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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, March 28, 2024

Stylish Cambridge eatery Bambara offers satisfactory, unexceptional brunch experience

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A falafel sandwich on pita bread at Bambara on Thursday, Feb. 18.

Occasionally, to be a Tufts student is to feel that the only restaurants serving brunch are Sound Bites or Ball Square Cafe, and it is not at all uncommon to participate in a conversation about how delicious — or overrated — these establishments are. We shouldn’t let the Tufts bubble fool us, however; there are other places to grab brunch on a Sunday. One such option is Bambara in East Cambridge near the Museum of Science.

The restaurant is located within the swanky Hotel Marlowe, and Bambara's decor is comparably stylish. Most of the space is painted a deep cornflower blue, and the walls are adorned with large collage-like Boston-themed artworks. In addition to the standard two-person tables, patrons can choose to dine at the bar, high-top tables or, if they so desire, disconcertingly oversized booths that seemingly swallow the diners sitting inside of them. Though Bambara is attractively decorated, it’s hard to escape the feeling that the restaurant is trying too hard to be fashionable; the whole space feels like a showy piece of statement jewelry.

The standard American fare that Bambara serves is nothing to scoff at, but considering how bold the space itself is, one would assume the menu might be somewhat more adventurous. The brunch menu sensibly balances breakfast and lunch options, though none of them are particularly inventive: think breakfast burrito, turkey club sandwich, eggs any style. The grilled cheese and tomato soup is certainly worth sampling — ordering the sandwich on multigrain bread, not focaccia, and adding avocados makes for a slightly healthier and just as delicious variation on the classic. The tomato soup was above average and paired nicely with the sandwich, even with the added avocados. The combination of the two made for a pleasing and surprisingly light brunch option.

Breakfast food lovers, meanwhile, will likely not be blown away by the Eggs Benedict, which is served with your choice of smoked salmon, ham or tomato and spinach. The English muffin, a standard grocery store variety, didn’t seem to be toasted or grilled, and the Hollandaise sauce, normally the highlight of the dish, was nothing to write home about. That being said, the dish was by no means a catastrophe. The poached eggs themselves were nicely cooked, the salmon was fresh and the home fries were well seasoned. The result was a perfectly adequate Eggs Benedict, but it certainly suffered from poor timing in the kitchen. Nearly all the food — the eggs, the grilled cheese and soup —  came out a little cold, which inevitably detracted from the overall quality of the meal.

Perhaps the most quizzical element of the entire dining experience was the bizarrely small dish the ketchup arrived in. Barely as wide as a fork, this thin rectangular vessel was too small to accommodate even a single home fry. Thus, any attempts to dip a potato into ketchup became a comically frustrating experience, and certainly one that any brunch could do without.

Despite its decidedly more upscale setting, the prices at Bambara don’t actually differ too much from those at the Ball Square establishments that Tufts students often frequent. An omelet at Ball Square Cafe, for example, could run you anywhere between $11.95 and $15.95; Bambara charges $13. (That being said, the $4 Bambara diners must pay for loose-leaf tea seems like a bit of highway robbery, even for Boston.) Although you might run up a similar bill, chances are you will leave Sound Bites or Ball Square Cafe feeling significantly more full. Helpings at those eateries are generous, more than justifying the expense of a meal out. Though Bambara isn’t stingy — the more modest portions are likely a much healthier size — it is hard to avoid the comparison to the copious amounts of food found much closer to campus.

Bambara is perhaps worth venturing to before a visit to the Museum of Science, or if you find yourself hungry while wandering around East Cambridge. Otherwise, it's best to stick to the tried and true Ball Square restaurants.

Summary This stylish East Cambridge restaurant is worth a visit if you're in the area. Otherwise, stick to Somerville favorites, Ball Square Cafe and Sound Bites.
2.5 Stars