The Other Side Cafe

what? it closed? why?
Why do all the good veggie places shut down? I think there are a good number of non-​meat eaters in the Boston area– where are they eating?
Their food was divine– so many vegetarian, vegan, gluten free options in one place.
Anyone know if they are opening up someplace else?

Where to begin…
I haven’t been here in four years and my boyfriend hadn’t been here in three. We were eager to see what had changed. Unfortunately, a lot.
The «bouncer» was a sour puss who didn’t even face us when we asked if we could sit anywhere we wanted. That’s ok. You’re an overweight 50 year old bouncer. I’d be mad too.
We sat down at 5:27. I know this because i sent a text to someone at this time. We ordered a pitcher of beer and two sandwiches from this person (I can’t in good conscience call him a waiter). 45 minutes pass without a single look or swing by from this person who took our order. This was bad because we were hungry. This was good because he smelled like he ran the marathon 5 days ago and didn’t bother to change clothes or shower afterwards. I finally flag him down at 6:15 and order another beer. He looked surprised that that he had us as a table. At the same time I ask how much longer our food might take (because let’s face it, he forgot to put in our order). Everyone who came after us had ordered their food and received it. All we ordered was a rueben and a brie sandwich. Can’t be that difficult.
At 6:32 we finally received our food. Ridiculous. The guy obviously did not remember to put our order in and the sandwiches were definitely put together in a hot second, even though it still took 15 minutes to expedite the order he forgot to put in. There was no apology. No hint of regret that he made a mistake.
I feel obliged to mention that while the reuben was very ordinary and not so special, the brie sandwich was pretty good. It was put together very sloppily and fell apart while I was trying to eat it, but the ingredients were there and it worked!
Enter in a real waiter. She must have realized that our «waiter» was giving us and everyone around him blank stares and walking around like a zombie because she eventually took over most of his tables including ours. We promptly asked for our check which she immediately took and cashed us out.
One more thing to note. I sat right next the the bouncer and he was very rude to the people who were waiting in line to come in. He was very abrupt and sarcastic when people asked how long the line might take. I’m so glad this place will be turned into a furniture store.

I appreciate what they’re trying to do: vegan/​veggie friendly food. I get that. It’s cool that they offer up a variety for the vegan peeps, but honestly, the food is pretty bland and the place smells like B.O. Also, what’s with this bouncer like dude IDing at the door on a Tuesday night? So strange. This is a restaurant not a vegan club!
I do have a special sentiment for Other Side despite all its flaws, since I met one of my best friends here, but beyond that, it hasn’t brought me much happiness. I would probably be more into this spot if I were a vegan myself and wouldn’t mind all the B.O.
PS. turn down the music just a notch?

What a pleasant surprise! I’d seen this place come up on my searches all the time, yet I never gave it much thought after seeing «vegetarian» in the description. I hate to stereotype, but my first thought was something along the lines of a hippie, frou frou vegetarian joint that wants to make everyone that it’s healthier than carnivorous diets.
Alas, I came by with my bro for some snacks after the David Choi concert nearby and we were seated right away. The atmosphere’s very laid back with just a touch of diveyness… awesome. The staff are very friendly too and were quick to provide updated draft lists and take orders. Our chips, guacamole & salsa and grilled cheese sandwich were pretty average, but super affordable and got the job done. The aforementioned draft list is quite good and I enjoyed my Jack’s Abby Biere de Garde.
Totally worth a stop for a meal or late night munchies with quality beer.

I have always put the judgmental «Oh your not a bike messenger and don’t wear skinny jeans, clothes purchased to look intentionally worn/​dirty and aloof hipster attitude» aside to enjoy their great food and beer, but last night was the final straw for me. I was meeting a friend for dinner there, she had already gotten a table and I was rushing over to escape the one day of winter we have actually experiences thus far this season… only to be turned away at the door. Apparently they were at capacity. Fine you probably just got busted by the fire chief, but you do not have to be rude, condescending close the door in my face while I am talking to you and my friend to figure out if we wait or if it doesn’t look like anyone is leaving anytime soon. Customer service 101 here people.
Additionally, you should probably take some tables/​chairs out so A. My friend could not get a table in the first place if you do not intend to actually let 3+people sit there (it was a large round table) B. so the place doesn’t look half empty when you have three people waiting outside in snow/​sleet and C. make your customers aware that you are at capacity – she said she was waiting for one more to show up.
Needless to say this isn’t the first time I have received poor service here, but I always let it slide, knowing it was part of the ambiance of the place and that the food and beer were great, but last night was the straw that broke the camels back for me. We went down the street to Trident and had a wonderful dinner, with fantastic customer service and great to beer at that. Yes I will miss your vegan peanut lettuce wraps and your beer selection, but I will not miss the poor customer service and your attitude.

First place I ate upon arrival in Boston town. I was starved from my long travels and could eat anything you put in front of me. My friend, whom I was visiting, suggested this lovely place — as she is vegetarian and knows I’m down with such types of food.
And I was quite pleased with her decision. The food was great — I had a turkey sandwich and it was definitely above average. Very fresh! I also ordered a lemonade and it was fresh squeezed happiness in a glass. I love when people get lemonade right!
The décor and general atmosphere of the place was super cool. I loved the strange art covering the walls. I love obscure décor.
I would return.

so i was all ready to give this place three stars. its a pretty average place for me… nothing too special… but then i went to brunch here and was pleasantly surprised!
initially, i would have told you that the other side café isnt a very memorable place, and that it reminds me of a few other places in boston (parish café meets the middle east café). they have a great beer selection, but considering the location and the surrounding competition, i always expected more. ill admit that i like a good hipster crowd every now and then, but that alone wont keep me coming back.
like i said though, my opinion was changed the other weekend when a friend suggested we go to brunch here. they have some interesting options and all of the food was good. i think the most noteworthy item was the egg-​vegan sausage-​waffle sandwiches. thats right, waffle sandwiches. whats that you ask? why, yes, they were as delicious as they sound! and dont worry, you can get normal sausage that tastes almost as good as the vegan kind. thats basically all i have to say about that.
hipster crowd, check. big beer selection, check. waffle sandwich, yessurr. everything else is pretty typical of boston. but did i mention that they have a waffle sandwich?

I used to really love this place. It had really good vegetarian food, which I greatly appreciated. After tonight, I’ll never go to this place again.
I had arranged for a bunch of my friends to meet me here to celebrate my birthday. My bf & I got there a little early in order to grab a table big enough for everyone. After waiting awhile, I started getting texts from friends saying that they weren’t being allowed in because Otherside was «at capacity.» This was BS because we had plenty of seats at our table. I even tried talking to the guy at the door and he still refused to let my friends in.
After being there about a half-​hour and still having about half of my friends waiting outside, we gave up and left. We didn’t even order anything — we had literally sat at a table for 30 minutes, taking up space and away from their profits. What’s funny is that if they had just let my friends in, we would have ordered our food & drinks, paid, and then moved along, allowing them to let others in.
I had originally rejoiced when I heard Otherside was not closing. Now, I will never go back again.

The Other Side is closing on December 23, 2011.

Bummed that the Other Side is closing. The scene may have been too hipster for me, but you just can’t beat the cheap pitchers of beer, cool two-​level interior, and all day breakfast (which doesn’t seem to be the case anymore I guess?). Back in the day, they also made the best pie ever, which was reason alone for the work crew and I to make the Other Side a frequent stop.
Now where will all the veg-​head hipsters go?

Stopped by here to grab a brunch before we left. The place opens at 10a on Sundays, so we had a few minutes to look around. Six-​pack beer cardboard holds up the ketchup & napkins, etc. and they have a decent beer menu from a friend who was looking at it.
Known for their vegetarian and vegan options, I have to say, as a lover of bacon — I was not a fan of vegetarian bacon. Real bacon is better! :P
The dishes tried — the breakfast burrito was spicy, and massive! Juevos Racheros was a tasty, spicy large dish, as well, and overall, though I had to recover from a lot of the spicy sauce and jalepenos with water and tea, it was a great way to start the day. Outdoor and indoor seating, though in the morning, the sun glare can be fierce on one’s face if in the wrong direction on the table outside.
Bacon — the real bacon was crisp and fatty and delicious. We got an order to go — only an additional $ 2!
Groups bigger than 4 may be harder pressed to get a quick seat, though. Service was quick and unobtrusive. Relaxed though it does feel like a hipster place, as Jess L. put it.

I thought this place was alright but I have definitely had better veg food.
I think I like the atmosphere more than anything because it has a divey feel. The waiters/​waitresses were really nice.

After a few minutes of sitting in this place I was sitting «Hipster Paradise» to the tune of «Gangsta’s Paradise». Fedoras, men wearing jorts and a sense of irony combined had me feeling a helluva like a hipster but swore I was going to enjoy this place anyways. I flip flopped for a good while on their menu since it was a scorcher out when the age old question of something hot or cold to eat came up. Love their veggie friendly dishes but finally went with the Ham Solo sandwich. which was quite delightful. I love the touch of the fresh mozzarella which really made the sandwich come to life. The red sangria wasn’t too shabby either but more of a beer selection would be nice. Gotta say though, I love love love the fact they have PBR on tap.

Great spot for beer geeks (and bike geeks). They have a rotating draft beer selection that usually has something for everyone; from an IPA, to a Stout or Porter to a grand Hefeweizen or a Belgian White, to PBR. For the foreseeable future drafts are all $ 5, except for PBR that’s three bucks something.
My opinions on the food has gone up since my last review as the food has gotten better. The food is interestingly pub-​grub vegetarian (they do have meat too) with some standouts on the menu especially the ultimate-​BLT with the faking-​bacon (or real bacon). The nachos aren’t too bad either, and splurge for the guacamole as they do make it fresh and it’s good. Also the soup of the day can be quite good. However, this is a pricey part of town and the food prices reflect that.
I also like this place for a late night beer as when the crowds fizzle out, it’s a nice place to chill and relax especially when Metalica are cranking out of the speakers. I hate giving this place good reviews as the rest of you riffraff are just going to clutter up this place on me and take my favorite table by the window or the primo table on the patio during the warm months.

My friend who is vegan has been wanting to try this place forever, so a group of us (mostly meat eaters) went for the ride.
From previous Unilocal reviews, I…
Expected bad service but the service was good
Expected too loud music, but the level was fine
Expected bland food, but it was alright (at least mine was)
Had the ½ sandwich & chili combo, the fresh mozzarella, onion, tomato –basil vinaigrette, lettuce, tomato was good, I especially liked the vinaigrette on the sandwich which was a nice twist and the chili was a lot more flavorful than I was expecting, although, it definitely needed the cheese on top. On the other hand, husby had the roast beef and said it was nasty, like it was old and chewy. ew!
The place needs to be fixed up or at least a good cleaning. We sat upstairs and the booths were all old and cracked and the ceilings which had sky lights were falling apart and had stains from leaky windows, not pretty to look at while you’re eating. The bathroom was pretty gross too.

The Other Side offers a good beer selection and lots of options for vegetarians and the health-​conscious. Their brunch selection and environment make it the ideal place to go when you’re hung over, you just want some damn French Toast and you don’t care about forgetting to comb your hair that morning.
It can get a little loud and busy at night, but the servers are patient and try to do their best to get to everyone. It’s definitely a casual place filled with young Berklee students and hipsters. It’s spacious, dark and dusty.

I went here last night for a birthday party. My friend had called ahead to reserve a table and it wasn’t quite ready, so they let us hang around downstairs while we waited. I liked that we could congregate around the bar and no one pushed us around about taking up the space.
Dinner was great — I had the California wrap and added provolone and tempeh. We also had nachos that were a little sparse but the vegetarian chili is great.
My only complaint was the price point. ten dollar sandwiches that come with some chips and not fries are a little steep.
But you should know… drafts are 4 DOLLARS in January… wicked cheap!

I’ve come here before for drinks (the beer menu is delicious and interesting), but just finally made it for brunch the other weekend. My friend was a vegetarian and I can’t eat dairy, so The Other Side was the perfect spot for us to go to.
We arrived around 11:30am on a Saturday and managed to get a seat outside. It was beautiful out and the patio was awesome. When we left, there was a pretty decent wait for the patio, especially for big groups. It was an interesting mix of hipsters and old people at brunch. Our waiter had the whole «I don’t really care that much cause I’m awesome» hipster vibe going on, and he disappeared in the middle of our meal. We flagged down a few other waiters and asked for things, and they kept getting annoyed and saying, «Fine. I’ll tell your waiter.» At some point, another guy started servicing our table without mentioning to us that he was our new waiter. So the service wasn’t exactly fantastic.
I told the waiter I couldn’t eat dairy, and I excitedly ordered an omelette with ham and vegan cheese. I loved that they had a selection of both real and fake meats and cheeses. The biscuit is a milk biscuit, so I got toast instead (which he served to me with butter, despite me just telling him I couldn’t eat dairy). It took us forever to flag down someone to get some jam. The omelette was HUGE and was good but not ridiculously amazing. Definitely hit the spot, though. The homefries were also pretty good. Neither of us managed to finish our meals– so much food!
I also ordered a mimosa– they brought me a glass of OJ and a mini bottle of champagne, which was a cute touch AND a decent amount of champagne.
I’d say this place deserved about 3 stars as a generic brunch spot, but I’m bumping it up to 4 because of their great vegetarian, vegan, and non-​dairy options… something that is hard to find in a brunch place downtown. My one complaint is that they need to make it a bit more clear on the menu what is vegan/​dairy-​free… they don’t make any comment for their items such as French toast, Belgian waffle, etc., so you have to resort to quizzing your apathetic waiter.

As an out of towner, Unilocal saved me as I sought out vegan options that would also satisfy my omni boyfriend. This place totally brought it on. First, it’s like walking into a friend’s house, I think 90% of the clientele are buddies just chilling at their friend’s restaurant — which is totally cool. In fact, walking in to them cheering «Olé Olé Olé Olé» probably for the world cup, made me think i was at a Souls show and that made me all nostalgic.
I digress, the food. First — plenty of vegan options. We were singing praises for their spicy guacamole (delish), veggie burrito (huge, satisfying, and overflowing with amazing chili), and the white sangria (sweet and chunky). The boyfriend also dug his turkey sandwich, which was stacked a mile high.
The only bummer — which I am not docking a star for — is the fact that their vegan cookies are not cooked in the restaurant. Major letdown to find they are generic pre-​packaged. The upside? They are open super late and have beer on tap.
I totally wish I could be a regular here.

I wouldn’t call The Other Side a date place. The noise is deafening and the service borders on downright apathetic. That said, the food is delicious, the prices are reasonable and the location near Newbury can’t be beat. Well, assuming you aren’t driving.
In the end, this is what happens when hipsters run a restaurant for other hipsters. If that’s your deal, go there.

Dear Boston Unilocalers and/​or curious potential customers of The OtherSide:
Do not be a potential. Don’t be curious. Throw away any hangups you have about style, hipsters (or is it hipstahhhs?), The Newb, and anything else that may be hindering your chance at experiencing this gem. I realize that everyone has a right to a negative review (I negatively reviewed a *bank*, for heaven’s sakes), but I just don’t get the bash-​town going on up in here. So not deserved. Yeah, there’s some characters there. Even the ceilings are kind of on the bizarre side. Your point? What is Boston without the mélange of berzerkery? Isn’t that what makes this special or something?
Go with some buddies, browse the very large menu filled with veggie and vegan and raw food friendly items as well as bacon topped yumminess for the not-so-‘tarian, and feel safe and comforted in the fact that if you are, in fact, vegan or choose to have a something-​free lifestyle, whatever that is, it will be properly denoted on the menu. It’s good not to be inadvertently tricked. Get an interesting beer — there’s plenty. Or do what I did and order a large cup of water with «as many lemons as you have left in your restaurant.»
My server, Maura, was not only one of the most efficient servers I’ve ever encountered, but she also didn’t make me feel like the crazy person that I am because I ordered so many lemons… and because I didn’t get a beer at a bar. She made my friend and me feel extremely welcome, and we left happy and our stomachs were even happier. My friend was delighted to find so many vegetarian options on the menu. I was delighted that I had an omelette at 10:30 at night (with egg beaters! and it was totally made correctly!)
And if Maura’s there, you’re pretty much set for an entertaining time, so find out when she’s there and stalk her a bit.
The OtherSide? Yes, please.