Where to Juliet, a restaurant and cafe in Somerville’s Union Square from Joshua Lewin and Katrina Jazayeri. The pair has operated several pop-ups around town, and Lewin was formerly at Beacon Hill Bistro. This is their first brick-and-mortar location.
What for Breakfast tacos, lunch sandwiches, early-bird dinners (Juliet closes at 7), and gracious hospitality in a sunny, open space that used to be Sherman Cafe.
The scene Dark blue curtains at the entrance are pulled open in the unseasonable warmth. White walls are decorated with hanging branches, and copper pots are tucked into nooks. A stack of cookbooks — “Prune,’’ “My Bread’’ — sits atop a counter reserved for people eating prix fixe breakfasts of soft-boiled eggs and toast with jam. (These rotate frequently; on another visit, you might find a Japanese breakfast to pair with Juliet’s matcha service; pictured.) Toscanini’s founder Gus Rancatore perches on a metal stool, chatting with Lewin. Union Square denizens on laptops are seated at tables, tucking into scones, coffee steaming beside them. By the register, the counter is laden with fruit; a woman with a blond bob wearing American flag sneakers orders. Staffers in black aprons work in the open kitchen to a soundtrack of classic rock. When Queen sings, “Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me,’’ they put down knives and stop kneading dough for a moment of impromptu headbanging.
What you’re eating In the morning: breakfast tacos, eggs and salsa folded into rustic corn tortillas. Muffins and scones of various flavors, most made in house. Toast topped with avocado, grapefruit, and fennel or cured salmon, tamarind, and yogurt; quinoa breakfast bowls. In the afternoon, perhaps a sandwich of ham on baguette slathered thick with radish butter, a smear of mustard on the plate beside a pile of greens, or a lobster roll on saffron brioche. Dinner options, coming soon, range from cauliflower roti to ragu alla Bolognese with burnt lemon tagliatelle.
Care for a drink? Options include coffee, tea, and jewel-toned house-made sodas in flavors like sumac and tamarind.
Overheard Cheerful chatter about pastries, yoga, work, and happiness. “What are you eating?’’ a guy inquires of the woman at an adjacent stool. “Ricotta fennel muffin,’’ she says. He nods. “I’ve got a black sesame something.’’ “Let’s split the breakfast tacos,’’ a bescarfed and bespectacled patron suggests. “They only come with one coffee, and I will fight you for it,’’ replies her friend. “Michael Penn is still married to Aimee Mann,’’ someone marvels. “Isn’t that nice?’’ A man regales a group at a table, in language laden with adverbs: “He is contagiously excited. It will be undeniably successful.’’ Not everyone is as fired up, but there is comfort: “He’s going to see Janet Yellen,’’ a woman says. “When you need a boost, you go see Janet Yellen.’’
257 Washington St., Union Square, Somerville, 617-718-0958, www.julietsomerville.com.
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @devrafirst.
