Eating your way through the new CambridgeSide food hall
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Ramen, a power smoothie and a Mediterranean yogurt boost at CambridgeSide. Photo: Mike Deehan/Axios
The food options at CambridgeSide, formerly the Galleria mall, got a big improvement with the opening of CanalSide Food + Drink. It's a modern food hall offering quick takeout or eat-in for the East Cambridge set.
Why it matters: If you work nearby, or just haven't been to the mall in a while, it's a fine place for a quick lunch.
- The Apple store is still there, so you can stop by and satisfy your craving for boba tea or baba ganoush while you're at it.
There are 11 kiosks surrounding central seating and the C-Side Bar, which serves beer, wine and cocktails.
- But the best seating for a nice day is outside by the canal.
Fast-casual options are:
- anoush'ella: Eastern Mediterranean
- DalMoros: Fresh Italian pasta
- InChu: Asian bowls
- Mexican kiosk Chilacates and sandwich bar Fresh are opening soon.
There are go-to's like Lala's Neapolitan-ish Pizza, Sapporo Ramen and traditional American from Nu Burger.
- For drinks, try the bubble tea at Teazzi, plant-based smoothies at Juicygreens or coffee drinks from Caffe Nero.
- Far Out Ice Cream has New Zealand-style flavors, and Beard Papa's serves up cream puffs.
Expert tip: You can order online from multiple kiosks for more variety in a quickie pickup order.
What I ate:
- Labne (yogurt dip) with pita bread — $4.50 from anoush'ella
- Spicy miso ramen with pork — $17 from Sapporo
- The Power Cambridge smoothie (peanut butter, banana and almond milk) — $9.25 from Juicygreens
- It's not cheap by any means, but each dish was exactly what I expected. Solid B+s all around.
The intrigue: A couple was having quite a loud, vulgar kickup about drug prescriptions in the booth near me before they were silenced by a mall cop on a Segway.
- It's that kind of local character and color we came to expect from the old Galleria.