Zoe’s

Zoe’s is a nice brunch location. Its conveniently located, and since the dining room is larger than many other brunch spots, I’ve never experienced a very long wait time. The menu features typical brunch fare, which is all that I have ever tried when visiting — and I’ve been pretty satisfied. It can be a little difficult to get the attention of your server when its busy, but otherwise, I would say the service and general atmosphere are good.

This is a great place to come back regularly for brunch. It hasn’t changed basically since I’ve been here for the last 7 years. It can get crowded at the very peak brunch hours on weekends but at any other time, you can get a seat without a wait.
It’s really a classic diner with good diner food. Their breakfast items are really great such as the corned beef hash with eggs. The crunchy French toast and sweet potato pancakes are good too. They also have the usual breakfast platters. You won’t leave here hungry, that’s for sure. They also top off the coffee regularly so if you’re not careful, you can easily consume 5 – 6 cups.

Service was terrible, wait staff was occupied looking at phones behind counter. Ordered toast, came out as warm bread, but not crispy toast. Bothered server to redo toast and came back the same. The automatic belt toaster was going to fast, and no one changed it. Food was ok, but not special.
Greek style French toast was interesting… stuffed with cream cheese, omelette sizes were generous. Home fries were mushy and disappointing.
Would not go again.

Omelette was massive! Don’t remember too much about it, so I guess that’s saying something. But, wait was quite long and it was super loud inside. It’s all up to preference — I enjoy a quieter place to have brunch to catch up with friends. However, some people may enjoy the buzz of the social experience!

Visited with a friend for lunch. The ambiance is very reminiscent of a 1950s diner, complete with stools at the counter. The menu is large and eclectic, with a variety of breakfast/​brunch items, burgers and sandwiches, and side orders. There are some Greek-​inspired options like kebabs or baklava, but overall most of the menu seems American rather than Greek.
I ordered the sweet potato pancakes ($ 6.99 for 2), which came specially recommended by my friend. The pancakes were light and fluffy, and even though I don’t normally like sweet potato, these were very good. They came with a side of maple syrup and cinnamon honey butter (my favorite pancake topping!), and powdered sugar drizzled on top. I was full after eating 2, but you can also get the same order with 3 pancakes for about a dollar more.
Overall the food was good but not outstanding. I think if you are looking for reliable diner food, Zoe’s would be a solid choice.

After fast food, diners typically provide the best dining experience for your dollar. As such, I always expect hearty, tasty fare straight from the kitchen to my table.
I actually went to a different diner on Saturday morning for breakfast, but their tiny seating area was all full up. Not being the patient type, I immediately caught the number 1 bus toward Harvard to try out Zoes. This gem is very easy to miss from the street, but well worth your time. Their dining room is much larger, and although their breakfast run was in full swing they still had plenty of room for a hungry soul.
I took a seat at the bar in full view of the kitchen, and a waitress immediately approached me. There was absolutely zero waiting before the staff laid out a menu, and drink. Being a creature of habit, I perused the menu for a few minutes before locating the french toast, and eggs entress I adore so much. As separate plates they would have cost me around $ 12. When the waitress returned to take my order she pointed out that they also offer the douple play, a cheaper single entrée with french toast, and two eggs. Score one for helpfulness, and knowing her menu. I changed my order, and settled into reading a book while waiting for my food. Important to note that the maple syrup is included, not an additional charge. Some diners get down like that.
I could see directly into the kitchen through their swinging doors, and occasionally peeked up to see what other menu items I was missing out on. Eventually I saw a plate of french toast getting powdered, but though to my self, «There is no way this is my plate. It is much too soon.» I was pleasantly surprised when the wait staff walked directly out, and laid it before me.
I could see the wait staff conversing, and enjoying each others company as I dug into my food. Around the dining room customers were happily enjoying their food. For my part, I finished one of my plates, and a passing server, possibly even a cook immediately took it away: no words exchanged, no «that’s not my table.» The staff at Zoes are clearly a healthy, coherent team, valiantly joining forces to delight restaurant goers, and defend their corner of Cambridge against the ghastly face of hunger.
I finished my second plate, and my original server promptly returned to offer the bill. I definitely had the option of staying if I wanted to, but I was not limited in any way by the movements of my server around the dining room. Satisfied with their quick service of soft, french toast, two eggs, and potatoes I was able to pay my bill, and get on with my day.

If you like microwaved phyllo dough then this place is for you! Could the cook have made any less of an effort? Ugh.

A decent option for breakfast near Harvard square. Food is consistent, if not remarkable, and prices are reasonable.

Came here on a Sunday morning at 9.30am as we were feeling the need for hearty diner food. I’d heard about Zoe’s from another student friend, so I figured it’d suit our grad school budget. 9.30 seemed like a good time to come in, because when 10am rolled around, people were pouring in.
The Three Sons breakfast platter is by far the best breakfast deal we’ve had in a while: it comes with 3 eggs, bacon and sausages, and an entire plate of pancakes or French toast for only $ 12.99. What a steal. Plus, the French toast was super light and tasty.
I had the Tuscan omelette ($ 9.49), which is a huge omelette that has avocado, mozzarella and sundries tomatoes. Super delicious, as were the home fries that came with it.
The coffee too was pretty good. By pretty good I mean it didn’t taste like typical dishwater coffee you get at a diner — or IHOP. It had some kick and flavor.
One thing I didn’t appreciate were the blintzes, which I hastily ordered in my hunger. I thought they were meant to be cute little pancakes, but instead what came out were rolled crepes that contained cheese. Just not very good at all.
All in all, solid breakfast fare for a really good price. If there was a better option around, I’d probably go there but this may be the best it gets in all my years that I’ve been visiting Cambridge.

Visited this place on a Saturday morning with a couple of my friends.
There were American breakfast items, some of them with a Greek touch like a Greek omelet with feta, olives, which I have ordered. As far as the taste of my omelet is concerned, I have had better ones
The food is decent. There weren’t any items that I recall were great nor any of that were bad.
I felt the place could have been a little more tidy.

I can see what the other reviewers mean when they say Zoe’s isn’t what it used to be. I was turned away one time because they were ‘closed’ (even though it was ten minutes before closing after I got back to my hotel room), and the last time I had breakfast there, the waitress refused to tell me what kind of cereal they had.
Really?
There used to not be quite as many options for breakfast in the area, but that space is getting more crowded, so it may be time to get slightly nicer.

Food: 3
Décor: 3
Service: 3
Came here for brunch with a group of 9 after spin.
1. CALIFORNIA BENEDICT, 11
Two dropped eggs, grilled tomato, and avocado on an english muffin,
topped with hollandaise sauce. Served with homefries
~Okay. Egg was overcooked, and I wasn’t a huge fan of the homefries.
2. Fresh OJ, 3
~Pretty good.
Service was good, although one of our orders was wrong.

We came here for brunch and it was pretty good. I ordered the breakfast burrito which came with hash browns. I was delighted to see that the burrito had melted cheese on top of it and came with salsa and sour cream. I just wish the salsa was homemade! The OJ here was delicious and refreshing. I finished mine in under one minute. I should have ordered a large. My husband ordered the huevos rancheros which he said he loved.
We came on a Sunday morning which is a classically busy time for brunch. The food was good but nothing spectacular. The service was slow. We won’t be back to visit.

Loved the service of this place, very friendly and knew the menu well. I had the Zoe huevos rancheros which were a greek twist on the spanish breakfast and surprisingly good. The feta added was perfect combination with the salsa. Coffee was pretty good. I’d definitely go back.

I’m a little torn between 3 and 4 starts but I’ll give this place the benefit of the doubt and bump it up to 4 stars! This is mainly due to the speed and service.
I came here a couple weeks ago on a Sunday morning for brunch. I expected it to be rather busy during this time but the three of us were seated almost instantly. I opted for the California Benedict, while my boyfriend got the Corned Beef Hash with a cheesecake smoothie (I can’t remember the exact name but it was something to that effect). I liked the eggs and avocado mix — though there was a bit too much avocado for my liking. My boyfriend said he’d had better. He liked his corned beef hash, though noting special, and the smoothie was pretty good though I don’t know that I would order that for brunch in future haha. It was the right amount of food for one serving.
What pushed this from 3.5 stars to 4 though was other non-​food factors. We were seated immediately, and the food was served quickly. Granted, it took some time to get our bill, but usually I’m rather hungry for brunch and I appreciate getting my food quickly. I also found this place to be reasonably priced compared to the rest of the places in this area.
I’ll probably try to scope out more brunch places. But until I find a better one this will definitely be a good go to!

Zoe’s is a pretty unique establishment in the realm of Harvard Square if you consider what it offers. You can come here for breakfast food anytime of the day, which if you are ever craving pancakes for dinner, this is place to go.
Typically, Zoe’s is my go to when I am craving either a Reuben, my favorite sandwich, or some classic breakfast food options (pancakes, omelettes, french toast, etc.). I’d also much rather go here than go to IHop, which is really the only other place in Harvard square that offers something similar. Plus, the portions are pretty large and the price is good.
Service is really a toss up. It depends on how crowded it is, the day of the week, the time of the day. Sometimes they are super attentive and other times you feel as if you have been neglected in the corner, constantly having to ask for service.
The only times that I see Zoe’s super packed is during brunch hours during the weekend, so if you are planning to come around then, be prepared for a little bit of a wait.

Overall ⁴⁄₅
Service ³⁄₅
Food 4.5÷5
This is a diner that is located at the bottom floor of the building complex that only has street parking. They serve greek/​american breakfast. Though i did not try there breakfast food and the service was a bit slow, I had their baklava on many occasions. For $ 4, you get a sizable piece that was perfectly made. You could tell each individual later was applied. The nut ratio to pasty crunch was perfect and the honey was not overly sweet. If you want they will heat it up too. All in all it is a good baklava that I suspect mass chicken also sells (made from same person) at a cheaper price.

Zoe’s conveniently located in Cambridge, just a few minute walk from Harvard Square.
Its interior is designed like a diner. It has a very spacious dining area but the warm colors give it a homey and retro atmosphere. I’ve been here twice on the weekends and was always seated right away and attended to throughout my visit.
The menu is extensive. Both times I ordered eggs Benedict, one of my favorite brunch items. I have had the Smoked Salmon Benedict and the California Benedict, which I both recommend. Two perfectly poached eggs sit on two halves of a toasted English muffin, with fresh avocado (California) or smoked Atlantic salmon (Salmon), and topped with hollandaise sauce. The portion is very generous, and ingredients tasted fresh. They are served in a tin bowl, which I thought was quite unique.
Eggs Benedict comes with a serving of delicious home fries, which are diced potatoes with skin. I thought they were delicious, but I’ve never had them elsewhere so I couldn’t make a comparison.
I like my fries with ketchup and sometimes I also drizzle some hot sauce. The home fries were well seasoned. However, the eggs Benedict lacked flavor. Even after sprinkling on some salt and pepper, I had to eat almost every bite with a bit of hot sauce to give it a kick.
Zoe’s is a solid brunch place. I’m giving it 3.5 stars, rounding it up to a 4. If I’m feeling adventurous I may return to try some of the Greek dishes. Happy New Year!

As a big fan of diners, I have to say that Zoe’s doesn’t quite top the list. It is probably one of the few places around Harvard Square that qualifies as a diner, which gives it a monopoly, I suppose…
Atmosphere is great — bustling and a bit outdated, just the way diners should feel. However, the service was rather slow, though I’ll give the benefit of doubt and say that it was Harvard-​Yale weekend.
We had pancakes, French toast, Zoe’s omelette, and My 3 Sons. The French toast was quite average — average toast, nice egg batter, served with real syrup, which was a nice change. The pancakes were not that fluffy and a bit too dry around the edges — I’d say that they’re just about at average for a diner as well. The omelette was nicely made but for the price range at Zoe’s, I’d expect slightly fluffier. The pesto and cheese in the omelette were on the blander side and I had to add salt and pepper to taste. The 3 Sons was fine, as anticipated, and included sausages, bacon, eggs, pancakes, and potatoes. The potatoes are not particularly good and are a weird texture — they’re not quite cubed, but instead they’re mashed together in a half-​mashed, half-​cut way. They were also on the blander side.
All in all, I would only return if I really craved diner food. There wasn’t anything that made me feel like my visit was particularly worthwhile. It does meet all the other diner checklist items, like atmosphere and booth seating, so I’ll settle for the overall rating of 3.

I’ve been to Zoe’s about 4 times and so finally feel I’ve tried a decent amount of things! I would give it about 3.5 stars. Here’s a breakdown:
–omelette: I get the Zoe’s, with a meat added. Or add avocado. It’s delicious and a huge portion, though it might not be that cheap with the add ons!
–sweet potato pancakes: light and very satisfying!
–steak and eggs: not that much steak but many potatoes and great sunny sides. This could just have been my experience though.
–salmon eggs benedict: eggs were not overlooked, salmon portion substantial, bread tasty. I would say the flavors were very normal rather than having a kick of sorts.
–French toast –a little underwhelming in presentation but solid taste!
Tip: go early in the morning and avoid the lines!