The Hourly Oyster House

The Hourly Oyster House is a vibrant neighborhood seafood restaurant and bar on Dunster Street in the heart of Harvard Square. Its kitchen focuses on thoughtfully sourced, playfully prepared oysters and seafood from New England and beyond, and a carefully crafted list of signature cocktails, beer and wine rounds out the menu. The restaurant aims to blend the square’s historic charm with a contemporary experience.

The name recalls a piece of local transit history. Dunster Street, known as Water Street in colonial times for its closeness to the old Charles River banks, was the Cambridge meeting point for horse-drawn wagons called “Hourlies,” which left for Boston every hour starting in 1826, one of the first high-frequency transit routes in America. The restaurant’s building has its own past, including the original Second Cambridge Savings Bank and, for 27 years, Herrell’s ice cream shop.

What to Know

• Reservations are available, and the restaurant serves brunch on weekends plus lunch on weekdays.
• The site is rumored to be where the first Freeman’s Oath was printed in 1639.
• Catering and special events are offered, and the space is listed as an event venue.