by Alice Bartram ·
Friday, June 21, 2024
Recently, I was intrigued to see a new name on the former Carlin’s pub in Ayer. So when out-of-town friends stayed with us on a Friday for an event we all were attending the next day, The Pleasant Cafe was an easy choice for dinner as it was close and had a menu that was appealing to all four of us.
When we arrived (slightly late, as I insisted on driving our friends past some of the sights of Harvard), the weather had turned cool, so we asked for inside seating instead of the outdoor table I had reserved for 6:30. The Pleasant team happily accommodated the change. The place had a buzz, though it appeared that many parties were leaving or had left as there were several tables available.
Ayer is the second Pleasant Cafe location. The original cafe, in Maynard, has been run by the Dzerkacz family since 1945. According to our very pleasant and chatty server—who said he’s been with the cafe for a number of years—The Pleasant Cafe started as a bar only. Given that the Maynard location is just a few minutes walk from the mills, I could imagine that back in the day it was popular for a beer after work. The server explained that, as time went on, the family started serving food, morphing into more cafe than bar, though the bar remains a fixture.
Knowing the restaurant business can be tough, it’s impressive that the cafe is coming on 80 years in business and has expanded to Ayer.
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As our friends had had a long drive, the first order of business was to get ourselves a frosty beverage. The Pleasant Cafe offers a good range of bottled and draft beer, along with wines and cocktails. Our group enjoyed a bottle of Yuengling, draft Fiddlehead IPA, Wachusett Blood Orange, and a glass of sauvignon blanc. We were soon all relaxing into the comfortable, homey vibe. TV screens were playing sports, adding to the atmosphere.
For food, we started with the sheet pan nachos, which featured house-made tortilla chips and was served with ramekins of guacamole and sour cream. A crisp and tasty way to start the meal, though I prefer melted cheese to the creamy queso on these chips. Still, we polished them off.
After considering two intriguingly different possibilities, the burrata prosciutto sandwich and the Cuban Missile (a “Cubano” variant with prosciutto and pulled pork served on a French roll), I went with the burrata prosciutto (burrata, prosciutto, tomato, and arugula on a ciabatta roll with fig jam, pesto, and a balsamic glaze). The sandwich offered lots of squishy burrata, almost overwhelming the prosciutto, and the fig jam flavor really shone through. It was a hearty sandwich that I could barely finish.
My husband ordered the bourbon chicken sandwich, as he didn’t see the Nashville hot variant he had seen on the online menu. The server explained it was still available, but my husband stuck with the bourbon chicken, which he enjoyed immensely, noting the tangy sauce.
Our friends spoke highly of their choices: The fried chicken sandwich and the pulled pork flatbread (one of four flatbread options) featuring BBQ pulled pork, red onions, shredded cheese, chipotle aioli, and cilantro.
The guys got fries as their sides (our friend opting for the truffle version), while I chose a side salad, which was crisp and fresh. There are 11 side choices, including watermelon, which is a refreshingly high number of choices to round out a sandwich meal.
Besides flatbreads and sandwiches, the menu includes six meal-sized salads and entrees ranging from salmon to steak tips to shrimp scampi. In short, there is a lot of choice, and the menu should satisfy almost any craving.
If you are looking for a tasty and quick bite close by, with a homey atmosphere, check out The Pleasant Cafe near the train station in Ayer.
Alice Bartram leaves much of the cooking to her husband, though she has many Instagram-saved recipes that she’ll get to one day as, really, she finds eating out more fun than cooking.