Redbones BBQ Bar / Restaurant

Cambridge / Somerville, Boston –

Southern hospitality may be hard to come by up North, but Redbones BBQ brings it to Boston in spades.

Popular with artsy college kids and young professionals, the restaurant – adorned with old photos of barbecues, homemade signs, and autographed snapshots of R&B singers – sees a good crowd at lunch as lively groups fill the tables in the fast-paced dining room to chat over pulled pork and corn pudding, or pack into the counter seats overlooking the open kitchen.

The restaurant’s unfussy bar hosts a hodgepodge of local business people and musician types, who settle in for a quick bite, an upbeat first date, or an evening of sampling the twenty-four brews on tap.

A slightly younger clientele looking for a homey drinking den can head downstairs to Underbones, a dimly-lit bar where frolicsome preppies and Tufts students meet up and get loose, as raucous groups celebrate birthdays by pounding deliciously quirky Southern cocktails like mint juleps, Swedish lemonades, and any of the eight types of margaritas.

With a spicy menu and a high-energy vibe steeped in Southern flavor, Redbones BBQ is definitely a spot where the good times roll.