The Middle East, Entertainment complex in Central Square, Cambridge, US
The Middle East is a multi-part complex on Massachusetts Avenue that joins restaurants with concert stages under one roof. The five connected rooms offer food by day and band performances in the evening, often running simultaneously in several halls.
A Lebanese restaurant opened here in 1970 and passed to two brothers five years later, who expanded the premises. The transformation into a music venue with several stages began in the late eighties.
The name recalls its roots as a restaurant serving dishes from the eastern Mediterranean, though American food now also appears on the menu. Visitors often find groups from across the area gathering for concerts in the evening and sitting together in the restaurant spaces afterward.
Each of the three stage rooms has its own entrance, so it helps to check beforehand which hall hosts the event you want to attend. The two restaurants are accessible independently of concerts and work well for a meal before or after the show.
A large-format wall painting has covered the outer wall since 1992, showing different faces and figures. The image was created in the early nineties and has since shaped the streetscape on this stretch of Massachusetts Avenue.
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