The Coast Cafe

Maybe it was a bad day, but our chicken was very overcooked (and bland).

40 minute drive cause I was really craving soul food. But I can say I’ll never be returning my chicken breast were BURNT to the point that it could not be eaten I was really looking forward to it was disappointing. Smh the sides were okay but why would you serve anybody chicken that burnt

Best fried chicken this side of the river. Very authentic with a lot of sides to choose from. Their beef patty is awesome too if you do pick up and wait… good way to satisfy your craving!

I found Coast Café by accident as it was close to my old apartment. And that surprise find is part of the charm. It’s everything you would hope from a southern/​soul food. Its flavor, it’s gravy, it’ll fill you up and induce a nap later on. The smothered pork chop did all that to me. I really wish they were open more, as I’d likely be there more regularly but I’m glad they find time away from the restaurant and make me savor things more when they’re open!

The food was LEGIT I asked should I do chicken and waffles or the chicken plate since I said it was my first time they said go plate. That mac and cheese with the candy yams were amazing

Had the mixed chicken plate with mac n cheese and fried plantains. Ridiculously good. The plantains could have been more tender, but the chicken and mac n cheese were too good. Perfect crispy skin and tender juicy meat. Super small spot so probably best for takeout.

Mouthgasm for whatever you get. Sides are full of flavor. The chicken lives up to all their ravings plastered on their walls. You wont be disappointed.

Went here before a concert at the hardcore stadium, it was by far the best chicken and waffles I’ve ever had. The fried chicken was cooked to perfection, nice and light crispy skin, moist tender meat on the inside. The waffle was great, not the best, but it perfectly complimented the chicken. The Jamaican Jerk Cheese and Chicken Patty was phenomenal. Filled to the brim with cheese and this spicy chicken. Go here, please. For your own good.

I love this place so much. Their fried chicken is good that it’s midnight and yet I’m thinking about it…
I wish they were open Sunday, Monday and Tuesday because I find myself always wanting them on Sundays, but oh well!

Food: 3.5÷5.0
Service: 2.5÷5.0
Value: 3.0÷5.0
Décor: 2.0÷5.0
Overall: 3.5÷5.0
The chicken is juicy though I thought the total package wasn’t really as out of this world as I was expecting. I may be nitpicking, but the skin on the pieces I got were fried past their apex, the seasoning wasn’t quite doing it for me, and the sides were pretty mediocre. That said, I can’t name a better fried chicken spot around here, so I’ll probably be back. Small shop with seats for about 7, and the food takes 20 minutes to come out (a good thing).

Fried chicken, catfish, short ribs, cheeseburgers, pork ribs, pulled pork … we had it all today for our company lunch (we have one every other month and we try a new place each time from the area) and this is the first time that we all agreed that the food was outstanding ! Every item was fresh, very flavorful and well executed — the chicken coating was spicy and very crisp, the fish was moist and flaky, the pork and beef ribs done perfectly. Sides of cole slaw, potato salad, blackeyed peas, mac and cheese worked very well with all the dishes.
I expect that Coast Café will become the restaurant of choice on a very, very small list for upcoming company lunches — Kudos to the hard working staff at CC.

The BBQ Beef Short Rib caught me off guard in how delish they were! The sides are great too. I used a Grubhub coupon that knocked $ 10 off the final price which was icing on the cake for me. I will be going back!

My husband and I ate here on Saturday and it definitely hit the spot! I ordered the fried chicken plate (fried chicken breast plus two sides: mac n cheese and mashed potatoes with gravy, plus cornbread) and it was so delicious! The chicken was well seasoned and the mashed potatoes and mac n cheese were the best comforting sides on a chilly day! My husband had the coast burger with onion rings and said it was a solid ⁹⁄₁₀!
We also ordered two beef and cheese patties while we waited for our main food and WOW, just WOW! Delicious, well-​seasoned ground beef with gooey cheese… I could eat those all day! While we ate we watched people come in and order just the beef patties! Lots of people also coming in to pick up orders.
The place is tiny, but it packs a punch! Very friendly staff! Don’t miss this gem if you are in Cambridge ;-)

I’m got the fried chicken + beef ribs with two sides of mac and cheese. It was delicious. Ribs weren’t over drenched in BBQ sauce and the fried chicken was simple yet spot on.

Amazing fried chicken!!! This place was worth the 20 min wait time to get my takeout order! I got the mixed fried chicken plate with plantains, collard greens and a small side of Mac and cheese. Definitely worth the cheat meal!

I get their fried breast plate with yams, collards, and mac’n’cheese and it’s a religious experience! I freaking love this place. I also really enjoy their beef and cheese patties and their huge slices of yellow cake with chocolate frosting. It seriously brings me back to my childhood. I’m gonna have to force myself to try something else one day, but I’m no hurry.
4 stars though for being unreliable in regards to business hours. Kills me that twice now I’ve tried to get food here when it was supposed to be open and had to rewire my tastebuds. I tried to get food at 7:30 on a Wednesday and they were closed. It wasn’t a holiday or anything. My mouth was mad at me, y’all.
Sigh. Your awesome food will keep me coming back though.

There is nothing to complain about at such a wonderful establishment.
Any restaurant that has more than three hot sauces you have never heard of, full
Meals under 8 dollars, wonderful service, and quick turnarounds is a must.
Check it out. Try something new and delicious. Jerk chicken patty. You won’t regret it.

Food isn’t super fast, but it’s worth the wait. Parking is difficult over there, but it’s worth it. The staff has always been kind and courteous. The food is great.

The catfish is ridiculous. The first bite into the (grilled? I think) catfish po’ boy, I had to take a moment, set the sandwich down and proclaim it ridiculous. I literally spoke to a sandwich, that’s how ridiculous it was. The fish is just cooked perfectly and whatever seasoning they put on it makes you want to eat it forever. I know fried is the way to go with Soul Food, but screw that, get the grilled.
The sides were not too exciting. I didn’t end up saying anything to them. Kind of a let down after such an insane sandwich experience.
The place itself is adorable, just tiny stuck in the middle of a street that is residential except for the overpriced cesspool of a grocery store down the block. The service is kind of an in-​and-​out deal and they don’t seem particularly inclined to get your order done in any reasonable amount of time, so I recommend ordering ahead.
I’ll be back, if for nothing else than a sandwich worth having a conversation with.

Amazing food!!! I ordered the Mac and cheese, collard greens & wings & I was more than satisfied.

What is with the raves for this place?
Maybe it’s because the crowd here in PRC is so out of touch that they don’t know mediocre fried chicken when they taste it, but every visit here has been a letdown. Portions are small, and prices are high — both of which would be forgivable if the food were outstanding. But it’s not. I kept trying it, hoping that maybe I had just had «a bad batch,» but I have reached the conclusion that Coast Café is simply not very good, and the Unilocalers who are singing its praises are delusional.
The food is adequate, so if you’re hungry and in the area, or simply want to see what all the fuss is about, the Coast Café will feed you. But lower your expectations prior to arrival.

The coast Café has excellent fried chicken which they pan fry not deep fat fry so it is just like mama used to make, mine anyway, also very good southern based sides that are homemade, and of the variety that is hard to find in the northeast. Good fried catfish when they have it as well. A tiny spot, so get take out as there is not much room for dine in.

In the first seven minutes out of the fryer: five glorious stars.
Any more time and you’re in the danger zone (of slightly less than perfection).
So if you chance by The Coast Café, drawn in by that glorious smell of a sizzling fry, sweet and cakey cornbread and braising potlikker from those hearty, tender collards, follow these simple steps:
1) Order a fried chicken plate for $ 12. Your two included sides: salty mac and cheese, and collards with smoked turkey. Yass.
2) Candy Crush for 15 – 20 minutes. Those bone-​in thighs and breasts are cooked to order, and well brined meat takes time.
3) Receive your bundle of joy, and eat it at one of the four seats in-​house, or out on the curb. Or in your car. DO NOT WAIT.
4) If you have to prioritize, kill the chicken first. The shelf life on the sides is a wee bit longer.
5) Break all traffic laws to make record time getting back to wherever you’re comfortable finishing your meal.
6) Send Damien $ 1.
The house-​made hot sauce is awesome. Chicken is king — fried plate is tops, but I’ve been tempted a number of times by the wings, too.

Soul food. On River Street in Cambridge on the way to Central Square, The Coast Café serves extremely fresh and made to order Southern classics. Limited seating and great for take-​out.
The combination plates are the best way to try a little bit of everything and they all come with a delicious corn bread muffin. The pork chop (comes with two) plate is hearty and the meat is served on the bone. The BBQ pork ribs are extremely tender with a tangy and sweet BBQ sauce. The highlight is of course the fried chicken with the perfect ratio of moist meat to crispy skin. Try a little of the house hot pepper sauce. The chicken does not need help but adds a pleasant spicy zest.
The sides equally stand out and two come with each combination plate. Collard greens with smoked turkey are flavorful with sweet and sour notes. The cole slaw is mild with a vinegar-​based sauce and the potato salad is incredibly creamy. Fried plantains are always a nice «dessert» with plenty of cinnamon and char.

Ah Coast Café, I do love their fried chicken so! To date, it’s still my favorite place to go in Boston/​Cambridge for good fried chicken. The breading is light but well seasoned, tasty, and excellent. It’s crisp and not greasy, while the meat within is tender and juicy, the way it should be. Sides include standards such as collard greens, sweet potatoes, rice, beans, and are generally tasty as well.
Seating at their location has expanded from 3 to approximately 7, so it’s helpful to have a place to eat the food fresh from the kitchen. It just won’t be the same once you take it to go, since fried foods are best consumed as fresh as possible.

I’ve had this place bookmarked for years, but I somehow never read or took heed that this place has a microscopic amount of seating. Despite the cramped quarters, I don’t think I’m going to be able to eat Popeye’s anymore when I have a fried chicken fix.
Evidently, I settled on the mixed fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and mac’n’cheese. It took a bit longer than the 15 minutes I was promised, but it came out piping hot. So hot, in fact, that like other reviewers have mentioned I burned my mouth on first bite of the chicken. Kind of a buzzkill, but obladi oblada, I couldn’t stop eating anyway. I finished up with the cornbread which had a nice sweetness to it.
This is definitely not light, everyday fare. I would go back, but I would probably rather carry out on a nice day and let that chicken cool down to an edible level.

Checked this place out on the recommendation of a friend. Its a little pricey, but the portions are generous.
The space is very small, and its a little out of the way. They make everything to order, so be prepared to wait — we waited probably 30 minutes for 2 boxes, and the restaurant was pretty empty. It looks like quite a few locals knew of this and called their orders in ahead for pickup — we were the only people eating in the restaurant, but people were constantly coming in and out for pickup.
The box sets come with a generous amount of chicken, and two sides. Their cole slaw and macaroni and cheese were very filling, and the corn bread was pleasantly sweet and moist. Not the kind of cornbread, however, if you’re in the cornbread-isn’t-sweet camp.
Service was great and the store is very cozy — but in the end I just wasn’t that thrilled with the chicken. It was well done, but not particularly flavorful, and the meat was a bit dry. I found myself drowning my cuts in hot sauce and butter. The food was fine, but overall I just felt like everything, including the sides, felt a little flat and bland.

Coming to you, on a dusty road…
Good loving, I got a truck load…
And when you get it, you got something.
Don’t worry, ’cause I’m coming…
I’m a soul man!
Excellent food in a great location. Restaurant is small, but the food portions are big. Take out is timely and staff friendly. The collard greens are excellent, Mash potatos with gravy hit the spot. Soul food at its best. If you are at Whole foods and are looking at the buffett contemplating your dinner options. Do yourself a favor and call Coast Café, walk a couple blocks and pick up some soul food at Coat Café.

Upon entering this establishment you’ll immediately notice the limited seating. Between the two tables and the bar seating, the place can fit about seven people between those dining in and/​or those waiting to pick up.
Onto the reason I go there, the food. I order the fried chicken wings combo with a side of Mac and a side of mashed. I am little surprised to be told «it’ll take 15 minutes» considering the only other patron has already been fed. My order is ready. I start with a bite of mac, delish… now the mashed potatoes, also satisfying… tearing off a piece of meat from the bone, I taste the juicy chicken and instantly feel the freshness of the poultry, hence the wait. Along with the corn bread, each bite stimulates my senses. Like Schwartzenegger say, «I’ll be back.»

In a pinch, Coast Café delivers when craving some soul food/​bbq. While I go here often and the food is good, it isn’t mind-​blowingly flavorful. I’ve found the chicken to be overdone a few times. As far as the sides go, most of them are really tasty. I would highlight the onion rings (perfectly crispy) and mac and cheese.
Also, the banana pudding is great. They even include some soggy nilla wafers like most good banana puddings should.
This place is the best of its kind in the area. Wish they had more seating.

Slow, brusque service isn’t exactly chicken soup for the soul, but soul food is better than chicken soup. However, soul food starts tasting less good when the soul is sucked out of the experience.
The fried chicken was severely-​burn-​your-​mouth fresh ‘n’ hot, but a little dry and overdone. And when one waits longer than six other parties who come in, order, receive food, leave, fall in love, and have children while one is waiting for chicken, one starts to feel neglected.
The plantains, johnny cake-​ish patty, and slaw were on point, but the cornbread (aka, the most important side) was bland and dry. The ribs could’ve been meatier, too. My attempt at problem solving with BBQ sauce was met with «80 cents.» Soulless. Alienating a customer trying to improve their experience in the name of three gum ball machine hits worth of sauce? And what is «cents»?
The general lack of real Southern food in Boston is no small sweet potatoes, but overall, this experience didn’t make me feel closer to solving our urban soul problem.

After craving some delicious soul food my friend and I decided to take a trip and try out this restaurant. Of course we read the reviews about it on Unilocal first before heading over and we were pretty confident about our decision to go. Unfortunately, we were sadly disappointed by the prices, and– more tragically– the food! It was the absolute worst experience that either of us have had with soul food. Neither of us have ever written a review on Unilocal before, but we just had to do it now because we felt like the Coast Café was a big waste of our time and our money.
Just to give you a information about the experience: the portion sizes were made for a child: the corn bread tasted like cake; the fried chicken was burnt on the outside but slimy on the inside; the mac’n cheese tasted as if it had only one kind of cheese in it– as opposed to 5, which is what they advertised; the haddock was flavorless and they only gave my friend one tiny piece; and the dessert was spongy and dry. All this for nearly $ 40!
If you have never tasted soul food before, then you may enjoy this place. On a scale of 1 – 10, it would probably rank a 5. But if you actually know the taste of real soul food, and would like to be reminded of what home tastes like, skip out on the Coast Café & just go to The Rotisserie instead!

It’s hard to find really good, old school soul food and conjuring my mother and relatives from the grave for a taste of thanksgiving foods isn’t an option; which is why I was THRILLED when I discovered this place. The food is SO good and takes me back to the days of my mother’s kitchen. And the potato salad?! Jeez Louise! I think they have her back there cooking with them. I’ve been here 3 or 4 times since discovering it and try to eat something different each time.
The cornbread hasn’t been good the last couple of times I tried it, but today?! OHHH EMMM GEEEEE! *angels harmonizing* it was delish! The string beans are just like my mom’s, too… From a can. Bleh! But I guess that’s the old southern way.
I don’t eat much salt, actually my doctor recommends I increase my intake bcz I avoid it all costs (African Americans tend to have high blood pressure so I’ve nipped that predisposition in the bud early). I mention this bcz it can taste a little salty sometimes, but I’m not sure if it’s just my delicate palette.
Overall, the food is good. REALLY good. They also have banana pudding (another childhood favorite). This place definitely causes me to reminisce due to the tastes and smells. However, there are two caveats:
1. You can’t substitute the side on the sandwich meal. It comes with fries or onion rings. But I’d prefer veggies and you have to buy those separately (great way no encourage healthy eating :-/​)
2. As others have mentioned, it’s pretty cramped so I order to go and eat in the car.
Bcz of those two things I give it a 4.5 Stars but round up since there’s no option. If you’re in the mood for some soul food definitely check them out

It’s like being home. But if home was deep fried, wrapped in foil, and laid down next to a warm bed of collard greens and creamy mac and cheese topped with buttery bread crumbs and decided to settle snuggly into your belly. Yeah, Coast Café is like that.
Halfway between Central Square and Inman, the coast is a small building with maybe 2 chairs tucked into the corner, a ledge counter top with room for four elbows, and a big counter for ordering. If the interior doesn’t give it away, this is not a place for a sit down meal but that doesn’t mean your getting fast food fare. Absolutely not. This menu is filled with fried chicken, home style baked macaroni and cheese, greens, and other southern style dishes with the added bonus of beef patties (made more in the style of Spanish empanadas then Jamaican patties :/​still delicious though). Order your self a bit of everything (for around 20 – 25 dollars you can get a pretty hefty meal for one or a nice pile of things for two) and do NOT skimp on dessert.
If there’s one rule I’ve learned in life it’s that if there is a small restaurant with the line out the door on a Tuesday and they sell sweet potato pie? You buy that sweet potato pie. Warm with a buttery crust and the right amount of cinnamon and nutmeg singing in harmony with that perfect potato bite. Yeah, they’ve got the right stuff.
The menu also has fried catfish, because these people are smart. And burgers, fries, and chicken fingers, because this restaurant is in the middle of cambridge and sometimes, you gotta feed the masses a simple item or two. I would recommend ordering anything BUT the burger and fries, not because they taste bad, but just because they serve chicken and catfish and who ARE you to not try some of that?