The Butcher Shop Deli Cafe

We recently found the Butcher Shop. It’s a little weird when you walk in for the first time because you walk into the deli part first. Then there’s a doorway on the right after the drink coolers that leads to the café part.
So far I’ve been boring and have gotten the Club and a BLT. They have plenty of sandwiches on the board to choose from. They also do hamburgers (4 or 8oz.), omelettes, breakfast sandwiches pancakes, etc. The pricing is okay, I just wish that the sandwiches came with a bag of chips or something.
I would say they need a makeover but I’m sure regulars would’ve change a thing. There’s plenty of seating indoor and outdoor. You order at the front left, pay at the right, and then so far the cashier has brought our food right to our table. The staff is nice but certain employees come off a bit rude but that’s kinda the charm of the Butcher Shop.
I’m interested to come back in and try the Jive Turkey or an Omelet soon.

I had a roast beef on a bulky roll that was great… While a little over priced the sandwich was huge. My boyfriend got the buffalo chicken wrap with grilled chicken… Equally good. I love the little grocery and they have some good options if you are trying to eat healthy. Sad to see so many negative reviews, regarding customer service. Until I have a bad experience I will be coming back for sure!

Honestly, it’s like they give lessons on how to be weird and terrible at customer service. I have never (well… Almost never) felt so unwelcome as I have when I’ve come here.
We still come here for sandwiches which are pretty good so why not give them more stars? Because they seem to be actively trying to discourage business. And since their prices are at or above market price, they don’t really have much to offer in a city with many options.
Sure, if you can’t make somewhere else and you’re starving get a Sammy here. But get it to go.

Poor service from possibly the most apathetic waitstaff I’ve ever encountered and overpriced, mediocre food. I’m shocked that this place is still in business.

Today was my first time visiting. I’ve eyed the place walking home from Wayland Square, but never remembered it until it was too late and I’d already eaten. Not so today, my friends!
What I wanted: cheap-​ish lunch, outdoor seating, and a bathroom, because I was desperate. (Sorry)
(Not that this merits a review, but the bathroom WAS clean [unlike what another reviewer commented], and I appreciated them letting me use it because I don’t think it’s designed as a public restroom.)
Anyhow, I got the things I wanted and was completely satisfied. BREAKFAST ALL DAY. Who does that anymore? Not enough people, that’s for sure. I got an egg and sausage sandwich, and they offered me plenteous options for bread (regular bread, croissant, english muffin, their bagels… I went with a pumpernickel bagel and it was brilliant) and cheese (I got swiss). The bespectacled employee who took my order was very kind and helpful, and I sat outside and worked on my laptop and didn’t feel like an inconvenience to anyone. It was the perfect place to eat and hang out.
And the FOOD! My God. I ravaged it like someone who hadn’t eaten in months. It was plenty filling, and only $ 5 (for those who are counting).
I will say some of their other options are «expensive,» in that they cost the same as any other café in Wayland Square, but I was a fan, and I would return.

I have had lunch here several times with my adult daughter and every time my sandwich was fresh and delicious. I love their turkey club wrap; the bacon is crisp and delicious. My daughter now lives in DC and when she comes home, this is one of the top things to do on her list. We both love the great food combined with the simplicity of the environment. I can’t wait to go back again!

This place always runs out of bagels before noon. Cmon, I just wanted some lox this morning. What a bummer.

Rude and crass owner who doesn’t respect his employees, and reprimands them in front of customers: how classy of him.
Dirty and sad décor with NO public restrooms. (You have to sludge through the messy kitchen to use the staff bathroom that provably hasn’t been cleaned since 1975.)
Food is WAY overpriced and NOT worth the money at all. (Would you seriously shell out $ 11.99 a lb for gross tuna salad that has been sitting for a few days??)
The sandwiches at the deli are subpar. I’ve had WAY better for half the price. But, that seems to be the trend in Wayland Square: spend big big bucks to impress your neighbors with food that’s A) bad for you & B) doesn’t even taste good.
Don’t waste your time — go somewhere else and actually enjoy yourself!

My order for a bagel sandwich was lost twice. After ordering it for a third time I finally got my sandwich… minus the sausage. Took me about a half hour total for my order to get to me.
There were five people working with only five tables eating. A few of the other tables were having issues with the orders as well. If in this area I’d recommend going to the coffee shops in wayland square instead.

The food here is really delicious. Most of the staff is quite nice as well. So why the bad review? A few staff members are just ridiculously rude. Did I feed your baby to a dingo or something? It almost feels like there is a lot of internal strife at this place, and it affects how they treat their customers. I never ask for much by the way of customer service, but I don’t like to feel as though the order taker is mad at me for ordering a sandwich. Beyond that, they can’t seem to keep the dining room clean, which is troubling. I recommend coming in on a weekday when it’s not busy, and taking your order to go.

To be honest, I had heard mixed reviews about this place in the past. I should have heeded that warning. Today, I decided to give it a try for take out breakfast. Coming from the west coast and with everyone being so health conscience, I was disappointed to learn that they didn’t carry chicken or turkey sausage or bacon. I instead I opted for a breakfast burrito with chicken.
Service was pretty quick I’m assuming because there were only 4 people seated and eating, with no one else at the counter except for a potato chip vendor anxiously waiting to be paid. A very stoic woman asked for my order, hurriedly took it and I proceeded to wait. I couldn’t help but overhear her and another employee (male) complaining that the owner or manager was too cheap to hire someone for some odd job. The fact that they were so brazen about an internal issue while others were around, was all to telling to me.
Finally, after waiting about 15 min my order was ready. I looked inside to make sure the order was correct and to my surprise there was what amounted to MAYBE one egg in a burrito with about a tablespoon full of chicken, along with some onions and spices. I’m not a big eater but found the portion size for around $ 8 to be ALARMINGLY small.
Not even a thank you or please come back. For that much money and lack of service, I could have driven a mile to McDonalds and fed 2 people. I believe in supporting local business’ over the larger establishments. But again for the lack of service, decent food portion, and not feeling that my patronage was valued, I will most certainly take my business elsewhere. =/

Butcher Shops have become an endangered species. this place have been going strong since 1924. I have been coming here since high school and keep going back for their house burgers and house roasted turkey sandwiches. The Jive turkey is a must and so is the turkey ruben! The prices are reasonable (Sandwich and drink ~$ 10) and the portions are just right. You can always count on your lunch to be hand made with fresh ingredients.
Plenty of seating indoors or outside on the patio. The décor won’t win any awards but it’s clean and casual. It does get busy at lunchtime and they can get swamped. But I have never had to wait that long for my order.
They have a good following but if you want to support a local business and keep a Butcher Shop alive, make your next shopping trip include a quick stop here!

I had been going to the butcher shop for a while and I know it’s been an establishment for years. However, I think it’s been going downhill. The last couple times I’ve gone, the quality of the food and the service has just not been up to par. They take a long time to make simple dishes (a breakfast sandwich) and when the food arrives it is unsatisfactory and/​or undercooked. Their prices are not that great, either. I think this is the last time I’m going to the butcher shop.

I hate to give this place a one star because I believe their food is delicious. What I experienced today angered me so much that it forced me to write this review.
I’ve been to the butcher shop a handful of times and every time I went back they gave me another reason why I should not go back. Today I decided to give it another go and went with my fiancé for some lunch. I ordered a veggie burger and my fiancé ordered the blue cheese burger. We also got an order of onion rings to share.
The first thing that angered me is that while ringing out, we were asked what size burgers we ordered. Since we were not asked, the cashier asked the order taker the size and they automatically assumed that we got the larger sizes and charged us accordingly.
The second thing that angered me was that people that had ordered after us (with orders of quite the same size) were getting their food before us and we waited a solid 20 minutes before our burgers and rings came out.
As I sat down, hungry and on a lunch break in between my 830am to 12am work shift, I noticed my burger didn’t look like the normal veggie burger from the butcher shop would look. I took a bite and quickly realized it was meat. Being a vegetarian that easily gets sick when I eat meat, I was appalled. I took my burger back to the counter and explained that I was given the wrong burger (which actually didn’t quite surprise me since the order taker was half interested in doing his job). I also BARELY got an apology. I had to ask for the burger to go since now (with the 20 min wait for the original burger to come out) took up almost my entire break.
I hardly got an apology, was not offered anything like a bag of chips or drink, to accommodate for what they did, and got a sigh of frustration when asked for it to be to go. My fiancé also stated that his burger was overpriced for the poor quality it was.
Again, I hate to give this review because when they DO get your order right, the food is pretty good. But what I experienced today was one of the worst customer service restaurant experiences I’ve ever had.

Cute old fashioned deli — half of the business selling meats, seafoods an prepared meals, and the other half acts as a restaurant. Great place to stop in if you haven’t cooked anything for dinner, but want that home cooked meal — all you need to do is reheat.
They have an assortment if drinks, candies, and often several types if local produce.
The restraint serves breakfast all day, and I am personally a huge fan of their hash browns an breakfast sandwiches. My hubby always gets an order of their pancakes. If you live nearby you can call head and get your order to go!
Their lunchtime menu is full of sandwiches, which cost — on average — $ 7.95. Between that and a drink, one will easily spend $ 10.00, and may not be completely full.
That being said, their sandwiches are delicious. I usually get some sort of turkey sandwich, with fresh cut turkey, or a tuna melt. They also offer freshly made fruit or macaroni salad, slices of pizza, and fresh muffins.
My favorite sandwich is the Darth Vader –turkey, lettuce, tomato, cranberry sauce, and Russian dressing!
Ample casual seating inside, as well as 6 or so tables outside for some al fresco dining. A popular spot with the locals, you will see a group of 13 year olds at one table, a new young family at another, and several more aged people who seem to be daily regulars.
I love having this business nearby and easily get lunch here once a week!

Absolutely love their bagels, definitely some of the best I have ever tasted… perfect texture and always fresh. The deli sandwiches are absolutely delicious and of the highest quality. Love the freshly roasted turkey and the angus burgers. They always get orders correct for take-​out/​delivery.

I enjoy their breakfast sandwiches. Their bagels are fresh, with the correct amount of chewiness and crustiness… a hard balance to find around these parts. They use a good quality bacon, which already has my heart. I have looked at the variety of items on the menu, but they serve breakfast all day, which means, I shall have breakfast :)
Small dining area — simple table and chairs. Sidewalk «patio» seating as well. The service is always pleasant even when customers aren’t pleasant to them. The neighborhood is nice and parking is street parallel parking.
I enjoy dining here during warmer weather, dining area can be drafty during the colder months.

Torn. The café (sandwich) value is terrible, true to all the other reviews. The service (at the café) wasn’t great. But the butcher shop/​deli was awesome! And I really liked the laid back, rough around the edges atmosphere — especially juxtaposed against fancy pants Wayland Square. A relaxing, outdoor patio dining experience and alternative — free of small yippy dogs wearing designer collars and very large sunglasses littering Wayland Square.
My Bull’s Eye sandwich was nothing more than roast beef, cheese, and onion with some sauce. I asked if there were any vegetables, and she said no. Imagine that — $ 8.99 for just plain old meat and cheese on flimsy pumpernickel bread.
Yet I can’t help but love how comfy the place felt. Mismatched and awkwardly hung photos of bridges in various US cities, as well as large group of older women relaxing in the ocean waves. Rickety wooden tables inside and outside. Mix of business people on their lunch breaks, kids home for the summer, and friends meeting to catchup. It felt authentic and warm.
I’m done with The Butcher Shop as a café, but I would absolutely go back for the deli. The selection of pre-​made salads and meat dishes in the deli case looked awesome. The butchers were friendly, informative, and charming in their pride in their trade and knowledge of the meat cuts. They also had a reasonable selection of groceries — fresh and packaged.
I have my eye on the corn salad — a pound for $ 5.99! Next time I’m buying from the deli and eating it on the patio outside. But never again will I order a sandwich from the café. Overpriced and just not that special.

I have only ever gone to the Butcher Shop for breakfast; their omelets are pretty good, their homefries are often undercooked, but overall it’s usually okay.
Today I decided to try them for lunch and was sorry I did. They advertise «Dave’s Famous Burger», so I figured that’s where I should start. Well, the only thing that that burger should be famous for is being a rip-​off. For $ 5.99, I got a grilled, frozen beef patty with cheddar. No sides, no chips, not so much as a pickle.
It was mediocre at best, and, needless to say, I won’t be back for Dave’s burger.
Very disappointed. And still hungry!

VERY overpriced for the size of the sandwich you order here. The wait can be super long even if it is the slightest bit busy. Delicious and different but not worth it.