The already-amazing Charlie's Kitchen in Harvard Square recently added a beer garden, and it is exactly what we've been dreaming of our entire lives. Cute plants and a mossy rock wall make it feel like a real garden, and beams overhead offer a sense of structure without prompting feelings of claustrophobia (though the stools at the bar are a liiittle closer together than we'd like). The outdoor section feels much larger than the indoor, probably mostly because of the openness (and accompanying brightness). There are a decent number of tables (mostly located to the left of the rock wall-facing picture we've featured), some stools at the bar, and an acceptable amount of standing room.

Though an excellent experience overall, the garden is somewhat oddly located, and very disconnected from the main section of Charlie's. The beer garden entrance is to the left of the main part of Charlie's, and there's no way to get indoors from out (or outdoors from in), nor can you take beers out of the garden. That means you must leave your beer in the garden (or finish it first) to go inside to pee. It feels poorly planned, but we like drinking outside so much that we'll forgive the oddness--for now.

The garden also seemed understaffed while we were there, but maybe somebody called in "sick" in order to enjoy the nice night elsewhere. We trust Charlie's will sort things out soon. While we're not sure what will become of Charlie's beer garden when winter sets in, we do know we'll be here many more times this summer.

Charlie's Kitchen Beer Garden We want the PBR mirror. (Kerry Skemp)

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