A Bar for Well-Intentioned Witty Battles Opens in Cambridge

The duality of debate manifests itself in a new bar that quietly opened over the weekend in Cambridge’s Inman Square. At Wit’s End (1248 Cambridge St.), the scene is set for conversation, with the decor and the menu both reflecting a two-sided theme. Founder Pete Stein created the bar to establish a space for people to play games, solve puzzles, and start conversations with friends or strangers in the spirit of new interactions, per Scout Cambridge.

Rachel Leah Blumenthal for Eater

Wit’s End’s first weekend in business featured a limited preview of the small plate-focused menu, which has a section for “dueling plates,” or appetizers all served two ways, ranging from fries to sliders, wings, and mac and cheese. For example, fries can be ordered dusted with parmesan and tossed with rosemary, thyme, and truffle oil (Scarborough Fare, $6) or topped with chipotle queso, brisket, and “a host of other fun stuff” (Dirty Rotten Fries, $8), while mac and cheese (cavatappi) comes with a bacon-smoked gouda sauce and parmesan gratin (Gouda Will Hunting, $8) or with lobster, shiitake, and white truffle in an asiago cheddar sauce (Surf & Earth, $10).

There are standalone main plates like mussels, skirt steak, and crab cakes, plus a selection of tacos (for Tuesdays only) and desserts. The drink menu also picks up the dueling theme, with two options for each kind of beer (Notch Session Pils vs. Miller Lite for a pilsner duel, for example) and “old school versus new school” cocktails. Plus, there are Negroni and Old Fashioned cocktails on draft, and there’s a $38 large-format Moscow mule called the Big Ass. There are also red and white wines available.

Stein has previously detailed his process in pulling the bar together through posts on his blog, indicating his plan to build the restaurant’s wooden tables himself.

Wit’s End opens at 4:30 p.m. daily and closes at midnight Monday through Wednesday and 1 a.m. the rest of the week, per its Facebook page.

• Wit’s End Coverage on Eater [EBOS]
• Debating and Drinking: Wit’s End Comes to Inman Square [Scout]