Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/category/more/food/)
The 2025 Watertown Farmers Market season is almost here, and the market features several new vendors, including dumplings, jerky, tea, and the return of an ice cream vendor. Also, there will be a new layout for the market at Saltonstall Park. See details in the announcement from Live Well Watertown. Join Us Wednesday, June 11 for Opening Day! Just one week away!
Watertown’s Ritcey East has chosen as one of five finalists in a contest run by Toast for restaurants who make a difference in their communities. The winner will received $10,000, and voting is now open. The restaurant on Waverley Avenue, is “serving up a safe place for the LGBTQ+ community and a fresh take on comfort food,” according to Toast. Ritcey East was nominated by a fan of the restaurant because it is “a small, queer-owned biz that kept all their staff during the pandemic and continues to partner with local charities.” Say hello to our Built for You $10k Contest Finalist, Ritcey East!
City Works in Watertown is serving Syrnyk, a Ukrainian cheesecake, to raise money for World Central Kitchen. The following announcement was provide by City Works:
To support relief efforts in Ukraine, City Works Eatery & Pour House, located in Arsenal Yards, will offer guests Syrnyk, a sweet and rich Ukrainian cheesecake, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting World Central Kitchen (WCK). The cultural dessert staple will be offered beginning May 4. The support for WCK comes at a time when an affiliated relief kitchen came under fire in Kharkiv just last week. Currently, WCK with their local partners prepare about 320,000 meals per day to feed people in Ukraine.
Mighty SquirrelMighty Squirrel Brewing will be serving its creations at the new biergarten at Arsenal Yards. Beer lovers will enjoy the latest addition to Arsenal Yards: a biergarten. Local craft brewer Mighty Squirrel Brewing will be running the beer garden, that will be located in the center of Arsenal Yards. Arsenal Yards provided the following information:
Just in time for warm weather and patio drinking season, Arsenal Yards, the thriving new neighborhood located along the Charles River in Watertown, announces the addition of a brand–new Mighty Squirrel Biergarten opening this Saturday, April 30th at 11 a.m.! Mighty Squirrel Brewing Co.A view of Mighty Squirrel Brewing Co.’s biergarten located at its Waltham brewery.
QuebradaQuebrada Baking Co. will be opening in Watertown on April 25. Lovers of baked goods will have a new, but familiar name to visit in Watertown. Quebrada Baking Co. will open its fourth location on the corner of Orchard Street and Waverley Avenue (across from the fire station) on Monday, April 25.
Jakob LaymanSome of the more that 140 offerings at Kura Sushi at Arsenal Yards. Arsenal Yards proudly announced that Kura Sushi USA, Inc., a technology-enabled Japanese restaurant concept known for its revolving sushi bars, opened their first New England restaurant at Arsenal Yards, the thriving new neighborhood located along the Charles River in Watertown, Massachusetts. Established in the United States in 2008, the 37th Kura Revolving Sushi Bar location at 101 Bond Square, Watertown, MA 02472 brings the freshest sushi and most authentic Japanese cuisine to the Greater Boston community. With a focus on premium ingredients and a distinctive dining experience, Kura Sushi adheres to the Japanese virtue and philosophy of serving healthy and natural meals in a unique setting. Since the first restaurant opening in Japan in 1977, the Kura Sushi brand offers more than 500 locations across Japan, Taiwan and the United States.
The following announcement was provided by the Charles River Chamber:
Food Assistance Grant Program – Applications Now Open
The chamber has received funding to support independent Watertown restaurants while providing food assistance to local residents in need. We’ll be ordering individually packaged meals from restaurant partners (at a flat rate of $20 per meal plus tax) to distribute to local food pantries, senior and family programs and other persons in need within the city. Right now, we’re gauging interest and potential meal offerings (that would be both well balanced, but also profitable for your restaurant) via this Restauarnt Partner Application Form. After you are approved as a restaurant partner, we’ll reach out with more specifics as to individual order dates, quantities, etc. The program will launch late March, extend at least through the spring and we hope to support as many Watertown restaurants as possible through this initiative.
Restaurants in Watertown will be able to apply to serve alcohol with Sunday brunch after the City Council approved adopting a change to the liquor licensing rules. At the same meeting, Councilors approved giving the Watertown Licensing Board the ability to impose fines and give warnings to holders of liquor licenses. The change approved at the Feb. 8 Council meeting will allow alcohol to be served on Sundays and certain legal holidays from 10 a.m. to noon. A couple restaurants recently asked (and about 10 have asked over the past couple years) if they could get approval to serve alcoholic drinks during brunch, said Noelle Gilligan, the head clerk in the Town Clerk’s Office.
Meghan CroninSome of the dishes served at Nzuko in Watertown, which offers Mediterranean and Caribbean inspired food. Located a couple blocks off Main Street, one of Watertown’s newest restaurants offers a unique combination of Caribbean and Mediterranean food, with an emphasis on healthy preparations. Nzuko opened in November, and offers a wide range of dishes inspired by multiple cuisines, said chef Laurette Ndukwe. “I’m from the Caribbean and the manager is from Jordan, and then we have my son, who is an African-American from here, and we have Brazilians in the kitchen, so we have a multicultural flair in the restaurant,” Ndukwe said. Nzuko’s first location was in Framingham, but many diners lived west of Boston (or in the city), so they asked if Ndukwe could open another restaurant closer to Boston.
