Muqueca - Cambridge

I still remember when this place was located on the other side of the street, on a corner and could seat maybe 6 people. I've grown up on this food and it is my number 1 suggestion when people ask me for Brazilian food recommendations in the area. It is not what comes to mind when the average non-Brazilian thinks of Brazilian food, but it's a beautiful representation of the diversity of Brazilian cuisine. You can't go wrong with the fish muqueca. The fried fish is delicious and honestly every dish I've tried is outstanding. The muqueca is the signature dish though and it's what you should get! Get the manja de tapioca for dessert. There's a reason this place has withstood the test of time, it's delicious, lovingly prepared and authentic,

I ate dinner here with friends and their 2y/o son on a weekend. Everybody loved the combination of an enticing menu and a kid-friendly place. Cute decor! The seafood soups were good, although I thought mine (fish) could have used some salt, and I only say that because I usually think restaurant food is oversalted. The desserts were definitely worth leaving room for! If I lived in Cambridge, I'd take all my out-of-town visitors here. Species-neutral restrooms (they don't even care if you're an alien, just wash your hands).

This is a wonderful place for dinner in the area! I highly recommend the lasagna de banana, at least to share. It's cheesy and sweet, crunchy and cheesy, and it's almost like a dessert. The service is relatively attentive, and I enjoy the outdoor space they they open up when it's warmer and dry outside.

An unassuming restaurant at the end of Inman Square stretch of shops and restaurants. Named after their clay pot soup, the restaurant was warm and inviting. Operated by friendly staff, the restaurant was decorated with an assortment of warm feeling colors and wood giving it a homey feel. The seats were full at 830pm and we had to wait 15 minutes to get a table. Fried Plantains Sweet, caramelized, mushy plantains. Some had crispy edges, I just wished that there was a little crispier to the edges giving the plantains a bit more caramelization and contrast. Still very good. Fried Diced Chicken Bone In Mostly dark meat but was getting close to very done. It was seasoned properly and so it was tasty. It came with its own creamy sauce which was okay, but much preferred to put on the salsa like thing from the Moquueca. This felt similar to the chicharrones where they over fry the pork belly (chicken in this case). Fish, Shrimp and Mussels Moqueca The star of the night was the moqueca. Seafood stone bowl soup served with a side of rice and some salsa looking side. The soup had plenty of seafood and vegetables. The tomato and onions were a pleasant accompaniment to the seafood and was a solid base to add seafood to. The salsa was also in a stone bowl. It had a bit tanginess to it and when eaten with the soup, had good contrast in flavor. The salsa was also good on the fried chicken, give it some hydration to help with the dryness and sourness to combat the fried portion. All in all great restaurant, would love to come back if I visit Hardvard or MIT.

Muqueca feels like an authentic Brazilian local joint, lots of families and older people that I didn't know were in the area! Fried yucca served with a ranch like dip, reinforced the potato fry taste. The yucca texture lends itself to looking like a natural thousand layer potato which was pretty cool. It does get a little dry on the inside though. Also got some very spicy sauce on the side! 4 5 Shrimp and fish moqueca a generous amount of perfectly cooked bouncy shrimp and flaky fish in what I'd describe as pico de gallo soup. It didn't feel like more than the sum of its components, just a nutritious bowl of seafood. Came with rice and a gloopy stew that I enjoyed for nostalgia's sake but the sliminess could be off putting. 3.5 5 Side of collards were garlicky and crunchy, rather than your stewed BBQ collards. Nothing too unique either, just micronutrients! 3 5 The menu is huge although most items seem to be the same ingredients just in slightly different combinations names. Our server was helpful in describing the differences between stews. I'll probably be back for the banana lasagna, or for a proteinatious solid quick casual cheaper meal.