Haymarket Café and Restaurant

As I stood in line for my café mocha at Haymarket the other day I witnessed an encouraging sign for humanity: the barista having a genial conversation with a man waiting for his coffee and slice of cake. Judging by the manner of their banter, he was a regular. They chatted pleasantly about Northampton events and their lives, using first names all the while. After she had made her goodbyes with Mr. piece of cake, the barista, a woman in her twenties with large doe eyes, a messy bun, and clink-y jewelry, swept her giant smile over to me, and asked with overwhelming friendliness “was that mocha a small or medium?”

At Haymarket, they serve up more than really delicious free-trade coffee in radiating warmth. Downstairs is a hidden gem of a restaurant, with fare ranging from classic sandwiches to curry to seasonal pasta dishes. You seat yourself at small wooden tables without tablecloths, grab a menu, and when you’ve chosen (a process that took my friends and I about twenty minutes), place your order at a counter, behind which two women are working to prepare your food. Once your order is up, you collect it from the window, and when you’re done eating, you bus your own table.

The selection was so tantalizing that I had to make a vow to myself that I would come back to try everything on the menu before the year was out. I ended up settling on pasta alla norma: house-made linguini with roasted tomatoes, eggplant, olives, fresh herbs and a spicy tomato sauce. My friends chose: 1) pasta primavera- house-made linguini with summer squash, roasted tomatoes, pine nuts, and basil in a creamy sauce, 2) spicy curry with peas, zucchini, and mushrooms in a ginger coconut sauce, and 3) a heaping spinach and beet salad with roasted goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and walnuts. The food was both light and satisfying, and you could taste the quality of the fresh ingredients. As an added bonus, the menu doesn’t hit too hard on your wallet (an important factor for us college kids); entrees are about $6-$10, but if you want something with a little more substance, you might have to go up to $12.

Below is a photo of the pasta primavera: