Atasca
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Overall Rating: Sick Meals (85 out of 100)
50 Hampshire Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
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Phone: 617-621-6991
Located near Kendall Square, Atasca is a family-owned restaurant that serves authentic Portuguese cuisine. Offering quality, reasonably-priced food and drink against the backdrop of an Old World dining environment, Atasca presents an outstanding option for an evening of sick meals.
Our Atasca History
We have feasted on Portuguese cuisine at Atasca on a half-dozen occasions. Our most recent visit was on a Saturday night at 9:00pm.
Appetizers
Atasca serves 16 petiscos (appetizers), three salads, and a soup of the day. The average appetizer price is about $7.50. Whether you love Portuguese food or are trying it for the first time, you are sure to discover a satisfying first course. Atasca's petiscos resemble tapas dishes.
On this evening, we enjoyed grilled linguica with pineapple for $6.50, presunto (ham) with Portuguese white cheese and tomatoes for $7.50, and a stew of white kidney beans with linguica, chourico, smoked bacon, and tripe in a light tomato sauce for $6.95. Other petiscos include littleneck clams, spicy poached mussels, sauteed squid, grilled shrimp, and grilled sardines.
Atasca's appetizers are solid, not spectacular, but what you read on the menu is what you get. The ingredients are fresh and the price is right.
For pre-entree nibbling, Atasca also serves black olives with bread and oil.
Rating: 8.4
Main Dishes
Entrees include seafood, chicken, pork, beef, and veal selections. We recommend either of the bacalhau (cod) dishes. Bacalhau de Cebolada ($15.95) is baked cod smothered with caramelized onions & roasted peppers and served with crisp, thinly-sliced potatoes. Bacalhau a Lagareiro ($16.95) is charcoal-grilled dry salt cod drizzled with hot olive oil & garlic and served with punched potatoes, grilled peppers, and onions.
A personal favorite is the Bacalhau a Lagareiro, but if you are new to cod - or if the idea of bathing cod in olive oil and garlic does not appeal to you - then you might want to try the Bacalhau de Cebolada.
On this evening, Atasca offered a special - stuffed fish fillets with seafood stuffing and seafood risotto. Our waiter recommended this dish so we gave it a try. Unfortunately, the offering did not live up to Atasca's standards. The stuffed fish fillets were luke-warm and bland. The seafood risotto was piping hot, but it was not risotto; it was rice with seafood.
The average entree is $17.50. Prices range from $14.95 to $24.95.
Stick to the Portuguese cuisine and you are sure to enjoy a sick meal.
Rating: 8.6
Drinks
Starting at just $5.95, Atasca's mixed drinks and martinis are blended perfectly and offer a great value. A bottle of beer starts at $3.75.
The wine list is affordable and varied, encompassing selections from all regions of Portugal. Bottles of white or red start at $20. We opted for a bottle of Aveleda's Vinho Verde for $20. Atasca also makes its own sangria.
Rating: 9.5
Service
Most of the staff was eager to please, but our waiter was mediocre and seemed primed for retirement. Within moments of sitting, he hounded us to order a bottle of wine. When we were ready, he went missing in action.
Rating: 7
Ambiance
Atasca is busy, lively, and comfortable. Ceramics, soft Portuguese music, and alluring aromas fill the room. On this Saturday evening, several parties celebrated birthdays, and a Portuguese rendition of "Happy Birthday" played on the speakers and provided a pleasant diversion.
A cozy bar area is a great place to grab a drink while waiting for a table.
Rating: 9
Et Cetera
Trivia: Atasca is owned by Joseph and Maria Cerqueira. This husband and wife team also own O'Cantinho on Cambridge Street.
Menu: Check out the dinner menu here
Reservations: Atasca accepts reservations for parties of six or more.
Parking: There is street parking, but it may take a while to find a spot.
Dress: You can dress casually at Atasca.
Hours: Atasca is open Monday through Saturday from 11:30am to 11:00pm and on Sunday from noon to 11:00pm.
Labels: Atasca, Cambridge, Portuguese, Sick-Meals
