Restaurant Opening Guide, Spring 2016: Somerville

Somerville's spring openings covered a wide variety of neighborhoods and genres, from a brewery/taproom/cafe in Winter Hill to fast-casual pizza in Davis Square and hot pot in Union. Are we missing a spring Somerville restaurant opening? Let us know. Want to learn about spring openings in Boston, Cambridge, and other nearby areas? Head right this way.Originally published on March 14, 2016. Most recent date of update appears above.

Table Of Contents (all h2's added automatically)

Assembly Row

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Southern Kin Cookhouse

Assembly Row is mostly up and running these days; the hectic period of one restaurant opening after another has subsided. But one more just celebrated a spring opening — Southern Kin Cookhouse and Bar, from Boston Nightlife Ventures (Wink & Nod, Griddler's Burger + Dogs, The Tap Trailhouse). Southern Kin's beverage selection has a serious whiskey focus. The restaurant seats about 100 inside and 60 on a seasonal patio, and the menu includes dishes like blackened gator tacos and country-fried steak.

Address: 500 Assembly Row
Opening Date: June 3, 2016
Online: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Image credit: Facebook

Davis Square

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Oath Craft Pizza

This Nantucket-based pizzeria promised aggressive growth in the Boston area, arriving first to South Station in fall 2015 and then Chestnut Hill Square in March 2016. Somerville's Davis Square got a location this spring (in the former Singer sewing shop space). It seats 16 and serves up the company's signature 90-second pizzas.

Address: 280 Elm St.
Opening Date: June 7, 2016
Online: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Image credit: Oath Craft Somerville/Facebook

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Opa Greek Yeeros

The original Kickass Cupcakes space in Davis Square has become a Greek restaurant, courtesy of the landlord of that whole strip of storefronts, Christos Poutahidis, and his business partner Kyriakos Kouzoukas. (The duo also has a doughnut and bagel shop in the works elsewhere in Davis.) "What we're doing, we're making traditional Greek gyros as you will find in Greece. It will be just as good," Kouzoukas previously told Eater. Opa is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Address: 378 Highland Ave.
Opening Date: April 20, 2016
Online: Website / Facebook

Image credit: Google Maps

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Sugidama

Somerville's new izakaya features house-made soba in a variety of hot and cold preparations (vegan options available), yakitori, sushi, and more.

Address: 260 Elm St., Suite 106
Opening Date: March 24, 2016
Online: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Image credit: Facebook

Powderhouse Square

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Mint Indian Eatery

Street food from India and Nepal, including momo and kati rolls, served by a husband-and-wife duo.

Address: 868 Broadway
Opening Date: Early June 2016
Online: Website / Facebook

Image credit: Facebook

Union Square

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Journeyman / Heat

Courtesy of Catherine Owens

This five-year-old restaurant closed down for renovations during part of April to replace its stoves with simply a wood-burning fireplace. Upon reopening, Journeyman has given birth to a "casual sibling" called Heat that is open on Mondays through Wednesdays, a contrast to its usual higher-end tasting menus. Say goodbye to sous vide cooking and molecular gastronomy, owners Diana Kudayarova and Tse Wei Lim wrote in a newsletter this winter. Both Heat and traditional Journeyman service in the later part of the week are about "great ingredients, and glowing embers, and, as always, skill and care and attention to detail and imagination and grace."

Address: 9 Sanborn Ct.
Opening Date: April 21, 2016 for Journeyman and April 25 for Heat
Online: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Image credit: Courtesy of Catherine Owens

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Yuki Shabu — Chinese Gourmet

While the signage originally promised shabu (hot pot) and sushi, the restaurant actually serves shabu and Chinese food. Located under Dance Union, the space formerly housed Cafe Tango and, briefly, Union Square Donuts.

Address: 16 Bow St.
Opening Date: Mid-March 2016
Online: Website

Image credit: Original signage before "Sushi" changed to "Chinese Gourmet"/Jacqueline Cain for Eater

Winter Hill

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Pikliz International Kitchen

A small Caribbean restaurant with a daily-changing menu of dishes like curry goat, beef patties, and more.

Address: 288 Broadway
Opening Date: April 2016
Online: Facebook

Image credit: Facebook

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Tipping Cow

Medford-based, nut-free ice cream brand Tipping Cow got its own storefront outside of Magoun Square, thanks to some help from a successful crowdfunding campaign. The Tipping Cow shop, located in the former Sammy's Market & Deli space, offers pints (and single-serving containers) to go, as well as cups and cones. Don't count on staying to eat — there are just a couple stools inside.

Address: 415 Medford St.
Opening Date: May 3, 2016
Online: Website / Facebook / Twitter

Image credit: Rachel Leah Blumenthal for Eater

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Winter Hill Brewing Company

This 2,800-square-foot brewery is a taproom in the evening, complete with sandwiches, cheese, and charcuterie, and it functions as a cafe with beverages, wifi, and grab-and-go snacks in the morning.

Featured Coverage

• Peek Inside Winter Hill Brewing Company, Opening Imminently in Somerville [Gallery]
• Beer & Mortar: Winter Hill Brewing Company Stars Pouring Beers Tomorrow [Interview]

Address: 328 Broadway
Opening Date: The cafe opened on March 28, 2016, and the taproom opened on April 1, 2016.
Online: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Image credit: Rachel Leah Blumenthal for Eater

Grid View

• Winter Hill Brewing Company general manager Bert Holdredge is a carpenter by trade and built much of the taproom, including the bar top, tables, and deep wooden window frames.
• A portion of the wall near the front door features shingles from an old Dutch barn.
• The essentials: coat hooks and outlets.
• There will always be five beers available, including two year-round staples — a cream ale and an IPA. The other three slots will rotate. When the taproom opens, look for an imperial stout, a North American strong ale, and a black IPA.
• The space seats 60 inside and 40 on a patio that will probably open up a few weeks after the taproom.
• From 7 a.m to 1 p.m. (to start), Winter Hill Brewing Company will operate as a "fully functioning cafe" with wifi and the works. It'll change over to a taproom from 4 p.m. to midnight.
• The front window looks onto bustling Broadway. There's a development in the works across the street that will one day include luxury condos and a restaurant.
• You won't find Winter Hill Brewing Company beers outside of this space. In the fashion of old European breweries, this beer is made in-house, for the house.

Main Image: Somerville's Prospect Hill Monument/David Persson on Shutterstock