the night we went, but I imagine they will quickly become a «reservations required if you don’t want to wait a few hours» kind of place as they become better known.
The food was A. MAZE. ING. We tried the mini lobster rolls for an appetizer — yum — which came with the most adorable house-​made miniature potato chips. Betcha can’t eat just one! For meals we had butternut squash gnocchi with braised lamb and duck tortellini with wild mushrooms. Wowwwww. To both. Which left just enough room for a poached peach filled with house-​made ricotta — to die for. Overall incredible food.
They also have an impressive wine list and some creative-​sounding house drinks. The atmosphere is nice — trendy but not pretentious. Great layout, comfortable seating. I loved being able to see the chefs in action, and the owner seems pretty down to earth. I liked it so much, I’ve already made reservations for this year’s Valentine’s Day dinner!