The Federal

RIP Federal
I used to eat here 2+ times a week. This place was awesome. Missing the buffalo sandwich.

RIP The Federal. Your pizza and sandwiches were the best and you will be missed.

This place is just okay. I’ve had lunch here twice recently.
One afternoon I chose the Waldorf salad. It was filled with mesclun, and the usual apples, walnuts, some dried canberries and bleu cheese chunks but the 7 dollars they charge is too high for the portion size and overall quality.
It was the kind of lunch that left me wishing I had thought to brown-​bag it that day. It was tasty and had promise but the too spendy part is what left a bad taste in my mouth.
Not to be too nit-​picky but the apples were also haphazardly sliced and arranged. Some pieces were thin, others way too thick. Worse, some of the apple slices had brown spots on them.
The net effect was of a salad more thrown together than composed. I know this isn’t meant to be fine dining but I do expect a certain amount of care to be taken by those who are making any kind of food.
The balsamic dressing I chose, was a bit lackluster. It needed more punch from spices and a better oil.
On another visit I tried the plain cheese pizza sold by the slice. At $ 1.99 a slice this was a better value as the slice was generous.
However, as it was only mediocre the better price point was negated.
Neither the sauce nor the crust was particularly notable and in a pizza I look for excellence in these two areas in particular. It was also delivered to me just warm.
If a pizza is really excellent, you can eat it at room temperature or even cold and it will still be good. This needed to be piping hot and fresher. At that price point, I think they did an average job but I’d rather they charged a little more and improved their technique.
There are several salad options, a number of sandwiches and a few kinds of pizza by the pie or by the slice.
Service is hit or miss. It’s unclear though, who’s running the show in there which is a bit of an issue. During the last visit I overheard two different people complaining that their orders were not complete.
No one is particularly welcoming either and when I feel no enthusiasm from staff, wherever that may be, I end up wondering why I’m bothering.
There are a few spots where you can sit down to eat, but as with many other Cambridge St. establishments, it’s best to think of this as take-​out.
I do believe I’ve had my fill of The Federal. With so many other options in the area, I’ll go elsewhere when in need of a quick lunch.

I think if you at any point in your life lived in NYCity or its suburbs you will never be truly satisfied getting a sandwich anywhere else…
That being said. this place is especially bad. Don’t try to order a breaded cutlet with bacon and cheddar on a roll off the menu– they can’t figure it out.
I don’t even remember what I got the second time there but I DO remember the black hair I found in it.

I spent 8 days coming and going from MGH in support of my wife and newbie, and familiarized myself with Cambridge street’s offerings. I sampled Federal twice, and was not wowed, but wasnt disgusted either –just blah.
The Federal is a little pizza and deli shop with clean basic décor and a menu that leans towards the creative. I thought I would like it. I didnt.
Cant vouch for the pizza, but the sandwiches I had were underwhelming: the Italian was dry and light on everything (meat, cheese, veggies, dressing) and the BBQ, chicken, avocado deal was soggy and just tasted sort of off.
Add a kind of snooty attitude from the counter staff, and I closed the case on this joint.

Just an ordinary pizza place. We had their Buffalo Chicken Pizza and was average, nothing that blew my mind away.
They got our order wrong and charged us for a large, they didn’t refund us, instead gave us two bottles of OJ, not sure if that’s what I would call customer service, but it was nice gesture I guess

This is officially our new delivery sandwich place. We ordered from here through Foodler last weekend opting to «build our own sandwiches» and crossed our fingers they would be as awesome as they sounded.
Mine: Roast beef, pickles, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo and mustard on an Asiago Cheese Bulkie. Amazing. And it was huge! The bread was the perfect combo of crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. Not going to lie, they should probably name this sandwich after me.
His: BBQ pulled pork, roasted tomatoes, bbq sauce, sauteed onions and mushrooms on Sourdough. He regretted not getting the Asiago Cheese Bulkie that I got when he realized the bbq had substantially weakened his bread.
Coleslaw? Not so much. Potato Salad? They were purple and overcooked and way too mushy, but I liked that they were purple. Foodler delivered fast and we were stuffed after lunch.
I’ll repeat, this is officially our new delivery sandwich place.

A coworker of mine brought me here today for lunch. I had the Bay State sandwhich and it was fantastic. The sandwhich was large, very full of meat and cheese. The vegetables were fresh and crisp. When I asked the clerk for a bread suggestion, not only did he give me one, he told me why he thought that bread would go best.
The only reason I gave them four instead of five stars was because the service was a little slow. We were the only customers at the time and it still took almost ten minutes for our orders to be ready.

I had the italian on ciabetta bread and it was amazing. they marinated their mushrooms, and onions and grilled their tomatos. the flavor of the sandwhich is unreal. cant wait to go back.

I might give the Federal 3 stars for food, because it’s FINE… but some of the employees have attitude problems. When I was picking up my order (which took 15 minutes to make, even though I was the only customer and ordered a sandwich), I handed the guy behind the counter the receipt that had my order number on it, only to be told rudely «There’s a trash can behind you.»
Also, the prices are a little high — I could spend $ 3 and make the same sandwich at home. Nothing special going on. And they butter the bread, which makes the sandwiches kind of greasy in my opinion. I love butter, but not when I already have cheese and mayo on the sandwich. It’s just a bit much.

When the Federal first opened, it was a welcome replacement to Venice, the awful establishment that preceded it. It looks brighter, newer, and cleaner. It also has better TVs to watch while you’re waiting. Thanks for that, The Federal.
Onto the food. The pizza is quite good. Artisan creations set it apart from your typical city pizza joint. It’s no Upper Crust, but a good alternative. I love the Confederal — pork, chicken, bbq and mozzarella. If you’re in a meat-​lovers mood, the Wall Street is for you. (And points for the clever names. «I’ll have a large Democrat» or «Hit me up with the Mercantile» is just more exciting!)
The sandwiches leave a little more to be desired. While the options on the menu all look delicious, experience shows that they’re rather hastily thrown together. If you’re paying for an expensive sandwich, it should be prepared with a little more care and thought than something from Subway.

I disagree with a lot of the negative reviews. I’ve been here many times and I’ve never been disappointed. I’m not a huge fan of the pizza here (I’m very picky about pizza sauce) but I really love the sandwiches. I’ve tried a few of them and while everything is delicious, my favorite is hands down The Bay State on a wrap. Roast beef, turkey, provolone and the perfect balance mayo, mustard and pickles. There’s a lot going on and the wrap holds it together so it doesn’t fall apart. Slightly expensive for a sandwich but if you’re looking for cheap, go to Subway two blocks up. The size and quality of the sandwich ingredients make it worth the price.
There isn’t a lot of seating if you’re looking to sit down and eat but I walk by here all the time and it’s rarely busy enough that there aren’t seats (mostly a take-​out business). The space itself is new and sparkling clean with big screen TVs to watch while you wait for your order.
If you’re a fan of gourmet sandwiches this place is definitely worth a visit!

Ehh… not the best I’ve ever had. Not the worst either. I’ve had sandwiches here, a salad, and their pizza. Nothing was really mind blowing or memorable.
There are much better lunch options on Cambridge Street.

Ordered a pulled pork sandwich and caprese salad from here last weekend, and I’ve definitely had better.
Their pork was all bbq sauce and very little seasoning. It tasted like they just shredded some pork and squirted a bottle of bbq sauce on it, than slapped it into an enormous role. Sure, I ate it, but will I order it again? Probably not. Definitely not worth the cost.
And the salad was also meh. The mozzarella was rubbery and the lettuce and tomatoes could have been fresher. The vinaigrette was pretty tasty though, I’ll give them that.
For some reason I’m still kind of itching to try their cuban though. I’ve yet to find a good one in Boston, and I’ve heard decent things about this one. I’ll keep you guys updated.

I love the new look and all the marketing that went into this place. I used to hit up Venice pizza for a late night slice, so of course when I saw The Federal I was all jazzed up to try it.
I ordered a small Mercantile pizza that I will probably never order again because the center was soggy by the time I got it home. I think they rushed it and that’s too bad. I’d give it another chance but think I’ll just stick to a slice of cheese.

When I was working up the street from this place I was excited when they opened but after reading some of the reviews it was either ya I love this place or this place sucks. I went in there for lunch with a co worker and ordered the cuban since alot of people RAVED about it. Honestly I could have made a better cuban in my house, the bread was just horrible with no flavor what so ever, the pork was salty and the ham was dry nothing that great eat. I was pretty disappointed plus they are way over priced for that type of sandwich. Maybe it was just a bad day or something but it wasnt that great PLUS the wait for the food was about 30 minutes and it was NOT busy at all in there.
There is way better places to get food from in this area or even 5 – 10 minutes away dont waste your money or your time honestly.

The Cuban is amazing. Eight bucks for a sandwich sounded pricey at first, but the thing was GIGANTIC. I literally couldn’t finish it, and I can EAT when I wanna. The amount of meat in this thing was just astonishing.
My friend got some salad with spinach, walnuts, dried cranberries, strawberries, mandarin oranges, and feta with some sort of vinigarette… She didn’t want to finish it and let me take it home. It was potentially the best salad I’ve ever had, no joke.
But, it loses a star for a nearly inedible chicken parm sandwich. I don’t know how you mess up chicken parm but the sauce was really awful. It might’ve been some sort of pesto marinara or something? It just didn’t taste right. Breaded chicken, gooey provolone, and red sauce is all you need, Federal. Get with the program on that one and we’ll be cool again. (In all fairness, though, it was again a TON of food for $ 7… but still, guys, fix the recipe.)

Sandwiches leave something to be desired… a friend and I both got sandwiches that included chicken, and in both cases, the chicken was rubbery and weird.
Pricey for what you get.
Some other friends got pizza though, and they really liked it.
I’ll definitely try the pizza next time.

The Federal, in where the Venice Café used to be next to the fire station, is a serviceable sandwich shop. A few thoughts:
1. In terms of outside aesthetics, it is more welcoming than some of its sandwich brethren, such as Subway or Podima. This may just be the newness, but it feels like a standard sandwich bar-​type place.
2. It’s pricey. I’ve gotten the ham and turkey and honey dijon sammich. That, plus a drink, came out to $ 10. As Sara notes, with places like Anna’s and Villa Mexico beating that price easily, as does Subway (though I will give this place a lot of credit for being better run than the Subway).
3. The food is okay, though average for the price you’re paying. I mean, it’s in a high-​traffic lunch area, so that may dictate things (MGH being nearby and all).
Overall, it’s middle of the road for me. It’s a more dependable option than Subway, and it compares well with Podima. However, there are cheaper and better options (Villa Mexico and Upper Crust) nearby. If you want a sammich though, it’s a decent choice.

I ordered a pizza from The Federal for lunch today.
Ordering for takeout was pretty painless; the staff seemed friendly, and 15 minutes later I had my pizza.
I got a mercantile pizza. The toppings were fresh, and the sauce was pretty good. I wish it were a bit more flavorful, somehow, but it’s hard to put my finger on any one thing I didn’t like about it.
Nothing special, but nothing wrong with it. Just pretty good.
To be fair, as far as I can tell, The Federal bills itself more as a sub shop than a pizza joint, so I wouldn’t expect, say, Emma’s-level pizza here.
At the end of the day, I wouldn’t travel across town for this, but it’s a solid choice for lunch in the area.