Sola Cafe and Catering

It’s a decent place for a takeout lunch. I’ve thought their sandwiches were okay in the past, but I had the Special T today (Turkey) and man was that good!

I wanted to take a quick second and write a positive review of my experience at Sola Café today. A lot of people take to Unilocal to vent about their poor experiences (myself included), but not enough people take the time to write about a positive one. I came to Sola after a recommendation from my friend who raved about their sandwiches, fortunately they didn’t disappoint. I love a good reuben, and finding good lean corned beef is a rarity these days. Zaftigs in Brookline used to be my go to place, but even they up-​charge for lean corned beef now. When I saw a reuben on the menu at Sola I was skeptical. I asked the cashier if the corned beef was truly lean, he got one of the people who made the sandwiches and they got me a good sized sample to taste myself. It was excellent, reminding me almost of a savory brisket, plus it was lean! I got the reuben as a result and it didn’t disappoint. One of my friends got their turkey which was also excellent. They slice the meat to order and you can see the juices running down, it was great. My one gripe is that the inside of the place is a bit of a disaster zone, there are boxes and other crap all over the tables. It’s very messy and there’s no place to eat inside. Hopefully this is fixed before the winter so people will have the option to eat inside of the restaurant too.
If you like a great made to order sandwich I highly recommend this place, give it a shot!

I think this café may have changed since many of the last reviews were written.
I stopped by to grab a sandwich last week, and the café is slightly confusing. Although there are tables to sit at, there are boxes on many, so I think this has now become more of a grab and go café. I ordered the Special T at the counter, and it took less than 5 minutes to get my sandwich during the lunch hour. As I waited for my sandwich, I had to move several times for carts bringing things into the café. Everyone waiting for their sandwiches was hovering around the few tables that were not covered.
I really liked the sandwich, the roasted turkey was delicious. There were about 25 sandwich options and maybe 8 salad options. I will go back to get take out, but I wouldn’t really want to eat in.

Food was average. Definitely unimpressive. The staff were nice but disorganised and a bit clumsy — they dropped several objects on the floor just while we were there. The ambiance is bad for brunch. They’re making some effort with tablecloths. But they need to do something about the medical fluorescent lights and the uninviting floor. Rugs, music, floor lamps, stat!

Also — the chocolate chip cookie is PERFECTION.

We have been really enjoying this place’s food, they are great sandwiches (gourmet for the most part) that are fresh and delicious…
But the thing that put them over the edge today was that we came in around 2pm and they were out of the ciabatta bread and they… without us asking… talked among themselves and called over to their sister café across the street and asked if they still had any… and they did… so someone brought it right over to make our sandwiches. We were also planning on taking our food to go but then decided to stay once the food was ready… and they took the time to bring over plates and such to eat in, without us asking. I love places where customer service is at the top of their list and you don’t have to ask for everything. They went above and beyond and pushed their star rating to a 5 for doing this.

Dry turkey! I was told that is was fresh roasted that day. Total lie– I’m a turkey expert and once you reheat turkey a time or two it dries out. I don’t like lies to go with my lunch. Roast beef sandwich was scrawny, for $ 10 I expect quite a lot of roast beef instead of 3 slices, nothing special and not a good value. Test me– they will offer you a slice of the dry turkey if you ask.

I have been on a kick this week to try new cafes for breakfast. It’s my favorite meal and I love a good latte. I saw Sola and thought — why not? I didn’t eat here but am posting so other scone and latte lovers know they have no scones — or baked goods of any kind really and it didn’t seem like they had lattes either. If you want a bagel it seems good, but if you’re on the same mission as me, go elsewhere.

5 stars for service!
5 stars for food!
0 stars for serving hot soup in plastic deli containers. BPA in every delicious slurp. For a $ 5 cup of soup I think they need to up the ante on the presentation.

Love the service and the bread. wish they have specialty coffee there.

I love café Luna, and was expecting to love Sola as well given that they were by the same owner.
My friend and I got sandwiches, chips, and a drink. It looked like the sandwiches were quickly slapped together, and meat was a little dry. Nothing especially terrible, but for the amount we paid, it wasn’t even on par with Luna’s… disappointed.

Sola café seem a tad expensive for a sandwich shop until you realize that all their food is handmade, fresh and DELICIOUS! I go there a few times a week just to order their ice coffee to go. The last few months had been cold and I am sure they prepare fresh ice coffee for me. .. Maybe 1 other person.
Try out Sola Café! They serve both lunch and breakfast!

This has been my go to spot for lunch the past 5 months. I have tried to explore diff. spots, but I keep coming back here because the sandwiches are really good.
Two favorites are the turkey gobbler and the works. Go with either of those two and you can’t go wrong.
They also take LevelUp, which is a nice extra.

Excellent sandwiches. Gentleman remembered my name after one visit. Fresh ingredients. If you need lunch in this area, this is the place to go.

Went to Sola for the first time last week. Nicely tucked away on Sidney St in Central Square. Glad to have another lunch option in the otherwise repetitive and dismal M-​F selection. Decided to go to Sola after co-​workers recommendation and because I could get $ 3 off with Level Up since it was my first visit (which was pretty cool technology btw).
They keep their menu simple — they have about a dozen special sandwiches or you can make your own, all for the same price (less than $ 10). Fresh lunch meats, flavorful sauce. Friendly and jovial staff. Great bread selection. Get the onion roll! I think I made my own — pork, mozzarella, bbq sauce… yum.
I’ll go back when I muster up the energy to walk to extra blocks.

Weird that this place is run by the same people as Café Luna. I’m never quite sure what is going on at Luna, while Sola is the picture of order and efficiency from the décor to menu to the service.
So how it went down was, I was sitting on my couch, all: «Damn, but I could use a roast beef sandwich right about now!». Not a lot of options in Central as far as roast beef is concerned. I was thinking I might have to go to «the store» and buy «ingredients» and make «lunch». Eeuuugh. Thank goodness I didn’t have to resort to such barbarism! Sola is right next to the dang Star Market!
Fact is, $ 9 for a roast beef sandwich isn’t cheap. But factor in how much crap you’d have to buy to make one sandwich and it probably works out in your favor unless you are feeding a few people.
The make all the meats in house. Or, i guess they don’t «make» them, but they roast them. And they’re good. Your choice of cheese, toppings, condiments, and one of a few varieties of over sized Iggy’s rolls. It’s gonna be a good sandwich. Nothing is mind blowing or super creative, it’s just good. And you get in and out in about 5 minutes, which beats the turnaround at even the fastest of food joints in this always-​hoppin neighborhood.
Anyway, this place is now solidly at the top of my «I need lunch with minimum video game interruption and I don’t want to pay for delivery» list.

Stepped in here for lunch last week, and it’s definitely still new; nobody was there! The gent behind the counter was extremely friendly and welcoming, providing sandwich suggestions and just generally being conversational. Always fun.
As for the sandwich? Slightly toasted bread, with ham, turkey, cheese, lettuce, and chipotle mayo. A solid sandwich, for sure. I’ll be back!

Delicious sandwiches! I love the fresh carved turkey and all the great topping offerings like jalapeño relish. The rolls are fantastic and the pasta salad side is memorable with pesto and sun-​dried tomatoes.
I found their menu on Menu Pages so I thought I’d share the link here just in case you’re interested in checking it out.

I stopped in to grab lunch and was less than impressed with my turkey club. The turkey meat was moist but the sandwich was not worth the 8.95 I paid. Very overpriced for a sandwich on a roll. 11 and some change with a drink.