CAFETERIA Boston

Everything about Cafeteria is PERFECT! We had sampled many of the appetizers and loved every one (especially the spinach and artichoke dish and the macaroni). The staff was more than welcoming and kind to all of us. I also love the location, cant wait to be on the patio again this spring!!!

Pros: food, atmosphere, crowd, flat screens!

Cons: closes around 11-12

Posted 10/20/09

Had dinner there on Saturday went there around 8pm. Saw there advertisment in stuff at night. Stayed there to closing for drinks. Staff is friendly and always going the extra mile.

Pros: Love it

Posted 10/18/09

LOVED IT - I wish the cafeteria at Suffolk served food like this. Place was fun, hip, trendy and a good-looking crowd.

Right now they have an Italian-American menu but my server told me they were changing it to a more American, cafeteria-inspired menu - sounds like FUN. I had the burgers and fries and both were awesome. Probably the best burger I had ever!!!! The fries with parmesan cheese were just as good!!

I'm excited for the new menu, can't wait to try it.

Pros: Food/Service/Fun

Cons: Wait when busy

Posted 08/25/09

This was the worst food I have ever eaten & the nastiest service I have ever encountered in a restaurant. Never in my life have I ever eaten food so cold & bland!

Pros: N/A

Cons: Food

Posted 07/20/09

We went here for my birthday dinner and were a group of 10, which can be overwhelming for one server. However, it takes a lot to mess up as badly as she did. Two people order burgers. One ordered it med-rare and the other ordered it well-done. I bit into a burnt burger thinking that it was the kitchen's fault and they just didn't know how to cook, but later found out that it was our server's fault. She had switched the two burgers and we didn't know what had happened until after dinner when my friend was complaining to us that her burger was undercooked. HORRIBLE. One stupid mistake ruined dinner for two people. The fries were good, though.

Pros: They probably have good food, but I wouldn't know.

Cons: Given the wrong food, TOOK FOREVER

Posted 07/09/09

I will never return to CafeTeria Boston. The waitress (Keagan) manipulated the receipt and gave herself a better tip than what I signed off for.

Furthermore, the restaurant had a foul smell, which didn't make for a pleasant dining experience.

Unfortunate, since I work in the Back Bay and frequent restaurants in this area. With the abundance of other restaurants with exceptional food and service, I have no use for places with dishonest staff. CafeTeria certainly didn't measure up. I wouldn't recommend dining here.

Pros: Tasty food

Cons: waitress manipulated the bill, foul smell

Posted 03/21/09

Went for friday night dinner and everything was fantastic from the food, to the atmosphere, to the service. The salads were fresh and very creative, margarita pizza--so delicious and the cod-cooked to perfection. Added bonus, the restaurant /bar area is filled with huge flat screens tvs so we were able to catch the celtics game.
Would go back next week, or tomorrow!

Posted 03/20/09

Although this place is not from same owners of the "seen to be seen" Cafeteria NYC, it bears an uncanny resemblance to its NYC counterpart - both feature a lovely outdoor patio filled with tables of girls who carry bags the size of their bodies and wear sunglasses the size of their face.

The decor of Cafeteria was overall quite lovely and modern - especially noteworthy were the chairs made from material that looked like old wine corks. The only eyesore was the rusty looking "Cafeteria" sign made out of wire on the wall, which was definitely a design faux pas.

I started off with a pear martini. I was expecting the martini to be yellow, not magenta, which confused my sight/taste coordination.

The best dish of the night was the lobster macaroni and cheese appetizer, as the consistency of the macaroni was excellent and the sizable chunks of lobster were extremely yummy.

My entree was the pan seared scallops atop cauliflower puree and spinach. I was a bit miffed when I saw the cauliflower puree was a shade of grayish-purple, which intriguingly (but not appetizingly) was the same color as my wool sweater. The scallops were quite large and well seared, but had a slight hint of freezer burn. Last time I checked Boston was not landlocked, so obtaining fresh seafood should have been easy as pie.

To ease the pain of my rather disappointing entree, I decided to order 2 more cocktails (as alcohol is clearly the solution to all dining mishaps). The drinks were not bad - the blueberry martini included tasty pieces of blueberry pulp and the strawberry basil martini was the correct color.

All and all, the meal experienced was mixed - some outstanding items were offset by others that were pretty bad. However, I would probably come back during warmer weather to sit on the patio, so maybe you will spot me in the sea of big bags and sunglasses!

Posted 02/09/09

the place is has a relaxed feel to it, nice ambiance, good looking people, great food!!

Service is sometimes a little lax, but other than that great place for dinner and drinks

Pros: good food and atmosphere

Cons: dont go if your in a hurry to get out

Posted 09/19/08

Some friends and I decided to go to Cafe teria Boston for coffee and sweets. Let me tell you ....it was to die for!! Never have I had such tasty and fresh deserts like they serve here. We had the Apple Crisp, Lemon Pannacotta and Tiramisu. Uhhh...absolutely fabulous. Recommended.

Pros: Lemon Pannacotta, People Watching, Location

Cons: None

Posted 09/15/08

well i was there the other day for lunch with my friends the first impression was the hostess of course!!!! she was so pretty then the entire staff was pretty i felt really hot in there we were sourrounded by the hottest people ever plus everybody who walk in was gorgeous !!!! we tried the white sangria first was amazing !!!!then we ordered calamaris they were ok but the paninis were great we have one of each one and splitted.... was really good is definetely worth going once a week if u want to be seen in a hot spot plus i heard that gissele bundchen and tom brady go there totally worth it !!!!

Posted 09/12/08

My parents were in town, so I figured I could take them to a nice restaurant on Newbury, and we could enjoy the beautiful weather. Well, we did get a table outside, but the service, food and drinks were all horrible. To be honest, we would've been much better off going to Vinny T's on Boylston. At least the food is good there.

Pros: Location

Cons: Bad Food

Posted 09/10/08

Went with three friends for lunch the other day and thought the place was actually really good. It was different from other newbury offerings. It was chill and the food was reasonably priced for what you got. The hamburger was great and so was the pizza. Its definitely worth checking out aside from others bizarre reviews.

Posted 08/11/08

I was there saturday night , no patron seemed to be there... the food wasn t anywhere close to decent .. if one thing it just seemed that the curse on that location realy exist.

Pros: beside the futuristique design with a rustic twist

Cons: everything else

Posted 06/06/08

Never posted on citysearch but had a lunch there a couple days ago and found it to be quite decent, especially for Newbury. I noticed almost all of the reviews are one time posters and negative (hmm, they have enemies perhaps). I found the patio great with good sized portions and quality ingredients. It isn't a five star white table cloth meal, nor aiming to be. It is a upscale place that serves simple food (that is prepared well, or at least when I visited) with a cool scene, nothing more, nothing less.

Pros: Great Patio, Scene

Cons: Parking, OK Service

Posted 06/04/08

I would not recommended this place at all. first of all it was busy day for restaurants on newbury street when i went and they were the only one with a bunch of free tables. hmmm i wonder why? i went with a couple of friends and order my food no problem. About 15 minutes later I got my food and casually picked away at my fries waiting for everyone else to get their food. Tell me why the waiter comes back to me and says that the food was not meant for me but for another table!!! he said he had to give it to another table b/c they ordered the same thing earlier. are u friggin serious?? i was so shocked that he took my food i didnt even know what to say. before I knew it he whisked my food away and probably recycled it and gave to the other table! what the hell! aren't there laws against that!

to cap it off i ordered a simple gin and tonic and the waitress admitted she had a little accident in the back and came out with the whole drink spilled all over her work shirt! kinda funny to be honest but c'mon people! damn near wasted a whole bottle of Tanqueray for crying out loud! For all that they shouldve given me my meal free, esp after I started eating it! Don't give it to somebody else! At the very least I wouldve been happy with a free round of drinks or something. Don't get me wrong they tried to be very cordial and sincere about it, I will give them that but if your on Newbury Street, you need to step your game up! What a s***show!

Pros: the scene

Cons: everything (food was ok, service not so much)

Posted 06/02/08

I thought the cocktails were excellent and its a great place to go and grab a bite and few drinks for either lunch or dinner.

Posted 05/25/08

We love Cafeteria - the relaxed environment, friendly staff, great food and just a totally nice dining experience and a welcome addition to the Back Bay.

Posted 05/24/08

It's almost laughable how bad this restaurant is. My girlfriends and I decided to check it out on Sunday for brunch, since every other restaurant on Newbury had at least an hour wait (it was 11:45am.) There were a ton of open tables there, which should have been the first warning sign. They didn't have any breakfast/brunch items on the menu, which we decided was fine since again, there were no other available restaurants. It took the waiter about 10 minutes to bring us glasses of water, and about 20 to bring my girlfriend her cup of coffee (when there were more wait staff than customers!) The bread they gave us at the table was stale. We ordered, and 45 minutes later the food still had not arrived. And in that time, I think we saw our waiter once. We finally had to flag down what appeared to be the manager to ask for an update on our order. Our waiter came out and apologized and said there was a "back-up in the kitchen," and that it should be about another 10 minutes. We asked to cancel our order, and went to Finagle a Bagel instead! If this continues, I can't see this restaurant staying in business for much longer. I for one am never going back! Horrible.

Pros: Location

Cons: Bad Service

Posted 05/18/08

This place is weak. The server neglected to tell us about the several menu items that were unavailable (at 7pm on a Friday???). She then stood there staring at me impatiently at me while I scrambled to choose my third favorite option off of an already bland menu. She continued to be inattentive and uninformed. Just not "nice restaurant service".

The atmosphere is strange. The place tries very hard to be chic and swanky, and doesn't really pull it off. Crappy wicker furniture in the middle of the dining area doesn't make sense, and the wire sign on the curved wall is poor;y made and mis-shaped (little thing, but I couldn't stop looking at how crappy it was.) My impression- someone wanted to make a swanky hot-spot, but didn't really know what they were doing. The result is a restaurant with a pretentious attitude, but not much more.

The food was alright, but we (my gf and I) thought that it was bland and unexceptional. Some reviews give Cafeteria props for its reasonable prices, but I'd have to disagree (mid-$20's). Just because the prices don't stretch into the $30's doesn't mean much. I'd rather pay a few extra bucks for something that offers that "wow" factor. My tenderloin came with soggy spinach and french fries (c'mon) that were similar to those a the Sports Depot.

My girlfriend liked her drink (some sort of champagne libation with peach and vodka). That was the highlight.

If you want to eat at Newbury, there are dozens of great options (Charlie's across the street is great). Don't waste an evening at Cafeteria.

Posted 05/15/08

I was there for a function where we had rented out the top floor of the restaurant. I charged the only drink i had all night, tipped $1 on my $4 beer, wrote it in on the receipt and paid cash the remainder of the night. I checked my bank statement online this morning, and all of the sudden my beer that should've been $5 including the tip, showed up as a charge for $10. awesome. I called today and apparently they don't keep the receipts after they put the charge through. Never going back.

Posted 04/27/08

Please don't go to this restaurant. The service is so terrible. The night we were there they ran out of bread, chicken and steak. One person's burger was a blackened hockey puck. The only available item was basically burgers and they screwed them up. My pizza was disgusting. It took forever to come to the table, to order food, to get food, etc. I was so embarrassed to bring friends from out of town there. It was just awful.

Posted 04/22/08

Ok, I totally disagree with the previous reviews of this place. I've been a few times now since it's opened and while it's not top notch dining or anything, the food is good (try the mussels). Both times I have eaten at the bar and received impeccable service. Yes, it's on Newbury, and yes...for the most part food on Newbury isn't the end all be all. However, if you're alrady shopping in the area and hungry or in the mood to booze, I think Cafeteria is a great option.

Posted 02/18/08

Do not go in this place expecting anything resembling upscale or fine dining. It is just another trendy newbury spot lacking any sense of class or integrity. Owners/managment ought to read a manual on what hospitality means. I went in and had one of the single worst dining experiences of my life. In short, dont bother.

Pros: decent looking people

Cons: everything else

Posted 01/23/08

Not Very Good! My friends and I wanted to try it out knowing that the other restaurants that have been in that location in the past have not done so good. We ordered and our food came out 10 minutes later, no joke. Which made me think it was already prepared and they just had to heat it up in a microwave. I ordered the crab cakes and they arrived cold, I sent them back and then I got the warm bacon salad. There was nothing warm about it. It had peices of bacon fat -gross!! My friend did order a pasta dish which she said was not bad. The service was horrible, our waitress was missing most of the time! Overall we will not be visiting here ever again!!

Cons: Very Loud atmosphere, not a great date place. Horrible food & Service!

Posted 01/17/08