Harvard Club

I’ve been to the Harvard Club a couple times for other functions, but this review is for the dining portion. Had dinner at the newly renovated Veritas Lounge after a private event. Can’t speak for what it was like prior since this is my first time dining there. In terms of the food, it was slightly underwhelming. Service was great, very attentive and polite. But I got the Maine lobster cobb salad and it was just too salty for my liking.

Three stars for food, five for service.
We went for a special event and had a tapas spread. The food was good, but underwhelmed me. However, the service was excellent overall. All attendants at each entrance were very polite and helpful. It was a bit awkward at first as we arrived the same time as a wedding reception, and we almost got shuffled into the main space, but otherwise everything ran smoothly. Service at our gathering itself was superb, I kicked back and had my drink refreshed consistently by the friendly team member, who only had to ask the first time what I was drinking, and remembered the variables the rest of the night.
The smaller rooms are elegant, and well situated on the upper floors. The space was well laid out for a more casual group our size looking to mix and celebrate.

I went to the Harvard Club of Boston for a friends wedding and they did a stellar job hosting it. This place definitely has an old school Boston architecture atmosphere as it is located in Boston’s historic Back Bay. They food in the function room that they provided was also top notch. Also considering the number of guests keeping the quality as high as they did was a real feat. I am sure it is a pricey venue but you won’t be disappointed with the final product. This place knows how to pull off a wedding.

I love coming in to the Harvard Club because the staff makes it feel like home. Even though I only come in a few times a month, the woman who works at the front desk of the gym remembers my name and my life story, and the restaurant staff remember my order and are incredibly pleasant. The calm atmosphere of the club is a welcome complement to the hustle and bustle of the work day, and I always look forward to walking through its doors.

Attended a private event here, and I was very impressed with the entire operation. Having not been involved with the organization of the event, I can only speak for the dinner experience itself.
FOOD: expertly-​cooked filet mignon, slightly underwhelming chocolate cake dessert. Presentation was excellent though
SERVICE: service was discreet, professional, and attentive.
DECOR: yeah it’s pretty fancy, takes you to a different age, old school Harvard that Harvard isn’t even today, but for me it was a charming walk through the past

I came here with a friend for dinner and left with a really memorable service experience by the waiter who served our table.
I ordered a turkey club without the mayo. The waiter brought my order out and placed the food on our table. He took a close second look at my sandwich and gently exclaimed that it appeared my sandwich had mayo in it… and it did look like it had mayo from the outer appearance on the side. He took it back immediately, leaving me to wait for a new order.
Despite my friend receiving his order with no complaints, I ended up waiting about ten minutes or so, if I recall correctly, of the occasional random awkwardness associated with watching my friend eat his food. Although, I don’t think my friend made any modifications to his meal. My food came back with apologies, I smiled and thanked him for noticing.
At that point, I briefly reflected and knew that I would probably never experience or witness again what I had just experienced. At least for a while.
Previous food orders with me tend/​appear to be somewhat difficult with my, often small, modifications. At random times I would discover something wrong with my order once the food has been delivered to the table and then immediately the waiter/​waitress would disappear to work on other tasks leaving me awkwardly hanging and waiting until I have to flag someone down to notify them of what’s wrong. Not an ideal experience. I sense a lot of miscommunication and overconfidence when taking orders. Inaccuracy is what turns me off. In the end, I had never wanted to tip more than anything else. This feeling of happiness and gratitude was powerful in this case.
To note other things:
The downstairs restaurant is small to medium sized. Comfortable seating and not too loud. The restaurant was about half full, maybe slightly less than half full when I was there. So the noise level wasn’t too bad, perfect, if not better than most restaurants that I’ve been to. Restaurant capacity aside, I really enjoyed the pleasure of easy listening, being able to think and having a conversation without yelling or raising my voice to speak when I’m out. It’s what keeps me going.
Everyone will experience something different here so reviews will differ. Fortunately for me, it was very positive. I left with a satisfaction high that was memorable and could never be replaced.

LOVE the decors and history behind the HC of Boston. Just fascinating!
Paintings, list of names on the wall, old clocks, 6 story high ceiling ballroom. old pianos. full of old harvard flavor.
Food is v average but just can’t get over the pieces of furniture and old but well preserved pieces.
It was a pleasure to be at the venue at last!

It’s always a pleasure to attend events at The Harvard Club. The staff, ambiance and food never disappoint. I’m currently working with Jennifer, the social events manager, to plan my own event in 2014. Jennifer was a major factor in the decision to choose the Harvard Club. She professional, knowledgable, attentive, responsive, not to mention a genuinely nice person. She’s making the process seamless and worry free. We’re lucky to have her on our team and can’t wait for the event to take place next year.

The Harvard Club of Boston is poorly managed and expensive — meaning, you don’t get the value for the price. Their membership and accounting departments are particularly skilled in the art of ignoring inquiries.
Want a fabulous dinner? Go to one of Boston’s bajillion other fine dining establishments. Want to work out? Join your local gym! Want to say, «Let’s go down to THE HARVARD CLUB, daaaah-​ling, I feel like rubbing elbows with my fellow privileged,» then by all means, come here!
As for me: Nope. Nope. Nope.

Classic venue, very beautiful function space. The thing that ruined it was the awful service and bad attitude of their wedding coordinator. She was a lady in her 50’s or 60’s with orange hair and she was a witch. I believe her name was Jennifer and this was at the Main Clubhouse in the Back Bay. The food was fabulous but the catering/​event coordinator was rude to guests and that is completely unacceptable. There are more sophisticated wedding venues and finer spaces available in Boston… all with more suitable professional and polite staff. The guest rooms are also super dated and not worth the high price tag.

The rooms are outdated and old in the hotel. For the price you pay and the nam recognition, I would expect better. Had two decent meals: one in the main reception as part of a conference and another in the bar/​lounge area. Great location, close to bars and newbury street. Lots of action.

The Harvard Club on Commonwealth is a very nice venue for events. It has multiple rooms on each floor, of all different sizes. There’s a huge room on the first floor as well, which can easily fit a few hundred people. I’ve hosted wine tastings in the smaller rooms, and the service is great. I enjoy working with the Harvard Club’s staff organizing and putting on events. They are very professional, and are very attentive. The Harvard Club also has the traditional Boston feel to it, with large wooden panel walls and real fireplaces. If you’re thinking of hosting an event, definitely consider this as an option!

Lucky enough to have a 3 night stay here. Perfect — VERY spacious room, a little dated but clean and huge by present standards. Private, clean and wonderful. Reading rooms and space everywhere. The Grill restaurant is amazing. Loved the boiled lobster, and a lobster bake special for my wife. Great service, wonderful food, good prices. Would revisit anytime at all, fabulous and clasy.

I ended up getting stuck at the Harvard Club during the recent blackout and was highly impressed with the service we received.
We were in the middle of having dinner when the power went out. Even with the power out the staff remained calm.
The service we received was excellent. My aunt was concerned I wouldn’t be able to get a cab back to my apartment – which was probably true since all of Back Bay was without power and the Mass Ave bridge was closed. She was able to within a short period of time switch her room to one with two beds so I could stay over. I think this was super accommodating in lieu of the situation.
The staff also handed out to all the patrons LED flashlights. I was shocked at how prepared they were!
Before the power went out we were able to grab a meal of food in the bar lounge. I had eaten out at several venues during the past week and have to say the food at the Harvard Club was the best of all.
I look forward to my next invitation to visit/​dine there.

With the university representing such a top end «brand», I’d expect the kitchen to be a little bit higher quality.
Mediocre cooking talent and ingredients abound.

A novelty if not a vestige of the 19^th and early 20^th century. For this reason alone the Harvard Club gives those with access a glimpse into how the world was. Gone are the days when blue blooded wasps living along Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street would gather at supper clubs like this — or the Union and Algonquin clubs. Somehow places like these manage to hang on. For how long, I can’t imagine they’ll survive the 21^st century — and still remain as they are.
The food, like everything else there is traditional. The service is good; which is to say, unobtrusive, not overly formal or stuffy. The building itself is typical of the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s. In all, it’s a glimpse of that restrained simplicity of the well to do who strove never to outdo anybody else — much less appear flashy; as that was a tell tale sign of those who strove to fit in but clearly weren’t born into their set. It’s a 180 degree difference from today’s «LOOK AT ME» world.
Friends who are members occasionally take me here for dinner or a drink. There’s something comfortingly nostalgic about the the folks who gather here. For me, the Harvard Club evokes memories of elderly relatives who’d come over to my own grandparents’ home during the holidays. They wore hats and gloves and all seemed to dress in that same old-​person style; tastefully reserved and never flashy but none the less dressed well. Glancing around the dining room of the Harvard Club, I see those same gray flannel suits and simple rep ties. There’s a strand of pearls here and there. Sure, there’s younger faces too — appreciated by people of different ages and races. I suppose that’s one of the benefits of time’s passing.
Sorry for the rather long review. I guess this helped me to better appreciate my own thoughts about the Harvard Club. It’s quiet, it’s elegant. It’s certainly not for everyone — but if you’re lucky enough to get a glimpse, for what it’s worth, you’ll realize you’re seeing the turning of a page in time.

A grand and beautiful place where I have reciprocal member privileges from one of my clubs in DC. Fuddy-​duddy? You bet your #ss. We pay for that and we like it that way. It’s a club. Not a restaurant. It’s private. Not open to the public. It’s designed to pamper someone who has worked all his or her life to achieve excellence.
We went over there with a large group. Despite the size of the group, we were served promptly and courteously. The Washington Room has the names of Harvard alumnus who have contributed to the formation of the country. From the Adams family to about half of the Founding Fathers of the nation to many of the movers in today’s government. Awesome sense of history.
We had an absolutely great time.

We had our wedding reception at the Harvard Club (Main Clubhouse — Back Bay). Everything was fantastic. The banquet hall is absolutely beautiful with the antique tapestries/​wall hangings, silver chandeliers and oversized fireplaces. We had a mid-​fall wedding, so the dark paneling and lighting really fit the occasion. We continue to receive complements on the event (food, set-​up, etc) — even three years later!
Jennifer was a delight to work with, incredibly friendly, thorough and professional. I would highly recommend the Main Clubhouse on Comm Ave for an event/​wedding.

Ahem. I’ve grown up here, the child of a Harvard grad and a Harvard professor. It is what you think it is, really — a waspy spot (and proud of it!) with ridiculously delicious food and sort of funny celebrations (that don’t intend to be, not at all). We’ve gone here for Halloween and Christmas as children, and for New Year’s, Mother’s Day, and the odd birthday ever since. Truly, I can’t fault the food one whit (if you’re being picky, my dirty fork that I dropped stayed on the floor, so if you’re the type who cares about that, fault the servers), and the people-​watching is UNMATCHED (and the watching of you — YOU bring your big Israeli brother in the restaurant and see how many funny looks YOU get).
All joking aside (though that bit about the Israeli brother is true), the Harvard Club is a reliable spot for a bit of fanciness.

I’ve got to give it up to the folks at the Harvard Club. They put up with forty of us bratty, arrogant kids at the Business School. On the flip side, the dining accommodations aren’t as as nice as the lounge areas, and the food is really mediocre.
The interior lobby and lounge areas look exactly like you thin The Harvard Club would look — large comfy couches, oak, pictures of old white dudes. This disappears when you get into the smaller dining rooms upstairs, but you still feel rather grand.
The service was tolerant, which under most circumstances probably qualifies as angelic. We were served quickly and quietly, while roughly forty of us toasted and made dirty jokes and threw napkins at each other. The food was nothing memorable, we were served a lobster bisque that was decent, but the steak and cake following were bland.