Cafe de Boston – Eatery & Catering

I like food courts like these because I like eating a variety of things in small portions. These days, restaurants overcharge for quantity… not cool.
This is a great place to eat especially if you work in the area. You can also pick what you feel like eating that day.
The food here is pretty good, but nothing spectacular. I just like the concept!

Dismal service, almost no point to having staff, as they were rude and inattentive.
Ignored by staff member as I stood directly in front of him waiting for the food I had paid for already.

I did the «Make Your Own Pasta» choice for my first ever visit. I was overwhelmed at first figuring out the whole place and it was a bit confusing but with some time I figured it all out and was excited to have found this place! I got the linguine, chicken, & spicy arrabiata sauce. I enjoyed watching my food be cooked and the care that was taken to put it all together. The sauce was pleasantly spicy, but a little on the spicier end of what I was expecting (I love spice so it was not a problem for me). The portions are quite large and I have leftovers now for my lunch tomorrow, so it is super handy for that! The garlic bread on the side was a BIG surprise, no really, it is a small loaf of bread! I am looking forward to coming back here and trying the various other options and stations. Very clean, friendly staff and a nice location.

Great variety of fixings at the salad bar, influenced by turkish-​middle eastern cuisine. The soups are good as well. I recently tried make-​your-​own pasta, and was very happy with the meal I got. The only confusing thing about the place is how many cashiers are available. Other than that, I am a visitor 2 out of 5 days at the week, and have not yet been disappointed with what I’ve had.

I’ve been here a few times.
The breakfast sandwiches are disappointing. They use a spicy chicken sausage rather than regular sausage patties.
The prepared food is hit or miss, with more misses than hits. I find that it’s generally rather bland.
I decided to try their soups for the first time today. I had the chili. It’s overly tomato based with very little beef in it and way too watery

Too expensive and the staff is kinda cold. But the egg sandwich is pretty good.

I realy love this place. Salads are great. It makes happy that the store is clean and you feel it when you are in.
By the way, 30% off after 2:30pm. The best foods are gone before 1:30 pm.
It is sometimes confusing where I will get what I want from. But it is Ok though.
I liked the additional part of the store. It is nice to have a rest at a break time.

Walking into this place can overwhelm and confuse a neophyte but one can quickly figure out the various stations. However, at that point, the choices can cause you to run from section to section trying to decide if being healthy with a salad is better (pasta salad is totally good for you, right?) or just go gangbusters with a cheeseburger club and fries… maybe some falafel and fro-​yo on the side.
Prices are quite reasonable but I can see how the salad bar might add up. Although, you are still putting over 1 pound of food inside your belly regardless if it is cucumbers and tofu with greens or a 16 ounce steak. Just saying.
Also, the chairs are scooped in such a fashion you cannot sit comfortably sideways (tried to slide in that way and failed) and it feels as if it is cradling your bum/​hips. Not entirely sure I am sold on them. But thumbs up as a lunch place.

One of the places I go to take a salad. You have a lot of different vegetables and options to make your own salad, you can mix them as you want to.
The price depends on how much the salad weights, so the more it weigh the more expensive.
The vegetables and food look fresh, at least in the salad area.

I’ve only been here once, but can see myself coming back many more times to try out all the different options.
For a place that’s in the heart of downtown, during the lunch rush, they handled volume surprisingly well. Probably because there’s 4 or 5 different food stations, that all look equally appetizing.
I decided to go for a Indian-​inspired chicken wrap. The name escapes me at the moment. But anyway, I was able to add a ton of veggies, for no extra charge. That was nice. Although the amount of options I had to choose from was a bit too long for me to remember while I was ordering. It would have been nice to have a menu or some sort of form I could fill out to customize my wrap.
It looked like they had a salad bar, mezze bar, and options for sandwiches too. It was basically a miniature cafeteria. Had a bunch of seating too!

I love the create your own pasta station, where you can select a protein, three toss ins (mostly vegetables), and what kind of sauce and type of pasta (I go with whole wheat penne). There are tons of options, with the salad bar, a hot food bar, the pasta/​pizza/​crêpe section and all of the other lunch/​sandwich combinations. The smoothie station was kind of a bust. Overpriced, and too much mild was used, so it was watered down and all the excess was thrown out. Interestingly enough, there is a free phone charging station.

So now that they’ve changed their salads to a salad bar where they weigh it instead of how it was previously (mixing it up for you with unlimited toppings and one standard ‘salad price’), I have given up on Café de Boston for my salads. It used to be a decent deal but not anymore now that it is weighed. It’s silly that cheap stuff like beans will weigh down my salad when previously I didn’t have to worry about this. So, meh.
Also, I was starving one morning and went to get an egg sandwich for breakfast. You can add in 3 veggies for no additional cost, so I did. When I opened up my sandwich it had some unidentifiable meat in it (I think it was sliced up meatballs? But who knows. It looked so gross). This kinda sucked becasue I’m a vegetarian and clearly didn’t ask for random unidentifiable meat in my egg sandwich that cost $ 4. Next time I’ll just burn my money instead.
The only thing I do like is their mezze bar. While expensive (again, because it’s weighed), it does have some good options and is great if you’re just looking for a variety of stuff. Just be prepared to pay $ 12 for lunch.

I used to really love this place — you could go in, order a great salad that someone put together for you with unlimited toppings, a choice of protein, a pita, plus falafel, all for a great price. They recently changed over to completely self service, including a self serve salad bar. The price was quite expensive, and if you want to include everything you used to, it ends up being a $ 13 dollar salad. Compared to Boston kebab, where you get TWO proteins, and everything else, at $ 8.00, this is a steal.
I am not saying anything bad about the food, service, or cleanliness but in regards to the pricing, it is outrageous. That is why I am giving it a 3 star. Go somewhere else for your salads.

+close to my house
+many choices
+pizza is tasty
–closes early
–somewhat too bright
–unclear which register corresponds to which section

Just came here for the first time for lunch today. Was impressed!
1. As others have said, they have a ridiculous variety of food! From kebabs to comfort food to froyo, they seriously have everything.
2. Huge seating area; some by the window which is fun for people watching!
3. Staff is super friendly and helpful.
I got the roasted cod, mashed potatoes and tons of veggies. Everything was delicious — the cod was a bit tougher than I like, but still decent!

Amazing selection and great quality!
About the food: You can find a lot of different food, from buffalo chicken pizza to a tasty salad. I really like getting any of their pastas. They make them in front of you! That’s fun, but just be ready to wait about 7 – 10 min for them (longer if there is a line). I also like their hot bar, which includes falafel, veggies, and protein!
About the service: The people working the pasta and pizza side are really nice and patient. The workers working the juices and other desserts (to the left of the pasta line) can be unnecessarily sassy. I asked for a smoothie last time, and before I had the chance to say what kind… lady went on a rant about how there are different types. I thought, «well no shit, let me finish.» I said, «strawberry and banana.» Overall, their service is okay… I’ll give it 3.5 stars.

Skip the smoothies.
For $ 5.50 for a 16 oz. or $ 7 for 24 oz., you get to select 2 fruits or veggies, a milk/​yogurt, and a juice. I ordered a blueberry spinach yogurt smoothie, and the cashier asked if I wanted a juice, since it needed some liquid. I said sure, just a little bit of orange juice. Well, the smoothie was made with a full cup of OJ, ice, a spoonful of yogurt, and about 8 blueberries and 4 baby spinach leaves. Needless to say, it basically ended up being a milky-​looking cup of orange juice. It tasted awful, and was definitely not worth the price.
Before Unilocaling about the bad experience, I emailed management, and got a prompt and very apologetic response from the company president. He offered me a free smoothie, so I went back and tried again. Same order, but without the juice. Again, I was told the smoothie needed some liquid, so I went with coconut water. Unfortunately, the 2^nd attempt wasn’t much better. The smoothie consisted of a LOT of ice, a lot of liquid, and just not much in the way of substance or flavor. By freezing the fruit in advance, you can completely eliminate the need for all that ice, which just dilutes the smoothie! I guess ice is cheaper than blueberries, so they prefer to bulk the smoothies up with ice and skimp on the good stuff, but the result is a bland, overpriced smoothie.
Despite 2 bad smoothies, I’m giving 3 stars because I appreciate and value the merchant’s response and effort to correct the situation. And the cafeteria is large, bright, clean, and modern, and service is reasonably fast.

An amazing amount of food ~ if you cannot find something to eat here, you just cannot be satisfied.
A friend suggested this (he is there often because they have gluten-​free bread) so we could grab lunch quickly and sit outside on a gorgeous Spring day. I was overwhelmed by how much there was to choose from, so decided to just hit the cold/​hot buffets (7.99lb) and try a few things. I can see how it could get pricey since it is by weight, so if I were here regularly I might stick to pizza, or come mid-​afternoon when the salad bar is 30% off (now THAT is a deal). However, my friend was paying, so when in Rome…
It was pretty packed at 12:15, but lines moved quickly so you can just get to your food and enjoy.

Your standard corporate lunch spot.
The perk of this place is that after 2:30 PM, they offer their salad bar at 30% off. It’s a great option if you usually eat a late lunch, or would want something to save as dinner for later on. I usually stack up on hearty things like their pasta salads, chicken, and protein options to get my money’s worth.

I noticed what I had deemed to be a competitor to Boston Kebab House in the past, but I hadn’t realized just how close a fight it was!
They both offer Mediterranean cuisine. You can’t miss the buffet station since it is after all set right along the window. But until I actually set foot in this establishment, I hadn’t realized that they also had a tossed salad bar with your choice of two proteins and all you can select toss-​ins for $ 7.94 which was quite reminiscent of the unique (but not so unique anymore, I guess) option at BKH (and their sister? restaurant — Café Hemshin).
Spinning away from clone-​hood of BKH, Café de Boston offers in addition a pastry case of American and Italian sweets, made-​to-​order pasta for $ 7.95, pizzas both thick and thin crust, and fro-​yo.
Yes, options galore!
But I’ve only so far sampled the soup, and had a chicken, broccoli, tomato, mushroom, bowtie, alfredo entrée. A pretty good portion for about $ 8.
I like how they have Purell available everywhere. A decent amount of seating is available in the center area, with nicely curved plastic chairs. And their froyo is 49 cents per ounce.
Advertised on their website and on the buffet placard, the self-​serve bar (minus the soups, which are $ 2.94 for a cup or $ 3.95 for a bowl) are discounted 30% after 2:30pm from their normal $ 7.99/lb price. Hmmm… dinner?