Upstairs on the Square | Mary Catherine Deibel How does it feel to be “THE “ Upstairs on the Square…a restaurant loved and adored by all of Cambridge? My partner Deborah Hughes and I feel very grateful –over 25 years, we have seen ups and downs in the economy, many culinary trends come and go, and a wonderful flowering of the restaurant community in Boston, Cambridge, and beyond. We’re happy to be here 25 years later, flourishing, and grateful to all of the loyal customers who have made that possible. You are celebrating your 25th anniversary this year….how did you all make it so long in this business? There are several factors. First and most important, partnership. Deborah and I have enjoyed a long and fruitful partnership and even longer friendship. Our restaurant would not be possible without it and neither of us could imagine doing it without the other. Second—persistence: we have stuck with it through thick and thin. Third—our enjoyment of the people who make up the guests and staff of our restaurant, and our enjoyment of the wider community of Harvard Square, Cambridge and the Boston-Cambridge restaurant world. Your menu’s are always impeccable, what or who influences your chefs and their menu creations? Deborah was the executive chef of UpStairs at the Pudding and it was, and still is, her culinary vision and taste that informs our menus. But the size and busyness of UpStairs at the Pudding dictated that we hire executive chefs beginning with Michael Levitan in the 1990s. At that point, the individual personalities were allowed to show through on our menus, but always with a bow to Deborah’s taste. Currently Steven Brand, who has been our exec chef for the past 2 years, has written truly beautiful menus—some of the best food that we have ever served at our restaurant. I, of course, always get to taste and comment. Why Cambridge for your location? We looked all over for restaurant space in 1980 and 1981 and were fortunate to find the fabulous 3rd floor dining room and kitchen at the Hasty Pudding Club. We opened on a song, and developed the dining room and later the private event room, and Deborah’s legendary secret garden into a thriving business. When Harvard wanted the building back, we fortunately were able to move just a few blocks away to another historic Harvard Club, the Pi Eta Club, on Winthrop Square. We celebrate our fifth anniversary here as UOTS this fall. For some it’s the atmosphere at upstairs that draws them in, who was the influence behind the décor? My partner Deborah is the designer of the restaurant and people never cease to be delighted by what she’s done to make it a colorful, warm place to eat. As we speak the whole MC is getting a face lift after five years of constant use so come and see what we’ve done! What special events to you all have coming up? To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we’ve dreamed up a host of great events for this year. >From rum tastings followed by dancing to a Bossa Nova band (7/25/07) to dinner dances with Bo Winniker’s Orchestra to an all Tomato Dinner in the Soiree Room (8/28/07) to Jazz nights every Wednesday in August. We’re also planning to reunite as many of the 100’s of couple that we’ve married to a communal dinner called “I Do Two” and a reunion of all the chefs who have worked for us for a great birthday party in the fall. See www.upstairsonthesquare.com for a full listing of our events. What are the differences between the two dining rooms? Monday Club Bar is intended to be a neighborhood gathering place where the menu includes everything from burgers and pizza to slow roasted salmon and crispy seared duckling. Lively and open all the time, it’s where we serve lunch, brunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and late night. There’s a lovely sunlit Zebra Room overlook the park as well. The upstairs Soirée Dining Room, reminiscent of a glowing and colorful jewel-box-like supper club, is lit with the flicker of working fireplace at each end of the room. Distinguished by a small elegant bar with silver leaf “champagne bubbles” as well as the famous, exuberant round windows facing the park, this main dining room is clearly an heir to the celebratory dining room at the Pudding and serves a fine dining menu that is both artisanal and sexy--with seasonal and local ingredients beautifully prepared by chef Steven Brand and his staff. Return to Vendors Page
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