Kendall Square is getting a two-for-one night out. Alice & Monarch, the latest project from the team behind Harvard Square's Source, opens Friday at 238 Main Street with a warm Italian taverna upstairs and a hidden dessert speakeasy below. The idea is simple and a little bit theatrical: dinner and wine at street level, then cocktails and over-the-top sweets underground, all just a short walk from the Kendall T stop.
Two Concepts Under One Roof
According to Time Out, Alice & Monarch splits into two distinct spaces. Upstairs is Alice, a 110-seat modern Italian-Mediterranean taverna. Downstairs is Monarch, a tucked-away dessert lounge with room for about 85 guests across a bar, lounge, and private dining room. Monarch is set up as a hidden speakeasy that guests reach through a corridor, designed specifically for cocktails and plated desserts rather than another round of entrees.
The Team And The Playbook
Owner Daniel Roughan, who also runs Source in Harvard Square, told Boston Magazine that Alice is meant to feel like "coming home," while Monarch gives the kitchen room to have some fun. Executive chef Brian Kevorkian - whose résumé includes Eleven Madison Park, The Modern, and Gary Danko - leads Monarch's dessert program. Preview coverage highlights theatrical plates such as a baked Alaska made with English-pea ice cream, a bread-ice-cream affogato, and a science-inspired dessert titled "The Atom."
What To Expect On The Menu
The restaurant's own menu pages show Alice focused on handmade pastas, seasonal vegetables, salumi, and Mediterranean-inspired small plates, while Monarch leans into sweets and cocktails, per Alice & Monarch. Reservations run through the restaurant's site and OpenTable, and the team lists contact information for private events on its About page for anyone plotting a group night out.
Why Kendall Square Gets The Double Feature
The address sits next to Eastern Edge Food Hall and other recent arrivals that are trying to stretch Kendall Square's energy past the end of the workday, according to the Kendall Square Association. A built-in dinner-then-dessert progression fits a neighborhood that is slowly piecing together more nightlife and late-night dining options for people who stick around after the tech offices go dark.
Hours And How To Get In
Time Out lists Alice's hours as Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monarch is scheduled to operate Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. For reservations, contact details, and the full address, guests can head to the restaurant's website or its OpenTable page.
