Belly: A New Wine Bar From the Blue Room Team Opens in Kendall Square

Belly wine bar in Cambridge

By Naomi Kooker

Belly, an intimate wine bar by the owners of The Blue Room and Central Bottle Wine + Provisions, opened at One Kendall Square in Cambridge yesterday. The 45-seat contemporary cafe is adjacent to The Blue Room, but has its own separate entrance (it was formerly the private dining space of the restaurant).

The opening adds to the increasing number of new restaurants (including the recently opened West Bridge) in the MIT student-populated area.

The menu focuses on a broad selection of wines by the glass of two- and five-ounce pours, by the bottle, and small-plate contemporary American fare by Blue Room’s executive chef, Robert Grant. The range of wines goes from $3.50/two-ounce for a Lageder Lagrein rose to $35/five-ounce Gravner Ribolla Gialla 2004. Bites include charcuterie, a vast selection of cheeses, salumi, oysters, steak tartare, snacks of crudo, marrow bones and more; prices range from $5 to $14 for small plates and snacks. For those hungry for more, there’s a 24-oz. house dry-aged grass-fed, wood-grilled rib-eye for two ($68). Grant also offers an “Arm + A Leg” - a four-course, family-style menu featuring a whole animal with seasonal accompaniments, good for groups of four to12.

The concept was inspired by owners’ Nick Zappia and Liz Vilardi’s travels into the Alto Adige Region of Italy, according to a press release.

“The name, Belly, is associated with the creation of life and this new concept was created from two existing ones - local, seasonal and inspired food from The Blue Room combined with carefully curated cheese and wine from Central Bottle,” says Vilardi in a statement. She's the owner and wine director of Belly, The Blue Room and Central Bottle Wine + Provisions. “We like to think of Belly as the baby in our growing food and wine family - mischievous, quirky and definitely the most fun to be around.” 

Belly is open seven nights a week beginning at 5 PM.

One Kendall Square, Cambridge; 617-494-0968; www.bellywinebar.com