Saloniki Is Officially Open in Cambridge
Saloniki in Cambridge. / Photo by Jacqueline Cain
Lunchgoers in Central Square had a new—but familiar—option today. Saloniki has been quietly serving its fresh Greek fare on Mass. Ave. for the past couple days, and it officially debuted at 11 a.m. today.
The Cambridge outpost is the second for James Beard Award-winning chef Jody Adams and partners Jonathan Mendez and Eric Papachristos. The trio, also behind Trade, debuted the concept in Fenway in March 2016. The new restaurant has the same build-your-own pita, grain, and salad bowl options, with toppings like honey-garlic pork shoulder, spicy lamb meatballs, and zucchini feta fritters, as well as a couple sweets (including loukoumades), sides, and specialty drinks.
It also offers seasonal soups and salads, and the Cambridge location opens two such specials: a winter kale salad with red cabbage, carrots, dried cranberries, feta, and olives; and lentil and loukaniko soup, with the locally-made, orange, fennel and white wine-infused sausage that the Fenway location introduced in the fall. The new location also opens with a Barrington Coffee Roasters coffee program, a first for Saloniki.
Located on the ground floor of the Novartis building near MIT, Saloniki is making itself a sweet option for the local population, the Boston Globe reports. Flashing a student ID results in a free order of Greek fries with the purchase of a sandwich or entrée.
“We’re so excited to be joining this fun, dynamic and energetic community,” Mendez says. “We’re continuing our commitment to the highest quality food—both restaurants are scratch kitchens, we’re keeping our sourcing as local as possible, responsibly-raised meats only, and working with vendors that we know and trust.”
The 38-seat outpost will expand with sidewalk seating this spring, per a rep for the restaurant group. Design-wise, Saloniki recalls the Fenway original with bright blue doors and white accents, polished concrete flooring, and American oak counters and tables—though of course, it’s located inside the conspicuous building by architect Maya Lin. Photographer Ken Rivard—who is married to Adams—has lent new art to the Cambridge space, including an image of the famous Giorgos Zogolopoulos sculpture, “Umbrellas,” which Rivard photographed on the Thessaloniki seafront during a May trip to Greece, he says.
Saloniki is open in Cambridge daily from 11 a.m.-10 p.m., and online ordering will be up and running later this month. Saloniki enlivens a fast-changing block: It’s close to favorites like Flour and Central Bottle, and it’s also nearby Tracy Chang’s brand new Pagu, and the soon-to-open Roxy’s / A4cade.
181 Massachusetts Avenue, Central Square, Cambridge, 617-714-5151, salonikigreek.com.
