In a move that feels less like a bar-restaurant opening and more like a beautifully dissonant chord struck in the heart of Central Square, Darling has arrived in Cambridge. The cocktail and dim sum bar — a collaboration between hospitality veterans Brian Callahan and Zimu Chen — opened its doors on July 18 in the former site of the beloved Mary Chung’s. But this is not a revival. This is something altogether stranger and more meticulous.
At its core, Darling is a study in aesthetic tension: a 40-seat lounge wrapped in ambient lighting and cracked-brick charm, with a 16-seat walnut bar lined like a confessional. There’s a mural — not just painted but felt — by Julia Purinton of Medusa Studios, presiding like a patron saint of narrative indulgence.
The name “Darling” is a nod to the adage “kill your darlings,” and that editorial ruthlessness is everywhere: on the rotating cocktail list, in the dim sum that flirts with Americana, and in the space itself, which balances memory and modernism like a tightrope walker holding a lychee martini.
A Cocktail Program That Breathes
This is not your typical Negroni bar. Chen, originally from Nanjing and known for his work at Boston’s Eastern Standard and Mariel, leads a program where cocktails live for one night only. Using techniques like milk-washing, fermentation, and clarification, the drinks arrive as emotional payloads — layered, structured, and never predictable.
Take the Common Trope: jasmine tea–infused vodka, acidified lychee, and cucumber merge in a milk-washed dream that feels like a cold breeze on a humid Shanghai rooftop.
Or Sweep The Leg, a low-ABV, high-complexity number where Valdespino Fino Sherry is frozen and “switched” with tomato water, then fused with Chinese celery–infused vermouth and passionfruit liqueur. It tastes like the best secret in Cambridge.
Then there’s the Holy Trinity — a Gibson-like fever dream of Roku gin fat-washed with ginger, garlic, and spring onions, built with shochu, sherry, and sake. It’s culinary, even carnivorous.
Dim Sum, but Reimagined
Executive chef Mark O’Leary riffs on nostalgia like a jazz soloist — Filet O Fish Bao (yes, with American cheese), and pork ribs braised in Dr Pepper, balanced with crispy taro and sesame. It’s dim sum for people who understand that memory and invention are just two sides of the same bao bun.
Darling isn’t just a bar. It’s a statement. And in a city packed with ghosts and geniuses, it might just be the most thrilling new voice in the room.
For more information on Darling in Cambridge head over to their official website.
