Take a first look at Milk Bar and &pizza, opening in Harvard Square this weekend
Score soft serve for $1 and pizza pies for $5 on opening day.
It’s been a year and a half since it was first announced that Milk Bar, Christina Tosi’s whimsical bakery, and &pizza, the DC-based pizzeria from CEO and co-founder Michael Lastoria, would be moving into a shared space in Harvard Square. But come Saturday, Feb. 2, the anticipated wait for crack pie and American honey pizza is over: The two restaurants will open at 11 a.m., and there are plenty of reasons why you might want to brave the cold to wait in line for this debut.
Known for its party-like atmospheres on opening day, Milk Bar — which recently opened a location in Los Angeles and has additional outposts in New York City, Las Vegas, Toronto, and Washington, D.C. — will offer Cereal Milk Soft Serve with Cornflake Crunch for $1. The first 100 customers in line will receive limited-edition tote bags with treats and other surprises. &pizza, which has multiple locations in Maryland, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and Virginia, will offer $5 pizzas all day, like the Maverick, a pie for meat lovers.
American Honey at &pizza.
With a hot pink ceiling and black and white-striped walls, the combo store gives off a Beetlejuice-meets-Lisa-Frank-wonderland vibe. Tosi and Lastoria both said that they want this joint space, and their own businesses, to redefine the term “chain.”
“The spirit of this store is meant to be a combo store, which is super-duper old school,” Tosi said.
Lastoria echoed Tosi’s sentiments, saying the spot was “built for this community.”
“We’re sitting in the middle of an old school QSR [Quick Service Restaurant] combo play with a modern food hall,” Lastoria said. “I think when people come into this space, they’re going to see that there’s an authenticity.”
Interior of Milk Bar.
At Milk Bar, guests can order Tosi’s signature cookies, cakes, and shakes, in addition to her insanely addictive crack pie and cult-favorite cereal milk. There’s also a signature Boston item: the Boston Cream Pie Milkquake, made with fudge sauce, cereal milk soft serve, and yellow cake pieces.
“I think it’s very hard to be a pastry chef and not love Boston cream pie,” Tosi said. “As we were talking through what makes up my favorite parts of a Boston cream pie — we ate way too many — we landed on this milkquake. There are swirls of liquid cheesecake [in it]. Why does everyone bake their cheesecake until it’s set? They’re so much better when you underbake it.”
The dish also includes swirls of chocolate chips, vanilla cake, and fudge sauce, which Tosi said has a “nostalgic sheen.”
At &pizza, customers can craft their own pies or order any of the hits, which include the American Honey with pepperoni and hot honey, the Gnarlic with garlic ricotta and basil pesto, and the Pineapple Jack, which is the restaurant’s take on a Hawaiian pizza.
Check out photos of the space below.
Milk Bar.
Michael Lastoria and Christina Tosi are opening a combo store in Harvard Square.
Milk Bar swag.
Milk Bar.
Milk Bar and &pizza.
Milk Bar and &pizza; 1-3 Brattle St., Cambridge; Milk Bar: Sundays–Thursdays from 7 a.m.–midnight, Fridays and Saturdays from 7 a.m.–2 a.m.; &pizza: Sundays–Wednesdays from 11 a.m.–midnight, Thursdays–Saturdays from 11 a.m.–2 a.m.; milkbarstore.com, andpizza.com
