This review is not from the perspective of a patron but rather from that of a performer. My band and I have performed at Hard Rock twice and we were pleased both times. The stage is in a room separate from the dining area which is nice for both the artists and the people who don’t want to be bothered by a loud concert as they eat. The space is surprisingly big. In fact, Aerosmith played there a few years ago with a crowd of almost 1,000 people. Aside from the arenas in Boston, it’s very hard to find a place that holds so many fans in the city. The venue is also run by very nice and accommodating staff. We never ran into any issues and things always ran very smoothly. The sound quality was good but not great. However, it was better than some other venues we’ve played. All in all, as a performer, I’d definitely recommend Hard Rock to other artists looking for places to play. Just a warning: as I said, the space is very large and therefore Hard Rock won’t book you unless you can bring a good amount of people to the show. In other words, don’t waste their time.
Michele H.
Place rating: 5 Stoneham, MA
Stopped in Saturday night for after dinner drinks. Great service, great atmosphere. Have been a few times & staff is always warm & welcoming.
M S.
Place rating: 2 Boston, MA
This is where you eat in Boston when you don’t really care about food. Sneak in some McDonald’s takeout and just get drinks. Tourist trap, awful food, great drinks, and a fun atmosphere. I’d find a pub nearby that has decent food.
Mike S.
Place rating: 1 Orlando, FL
Horrible experience. Don’t waste your money here. Service terrible staff walking around like zombies. Dirty tables sitting and not cleared. Took 20 minutes just to get silverware Drink came in dirty glass. Going on 45 minutes and food not here. Place very poorly managed. Doesn’t look like anyone in charge. You would think with hard rock brand it would be better. Very disappointed Hard rock corporate needs to come in and kick ass. This place is very bad.
Chris W.
Place rating: 1 Fort Myers, FL
A shining example of employee indifference. Terrible customer service. Walked in and it took at least a minute to greeted and it was not busy at all. Was seated at a bar table without asking my preference. I assumed a waitress would come shortly. After ten minutes the bartender yelled over and shouted«Do you want a drink?» I yelled my drink order back. I took another 5 minutes for her to come over to the table and ask if I wanted to eat. She was curt and had an attitude as if I was wasting her time. She took my order without saying barely a word and grabbed the menus. I walked out.
Ella b.
Place rating: 1 Boston, MA
The food is horrible. Stopped by late night for a quick bite because we were hungry and nothing else was open. VERYBADIDEA! My bf and I shared steak and chicken fajitas. They were edible or so I thought. The next morning we woke up and were both extremely sick. I don’t know if the meat was bad or what but stay away from this dump if you value your health. I would give it zero stars if i could.
Tom V.
Place rating: 5 Wakefield, MA
We had an amazing time at the Hard Rock. The service was amazing and the drinks were out of this world. Our bartender, Tucker, truly ensured that our experience was premium and really went the extra mile to make sure we were completely and totally satisfied. Would definitely return, would definitely recommend to a friend. Thanks again Hard Rock and Tucker!!!
Bridget L.
Place rating: 1 Boston, MA
This place is such a scam! We were in the bar for an hour then tried to go to the dance floor and all of a sudden they just said it turned into a private party and it cost an extra $ 30 to get into the dance floor. I asked to speak to the manager because we had already paid to get into hard rock and the bouncer ask d for our ids and the. Told us we had to leave because we were too drunk… So basically we were kicked out of the bar because we argued over having to pay twice. Please please save your money and do not come here
Leanne P.
Place rating: 2 Tewksbury, MA
We went in for a friend’s 40th party. We all arrived at the same time since you can’t have your section until everyone is there. Tables were booked for 7:30, but we all got there for 7:00. Tables weren’t being used, but they still made us sit outside and wait. It was AFTER7:30 that we were let in. Interior is nice — music memorabilia and music videos. Bathrooms — um, yuck? Pads hanging out of the receptacles in a few stalls, no toilet paper in some as well. Menu — meh. Nothing special. I ate an appetizer with a friend since there really wasn’t anything that I wanted. Service — SLOWAF. Order a drink? You’ll see it in about an hour. Asked my waitress for small plates for the appetizer I was sharing and was told«oh yeah — of course» — to see her turn around to go the waitress station and ROLLHEREYES. Let’s see — there were roughly 30 people in our group — the tip was forcibly included in our bill — if it hadn’t been, she wouldn’t have made much. Lots of reaching over people without excusing herself, etc. Would I go back? Only for another event. Would I recommend it to a friend? Nope.
Anthony H.
Place rating: 2 Worcester, MA
Alright so I came up here on Saturday August 1, 2015 for my little sisters birthday with my family. We’re all old school rock so this place was pretty awesome to us with all the memorabilia laying around. It all started when we got seated. We were being waited on by a fella by the name of «Biggie» he seemed pretty cool… Seemed pretty cool. Well anyways were all ordering our drinks. I ask for the Strawberry Lemonade. He asks me did you want the Basil Strawberry Lemonade or the regular Strawberry Lemonade that isn’t on our menu. I say well what’s the difference besides to obvious. He says one has basil. Oh thanks I didn’t notice. I say what’s the difference in taste. He raises his voice a little and says One has basil and one doesn’t. I ask again. So what would the taste difference be. I don’t eat or drink basil I’m trying to find out if this is something I would like. He turns to my Aunt and says, Jeeze I told him 3 times you think he would understand. Now I’m aggravated. I’m a guest, even if you have to fake it. You be nice to me. I asked a simple question and he was acting like I was not able to comprehend when he just didn’t listen to me. So from that point on my dinner was ruined. But I pushed through for my little sister. Skip ahead to ordering dinner. My brother asks for one of their burgers. He asks if he can have barbecue sauce added on to it… Biggie acts like it was a problem with his«ummm… I guess we can do that». What?! McDonald’s will put human shit on my burger no questions asked if I so desired. Is it that much of a problem to put barbecue sauce on something. Fast forward even more to dinner. Now I am good at not showing my emotions and still being nice to people who have wronged me. But now I notice Biggie is leaving my dishes and neglecting me at the table during dinner. It’s okay because I like to eat my food in peace. But come on. It’s your job. Now on to dinner. The food was sub par and waaaaaaay over priced. I didn’t enjoy much of the experience besides being with my family. Also as awesome the memorabilia was in there. The other locations around the U.S. are much better equipped. I gave this place 2 stars because of the history. The food wasn’t very good and I felt personally attacked by biggie. The service was not very good in my opinion.
Michael B.
Place rating: 5 Hamden, CT
Our party of four dined here for lunch this past Thursday. We were actually spending a couple of days in the Boston area, and hadn’t planned on eating here, but we just happened to park in the garage that was located fairly handy to this location. My wife and I are Hard Rock regulars, but the couple that we were with are still novices to the experience. The service was quite good, both from our server and from the supervisors and managers that were walking around. We all ordered burgers, with three of us having the hickory barbecue bacon burger. As a regular, and because I don’t like them, I had mine without onions. The other couple that was with us both had those with onions — and by the end of their meal after one or more onions had dropped out onto their shirts, they wish that they had followed suit. Other than a little bit of a mess, everyone felt that the food was great. Next time we’re in the Boston area, will definitely be back.
Ellie V.
Place rating: 1 Quincy, MA
I came here with with a party of 11 and every other group that came here after my group got seated before my group. HORRIBLESERVICE.
Zachary K.
Place rating: 5 Boston, MA
Been here a few times over my 7 years in Boston, but never really gave it a serious chance — being a tourist attraction, it’s one of those places you don’t frequent too often. Tonight I had the pleasure of watching a great musician, Randy Vera, play live music on the patio. The bar tender, La, was also exceptional and a pleasure to deal with and suggested great options for me to try in the future. These two individuals are the reason I will be back in the near future. Thanks for the great experience.
Stella B.
Place rating: 3 Cambridge, MA
I went this place to hangout with my friends while some bands were playing. The performances were pretty good. Food is too salty but it’s okay to have with some beer. I have been to A Hard Rock Café in NYC. Compare with NyC’s isn’t that much excited . But this place has Outside tables also so if you’d like to chill out with a couple of friends and beer, it’s a good place for it.
Alicia S.
Place rating: 2 Boston, MA
I have never ate at this location Food: All we had was chicken tenders. Honestly they weren’t that great but they were a little spicy Drinks: The strawberry press drink we had was really good and I really enjoyed the drink.
Jenna M.
Place rating: 1 Latham, NY
Where to start, we went in with high expectations. Personally I have ate in at least 10 Hard Rock cafes, this location along with NYC are the closest. I think I will be in a Hawaii location before this one! Order was incorrect and the 30 minute wait for our order was quickly corrected in 5 minutes. No visit from the manager, which is a common practice at Hard Rock Café. No asking for my reward information as well. Did push the merchandise but at that point we just had to get out of there.
Josh G.
Place rating: 1 Cincinnati, OH
First time in Boston, spent the day touring the freedom trail… What a beautiful city, and the weather was gorgeous… I’m vacationing with my girlfriend and her two young daughters(ages 7&11) it was the girls first time at any Hard Rock Café. We were seated outside. Not even a half full restaurant. And two more tables followed, those tables were greeted and gave drink orders, one even received an appetizer. That’s the point where we left. We had already decided on what to eat including the kids, anybody with kids knows that’s a long time. Yet no one even greeted the table. Upon walking out I handed the menus to a server and told him the issue, he did try and stop us from leaving, promising a better experience. But alas there was no changing our minds… The children’s first experience at Hard Rock Café was short and unfortunately unforgettable. In the past I always eat at Hard Rock Café but never again…
Kim K.
Place rating: 1 North Andover, MA
We went to see a friends band. We were planning to eat first and got there at 6pm, 1.5 hour prior to band going on to give us plenty of time to eat. The hostess station was chaos. I made it to the hostess and was told it would be 20 minutes for a table. I asked about the 10 empty tables near the bar. They said they save those because a band would be playing. Really because the band plays in a completely separate room no where near those tables! We were told we could get a table where the band plays and eat there when they open that room at 7, So we chose that option. My guess is they want the outside seating to look busier than it really is by making people wait for no apparent reason. We ordered a drink at the bar. I order a cucumber and mint mojito. The bartender told me they weren’t good. I am guessing because he didn’t want to make it. I said I’ll try it anyway. We order 1 mojito, 1 margarita and 1 seltzer water. It came to $ 30.00. I liked my drink. We stood in line at 7 and went into the other room where the band was playing and sat at one of the 10 tables. Fifteen minutes later we went to the bar and asked for a waitress. Oh guess what, no waitress service. O.k. so how do we order food? Order it at the bar and then check back in about 10 minutes to see if it’s ready. What the??? So we were hungry and had no choice and ordered a $ 20.00 Cesar salad with shrimp and a $ 20 shrimp fajita that we had to pick up at the bar and then go back and disturb the bartender for silverware!!! Really. Back to the bar to get a draft beer for $ 6.95. Why the hell don’t they just put a couple waitresses in that room if you they serve food??? We finished our very average meal and went back to the bar pay because they kept our credit card. We told the bartender we were ready to pay. He gave us a rude look. What? The staring contest began. He finally said, «I don’t know your name.» Oh guess he could have asked nicely. Oh and btw, if you don’t plan to drink you will be paying as much for a seltzer water as most places charge for a beer, $ 4.50. We left shortly after the band left and walked to our car to find out the damage at the parking garage around the corner, $ 35.00. Really no wonder I hardly come back into the city after I’m done working here! We all felt like Hard Rock in Boston had the feeling of a new establishment that wasn’t organized and didn’t know how to treat customers. Hard to believe they do such a big business but they won’t be getting ours again.
Pablo M.
Place rating: 4 Barcelona
Fue el primer Hard Rock que conocí en el 2008 y me encantó, vi lo que era disfrutar de la música que ponían, viendo cantar a los camareros. Y desde entonces y donde los halla, siempre los visito o como, en todos ellos. El trato es genial, y si los estais buscando por aquí, es porque ya los conoceis. Está en el mismo Hall Marketplace que es una de las visitas clasicas si vas a Boston, MA, una ciudad que os recomiendo es la ciudad que mas me recuerda a Europa de EEUU, además se visita rápidamente si seguis la Boston Red Line. Os lo recomiendo
Karen P.
Place rating: 3 Boston, MA
I only come here for drinks and apps. My table without fail always order the jumbo appetizer platter. It’s large and features most fried foods. The food still borders on mediocre and the drinks are hit and miss. The location though is convenient, allowing me to take a nice nightly stroll around town after a meal. The musical trinkets and novelty items also provide a great conversation starter.
Andrea L.
Place rating: 3 Portland, OR
It’s not the old Hard Rock café in Cambridge. I loved that place. But it’s A-OK. Just slightly soul-less, compared the old one. Been here a couple times. For a party and a show. The dining area is cool and open with lots of ephemera and decorations that you’d expect from the Boston Hard Rock. The concert space is okay. More wide than narrow(as was the old one). It’s fine really. But difficult to park, even difficult to walk to. I really miss the old one. It was small, intimate and had such a great feel to it. So much less of a typical HR café!
Stella B.
Cambridge, MA
I can see why Hard Rock Café has low stars, this is not once but twice I’ve encountered rude services here. Once was with my friend when she and I had a pre– birthday dinner where the waitress was slow and not really attentive to our needs. She seemed real cut to the chase, not really sociable and only came to our table once to see if we were okay. She didn’t even hand us our bill properly instead she had another waitress give us our tab. Someone who may have been a manager even asked if everything was okay. I hesitated to respond but decided not to because the food was good but I figured I’d let it slide. Maybe she’s new. So this past Sunday which is the 24th, a date and I decided to go here seeing that they claim they open till 12AM. We waited by the door to be seated a lady walked past us and said absolutely nothing, even the bartender glanced at us. I thought that was rude and strange but I walked over to the bar to see what was up. I asked are they serving food. The bartender exclaimed the kitchen was closed, so my date and I ordered a drink. My drink was warm as hell even with ice, my date didn’t like his drink. I looked over my shoulder only to find a waitress serving someone else food. I thought the kitchen was closed? This had to be about no later than 11:30. If the kitchen is closed why are you serving others but not us? Discrimination much? Boston seems to have these places all over this area and I’m getting sick of it. My money is just as good as the next person and if you’re not going to treat someone with respect and prefer a different type of crowd maybe you should reevaluate yourself as a business owner.