Upstairs On the Square

Restaurant information
Established	1992
Closed	December 21, 2013
Street address	91 Winthrop Street
City	Cambridge
State	Massachusetts
Postal/ZIP Code	02138
Country	United States
Coordinates	42°22′21″N 71°07′15″W

Upstairs On the Square, originally UpStairs at the Pudding (because of the original location above Harvard's Hasty Pudding Club),^[1] ended “its storied 31-year run” on December 31, 2013. Owned by Mary-Catherine Deibel and Deborah Hughes, the building they were in was being sold by the landlord.^[2]

Their menu has been described as “adventurous classic European”.^[3]

In 2012, Hughes' daughter Charlotte Silver published a memoir about growing up at the restaurant, Charlotte Au Chocolat: Memories of a Restaurant Girlhood’’.^[2]

History

Opened in 1982 as Upstairs at the Pudding, they had a small dining room three flights above the Hasty Pudding Club. A favorite of the locals, they also attracted many celebrities. Ella Fitzgerald sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to one of the sous chefs. Julia Roberts smoked a cigarette in the coatroom ”and turned to (the staff) and said, ‘Shhh, don’t tell.’”^[4]

In 2002, they relocated to Winthrop Street, also in Harvard Square.^[5]

Awards and honors

Their Eggs Benedict was featured on The Best Thing I Ever Ate.^[6]

References

1. Moore, Galen (October 18, 2013). "A Cambridge institution, UpStairs on the Square to close at New Year's". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
2. Blumenthal, Rachel Leah (October 18, 2013). "UpStairs on the Square to Close at the End of the Year". Eater Boston. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
3. "Culinary Cambridge". Cambridge Historical Society. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
4. Baldassari, Erin (October 18, 2013). "Upstairs on the Square closing at year's end". Wicked Local Cambridge. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
5. Schraa, Eugenia B. (April 16, 2002). "Pudding To Reopen As 'Upstairs on the Square'". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
6. "Upstairs on the Square". Food Network. Retrieved 10 February 2019.