It’s impossible to fully express how wonderful PAGU is, both as a standalone restaurant and as a wedding venue. As Cambridge residents, we had eaten here with friends and family and knew the food, drinks, and service were excellent, and I hosted a work event with a partial buy out that everyone enjoyed, so it quickly came to the top of our list after we got engaged and were looking into wedding venues.

From the very beginning, the staff, especially event manager Amanda, were so easy to work with, and they were very flexible to make the space, menu, and overall wedding very personal to us. After a cocktail hour with both passed apps and stations, we opted to have a buffet style wedding so we could accommodate a variety of palettes (our families are from different cultures: Chinese/Indonesian and German/Italian), everyone could find something they liked, and we could show off a seafood paella in a large format paella pan. They even offered a Thai pesto dish that is not standard on their menu! They were also extremely conscientious about guests with food allergies, clearly marking them on menus, and even going to specific guests (especially those with celiac disease) and providing separate non-cross contaminated dishes. They also managed the flow of tables and buffet line efficiently and flawlessly, which can’t be overlooked, as we’ve been to weddings where this wasn’t the case. Our guests all told us it was the best wedding food and cocktails they’ve ever had, and we were so excited to share one of our favorite restaurants with them.

The space was perfect for our 110 person wedding. The outdoor patio was a nice space for a cocktail hour and provided a quiet place to hang out when the dance floor later opened. The main restaurant is much larger than it looks, so it manages to feel intimate while still fitting over 100 people without feeling cramped. We had the DJ upstairs in the mezzanine like a real DJ booth, which allowed him to have a great read on the dance floor and assure no one was sitting right in front of a speaker. Finally, they cleared the front two large tables for a dance floor that was plenty large enough for everyone to dance for over 2 hours.

Finally, we were thrilled to use our wedding to support a local business that not only has a mission to serve excellent food and drinks (they’ve received James Beard Award nominations!), but also to build community. Chef/owner Tracy Chang founded several nonprofits during COVID to provide economic relief to restaurant workers and donate meals to hospital workers, and she and PAGU have been hosting roundtable events to start conversations about sustainability, culture, and community. We first heard of PAGU after my sister went to a roundtable event about using invasive green crabs in cooking! We knew hosting a wedding was going to be an investment, and while we would have been so happy choosing PAGU for our wedding for the myriad of reasons above, we felt especially great about putting our investment into a place that cares about the world and community around it. We could not recommend PAGU enough for your wedding!

We cannot recommend Pagu highly enough for your wedding or event. From the very first email, they were unlike any of the venues we had reached out to. Overall, Pagu is flexible, which not only made wedding planning MUCH less stressful, but it made our wedding personal to us. Every time we had a question, they had an answer and a solution. You’re not messing around with rentals for plates, chairs, tables, linens or tons of decor. The space is beautiful and already functions so well as a restaurant, allowing you to just be their guest on your wedding day.

The FOOD! Multiple guests came up to us and said it was the best wedding food they had ever had. Everything was hot, fresh, aesthetically plated and delicious. The family style sharing was relaxed, fun and nobody had to wait in line. The cake was so light and beautifully decorated.

Day-of, what really stood out was the exceptional service and kindness we received from the entire team at Pagu. Everyone who works there was so positive, accommodating, and thoughtful. When I was “hiding” before the ceremony, the team delivered an entire tea/coffee service with some of the food to make sure I got something to eat! When we got back to our hotel, we found a portion of each dish in our fridge, just because they heard we hadn’t finished our second course or dessert while we were socializing. It was above and beyond thoughtful!

Beyond taking extremely good care of us, all of our guests commented that it was one of the most relaxing weddings because the Pagu team thought of everything. At most weddings, there’s not a server checking in with you about your allergies, restrictions, and if you would like a drink. Since Pagu is a restaurant, you get outstanding restaurant-quality service. They even made a last minute, individual substitution for a new dietary restriction on the spot, and allowed that guest to enjoy the food, too! Another huge bonus was there was almost no bar line, since they’re used to making drinks for this many people!

Other highlights of our experience include doing the cocktail creation session with Jimmy. We aren’t big drinkers, so we almost didn’t do this, but we are so glad we did - it was a blast, and the guests loved the personal cocktails. We highly recommend it!

The space is gorgeous, the people are a dream, and the food was outstanding. Amanda (the venue coordinator/manager) was so easy to work with and on top of everything. Even our very traditional families (who were very skeptical when we said we were getting married at a restaurant) said afterwards it was one of the best weddings they’d been to.

All photos are credited to Franzi Annika Photography.

We had our Rehearsal Dinner and Welcome Drinks at PAGU, and it was the perfect setting to welcome our friends and family into the Boston/Cambridge area! We did a four-course family style dinner for our Rehearsal Dinner, and the food was amazing - our guests loved the food and the variety that they were able to try. After the dinner, the PAGU staff helped transition the space into a Welcome Drinks space with drinks and passed appetizers. We loved working with Amanda as our event coordinator to iron out the details leading up to and the day-of the event, and the owner Tracy was present throughout the day to make sure everything tasted great and went smoothly. Thank you again to the PAGU team for helping to make our wedding weekend so memorable!