Russell House Tavern Opens on JFK Street

Russell House Tavern, a new restaurant occupying the former Z-Square location at 14 JFK St., opened to crowds of curious customers last Thursday.

The tavern serves massive portions of unpretentious, moderately-priced American cuisine and offers full-service bars with a prodigious selection of liquor and American beers and wines on each of its two floors, according to general manager Ian D. Grossman.

Patrons can dine on New England favorites and tavern staples at the new restaurant, ranging from a $10 griddled English muffin burger to a $28 16-ounce flat iron steak.

The restaurant has about 40 small production American beers and more than 60 American wines, many of which are produced in sustainable, organic, or biodynamic vineyards.

Grossman said that the Harvard community was one of the top three factors he took into consideration before opening the restaurant. He added that he has informally created a “happy meal” for students, which consists of a 16-ounce Brooklyn lager tall boy, one shot of Fernet Branca, and a “giant” burger—priced at $18.

Grossman said that students comprised a sizable portion of the restaurant’s opening weekend crowd, adding that patrons had “cleared out” the Brooklyn lager this past weekend.

Bob C. Hagemann, a student at the Harvard Business School and a former bartender, said that he will “absolutely spend more time” at the Tavern after having visited it yesterday. The new restaurant is an “upscale bar” with “a good drink selection,” Hagemann said, while sipping on a dark and stormy made with homemade ginger beer and spiced rum.

Dave R. Olsen, a Cambridge resident, said he enjoyed the restaurant’s beer selection. He added that he will be back “for sure,” and like Hagemann, he said he would recommend the Tavern to others.

Russell House Tavern is owned by The Grafton Group, which also owns Redline, Temple Bar, and Grafton Street.

According to Patrick M. Lee, one of the four proprietors of The Grafton Group, what sets the Tavern apart are its prices and the unique physical space that it occupies.