Where to Eat and Drink in East Cambridge

Here are just some of the many great East Cambridge restaurants serving soup dumplings, Portuguese cuisine, liège-style waffles, and lots more.

Orale Mexican Grill

Great tortas are just one of the many things Orale does well. Make sure to also try the nachos, which are perfectly layered in cheese and topped with refried beans, pico de gallo, crema, jalapenos, guacamole, and a choice of meat.

Portugalia Restaurant

This Portuguese restaurant has been open for over 25 years in East Cambridge, and it specializes in salt cod and northern Portuguese food. Eating there feels like you’re dining in someone’s home, in the best way. Order the cod fritters, which have an incredibly unique texture; for even more salt cod, try the bacalhau a ze do pipo, which is baked with a tangy, flavorful tartar sauce and piping hot potato puree.

Silk Road Uyghur Cuisine

Previously Pronto Cafe, Silk Road offers soups, kebabs, hand pulled noodles, Uyghur-style samosas, and more. Uyghur hand-pulled noodles are known to be very soft, and Silk Road’s come packed with plenty of vegetables as well. Stop by for dine-in or takeout.

Lamplighter CX

Lamplighter’s second taproom is in a huge space that offers two floors of seating, couches, a dog-friendly outdoor area with shuffleboard, and more. They offer locally-sourced cheese and charcuterie boards, as well as the option to bring your own food.

Lone Star Taco Bar

Lone Star provides a great late-night option in East Cambridge, open until midnight each night. It also offers all-day brunch — order the tres leches French toast with the breakfast tacos. (You can also never go wrong with an order of queso.)

Royal Pastry Shop

Royal Pastry Shop, which opened in 1942, has long been serving Italian and American pastries and other treats in East Cambridge; there’s a Lexington location, too. There are plenty of pastries to catch your eye in the display cases, but also do yourself a favor and get a box of cannoli.

The Lexington

The Lexington, along with two of its sibling restaurants, Cafe Beatrice and Geppetto — is located at the Cambridge Crossing development near the Lechmere MBTA stop. (Big sibling Puritan & Co. is over in Inman Square.) The upper-floor outdoor patio is a great place to watch the trains go by, grab a wonderfully balanced cocktail, and have a warm bowl of ricotta gnocchi with braised short rib and melted leeks.

9Zaab Thai Street Food

9Zaab offers many different Thai dishes, including a number of great soups. In the mood for rice? Try the khao tom Thai rice soup. For an egg noodle soup, order ba mee moo dang, and for rice noodles, try the boat noodle soup.

Elmendorf Baking Supplies & Cafe

Elmendorf sells all kinds of baking supplies, from flour to whisks to cookbooks, and it has a great cafe as well. Stop by for an indulgent breakfast egg sandwich and a latte, which you can enjoy in the colorful outdoor seating setup.

Dumpling Xuan

While Dumpling Xuan is fairly new to the East Cambridge food scene, it has a lot to offer, with dumplings being just one of many things the restaurant does well. The menu has well over 100 items from which to choose, including mapo tofu as well as dry pot, which shares similar flavors to traditional hot pot but is prepared stir-fried instead.

Curio Coffee

The coffee is excellent, but the liège waffle will make your day — it’s the only food item on the daytime menu, and it comes hot to order. For those willing to trek away from East Cambridge, keep an eye out on their social media for their forthcoming restaurant in Andover, Garlic Breath Pizza.

Kantipur Cafe

This no frills Nepalese and Indian restaurant serves up some outstanding momos. For bread lovers, there are multiple options for naan, roti, paratha, and chapati. Order a mango lassi for a sweet accompaniment.

2nd Street Cafe

This quaint neighborhood cafe serves up huge sandwiches, with some fun specials like Wednesday meatball subs. Keep in mind the hours are limited to weekdays (6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.), but breakfast options like breakfast burritos and sandwiches are served until the cafe closes.

Vincent's

Vincent’s — sibling to Mamaleh’s and State Park nearby — is a neighborhood standby with a unique menu that changes regularly, and plenty of incredible wine and cocktails to choose from. The focus on making food from scratch and sourcing ingredients from small and local producers shows up in each dish, whether it’s a casual breakfast taco or kolache at brunch or a hearty pork loin and sausage entree at dinner.

The Helmand

This traditional Afghani restaurant has been a local go-to for nearly 30 years. The menu is great for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike: try the koufta, otherwise known as Afghani meatballs, or the vegetarian kaddo, baked baby pumpkin with a yogurt garlic sauce.