What goes better with summer than al fresco dining? Al fresco beer, of course, and Cambridge Brewing Company (a.k.a. CBC) has both in spades. Although this Kendall Square hideaway makes for a cozy nosh during the winter months, (wood-burning stove outside the front door so smokers don’t have to freeze,) once the mercury rises CBC opens its spacious patio for diners and drinkers alike. It’s an ideal place to while away a weekend afternoon, and the proximity to Kendall Square Cinema makes it a great choice for evening as well – you can drink a pitcher then wait out your buzz in the theater.

The brewers at CBC have been honing their craft since 1989, when they opened their doors as one of the nation’s first brewpubs. Today, they offer four beers year-round; Tall Tale Pale Ale, Regatta Golden, Cambridge Amber, and Charles River Porter; as well as a constantly rotating selection of adventurous microbrews. Aficionados wait all year for the first taste of the CBC Pumpkin Ale, while the summer brings such offerings as Bavarian-style Hefe-weizen or our current favorite, Weekapaug Gruit. All brews are handcrafted with an eye to melding the traditional and the cutting-edge.

This adventurous spirit extends to the kitchen, but with mixed results. Although CBC shines with appetizers ranging from chili-topped nachos to a selection of fine cheeses from Formaggio Kitchen (paired, of course, with dainty 9oz glasses of beer), efforts with finer cuisine are prone to falling short of expectation. Example: the seared ahi tuna ($20) was quite tasty, but rather than being accented with “wasabi soy vinaigrette”, the dish came swirled with an overpowering wasabi cream sauce that would bring the most stoic sushi fiend to their knees. On another visit, Bostonist, tempted by the green papaya salad ($8), was dismayed to find the butter lettuce largely unwashed and full of grit. All was not lost though, for after a few pints of the now-defunct Endless Summer IPA, we were disinclined to make a fuss. Top dishes on this menu center around the simple things: chicken croquettes ($8), Cubano sandwich ($9), or steak tips ($20). We’ve also heard good things about the fisherman’s stew, but weren’t about to go there during the heat wave.

Overall, Cambridge Brewing Company is a great choice for a relaxing, casual meal with friends – the food is entirely satisfactory, although sometimes short of excellent, and what they lack in culinary panache is more than forgiven after a sampling of their specialty: beer. If you taste one you like, be sure to grab a growler to go before you leave! Their best microbrews are gone before you can say “Cask Conditioned Aestus Ale with Challenger Dry-Hops”. All things considered, we'll rate this as a three out of five hats. Four if we're drunk.