Seafood Destination Row 34 Makes a Splash With Its New Kendall Square Location

Row 34, one of the city’s best modern New England seafood restaurants, has landed in Cambridge. The newest location of owners Jeremy Sewall and Shore Gregory’s fish-laden fleet — which also includes three other outposts in Boston, Burlington, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire — debuts on Friday, April 7 in Kendall Square.

To a Row 34 regular, the menu will feel familiar, with staples like the restaurant’s sought-after lobster roll, the lettuce cups with crispy fried oysters, and the creamy butterscotch pudding for dessert. But chef de cuisine Jason Smith, who leads the Cambridge kitchen, will also have plenty of latitude in how the day’s catch is prepared, with special crudo and ceviche dishes.

The bi-level restaurant includes a 120-seat dining room on the ground floor, a basement-level space with a private dining room, and a 40-seat outdoor patio opening later this year. Muralist Silvia López Chavez was commissioned to create two art installations for this location that are based on photographs of water and panoramic Boston scenes taken by her husband, photographer Dominic Chavez.

Historically, Kendall Square — known for its high-profile science and tech tenants like Google — hasn’t been known as a restaurant hot spot in Cambridge, and much of its dining scene didn’t survive the pandemic. But office workers are returning, and MIT, which is based in Kendall Square, has a longstanding public commitment to bolstering the neighborhood which has helped as well, says Row 34 owner and chef Sewall. Customers are packing into places like rotisserie chicken champ Shy Bird, Hunan restaurant Sumiao Hunan Kitchen, and French spot Batifol, which opened last fall.

“It seems to get busier every time I’m down there,” Sewall says. “It just felt like the right time to dip our toe in that area, and we’re pretty excited about it.”

Row 34 is located in Kendall Square at 314 Main Street. Reservations are available here.

Chris McIntosh/Row 34

Chris McIntosh/Row 34

Chris McIntosh/Row 34

Chris McIntosh/Row 34

Chris McIntosh/Row 34