Toad

History

Toad is a tiny listening room at 1920 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge’s Porter Square, long known for nightly local bands in a bar that historically charged no cover. The original room closed in 2023. In 2024, Burren owners Tommy McCarthy and Louise Costello bought Toad and the neighboring former Christopher’s restaurant, reopening both in April 2025 as McCarthy’s & Toad. Toad’s compact stage, with a capacity of about 72, now hosts late-night blues, rock, and singer-songwriters, while McCarthy’s next door runs nightly Irish sessions.