The Kendall Square restaurant scene is on a tear lately. In the past few months there have been a bunch of new restaurants opening. We’ve got Area IV, Kika, and Firebrand Saints but my favorite addition is Catalyst. Before the opening I read somewhere that William Kovel was behind the restaurant, which left me with some high expectations.

I have now had a few meals at Catalyst, from lunch the week it opened through dinner last weekend. Overall I have been very pleased. The food has always been fantastic, but the service on one occasion was terrible. Service still seems to be the downfall, during my last visit the table next to mine got the wrong meals and failed to receive the appetizers they ordered.

Starters at Catalyst are a fairly typical mix of soups and salads with the occasional special thrown in like salt cod fritters. The signature salad is a mix of arugula, mild blue cheese, pears and candied nuts. It is full of flavor but the concept is uninspiring. A much better salad choice is the roasted beets with goat cheese croquettes. The beets are roasted until just tender and served room temperature with a small pile of dressed greens. The croquettes are warm and delicately ooze cheese when burst. The combination is a delicious well balanced salad.

Another creative starter is the Jerusalem artichoke soup with lobster meat. The soup is a fairly thick mixture with a heavy dose of cream and butter. The lobster meat is an added bonus, the soup is delicious and complex without any garnish.

Catalyst offers a wide selection of main courses, including meat, fish, vegetarian and full portions of house made pasta as well. The chicken dish is served with an intoxicating chicken jus and “drippings” potatoes that pick up their flavor by catching roasting juices underneath the rotisserie. The pork chop comes with a pile of house-made sauerkraut and buttery spätzle that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The pork is a hefty cut, served on the bone, and cooked to leave just a bit of pink inside.

The dessert menu has a handful of interesting options but none that stand out (to me, anyway) more than the butterscotch pudding. A generous portion is served in a bowl topped with chopped nut brittle and whipped cream. On the side are batons of pound cake, deep fried in olive oil. Gluttonous? Yes. But overwhelmingly delicious as well. The pudding is understandably rich, but somehow the pound cake pieces offer a counterpoint and come off like high quality french toast sticks.

Catalyst is a fantastic addition to the Kendall Square restaurant scene. The interior design is a professional mix of cold concrete and warm recycled barn boards. Service can be spotty, but if you get Juan as your server everything should be smooth. Although certainly not an inexpensive restaurant, Catalyst offers good value. I think I will be making a habit of having dinner in the area more often.