Area Four

A LOT of my friends really like Area Four. I never understood them though.
I usually try to convince friends to go to Emma’s instead since they’re kinda close to each other and I actually like Emma’s.
Nothing really wrong with Area Four — people are friendly, place is cute, but I just don’t like their pizzas, I’d honestly rather have dominos (or any other pizza really). I just find the combination of flavors to be a bit off, and I always find myself having to force myself to eat another piece because I paid good money for them.
Nowadays if I ever do happen to go to Area Four I usually just get garlic knots. The garlic knots are actually REALLY good. GET THEM (: you won’t regret it! :D (everyone I know including myself loves them lol

The garlic knots were outstanding. I had chicken and asparagus which was cooked perfectly with a savory creative sauce The carnivore pizza and the white anchovy pizzas were fresh hot and delicious.

Legend has it that a medieval torture method for those convicted of treason involved being pulled apart by horses chained to your body that traveled in opposite directions. Fortunately, there is no modern, literal equivalent but metaphorically, that punishment symbolizes conflict. To me, anyway. And inner conflict was my defining emotion when dining at Area Four.
For every thing I liked, there was something that put me off. To simplify this, I’ll arrange this in two columns. On the left is the thing I liked and right next to it is the thing I didn’t like.
Trendy theme and motif. — but — Lax service. Waited too long for both beer and the check.
Fresh, explosive flavors on my Not Pepperoni (soppressata) pizza toppings. — but — Charred crust and edges.
Large slices of pizza. — but — Flimsy crust; I had to roll it up like a stromboli to eat it.
The breakfast options are delicious. — but — They’re tiny. Rename it the «Hot Midget Mess.»
Other less relevant positives included the great location and view. Their giant windows allow you to enjoy the view of the park and do some people watching in the heart of Nerd Square in Cambridge.
But. .. (huge but). .. I will go back. I think that I was just a hair away from at least a four-​star experience. I just made some unwise choices. For example, I got green olives on my pizza, completely forgetting that soppressata is dry and cured, i.e. SALTY. My girlfriend told me that I had every right to send back a pizza if I don’t like it but I never want to risk pissing off the kitchen staff. If I want to taste the chef’s saliva, I could just walk into the kitchen and French kiss him. I’d rather just take what I’ve been given unless it’s inedible.
Also, everyone else seemed quite satisfied. When I’m in a clear minority, it triggers a moment of somber introspection: What am I missing? Maybe it had something to do with me and not the restaurant. In this case, it was a little bit of both. Thus, Area Four deserves another chance.

Tried the Hawaiian pizza, enjoyed every bite. Great décor, nice atmosphere, average service.

Some of the best pizza I’ve had in Boston. My favorite is the clam bacon and I recommend it to anybody and everybody. The dough is what makes the pizza stand out. It’s soft and chewy and the great thing is that if you leave it out… IT STAYS SOFT AND CHEWY. It is a great option for breakfast, in my personal opinion.
It’s not terribly over-​priced. The service is pleasant and the café attached is nice and quaint.

Consistently wonderful food. Tonight I had the roasted half chicken. Best chicken I’ve ever had. Thinly crispy and very juicy. Unlocked unique flavor.

Very good product overall, both the restaurant and attached café. Generally pleasant service.
Main restaurant: My favorite pizza is the mushroom, followed by anything with one of their specialty cured meats. I enjoy their beer selection.
Café: great baked goods, good coffee, awkward environment. The crowd of people waiting for their coffee gets difficult to manage, and the area for getting coffee condiments needs to be reorganized so people can get around each other. For some reason I’ve had a much higher frequency of others making off with my drink, compared to any other café I frequent.

It can be hard to articulate what makes a pizza incredible and what makes one just okay. Because pizza is basically just dough, sauce, cheese (and maybe) some toppings, it can be hard to place why a pizza did or didn’t blow you away.
Area Four seemingly does everything well, but is lacking the magic that makes a pie irresistible. For me, it often comes down to a salty, tangy sauce that gives the pizza personality, and there just wasn’t a lot of depth or zip to the sauce here. The crust also left something to be desired. It wasn’t as crispy or as chewy as I prefer, though I understand this is a subjective preference.
It’s a fine pizza, but not in the conversation for the best (in a surprisingly competitive field) in Boston.

I was in Boston traveling for work and was looking for a place close to my hotel within walking distance to get a bite to eat. Decided to stopping here based off the looks, had a laid back modern look. The menu choices are small, but the quality of the food was very fresh and top-​notch. I ordered the Hawaiian pizza and was not disappointed. Not a typical pizza joint Hawaiian style… I will definitely stop back in again when back in the area.

Absolutely fun-​and-​amazing brunch! We feel so fortunate that they accommodated us, considering the time of day, that we arrived without a reservation — and they’ve been named one of Boston’s 50 Best Restaurants! Their Brunch Flight (an attractive sample of 4 of their cocktails) was a fun way to kick-​off the meal. The fresh-​and-​delicious large breakfast pizza was nearly as wide as our counter-​height table! Given the location and the restaurant’s accolades, service was impressively friendly, welcoming, and … great — they know how to make their guests feel important! A definite «must try» for (at minimum) brunch! Would definitely love to return.

I haven’t come across many bad pizzas in my life, but I also haven’t eaten a lot of pizzas that have made my jaw drop. Because of this, I’m always skeptical when people rave about «the best pizza they’ve ever had». To me, pizzas have always seemed equally as good. However, Area Four managed to dazzle me with their delightfully straightforward Clam and Bacon pizza (clearly a crowd favourite). The dough is surprisingly thin, light and fluffy with a perfect char around the edges. But the best part about the pizza is the simplicity in its ingredients. Area Four doesn’t try to stand out by tossing as many ingredients as possible onto an overwhelmed pizza base. Instead, they pick two main flavours (obviously the clam and bacon…) and complement them with a couple other light additions like some cheese, sauce and seasoning. That’s it! It’s simple, delicious, and allows my taste buds to focus on each ingredient.
Other highlights to our rather heavy meal were the Garlic Knots (fantastic) and the Papas Bravas, which were new to the menu that day! To top it all off, we enjoyed the Rhubarb Crisp for dessert, with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream on top. Aside from all the delicious food, I was quite pleased with the friendliness and efficiency of the service. Although the menu is fairly short, I definitely plan on coming back to try another pizza and the Mac & Cheese that looks oh so delicious. And the Baked Cookie of course.

Area Four is a great brunch spot. A popular dish is the hot mess which did not disappoint. It came with sunny side up eggs on top of a mixture of home fries, sausage, bacon, onions and cheddar. It was also garnished with scallions and pickled banana pepper relish that gave a nice tangy contrast. The baked french toast is also a very good dish. Adding peppered pecans is a nice touch which complemented the sweetness of the dish. They each came in a sizzling hot, individual sized cast iron pan, which appeared small but were very filling.
I also came here another time for a late lunch and tried the Not Pepperoni pizza. The flavor was good but the crust had uneven browning with both white and blackened spots.
I’d definitely come back again for brunch. There can be up to an hour wait if you want to be seated at a table, but I liked that there’s also an option to sit at the bar to just order food.

These guys have nailed it, and know it. The menu is small but brilliantly conceived and almost every item delivered. Here’s what we ordered:
Beer flight. Imaginative choices in both drafts and bottles (see photo, current at the time of my visit) and you can get 4 five-​ounce samples for $ 12. Five stars.
Brussels Sprouts/​Kale Salad. This is good for you, right? Sure didn’t taste like it. A creamy dressing rich with parmesan or pecorino. My 13 year old gobbled it up. Five stars, with a bonus point for bringing it before the garlic knots.
Garlic Knots (basic). Puts usual pizza parlor garlic knots to shame, and the heated marinara accompaniment is good enough to eat as a soup. Five stars.
Ramen. Got this because my teen is a ramen fanatic, but as he said afterward, why would you order ramen in a pizza place? The slab of hoisin pork belly was generous but the noodles were flaccid and the broth was rich without being interesting. Two stars.
Sausage and banana pepper pizza. Just as there is no world record in the marathon, there can be no five star pizza because of the variability. But this was very good. The crust was bubbly on the edges but falling apart in the middle. Maybe this was intentional but I would have liked a little more structure. Four stars.
Skillet butterscotch cookie with caramel ice cream. They take raw cookie dough and cook it in the wood fired oven so you get the freshest, hottest cookie you have ever tasted. As our waiter said, «incredible, right?» Five stars.
Service was great, prices more than fair, a busy atmosphere with a lot of happy people. Cambridge is lucky to have this place.

One of my favorite places in Cambridge. Consistently great service, delicious food, and great ambiance. I’ve been here for dinner as well as brunch.
The pizza is obviously the main attraction, but the salads and garlic knots are also top notch.

Any Bostonian will tell you: Area Four is a must-​try brunch spot! Located across the river in Cambridge, this ultra trendy joint is near MIT and has that minimal, white-​wall-​wooden-​tables-​steel-​beams kind of ambiance.
Area Four specializes in epic brunch skillets, aptly named «Hot Messes,» which we were beyond excited to try for a hearty meal. Luckily for us, there was a daily special of gluten-​free donuts as well! I didn’t even know gluten-​free donuts were possible, but apparently the baker is gluten-​free (and a genius in my book).
We ordered «The Hot Veggie Mess,» which comes complete with 2 sunny side up local farm eggs, home fries, baby spinach, fennel, carrots, squash, mustard greens, carmelized onions, cheddar, scallions & pickled banana pepper relish. This one had a much brighter, lighter feel to it — while still being very filling.
Carnivores will love «The Hot Mess,» which is filled with 2 sunny side up local farm eggs, home fries, bacon, breakfast sausage, caramelized onions, cheddar, scallions & pickled banana pepper relish. I’m not a huge relish fan so I held off on the last ingredient, but the rest of this skillet is spectacular. It’s incredibly hearty without feeling greasy, and jam-​packed with flavor!
Be warned: They can have a long wait for brunch on the weekends, even if you go late (we got there around 2 PM), and you can’t make same-​shift reservations, so it would pay off to call a day or so ahead of time!

First get the garlic knots. Trust me. Covered with red sauce, oozing pecorino cheese, and an abundance of garlic, this appetizer can be easily split among four people or serve as a hefty meal itself.
The pizza itself is also tasty, with the carnivore and sausage & peppers selections as my top picks given that I love meat. Toppings are generous, and leftovers are still good the next day. The beer selection, though limited, includes local offerings from around New England. Lastly, my water was always filled, which gives the service an A+ in my book.
This is a great place for a group hangout or casual date, and they take reservations too.

I was visiting a friend in Kendall Square and we decided to try out brunch at Area Four. The décor is quite modern, with a white/​grey theme and high top tables, in keeping with its location near MIT and Technology Square.
I ordered the Hot Mess ($ 12): two sunny side up local farm eggs, home fries, bacon, breakfast sausage, caramelized onions, cheddar, scallions and pickled banana pepper relish. The dish came in a skillet and was a gooey mess, almost like a breakfast burrito in a pan. It was flavorful, greasy, and satisfying, and would be a good hangover option!
I also got the apple crisp for dessert. I was less impressed by this dessert than the Hot Mess skillet. The crisp was very sweet and I wish it came with more ice cream.
Service was a little slow.

Hawaiian pizza was DELICIOUS and I loved the cilantro on top! The hot mess was also AMAZING and I loved the bacon. Just wow.
The cider doughnuts however were a shocking disappointment. They said no one ever regretted getting those so I guess my friend and I were the first one :/​they were drenched in so much sugar and it was all over my clothes and fingers!
Customer service was great though. Very friendly!
Overall great experience but we should’ve went with a different pastry!

Stopped by for some late night pizza and decided to go with a couple of their house specialties — The Mushroom and Fontina and the White Anchovy.
Reviews for each are night and day. We finished every last bite of the Mushroom and Fontina but neither of us could do more than a slice of the White Anchovy. The taste was just overpowering and salty between the anchovy, capers and olives. We realized we probably should’ve given more thought on the topping combination before we finalized on that choice. Warning — Do not order this. If you do, it’s at your own risk. The Mushroom and Fontina pizza, on the other hand was delicious and I would highly recommend!

Obama is a fan so it must be good! I really like their coffee bar (iced soy lattes are phenomenal) and their white clam pizza with bacon is out of this world. They use high quality ingredients and you can tell.
Be warned though that waits are ridiculous especially on weekends.

Muy buen brunch. Las pizzas son muy buenas super recomendadas. El ambiente juvenil y descontracturado!