Verve

Have been to Verve twice. Both for special occasions. I had the best steak ever here. It was buttery, perfectly medium, tender and juicy. The sides were delicious as well. I will return again, when my wallet and waist line can afford it!

This review is for the bar only. By far the best bar in a 10 mile radius. Great creative drinks. My wife and i frequent here. We tell the the bartenders what we are in the mood for and they always come up with a drink off the menu that ends up being exactly what we wanted. Very creative and friendly.

12 of us had the 5 course tasting menu with wine pairings last Sunday… the food was terrific, the wine great and the service outstanding. Highly recommend Verve for a special occasion.

If you want the best cocktail you’ve ever had in your life, you go see Mack. Most people have never experienced a true cocktail. One that’s made with love and passion. Talking to Mack is an open book about what he’s doing, how he did it and seeing that you like it as much as he did. Just remember that once you’ve had one of Mack’s cocktails, you’re going to want another one right away so always try to plan your night accordingly. Cheers!

Great bar. Mack is a fantastic bartender. The crowd and environment is eclectic and the food is great. I particularly enjoyed the grilled octopus. This is the go to bar in Somerville. It can get a little tight if its crowded.

I’ve only eaten here once. I had a sirloin and my girlfriend had duck. Both dishes were fine. Not spectacular, but appropriate in relation to their price.
The major reason to come here is because they have some of the most interesting, most unique drinks served at any bar in the region. The bar area is a little cramped, but that only adds to the 1920’s era speakeasy feel. Most drinks are classics. The ones that were popular 50 years ago, but have fallen out of style since.
Most signature cocktails will cost you $ 12. So far, my two favorite drinks are the smoked old fashioned and the mezcal penicillin. Both are so far removed from what constitutes a mixed drink in the modern world: simple combinations of vodka and fruit juice that are neither memorable, or particularly good. These are complex, delightful drinks. The smoked old fashioned is warm and smokey with just a bit of sweetness to cut through the whiskey. The penicillin is sweet due to the honey and the ginger, but it concludes with a Peaty finish dues to the Laphroig scotch.
If you bring a large group, you’ll need to go to the second floor. There’s just not enough room at the main bar. Probably my one criticism.

Celebrated my cousin’s birthday here recently. We sat upstairs in the corner sofa area. The atmosphere was great — cozy and relaxing and a little less noisy than downstairs. The food portions are on the smaller side but the quality is very good. The drinks are great and bartenders will make drinks by social request that are not on the menu. This is a great place for a date or nice night out with friends /​family.

I took my Mom here for an early Friday night dinner. This place seemed to have very specific clientele: everyone seated at the sidewalk tables appeared to be over the age of 50, professional and White. I had a reservation, and upon walking in, we were greeted by a nice gentleman. Our waiter was terrific: attentive, clear in his explanations, easy to talk to. He helped with figuring out the cocktail options, and when my mother’s drink turned out too be overly sweet, he offered (and did exchange it!) for another option. I had the «taste of autumn» — a rum-​based cocktail, which was superb. (Luckily, I could walk back to my Mom’s place!). In terms of the appetizers: smoked pork belly was impeccable. The octopus was good, but nothing to take your breath away. We shared an entrée: duck breast, which was flavorful, great side, nice plating. I am absolutely in love with the food and the drinks. I can’t wait to come back and try the rest of the menu.

My wife and I went to Verve on a week night to celebrate our anniversary. We walked through the outside seating which was busy and we entered the long narrow restaurant through the lounge. We were seated in the main dining room and had the area all to ourselves.
We ordered an overpriced bottle of white wine and the crispy pork belly with house kim-​chi, tamarind glaze, and cilantro. It was okay but the pork wasn’t crispy enough for our liking. Our exceptional waiter Eric, read us the specials which were less than exciting and we worked off the limited dinner menu. The roasted half chicken sounded good with the spinach, apricot, shallot and aujus but I can get a good whole rotisserie chicken from the grocery store for under $ 6.00, not special enough. The fish offerings, salmon, branzino and ahi tuna bored me. I cook a mean NY strip. So it came down to a decision between the seared duck breast and the butter poached lobster. I chose the lobster and my wife ordered the same.
The lobster was presented without the shells, set on a heap of sweet corn, tomato basil risotto. I usually hate risotto but this evening it was the star of the meal. The lobster was chewy and lacked flavor or was overshadowed by the risotto. I wished they had broiled it a bit. For dessert we shared a crème brûlée. I wish we hadn’t. It wasn’t worth the calories.
Although we had the romantic table for two, I dislike this narrow dining room. It has staircases to the rooms above and below and is located between the bar and the kitchen. Staff was constantly traveling through the single aisle, a few screaming to people on the far end as if they were still at home in their trailer. The bar was loud and someone was throwing a hissy fit in the kitchen.
This was my second time dining at Verve. I don’t feel that the restaurant is nice enough, the food exceptional enough or the staff professional enough to justify the price or to recommend it.

This place is crap. Stopped by for drinks and a snack only to find the kitchen doesnt open till 5. My beer was served with a lipstick stain on it. When I asked for a new one they have serious atitude. Bye Felicia.

Quite honestly my food was mediocre for Somerville. But what made up for that was the awesome bartender who was extremely knowledgeable and very helpful to prescribe libations. This guy knows his shit! I recommend just asking him to make suggestions, can not go wrong! I have been back for drinks many times now and each one is better than the first. Keep in mind the drinks are pricy but you are paying for such high quality drinks, its worth it!

We tried Verve on a friend’s recommendation, and were very pleasantly surprised. My favorite part is the bar area, which has a lot of character and a great history. We ate at the bar, where you can either have the bar menu or the regular menu. One friend had the bacon cheese burger and loved it, the other had the ½ chicken and said it was very good but not the best he’s had (I think that was a preference issue, not that the chicken wasn’t good), and I had the lobster (out of the shell). I loved my dinner, it was just perfect — and I had been craving lobster. The risotto it came with was also delish. The only negative I have is that, even though the bar was not busy, we had difficulty getting the bartenders’ attention. Once you got it, they were great. The atmosphere here is enough to make me go back.

i’ve been eyeballing verve for a while now, and when boyfriend stole me away for a date night we landed here. we were lucky enough to snag one of the few outdoor tables — small, wobbly, tighty packed… but totally lovely on a not-​too-​hot friday evening in july. the drink menu offered about a dozen creative boozy concoctions and a well-​rounded wine list. i definitely recommend hitting this place up for a drink– it’s one of the few places along the main drag of somerville that isn’t byob, and it has quite a cool speakeasy vibe and history.
the menu featured some fun seasonal options– everything sounded yummy! we started with the gnocchi appetizer ($ 12) — the potato gnocchi was light and fluffy, and was seared for a bit of crispness on the outside. served with a mix of summer squash and zucchini and an eggplant purée, it was delicious and unique. for an entrée, i went with the waiter’s recommendation of the lobster and crab roll with a side of greens and fries ($ 16). it was… okay. the seafood tasted yummy and the chunks of lobster were lovely, but the chef used too heavy of a hand when mixing in the mayo. it was too much, and the flavor fell flat. luckily, the simple greens salad (mixed lettuces and heirloom cherry tomatoes) was the perfect accompaniment, helping to cut through the mayo flavor. the fries were decent, though a bit limp and oily. boy had the burger ($ 18), and he was a happy camper. the patty was seasoned well, cooked medium-​rare as requested, and the pork belly to top it off was good too… but I’m not sure it was worth the price tag.
so food and drink = eh, pretty good. not like «stop everything and haul ass to verve right this second» good, but good enough to pop into if you’re local-​ish.
where did verve go totally downhill? the service.
our waiter was friendly enough, but awkward and forgetful. we had to ask a few times for a different dipping sauce for fries (i don’t do ketchup, and i asked for whatever– bbq sauce or an aoli of some sort, or even salad dressing). should have been easy enough, but i never got it. the table next to us had the same experience– had to ask multiple times for silverware (and when they got it, it was only 1 spoon… they needed 2 sets). our drink order took forever to arrive. it was just unpleasant. on top of that, there was a table of locals seated behind us– they were not eating, only dinking. a lot. and they were LOUD. as we were seated outside, they kept being visited by locals who spotted them while passing through. no big deal if this was a bar, but for a dining vibe, it SUCKED. as nearby tables of diners cleared out, the group expanded and got louder. I would think that for an upscale-​ish dining establishment, drinks-​only groups would be contained in the bar area (at least that’s how most places i’ve been operate). the group was disruptive and as the night progressed, i could not wait to leave. i basically begged the waiter for the check asap, left my $ 12 cocktail more than half-​full, and bounced as quickly as possible.
verve loses major points in my book (and takes a Unilocal-​stars hit, too) because of the service. i’m kinda still upset about it– it was a totally inappropriate dining experience for the $ 90 we dropped on dinner. i understand that patrons cannot be controlled, but allowing a drinking-​only and ever-​expanding group to disrupt diners who are trying to have a pleasant dinner despite tables which are already crammed together is just bad practice. i will not be heading back.

This is one of only a few of the many restaurants in Somerville that is not BYOB — but has a bar instead. And occasionally I get tired of wine and want a real drink — but not just any drink, a good drink. This is where Verve comes in.
The drinks here are so great because they are well balanced, creative and flavorful — like the Honey Dew Me or the Cucumber Gimlet. Your bill can add up real fast from these goodies but they are worth the prices.
Now let’s talk about food. The second most important part of any meal, after the liquor. It has been delicious with hearty portions each time. I recommend the Lobster Mac n Cheese but the steak is also good.
The décor (particularly of the upstairs dining area) also adds a lot to the ambiance — it is funky but intimate.

Really not what everyone is raving about! For a pricy steak I expected it to be tender and not tough and dry! Was not a good first experience and will be the last!

Excellent! Other than a somewhat limited lunch menu Verve shines. Great for a business lunch but would have preferred to be with my wife for a romantic dinner. Soothing and relaxed atmosphere, light music, mood lighting, classy table settings and attentive service. my steak was perfectly prepared. Loved the Caesar salad too. Wish I could have had some wine but had to drive back to Boston right after.

Some people envision heaven as being in some sort of imaginary area with everything at their fingertips. Mine used to be similar until I walked through the door of Verve.
I wouldn’t have guessed it by seeing the outside, but after stepping inside I was treated to one of the best drinking experiences of my adult life. Andrew was behind the bar whipping up one masterpiece after another for my brother and I. It was hard to say stop. Had I sat there any longer my judgement would have gone completely out the window. Two cocktails I had that are recognizable to the masses are the Old Fashioned and the Moscow Mule (in this case it was really a Mexican Mule because it had Tequila and chiles). These were both executed perfectly.
After seeing how good Andrew was at crafting up drinks, I simply allowed him to crank up whatever he wanted to with just one hint — type of liquor. He was making incredible cocktails and it was fun watching it too. Fortunately the food is almost as good as the beverages here. The chef boasts an amazing menu, and we needed some food before safely navigating those roads.
The tuna was incredible, the octopus was tasty, and the pork belly was mouth watering. Sadly our trip to Verve had to end. That was the only negative in a jam packed world of positives. I’m so glad I walked through those doors, because I know for a fact I’m going to be coming back for years to come every time I visit. It’s that amazing.

Stopped in for dinner for the first time, since we had stopped in for drinks a few months back and were very impressed by the bar.
We found the restaurant quite nice from a décor perspective, and the service was good. However, I was hoping for more in the food — both of our soups (the mushroom and the lobster bisque) were underseasoned (I’ve never had to add salt to a soup at a restaurant!) and the same went for our entrees. My duck leg confit special was inventive and fairly tasty, and my wife’s salmon entrée had a great crust (though could have probably been cooked a bit less). All in all, a nice spot, would absolutely come back for drinks, but hoping for a tad more in the food department.

Best bar around… giving it 4 stars… not sure what it takes to be 5…
Food is always well done… mixologist is a nice gent, very comfortable feeling place.
Come for the mixed cocktails… always something new…
Sunday night is the best… small crowd, great service, open late…

I only went to the bar for drinks. The Old Fashioned is incredible. They used smoked sugar cubes and tobacco bitters. Great date spot!