Pugliese Bar & Grill

What is a dive? Is Pugs not a dive because they serve food? Or because it seems like it’s been renovated in the last ten years? Because they make mixed drinks?
I say, no. This place is a dive. And the reason is that it’s the kind of bar that is practically empty on a Saturday night and where everyone seems to have their guard down. The kind of place that you end up having ridiculous conversations with total strangers. The kind of place where the bartender teaches you a cocktail she just learned how to make. The kind of place that you can tell your friends to meet you at, and they come streaming in, filling the place up, and making you feel like you’re in the final scene from It’s a Wonderful Life.
It’s why I love Biddy’s so much. And it’s the reason I could imagine loving this place just as much someday.

We always avoided this bar ever since we moved to this neighborhood and would not even be patrons had the bar owner not been our neighbor. What was once a old grotty townie bar is now a great relaxing place to go for a drink, great food and to meet people from the area. Bob the owner spent a lot of time and care in updating the bar and the bar staff. But a word of advice, go after 5pm, before this time it still caters more to the old patrons who seem a bit ruffled by the changes and the new crowd.

My first review of this was bad. But then I went there again and chatted it up with the bartender who was really nice. They do have good beer, but idk if I would eat there.

New to the ‘hood and Pugs was one of my first bar loves. Welcoming and fun as heck — the bartenders are great and the little food menu they have is perfect when you just need a bite of something good!

Pugs is one of my neighborhood bars. I’ve been there several times for happy hour and usually one of the old-​timers buys a round of drinks for the bar. The first time I went, I didn’t buy a single drink and I didn’t even have to deal with a creepy guy for that privilege! One the down side, sometimes it’s all old men in there and they just stare at my friend and I and listen to us talk.
Regardless, I am a Pugs fan. It’s not the slightest bit pretentious — just a classic neighborhood pub.

Stopped in for lunch and had a great meal! We had a burger with excellent fries and a massive bowl of home made chili with fresh nacho chips which was one of the specials. Not a huge menu but what they have is all made fresh and delicious! Also a nice selection of draft beers as well as a full bar. Great old time neighborhood bar well worth checking out if your in the area!

Oh Man — I just finished their pulled pork special of the day. AWESOME! great taste, huge amount of pulled pork on a fresh bun! Even the fries were great — I can’t find anything to complain amount. The owner even gave me a few «bourban balls» to go. Densely packed and a great aftertaste. great way to start a weekend.

Found this place while driving through Cambridge, went back and watched a football game. Nice folks, good eats. Can’t speak to the late night setting but it was definitely a chill place to go grab a few beers and catch a game.

Synopsis: Tiny, dead, rude bartenders
Ugh. This is the closest bar to my apartment, so after months of walking by to go further away because it looked sketchy I figured I’d give it a shot.
I expected it to be small and definitely a local hang out, which I had accepted and figured it would be okay, but god it was awful.
We went in on a Saturday night to grab a couple beers. The bartender was a huge Republican and not scared to tell us his opinions about the Glorious Scott Brown. Now, that’s fine, I don’t agree but fine… but he continually interrupted our conversations so he could tell us more about Scott Brown… and then Rush Limbaugh… Gawd. Also– they were out of PBR, so we had to spend more money to get the only other beer they weren’t out of. The bartender told us this like he was doing us a favor. Listen buddy, I like $ 12 pitchers of PBR. Well, I like the price anyway.
So… we figured it was just a bad night and gave it another shot. We were in there again, the night before the Super Bowl. It was a Saturday night, after midnight and there was my group of 4 and maybe eight other people in the entire joint. We got a few pitchers, played a few songs and were discussing the Super Bowl, doing a little friendly disagreeing about it, sports, etc having a good time when the Bartender shouts over the music to us that we are being too loud and need to quiet down. Oooook, it’s a bar lady. It’s Saturday night. Simmer down. So living so close I walk home and leave the rest of my party behind. Soon after they come home.
The bartender told them she was closing up shop… but let the other ‘regulars’ stay.
Conclusion: Stay Away

Definitely a local bar, but not just a «local» bar one that actually helps out the community. Pug’s does a lot to help out the East End House. Don’t get caught swearing or you owe the swear jar 50 cents…
The Bloody Mary’s here are amazing… I mean amazing. They are made exactely how I like them!
Food is good and fills me up when I’m in need of some pub fair.
Bathrooms are clean and the Music selection is good. If I plauyed darts I’d think that was cool too. Overall a great local place.

Wow. Who would of thought some random townie bar in Cambridge would become one of my favorite places in the city?!
Keep in mind — this is NOT a dive bar. The place is pretty clean and up to date — it’s just full of what would seem to be regulars.
Pug’s is tiny — you have one man running the bar and another running the grill — that’s right — grill. Step on up and place your order for grilled or fried snacks and shuffle to the right for a $ 3 PBR on tap.
While you wait for your food to cook, why not pick out a song and get in line for karaōke? The man with the cowboy hat will get you all set up. Don’t feel like singing? Play some darts in the back.
Grab your food & beer and sit on down at one of their high top tables to watch the random locals show you what they got. Like that tall fellow singing his best Sinatra or that «drunk mom» dancing her tapered jeans right off her body. You like country? I love country. They got country. I felt like a «Redneck Woman» because «I got friends in low places.»
Watch your mouth though — there’s a swear jar on the bar. Maybe they can use that money to upgrade their karaōke machine to one that doesn’t skip so often???
Anyway, I fuckin’ love this place! Oops, I owe 50 cents to the jar.

I stopped by Pug’s last nite with a couple friends. We had originally ventured out to go to Courtside and impress the crowd with our karaōke prowess, yet the gap-​toothed and filthy bouncer there informed us that they were no longer letting people in.
So we walked down Cambridge street to Pugs. On the way, we recruited an older couple visiting the area from Canada. They, too, were originally going to go to Courtside.
Once in Pugs, my buddy bought a round of Amstel (i think… it was late). At 2.50 a pop, it didn’t really matter. This was a good deal.
The general atmosphere was great. Music, darts, enough space to move around and socialize. The bottom line: Pugs had a dude walkin round in a cowboy hat, a transvestite, and a few Canuckle-​heads all in the crowd and it didn’t matter. It all made for a great time, interesting conversation, and a good story!
Check it out next time your in the area.

Bar and Grill, huh? Well I saw the grill, but little evidence that at the time I was there (late dinner) that I could have actually ordered grub.
which is probably fine, because it’s not the place I think I want to eat at.
But it is the place I would like to drink at occasionally — but doubt I will make the trek down into E Cambridge all that often.
The windows are too big and exposing to call it a dive — but it’s definitely got a local feel, which I dig. and the fact that they have «Sing Along with Kelly» Thursdays, you know that the weekends here have to be interesting…
ok, I will make the trek all the way down to E Camb next Thursday.
But I ain’t singing

Pug’s is the kind of place that makes me glad to be a Bostonian. It’s a bar that you could drive by every day without even realizing that it serves great food and pours good drinks. There are pubs all across this country that tries to create the same «neighborhood spot where you can have a blast for $ 20» vibe that Pug’s puts out effortlessly.
It’s out of the way (halfway between Inman Square and Lechmere), but if you’re in the area, it’s worth a stop.