Sagra Closes; Replaced by 5 Horses Tavern

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

Surviving 4 years in a spot that had been one of the "restaurant locales of doom", Sagra is shutting down and a new restaurant, Five Horses Tavern, will take its place (described by a detractor as "burgers and wings and a whole lot of beer").



http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/features/x2022438681/Sagra-closes-in-Somerville-makes-way-for-Five-Horses-Tavern#axzz1FSFUEFIH

Comments

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Crap! I have a restaurant.com certificate from them that I hope I can still use. I stupidly failed to use it when I went there 2 months ago, and on that visit I was sufficiently underwhelmed that I wasn't in a big hurry to go back, but. :-/

[trowa-barton.livejournal.com]

It started out strong, being a decent Italian restaurant. Then it tried to be too many things at once (Sports bar, bistro, dance club, etc.)

[smoterh.livejournal.com]

There is nothing wrong with being everything for everyone. It's a business model that Orleans made very successful. But I think it was too much of that in the square with Orleans already sporting that idea. Also, this is why I think 5 Horse Tavern will fail too - there really isn't any more appetite for beer and wings type place in the Square.

Bummer!

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Aw, crap! I LIKED Sagra! Their gnocchi with duck ragú was to die for. I was really happy that they seemed to be breaking the cursed streak for that location.

[sungold123.livejournal.com]

Not surprising but still a little sad. I always wanted Sagra to be a lot better than it was. I always thought it was way overpriced, and their appetizer menu was awful - almost everything was fried, which is not really traditional Italian. My SO and I used to go from time to time to sit at their nice-looking bar, but the bartenders were really incompetent - even the bar manager, who consistently made our drinks with completely different ingredients than were on the drink menu.

[maelithil.livejournal.com]

I liked the food at Sagra, hated the lighting and the service. I'm not particularly surprised.

Not really looking forward to another place in the square that serves "burgers and wings and a whole lot of beer" as much as I like burgers and wings and beer.

Eh, better than a consignment store, in any case.

[ron_newman]

I didn't realize Sagra had live music. What sort of bands?

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Well, at least those cost next to nothing. :)

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Based on the article, it sounds like they re closing by choice to focus on their newer location, not that they *have* to close.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

So agreed! Junk shops are the new burritos of Davis. We have more than enough estate sale vintage bric-a-brac and counterfeit designer purses already.

tl;dr

[lfitzb.livejournal.com]

Do you know what I really hope for? A good beer place, no expensive, with couches, that could double as a nice American Food nothing too fancy cheap date night spot.

I was looking through the Globe slide show about cheap eats in the area and all of them were ethnic food, which is not bad, but come on! There isn't one relatively cheap casual date night spot that isn't a pub? If you know of a place I'd gladly take suggestions.

Also, off topic, but can we all petition to submit Amelia's Kitchen to the Restaurant Impossible on the Food Network? I'd really like that place to turn into my cheap date night spot.

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

on the plus side, if past restaurant performance is any indication, it won't last much longer than a few years....

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Looks like Sagra in Dedham is in a place that has had a least four names since 99.

[thismightbejess.livejournal.com]

I liked going to Sagra because it was always empty. :-/

[m-b-w.livejournal.com]

From Restaurant.com:

What do I do if I attempt to use a Restaurant Gift Certificate and the restaurant is permanently closed or does not accept my Restaurant Gift Certificate?
Although rare, restaurants can go out of business or change owners without informing Restaurant.com. If the restaurant is permanently closed or does not accept your Restaurant Gift Certificate, please contact Customer Service at info@restaurant.com (include your Restaurant Gift Certificate number or code) or call us at 1-800-979-8985 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Central Standard Time and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. Our Customer Service department will exchange your unused Restaurant Gift Certificate for equivalent credit to Restaurant.com in the form of a Restaurant.com Gift Certificate. You can then use your Restaurant.com Gift Certificate to choose another Restaurant Gift Certificate or Merchant Certificate from Restaurant.com.

So, if you weren't that excited about Sagra, I suggest you wait until they close and then exchange for something else.

Re: tl;dr

[sungold123.livejournal.com]

Does Italian count as "ethnic?" If not, Pescatore (in Ball Square) is wonderful and very affordable, and a great place for a date, and certainly not a pub.

Re: tl;dr

[lfitzb.livejournal.com]

Maybe technically it does? I think I'm thinking more mexican, thai, japanese, chinese, korean, indian, ethiopian, tibetan, turkish, Salvadoran...etc. as ethnic when it comes to mind.

But thanks! I've heard awesome things about Pescatore! We always seem to find Italian for date night too...any other suggestions?

Re: tl;dr

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Technically, Orleans has those things (couches, decent local beer selection on tap, American food for under $20). They recently re-did their menu, and it is MUCH better and more versatile.

[spatch]

The Curse of Yee strikes again!

Re: tl;dr

[hikermtnbiker.livejournal.com]

Agreed. I had hoped that Foundry might fill that niche but I find it is too pretentious and expensive.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

hah, "rare"? it's more rare for a restaurant to stay in business :)

Re: tl;dr

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

orleans beer is average priced at best. charlie's in harvard sq charges $5 for a 20oz pour, cambridge common has a number of under $5 craft beers. i can't remember what it was, but something i get often at cc for $4 was $6 at orleans and tasted stale.

i actually haven't been there since rock band ended :)

Re: tl;dr

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I go there all the time, but don't remember that being an issue. Maybe we drink different beer. I was excited, last time I was there, that thet had Sam's Chocolate Bock and Noble Pils on tap, in addition to a Hooker.

[oakenguy.livejournal.com]

Me, too. Isn't that sad? In what other restaurant could a group of 8 theater people do a script read-through at 5pm without having to shout or disturb anyone?

[lizzyclean.livejournal.com]

I knew this was going to happen. Four years ago I actually loved Sagra. They had this pumpkin/squash soup that made me SWOON. Everything else I had there was tasty. The service was spotty but my friends and I always had a good experience. I had a lot of fun times there at birthday dinners, etc. It always seemed to be crowded.
This past Valentine's Day my husband and I decided (at the last minute) to go out to eat, fully expecting to be turned away at every place because we had no reservations. We decided to go to Sagra since we hadn't been there in awhile. Much to our surprise we easily got in. But then we realized why. Menu totally changed, service AWFUL (the waitress was focused on talking to her friends at a nearby spot about her latest booty call,) food forgettable. Even my cocktail sucked. We left talking about how long it would be before they closed.
Thank god for Flatbreads and Posto, my two new favorites.

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

True! I passed by it on the highway on the way to my grandmother's house about a month ago. Since it closed as Finnian's, it also seems kind of a "doomed" spot.

Re: cheap date nights -- we really love the burgers at Boston Burger Co. In the beginning the service was A++++ but it's gone downhill *a bit* -- not enough to keep us away but enough that I wish they'd step up their game again. I don't consider $20/entree to be "cheap" but maybe that's just because I am super, super thrifty. Something like Mother's Bistro & Bar in Portland OR or Primo in Rockland ME (yes, two very different kinds of restaurants) would also do really well in that space with the Davis population.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

What's wrong with burgers and lots of beer?

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

or an opium den

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

They won't be as good as RF O'Sullivans.

[boywonder.livejournal.com]

Now THAT place was great for drinks and cheap food! Of course, it ruined you the next day, but it was definitely worth it. If only it had stayed there...