Open Late, Cheap, and a Little Bit Chic

Just as roasting chestnuts smell a lot better than they taste, most of the menu at the new Z Square café is similarly deceptive. The café, which is the quicker, less expensive version of the Z Square restaurant and bar located in the basement, is a puzzling hybrid of Martha Stewart and Harvard Square. A number of curious white heat lamps, looking like they got lost on their way to a nail salon, hang from the ceiling over plates of hot food.

Savory crepes, hot entrées, and breakfast anytime distinguish Z Square from any other aesthetically chic but otherwise average eatery. The sandwich menu consists of the favorites with a gourmet flare—the curried chutney chicken salad on sourdough is strikingly tasty.

In the same vein, the curried cauliflower soup was fantastically thick and had just the right amount of kick. The salads, though fresh, are mediocre, especially when the inexperienced and overwhelmed cooks forget the dressing. The green apple slaw is to be avoided at all costs by anyone who doesn’t like thin orange mayo. Highlights included the smoked salmon and goat cheese crepe and the breakfast panini.

Z Square café has promise, especially for health conscious partiers looking for an alternative to Pinocchio’s at 1:30 a.m. (the café is open until 2), but it needs time to work the kinks out: the waitstaff is eager, but inexperienced, and mistakes made during the preparation of the dishes are common.

The café tries to epitomize urban chic in the Square, and it’s priced accordingly—most dishes will run you five to 10 dollars. But until Z Square improves, stick with that grease-sweating, tongue-burning slice from ’Noch’s—it’s still the best bang for your buck.