Noir at the Charles Hotel

This sleek hideaway is easy to overlook alongside more assiduously hyped neighbors like OM, Rialto, and UpStairs on the Square — a lonely merchant of chiaroscuro glamour amidst the increasingly shopping-mall-like environs of Harvard Square. But NOIR AT THE CHARLES HOTEL serves its audience well — folks looking for a few well-made shaker cocktails that lurch toward craft territory without getting too self-serious, and maybe some upmarket bar bites, including an attractively priced weeknight happy-hour menu with terrific flatbread pizzas. A combination of deep, high-backed booths and very dim lighting combine to make Noir a very swank kind of make-out bar.

NOIR AT THE CHARLES HOTEL | One Bennett Street, Cambridge | 617.661.8010 | noir-bar.com