hey everyone

[favoritenoodle.livejournal.com]

I'm a 20 year old student moving into Somerville from Winthrop in about a week.

Couple of questions...how's the indian restaurant in town? Diva...I think it's called.

Also, what does everyone like to do?? I'd appreciate any tips!! Thanks!

Comments

Let the Yelpers Yelp!

[righteousness-1.livejournal.com]

http://www.yelp.com/biz/ssCNHfcDUU07kqAYZaY2gQ - Namaskar

http://www.yelp.com/biz/aFG0w3h-fYxsndO1UHUXYQ - Diva

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

There's another Indian restaurant right near it, called Namaskar. Both have good food. Diva's more trendy in its atmosphere.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

yeah, I prefer Namaskar m'self, but I'm just here for the food, as Alton Brown says.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

There are other Indian restaurants in town too, albeit not in Davis. The one in Union Square, I think it's called India Palace or something like that, is quite good.

[nalz.livejournal.com]

+1!

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

+2!

[aki.livejournal.com]

Hell, I prefer Namaskar for the atmosphere. Very genial staff and a relief from that trendy atmosphere.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I agree, I do prefer their atmosphere. I've liked the food at both places, but I've only eaten at Diva once.

[mrcairo.livejournal.com]

Diva is more expensive, more crowded, and the food isn't as good (and it's more variable, both in quality and quantity).

Namaskar is the place to go!

[ursamajor]

Diva's service sucks. Doesn't matter if you're there for lunch buffet or proper dinner, it will take you forever to get some water, or your check at the end of the night. Not sure why anyone bothers with Diva when Namaskar is right down the street.

If you're not that close to Davis, there are still good options - India Palace in Union, Passage to India in Porter, Punjabi Dhaba in Inman, and numerous others in Harvard and Central.

[yakshaver.livejournal.com]

Another rider on the 'Namaskar is better than Diva' bandwagon. If you expand your range to a one-mile radius, many people consider Passage to India in Porter the best of the many standard American-issue Indian restaurant in Camberville. But if you like your Indian with a twist, IMO the best restaurant of any kind in Davis is Marsta on Elm (http://www.boston.com/dining/globe_review/1151), a Tibetan restaurant operated by Tibetans who grew up, and learned to cook, in India.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Diva is horrible (food, service, atmosphere); Namaskar is pretty good (not great, but pretty good and definitely a place to go if you live in the area and want Indian).

[cos]

You might get better answers to the second question if you say what sorts of things you like to do, because then people have some guidance on what to suggest.

[aki.livejournal.com]

There's just something about Diva that makes me feel like I'm being ripped off. The decor is quite nice, really, and the food is perfectly fine. Maybe it's karmic spillover from the Diva Lounge.

[mrpet.livejournal.com]

+3

[mrpet.livejournal.com]

Second for Martsa.

[magpie-leah.livejournal.com]

Did the Martsa people also run that sandwich shop that was on the same block? It started with a B I think and I think it might be closed now. Those were the best sandwiches I've had in a long time.

[m-b-w.livejournal.com]

Yes, the Bhoja Cafe (which is sadly no more) was run by the same family as Martsa's On Elm.

[veek.livejournal.com]

I was pretty impressed with Namaskar's food, but believe you if you say there are better places. Now, what *are* those better places, vaguely in the area? :)

Inquiring mouths want to know.

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

And, uh, four.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

I also like Namaskar better than Diva. There's also a tasty Bengali place (much like Indian) on Mass. Ave. near the intersection with Day St. (a couple doors down from a little quick-mart).

Fun things to do: hang out in the Square during summer evenings, people-watch, listen to people playing music, and eat ice cream. Browse Mac & Moore, trying not to break bank.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

The prices ARE high for what you get, IMO.

[ron_newman]

That's closed; I believe they plan to expand Martsa into that space.

[ron_newman]

A fun thing to do in Davis: candlepin bowling at Sacco's Bowl-Haven on Day Street.

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

IAWTC. Namaskar has better food, better service and...well...better food. They're priced about the same. Actually, Namaskar's menu is more impressive too.

Diva Lounge is a nice place to relax though. And even though their drinks are expensive as sin, their tapas are really good and the drinks themselves are heavenly.

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

Besides Namaskar, I second Maristas on Elm for Tibetan. And if you walk 5 minutes out toward Teele, Sabur is really good too. It's more of a Mediterranean style menu, but their lounge is comfortable and their food is yummy. I would also suggest going into Charlestown (on the corner of Main and Monument Ave) for Moroccan food that is out of this world at Tangierino.

As for the second question...we usually go to the beach in Newburyport on Saturdays. We wander downtwon Boston, the North End, shop in Haymarket, sit on the wall behind the aquarium, drjink coffee there and watch the boats.

In other words, what we do for fun usually does not involve partying in Davis Square every night. There's so much more to do in so many other places.

But movies at the theater in Davis are fun. And shopping at Poor Little Rich Girl, McIntyres Books and wrapping it up at our favorite local bar are sometimes in order.

[obie119.livejournal.com]

India Palace in Union is my favorite Indian in the area. Very friendly staff too - we call it "flirty Indian"

One day I'll be flattened and made into a tourist pamphlet.

[voynaren.livejournal.com]

Diva has good food and a trendy atmosphere, but it's also expensive, and the service is nothing to write home about. If you're willing to go a little further from Davis and from the cuisine of India, there's an Afghan restaurant (http://www.alibabatandoor.com/) on the corner of Walden and Mass. Ave. in Cambridge from which I've gotten delicious take-out. It's right across the street from The Elephant Walk (http://www.elephantwalk.com/CAMBRIDGE/index.htm), which is a reputedly excellent Cambodian restaurant.

As for activities beyond just lazing about Davis Square:

Outdoors
•The Charles River Esplanade is popular in good weather.
•Dannehy Park in North Cambridge (big hill, much grass, small swamp) is nice in both good weather and in snow.
•Taking a ferry out on the harbor is nice in the heat of summer.
•Bike paths: The Minuteman bike path will take you all the way to Lexington if you're able -- or just as far as the ice cream shop if you aren't. Although that path ends in North Cambridge, there's a continuation that goes through Somerville.

Indoors
•Museums: Natural History/Peabody, MFA, Science Museum, Gardner, etc.
•Movie theaters: The theater in Davis Square has both films and live performances. In Harvard Square are the Brattle Theater (old and new films, with related events), the Loews theater (midnight showings of Rocky Horror every Saturday), and the Harvard Film Archive. The Capitol Theater in Arlington plays second runs for cheap tickets. The Kendall Square cinema plays indie and foreign films. There are IMAX theaters at the Science Museum and the Aquarium.
•Music: There are a number of clubs in Central Square, some larger venues on Lansdowne St., and the Longy School of Music frequently puts on performances of classical music, sometimes for free.
•Bookstores: A partial list includes McIntyre and Moore (high quality used books) in Davis; in Harvard Square, the Harvard Bookstore (general bookstore, with a used section downstairs), Schoenhof's (books in and about foreign languages), and The Globe Corner (travel books); in Central Square, Pandemonium (science fiction) and another used bookstore, Rodney's. For newspapers, Out of Town News, right outside Harvard Station, has exactly what you'd expect.
•Libraries: Somerville's libraries are on the Minuteman Network which covers the collections of a large number of the libraries in eastern Mass., including a good selection of books-on-tape and movies. The Boston Public Library is available to any Massachusetts resident. You can also browse the various university libraries because they -- with the sole exception of Harvard -- fail to screen out the unwashed masses at the door.

[voynaren.livejournal.com]

Have you had a good experience with the Bengali place? I ate there once and got take-out there once, and in each case both the service and the food were beyond awful.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

I ate there with some friends about a month and a half ago. The food was tasty, and I don't remember anything in particular about the service, so it must have been okay. As far as I can recall, everyone else was content with their orders. (There's another Bengali place a couple blocks from MIT on Mass. Ave. that has tastier food.)