McCarthy’s and Toad Bring Music Back to Cambridge’s Porter Square

A husband-and-wife duo with a knack for running cozy restaurants with live music is about to revive a closed restaurant and beloved music venue in Cambridge: McCarthy’s and Toad will open around mid-February. McCarthy’s will replace two-story restaurant and bar Christopher’s, which closed during COVID after 40-plus years, and Toad, the petite music venue next door, will reopen much the same as it ever was. (It closed in 2023 after 30 years.) New owners Tommy McCarthy and Louise Costello, traditional Irish musicians, also run the Burren in Somerville and the Bebop near Berklee, which both feature daily music and pub fare, so it feels like a natural fit that they’d take over the Porter Square landmarks.

McCarthy and Costello weren’t really looking for a new project, McCarthy says, but “it’s a shame to see a music venue go,” so when the opportunity arose to buy the businesses and the Massachusetts Avenue building from Charles Christopher and Holly Heslop, who also own Cambridge Common and Lizard Lounge down the street, they couldn’t pass it up. “As Louise says every time we do something, ‘This is the last one,’” laughs McCarthy. “So who knows after this?”

Like the Burren and the Bebop, McCarthy’s will have an Irish pub feel and plenty of classic dishes on the food menu (which will also be served at Toad), such as shepherd’s pie, fish and chips, and Guinness beef stew. It’ll also have an extensive selection of vegan and vegetarian dishes. The Burren and the Bebop do, too, but the McCarthy’s meatless menu is a lot different from its big siblings, with new dishes such as a roasted eggplant “pizza” (cherry tomatoes and mozzarella top slabs of eggplant) and vegan tacos stuffed with barbecue chickpeas and corn. “I suppose we’re going a little Bohemian,” says McCarthy. “About 12 years ago, we started introducing vegan dishes at the Burren, and they became very popular. Louise and I are both vegans, so it’s from the heart.”

While Toad will look and feel the same to those who visited during its lengthy original run, McCarthy’s is a noticeable revamp of the old Christopher’s space, with some big structural changes. “We’ve opened the room up,” says McCarthy, moving the staircase and wraparound bar and enlarging the windows to let in lots of natural light. The bar is now on the wall facing Toad, and the staircase drops customers right between the two businesses. Embracing the Irish pub ambiance, the team has built a snug called Costello’s Corner, says McCarthy. The area seats about 20 and includes a fireplace. “That’s going to be a lovely little spot; I imagine it’ll be very popular.”

The upstairs section of McCarthy’s is sure to draw crowds, too—McCarthy says they’ll likely book acoustic performances up there and also use the space for functions. At Toad, there will be music every evening, with late-night bands on the weekends. Music runs in the family for McCarthy (a fiddle player) and Costello (banjo and accordion): “Both of our dads played music and taught us the music which we’ve handed down another generation,” says McCarthy. “Our daughter Rose and her cousins will be performing every Tuesday evening.”

With the debut of McCarthy’s and Toad, McCarthy dreams of spearheading a musical walking trail. “The best music in Boston is really all along Massachusetts Avenue,” he says. Picture a crawl that starts at the Bebop around brunch, continues over the bridge and into Central Square with a stop at the Plough & Stars, then moves to Club Passim in Harvard, then to McCarthy’s and Toad in Porter, and finally to the Burren in Davis. “It would be a bit longer than Bourbon Street, but it’d be that kind of an idea where you can bar hop—have a beer here, then go to the next bar,” he says. “I’d like to show that connection with the music here in Boston.”

Watch for an opening date around Valentine’s Day weekend, if all goes as planned. “Louise has big ideas of putting hearts everywhere,” says McCarthy, “and we don’t want to disappoint her.” Both McCarthy’s and Toad are expected to debut at the same time, he notes: “The party begins on the first night.”

1920 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge, mccarthystoad.com.