About Small Plates
So you want to know more about Small Plates Restaurant, Tapas, & Wine Bar? Well here it is in a nutshell (We're not sure why people say 'nutshell' because no story really comes in one and besides, we don't serve anything in a nutshell even though we have a small bar) Anything we may not cover here, you can find in Frequently Asked Questions.FACTS:
- We try and use organic foods as much as possible
- We buy local and sustainable whenever possible
- Almost everything is made in house, from the bread to the ice cream and even the ketchup
- The restaurant is hard to see from the street
- We are all average weight for our height
- We do not serve bottled water
- We are firm believers in reusing, reducing & recycling
- We have no sense of humor
- We are good people, and doggonit, people like us
- We are not a chain, and the next customer who asks us if we are will be charged double
We recommend that you not get sucked into the vacuum of posting negatives online where comments, facts & opinions can be misconstrued, misinterpreted & in some cases made-up. Employees livelihoods are at stake when incorrect information is posted, and once it’s posted it is there pretty much forever (scientists estimate that the length of time it takes for a plastic bottle and an on line blog to decompose is about the same; 10,000-15,000 years)
We believe only scaredy cats post negative comments on line and if you are a scaredy cat we are here to help. Our scaredy cat hot line is open 24 hours a day from 11am to 10 pm. If you need to vent in an emergency we can have a rapid response team at your house, apartment, or dorm room within minutes. You know the old adage 'treat others as you would like to be treated'? Well we feel the same way about the anonymity that blogs give. Restaurants are born from labors of love and we strive each day to make our customers, happy, satisfied & wanting to come back for more. Opening and running a restaurant is really hard work and if you don’t believe us then try opening one yourself and see what we mean.
CREDITS
Of course we have to thank the many people who helped us get Small Plates open. You will have no idea who they are, but that's okay because we feel like thanks and appreciation do not get spread around enough.
And the Small Plate awards go to:
Lou, Karen, Jennifer, Nathaniel, Tim and his family, Almin, Dan, Nicky, Eddie, John, Mark, Antonio, Will, Joel, Ricco, Billy C., Bob A., Lia, Dedi, Nathan, Lex, Chris, Ron, Marina, and Analisa. Marsha, Cindy, Jan, Bobby, Peter, Greg & Alice. A super special shout-out to Carol & Mike, Jim-Bob & John Boy. We certainly can not forget the guy out in Washington State who made our menu boards, and the other guy up in Maine who made the lampshades. A big fat raspberry goes out to those who tied up our beer & wine license for umpteen months. We thought that was wicked cool of them. Special consideration goes to Jethro Tull and his work on maximizing crop yields in English farming techniques, and Richard Feynman on his unique insights in sub-atomic particle physics and development of the Feynman Diagrams. And of course we would like to thank the Academy. To those of you mentioned, we will be forever grateful.
If you are driving into Boston we wish you the best of luck and remind you of the old saying about Boston; All roads lead to roam (That’s not an actual saying, we just made it up). Driving in is not difficult as long as you don’t get lost. Walking to Small Plates from the Harvard Square T Stop (if you are not from Boston this means “train station”) is very easy.
From the T:
Take the Red Line to the Harvard Square stop. Exit the station via the main exit. This will put you in the middle of Harvard Square. Take an immediate left onto John F. Kennedy Street, heading towards the river. Continue past the intersection of Mount Auburn Street and Winthrop Street. Small Plates is located just past Raven Used Books and Planet Records. We are directly across the street from the Galleria & the Harvard Square Parking Garage. The entrance to the restaurant is located down the small sidewalk alley.
From Storrow Drive coming East or West:
Take the Harvard Square exit. Bear right off the exit ramp and cross over the Charles River. Once over the river, proceed through the intersection of Memorial Drive and continue to the first set of lights. Small Plates is located on the right directly across from The Galleria & the Harvard Square Parking Garage. We are in the same building as For Eyes Optical. The entrance to the restaurant is located down the small alley.
From Metro West:
Take the Mass Pike to the #18 Cambridge/Allston Exit. Go through the tollbooth and bear right on the exit ramp towards Cambridge. Make every attempt to be a real Boston driver at the end of this exit ramp and proceed through the intersection and across the bridge. Make sure you are in the left turning lane by the time you reach the other side of the bridge or you will be lost forever.
Turn left onto Memorial Drive and proceed to the third set of lights. Look for the sign for Harvard Square and turn right onto JFK Street towards Harvard Square. Proceed through the first set of lights and look for Small Plates on the right, just past Shay’s Pub and next to For Eyes Optical. We are directly across from the Galleria & the Harvard Square Parking Garage. The entrance to the restaurant is located down the small alley.
From Northwest of Boston:
Take Route 2 East to Alewife. Continue past Alewife towards Boston. Navigate the crazy rotaries carefully and watch for the signs for Storrow Drive. Taking Route 2 into Boston is very tricky but as long as you can make it to Storrow Drive you will be okay. Look for the exit for Harvard Square and do not miss it or you will be lost in Boston for the rest of your natural life. At the end of the exit ramp turn left. Cross the bridge and go through the intersection of Memorial Drive towards Harvard Square. Continue through the first traffic light. We are located on the right as described above.
Coming from the East:
These directions would be silly because we are pretty much already almost as far East as you can get, unless you live in Boston then the directions for the T or Storrow drive would apply.
From the North:
Cross the Canadian border. Keep heading towards Boston and turn left at the green building in New Hampshire. Take 93 South to the Massachusetts Turnpike (Mass. Pike) and take the exit for Cambridge/Allston. Follow the directions given for Metro West from here on.
Parking:
Public parking is across the street and off street parking is free after 6pm. We validate for the Harvard Square Parking Garage across the street and the entrance is on Eliot Street (left at the first light on JFK)
Best of luck to you, and if things go awry you can always call us for emotional & moral support 617.441.0056
From the T:
Take the Red Line to the Harvard Square stop. Exit the station via the main exit. This will put you in the middle of Harvard Square. Take an immediate left onto John F. Kennedy Street, heading towards the river. Continue past the intersection of Mount Auburn Street and Winthrop Street. Small Plates is located just past Raven Used Books and Planet Records. We are directly across the street from the Galleria & the Harvard Square Parking Garage. The entrance to the restaurant is located down the small sidewalk alley.
From Storrow Drive coming East or West:
Take the Harvard Square exit. Bear right off the exit ramp and cross over the Charles River. Once over the river, proceed through the intersection of Memorial Drive and continue to the first set of lights. Small Plates is located on the right directly across from The Galleria & the Harvard Square Parking Garage. We are in the same building as For Eyes Optical. The entrance to the restaurant is located down the small alley.
From Metro West:
Take the Mass Pike to the #18 Cambridge/Allston Exit. Go through the tollbooth and bear right on the exit ramp towards Cambridge. Make every attempt to be a real Boston driver at the end of this exit ramp and proceed through the intersection and across the bridge. Make sure you are in the left turning lane by the time you reach the other side of the bridge or you will be lost forever.
Turn left onto Memorial Drive and proceed to the third set of lights. Look for the sign for Harvard Square and turn right onto JFK Street towards Harvard Square. Proceed through the first set of lights and look for Small Plates on the right, just past Shay’s Pub and next to For Eyes Optical. We are directly across from the Galleria & the Harvard Square Parking Garage. The entrance to the restaurant is located down the small alley.
From Northwest of Boston:
Take Route 2 East to Alewife. Continue past Alewife towards Boston. Navigate the crazy rotaries carefully and watch for the signs for Storrow Drive. Taking Route 2 into Boston is very tricky but as long as you can make it to Storrow Drive you will be okay. Look for the exit for Harvard Square and do not miss it or you will be lost in Boston for the rest of your natural life. At the end of the exit ramp turn left. Cross the bridge and go through the intersection of Memorial Drive towards Harvard Square. Continue through the first traffic light. We are located on the right as described above.
Coming from the East:
These directions would be silly because we are pretty much already almost as far East as you can get, unless you live in Boston then the directions for the T or Storrow drive would apply.
From the North:
Cross the Canadian border. Keep heading towards Boston and turn left at the green building in New Hampshire. Take 93 South to the Massachusetts Turnpike (Mass. Pike) and take the exit for Cambridge/Allston. Follow the directions given for Metro West from here on.
Parking:
Public parking is across the street and off street parking is free after 6pm. We validate for the Harvard Square Parking Garage across the street and the entrance is on Eliot Street (left at the first light on JFK)
Best of luck to you, and if things go awry you can always call us for emotional & moral support 617.441.0056