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Cuisine en Locale Is Now Popping Up Every Single Night

The Somerville event space finds a happy medium between pop-up and restaurant.

The lounge at Cuisine en Locale
The lounge at Cuisine en Locale
Rachel Leah Blumenthal for Eater

Somerville's Spring Hill area is fairly quiet in the dining arena. There's the ever-popular Highland Kitchen, a longtime mainstay on the Eater Boston 38, but there's not much else nearby. "Locavore" catering and event company Cuisine en Locale found a permanent home in the former Anthony's space in late 2013, a few doors down from Highland Kitchen, and they've been hosting events with increasing frequency, from rock shows to taco nights, but they've never been open for "normal" restaurant hours — until today.

Beginning tonight, January 12, Cuisine en Locale finds a middle ground between its ever-changing pop-up-style events and a permanent restaurant: its lounge will be open nightly for dinner, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and the bar is open until 1 a.m. That's right; there's a new bar in town. Well, it's been hiding there for a little over a year, but now it's regularly open for your local boozing pleasure, from craft beers and ciders to a full range of harder stuff. (There are also some old-school, non-local schnapps that the company inherited from the previous occupants; order one of those as a shot, if you dare.)

Despite the regular hours, Cuisine en Locale will still be doing what it does best — supporting local farmers and creating menus on a whim based on what's available. "Every night is magical," says owner JJ Gonson. "It's always whimsical. We're always gypsies, and it's always pop-ups with us."

So while there will always be new surprises, there are a few things you can depend on. Monday night is always "taco night," for example. And most nights you'll find some kind of a flatbread-and-a-salad combo for $14. There's also talk of arepas landing on the menu in the near future.

Cuisine en Locale launched in 2005 and has been hosting events that would now be described as "pop-ups" long before pop-ups were a thing. Now, even though the company has put down roots, the intention is for that pop-up feeling to never go away. Follow along on Facebook for a peek at what to expect on any given day, or just show up and be surprised. That's the point of a pop-up, anyway.


Cuisine en Locale

156 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA 02143 (617) 285-0167 Visit Website