The Druid

I was going to say that this is the best thing I found in Boston, but it's NOT in Boston, it's in Cambridge. So Boston, you lose again!

You can tell a true irish pub with this dish - chips with curry sauce. THEY HAD IT and it was amazing. That is all I needed to be sold on The Druid. Thank you for having a true Irish pub (with a true Irish waiter mind you), and single shots that could count as doubles anywhere else.

Best legit Irish breakfast since I was in Killarney! Staff friendly atmosphere relaxed and fun would go there 7 days a week if they did breakfast all week. They actually have real rashers brown bread and black pudding can't get in better back in ireland

This is the best place for Irish pub food in Cambridge. In particular, I like the bangers and mash, shepherds pie, beef stew, and fish and chips (which is served up with traditional fanfare, steaming hot inside a sack made of newspaper). Ok so I listed most of the entrees on the menu, but that just means most everything is wonderful and authentic (well, except they use Chinese newspaper).

The beer selection is average, but they have the staples. They are standard price and nothing to write home about.

I'm conflicted about rating the ambiance. On one hand, our waitress was exceptionally diligent and skilled. She was friendly even to the fellows at the table to our right, who would have been exact copies of the asinine Harvard d-bags from the bar scene in Good Will Hunting had they been more attractive. She was patient with the group of oblivious Asian kids who dumped all of their bags at the table to our left--the largest of maybe five in the tiny bar and the only one as yet unoccupied--and spent the rest of their time sitting at the bar. She remained stoic in the face of the belligerent hockey fan who hollered after every. Single. Goal. She did crack a smile when his team lost, though, possibly the most gracefully understated display of schadenfreude I've ever witnessed. Despite all this, she served everyone with speed and accuracy.

So yes, on one hand there is a kind, competent, Irish-accented wait staff, but on the other, your fellow patrons might include some irritating types. I think the food and the service tip the balance in the positive direction for me, but it's a mixed bag. So you just gotta ask yourself: how d'ya like them apples?