Forest Cafe in Cambridge Is Closing

A restaurant just outside of Harvard Square in Cambridge that has been around since before World War II will be closing its doors. According to both Grub Street Boston and Chowhound, the Forest Cafe, a casual restaurant and bar that features a variety of traditional Mexican and Mexican-American dishes, will close its doors on Mass. Ave. at some point in the future. (Grub Street reports that the exact closing date is unknown at this time.)

[February 2 update: It looks like the Forest Cafe has officially closed. A few people notified us that the Forest Cafe looked shut down, and calls put in to the restaurant went unanswered. Also, a posting on the blog of writer Cecilia Tan indicates that the Forest Cafe indeed closed in January. And a further check on the Forest Cafe Facebook page showed that the last night for food was January 12. One more note: According to an earlier article in Wicked Local and the Cambridge Chronicle, the owners of the Clear Conscience Cafe in Central Square are planning on opening a bistro specializing in all-natural American fare in the spot where the Forest Cafe has been, with a possible opening in February of 2010.]

The Forest Cafe first opened its doors in 1935 and has been known as a place to get Mexican food and beer in a low-key, unpretentious environment. The menu at the Forest Cafe has featured such items as green beans sauteed in garlic and olive oil, chicken soup with coriander and vegetables, enchiladas with mushrooms, spinach, and creamed poblano pepper cream sauce, smoked pork chops in mole sauce, and sauteed shrimp with an orange-chipotle sauce.

The address for this Mexican restaurant and bar between Harvard and Porter Squares is: Forest Cafe, 1682 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138. The phone number is (617) 661-7810.

The Grub Street Boston article on the closing of the Forest Cafe in Cambridge can be found at this link:

Forest Cafe to Shutter