I unabashedly feasted on brilliantly-made lamb shank while taking in a nostalgia-inducing (NYC) West Village bohemia interior - pleasantly shocked at how wonderful the food was to my palate, and pleased at the fantastic and attentive service. And: purple is an excellent choice of wall color - it must be said. read more

The Middle East Downstairs is awesome. It's awesome seeing great bands for practically nothing. Also they feature a varied line-up of regulars that are also must-see. If you're in Cambridge or even boston you should definitely go to the Middle East for at least one show if not more. read more

I really wanted to like this place. I have passed by it so many times and thought that it was exactly my kind of place and that I would like it a lot. The whole experience was akin to finally kissing a boy you liked since you were 19 and realizing that, well, he was just not for you. The service was fantastic but the food was really mediocre. The Middle East version of the pupu platter was pleasing to the eye but not so much to the palate. The dips were pretty okay though. Overall, it wasn't the best experience. I guess I was just really not in the mood. read more

This remains four stars, but because I added one for being much less crowded, even on the Saturday night Motown party. But then it lost a star for the ridiculous hour-long wait outside. I mean, I got in and there was plenty of room so I'm not sure what was up. read more

the bartenders here suck. well, let me back up--they can pour beers and keep the counter moving, which is good. however, they don't know how to make...pretty much anything. if you want whiskey on the rocks, great. beer, awesome. vodka cranberry, sure. but don't ever order shots or any drink that is usually standard. they cannot make anything with more than 2 ingredients. why have a full bar if you cannot use it. the dance nights are really hit or miss. read more

Music can be hit or miss but points for being a very LGBTQ friendly scene.

Lamb shank, duck confit are both very yummy! Wish they could have more variety of food

I liked Zuzu's before for drinks or appetizers, but now that Richard is bartending there, it's one of my favorite places to go. Richard sets up his station of fresh herbs, juices and other unique ingredients, asks you a couple of questions and makes you DELICIOUS, unique cocktails. I had so much fun there one night with a couple of my friends that I organized a group outing on Valentine's Day. All 16 of us had a great time and loved the unique experience that Richard creates for patrons. The food is pretty good too, but the bartending makes it feel like a special experience. So glad Zuzu's is innovating! read more

Very pleasantly surprised when we came for brunch here. The atmosphere and service are on point and very welcoming. The food is super fresh and super tasty. I recommend the Huevos Rancheros, and the chicken and waffles are some of the best I've had. GO HERE FOR BRUNCH!!! read more

ZuZu has an incredible menu and very welcoming staff. Even the things you wouldn't expect to be delicious at a place like this are fantastic. I recommend starting with the chicken brick and finishing with Middle Eastern coffee. read more

Went here for a 90s party night. Small but gets crowded. Massachusetts avenue in Cambridge was a cute little strip of bars with foreigners from the colleges. Great spot to have fun and meet new people! read more

In town for 1 night. Kicked it here for a few hours. Decent dj, nice chill crowd, pretty cool bar. Would definitely recommend it.

I actually did not realize they had food but man was it a nice surprise. Order up a storm of Mediterranean small plates the kabobs and fetta and tomato salad were great. Cool staff in a hip spot! Very affordable as well J read more

Mmmmmm sums up my experience here quite well.. I've been a big hummus and taboule fan forever, but I haven't really explored much outside of that in terms of Middle Eastern food.. ZuZu was definitely the place to do it! It did take a while to get our orders (which were just appetizers), but they were definitely worth waiting for. My friend and I shared a vegetarian dip appetizer and my other friend ordered a few of the smaller appetizers; all of us had more than enough to eat. My favorite of the dip plate was the falafel, hands down.. mm so crunchy on the outside and soft and flavorful on the inside! And the whipped garlic, olive paste, and guacamole were also really really good. My only complaints were that it was hard to have a conversation without shouting because of the loud music, and that the pita bread wasn't the freshest ever... but the meat of the meal was really good. I'm definitely returning for more falafel and to try other goodies! read more

My husband and I really like this place for a relaxed, inexpensive date night. The wait staff is friendly and relaxed. The Vegetarian PuPu platter is enough for a meal for the two of us but we often indulge further in the potato puffs or the feta & tomato salad. I also highly recommend the Moscow mules...which are a bargain at $6. read more

In theory, Zuzu is a good place for a late night weekend alternative dance party, because the cover is cheap and the DJ is good and the patrons are decent. But in practice, the place is tiny and gets way too crowded for people to be able to really enjoy themselves. Especially if you're the type of socially introverted person that this place is inclined to attract. It would be a lot more fun if the place had 200 more square feet, or 25 fewer people. read more

Well...my friends are definitely fans and have dragged me here many a time. Sometimes I have fully enjoyed myself, other times not so much. It depends entirely on the DJ. I would highly recommend finding out who is spinning on the night you want and learning what stuff they play. In general, the music can be a bit electro/1970s/strange. The space and drinks work for me though. Like other central square hot spots the line can be prohibitively long and slow. read more

Superb, very friendly service and good food. A manager, Kathy, could not have been nicer. We only had 3 appetizers, shrimp, eggplant & mac & briw. All were good and large portions. I spilled a water glass and staff was very kind and attentive. High recommendation read more

Thursday nights are solid if you're looking for a good dance party. Great mix of funk, 80s classics (listening to some into the groove by Madonna right now) and the dj does an alright job of keeping people moving. Every so often he'd lose the crowd but that just gives you time to hang outside and smoke your cigarette. One of the better dance places in Cambridge if you don't want to listen to top 40 and Journey garbage. read more

First discovered this through a groupon. Great creative food, they keep on coming with good coffee, and they use real maple syrup. Also great service and rarely a wait. For brunch this is well worth your time. read more

We had varieties of omlettes. Loved the portion, taste and worth the price. Also had figgy feta waffles which I would highly recommend.

Upstairs is a small venue but they have live bands almost every night. It seems a little odd, but you walk through the restaurant and pay someone sitting in the back by a door. read more

Had a really great time here last Thursday. Strong drinks, good music, interesting people. Loved it.

I went to ZuZu a few weeks ago for Soul night. We got there insanely early, so getting in wasn't an issue as it seemed to be for others. In addition to being ridiculously crowded, I found the tunes to be just okay (come on, Boston, one decent soul night...pleeeaaase???). The room is pretty cool and the crowd was upbeat. My major complaint was that the bar staff sucked. It took forever to get a drink, bartenders were huffy, my order was forgotten, credit cards mixed up, the whole nine. I understand that it's a busy, noisy night, but it's your biggest dance night, Zuzu, put out your all-star bar staff. If they are the best you got, then forget it. I'll go get treated like crap somewhere where the drinks aren't overpriced and I don't have to wait for 25 minutes in a sweaty pit for a gin and tonic. Not worth the hype. read more

My friend and I were looking for somewhere for a drink and some dinner on a Friday night and found this place. The wait staff was so friendly and awesome and the food was delicious!!!! We both had the Mediterranean Salad and I want more. I also had the eggplant over grilled meat tapas with yogurt sauce which I loved-I want the recipe. We left before the music started and I can see how it could get very crowded in there, but for dinner, the ambiance is great and prices really reasonable too, and the food was delicous! I will be going back. read more

Get there early because there will be a line on the weekend. A line that can expect great music, cheap drinks and a dance floor full of people having a good time. It can be crowded in there, but I always found the people here to be very chill, not like Faneuil Hall where one bumped elbow could unleash a steroid-induced fury. So if you really want to cut loose and rest assured that you won't hear the same old thing, there's no place better in Boston. read more

This place isn't for everyone, but they have an awesome vegan pu pu platter and they make the best sidecars in Boston. It's a laid back and funky place, and they have outdoor seating which is nice in the summer. read more

My friends and I showed up a bit early and quite starved for brunch today. Was told they weren't quite ready to serve us, but they sat us on the sunny patio and quickly brought a round of coffee. They let us know when the kitchen was ready, and our food was beyond delicious! So much tasty hollandaise sauce! The perfect spot for a relaxing weekend brunch. Excellent food and the friendliest, most accommodating service! read more

Ate a Sunday brunch there today. I had the chicken and waffles with the jalapeño cheese sauce. It tasted way better than its description and I had a Narragansett Lager with it. The staff was super friendly and I can't wait to go back! read more

Where do i start with my terrible breakfast experience here? I ordered the corned beef hash with 2 eggs homefries and toast. I asked for the eggs over easy. Pretty simple order. Order comes and and the eggs are scrambled. I inform the waiter and he says he will bring me over easy eggs. The eggs eventually come out and the yoke is cooked through and one is even broken and hard. No runny yoke that I am accustomed to with over easy eggs. I dont understand how you can mess up eggs twice. I decide i'll just eat the eggs. I start eating the corned beef and hash and it is basically all potato covered in oil like substance. I would advise avoiding this at all costs. The toast was barely toasted and looked like that dropped it in the toaster and taken it out right away. It was also served plain without butter. The homefries were good but not really home fries more like boiled seasoned potatoes. My friends meal the smokey bones benedict with hash was basically a dish filled with oil as well. We also had to get our own silver ware because our waiter barely gave us the time of day. Then we ask for the check. It comes out and its 27.50. So we tell him to split the bill. We get the check back and the math added up to over 30 dollars and instead of splitting he charged us for what we each got which we did not request. So we payed anyway because it added up. I would never wish this place upon anyone else for breakfast. The food is subpar and the service is terrible. Just a warning for those who are fans of brunch. This place is a no go. read more

Brunch on Saturday was terrible. I ordered the Kathy Bates--it had no redeeming qualities. Absolutely no taste at all. How do they do it? It sounded great on the menu. The bloody Mary's were okay. The service also sucked. We won't be back. read more

It's suppose to be the adult version of Middle East cafe. The wait staff was wonderful, the decor lovely. But we were all pretty underwhelmed by the food. Nothing particularly wrong with it it was just like eh that was just okay. read more

Zuzu's Soulelujah is hands down the best dance night in Boston. My five stars go to this Saturday night boogie down gem. I wouldn't recommend going if you aren't looking to dance your ass off. Props to the Soulelujah Dj crew and their immaculate vinyl collection. read more

The average rating must be based on different nights, because Friday and Saturday nights are off the hook over here. The weekend live music is never a disappointment. You can just hang out with a drink and soak in the tunes, or you can get up and dance with many others. Never any tourists. It's a very locally hip place, reasonable prices, and a damn good time. The bar service seems a bit slow at times, but the rest of the evening typically makes up for it. read more

Love the food! We have eaten here 2 times before seeing a gig at The Middle East Downstairs and always love the middle eastern food we get. Great ambience for a date or just hanging with some friends. Definitely somewhere I will take people to eat when they visit Boston. read more

Zuzu is awesome! I went to brunch here today for the first time, and the food was amazing!!! They have a great menu with a lot of unusual foods and combinations of food! They are also VERY VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY, like their sister restaurant, the Middle East Restaurant!!!!! The waitstaff was super friendly! Our server Sarah was very accommodating! I always get great service at the Middle East and Zuzu's! I've had dinner here, as well as next door at the Middle East, and it is always delicious!!! And again, very good for vegetarians!!! This is a huge bonus for me!!! Zuzu's is also a blast at night, great DJ's and a lot of fun dancing!!! If you want to see some cool breakdancing that is mind blowing, check out Zuzu's at night! THUMBS UP to the Middle East and Zuzu's!!! Incredible food, service, atmosphere!!! Go there! It is a MUST!!!! JP read more

I went to ZuZu for dinner before a show with a friend and was BLOWN AWAY by not only the quality of the food but the service! Kathy was our server and was incredibly attentive. Our food arrived promptly and let me tell you what, when you ask for a mid-rare cook on the steak tips, they come out mid-rare. I ate myself silly and had a blast doing it with an amazing staff and great atmosphere. I'd totally go to ZuZu again, any damn time. read more

We had a wonderful experience at this very warm and friendly restaurant. The food was excellent, the atmosphere cheerful and inviting, and the owner was attentive and gracious. He even treated us to a free dessert sample because we were on a tight schedule and couldn't stay on for dessert. The food was AMAZINGLY well priced for Boston. I highly recommend ZuZu and look forward to our next visit. read more

Delicious! Lots of great options, nice environment, very friendly staff and quick service!

Cons: The heat and the customer service. As for the heat, it was just too hot I almost couldn't stay. The customer service wasn't terrible but they were not great either. Most of the staff almost seemed stoned. I feel bad for making this kind of assumption but they were a bit "too layed back." The young man more so than the woman. Pros: LGBTQ friendly! My wife and I don't get this much in Texas so it was a nice plus that you could hold hands and not be glared at. The ambience was very nice. It had a cozy yet open concept. There was a great selection to choose from on the menu. A lot of vegetarian options. My wife and I split the Zuzu PuPu Platter. It came with a little bot of everything. The tabuli and baba ganush (I have no idea how to spell it) were great for the pita chips we ordered. If you have never had lamb do so jere. It was juicy and perfect. The chicken is also very well seasoned. Apparently they also offer shows of some sort or karaoke, I'm not sure, on Thursday nights. We went on a Tuesday sooo I have no idea. If you have a mixed group and some are too picky to go wild they have options such as Chicken Parmesan. Everything from sea food to humus. The waitresses was informative. She explained what everything was and where it was made when asked. I would suggest people go here if you like to try new things, don't mind the heat, and can over look lazy customer service. Enjoy!! read more

ZuZu - Zuzu PuPu Platter - Mediterranean Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts