Reviews & Ratings for Centre Street Cafe

02/10/10

waiting in line is worth it

by Keyse , Citysearch Contributor at Citysearch

I love going to this place for brunch - So good! Their staff is cool and there is usually some good music playing. The specials are just that, special yummy yummy. The regular options are great as well (I love the Truck Stop or the ranchero...whatever its called). They have fresh whip creme and the pancakes are yogurt based with fresh fruit in the batter. Coffee is self serve. Mark, the coolest waiter, is a gem and will make you feel like a cool kid.

• Pros: local food
• Cons: space

06/11/08

best food for your dolla

by michaelwasher at Citysearch

I have never been disappointed by this place. Food is always amazing, and for the price is ALWAYS fresh, cooked perfectly, and of course tastes better because they support local farmers. I would eat there everyday if I could, the menu is always changing, with very creative dishes and service is great.

• Pros: never had something that wasn't good
• Cons: it's not a large place so there is a long line for sat. and sun. brunch, well worth the wait though!

06/07/08

Very fresh food in a hip place

by zarthon at Citysearch

I love Centre Street brunch! I wish I were there right now! As others have said the food is fresh and the portions are large. This includes the Mimosas! They are huge! I also recommend the breakfast banana split, and the Cuban scramble.

They will accommodate vegetarians and vegans here.

As for the line I think they let you go in and get coffee while you wait. The places is also next to an entertaining kitchen store that helps pass time in line.

I have not eaten dinner here yet but plan on trying it since brunch is so good. Based on my brunch experience I plan to listen to the wait person's recommendations about what's good that day. They are very honest and down to earth.

• Pros: portions, food , mimmosas
• Cons: line, passing through the kitchen to the restroom

12/20/07

awesome brunch

by kathyp11011 at Citysearch

still one of the best brunches in boston, if you can get deal with the long lines! i recommend getting there just before the 3pm closing and there's usually less of a wait. uses mostly locally grown ingredients, really fresh! dinner is a bit over-priced. the brunch is $$, but huge portions,,,

12/10/07

Over priced and over hyped

by jorobkenne at Citysearch

We had heard such great hings about this place, and wanted to try somewhere new. We were the first customers in on a Monday night, were greeted very warmly by the staff, but then oddly enough with 4-5 servers and 2-3 peopole hovering around the kitchen service was slow. Hubby started with the leek and potato soup - it looked pretty good, but was incredibly grainy, and tasted overly of leeks, I had the potato cakes, and paid extra for the smoked salmon - they were tasty, but for the price not really worth it - there was barely a teaspoon of salmon on each one. My husband's entree came around 5 minutes before mine and one glance told us both that the mashed potatoes were definately not "local/organic" more like from a box in the dried goods section of Stop and Shop. Then came my mussels - looked very nice, although the mound of sweet corn (definately couldn't be fresh - too far out of season...) was worrisome. The first mussel was luke warm, I let it go - it was on the edge of the dish - big mistake. I ate in total 6 mussels - I stopped after 2 in a row tasted distinctly "fishy", just like you would imagine bait would taste. I wish I had complained, but the whole place seemed despondant as if the staff knew they were just "hanging on". My tip - if you are going to spend $70 on dinner go somewhere like Legal - jeez go to TGIF - just don't go here

• Pros: None
• Cons: No parking, snippy note on the door about using credit cards, awful food

06/17/07

Not worth the hype

by simershein at Citysearch

I don't know what people see in this place, except for possibly the scene. The food is definitely only average or below, mostly just boring and waaayyyyyy overpriced. I went in on an off hour to try it out before attempting the hour-and-a-half long line that forms for weekend brunches. With only three other people in the restaurant it took over 45 minutes before we got our food. You could tell the other two people were regulars and use to the long wait, siting with their newspapers and PDAs. We now know that the long line is not for the stellar eating experience, it is for the crappy (but nice) service. Not recommended.

Gargantuan portions in a funky J.P. institution

by Contributor at Citysearch

The Food
Organic and locally grown produce go into all of the long-loved kitchen's supersized, highly affordable fixings. The standard menu tends to be cheaper, with entrees running under $10. (Nightly specials hover around $15.) Lovers of nouveau homestyle dishes will find plenty to satisfy, from earthy potato and mushroom stews and Szechuan stir-fry to chicken livers with dried figs and straight-from-the-garden-fresh salads.

The Scene
Think vintage Jamaica Plain: a rainbow coalition of customers piles in nightly, packing the less than 30 seats. An open counter to the kitchen, a sassy (but competent) wait staff, and the loud conversation bouncing off of every wall keep the place feeling vibrant.

06/26/06

Beautiful Brunch

by taves7 at Citysearch

This JP institution is a great treat for brunch. The portions are gigantic so enter with an empty belly. This place is always hopping, although I have only visited Centre Street Cafe for it's famous brunch. The morning specials are usually in the $12-$15 range, but it's all good!

• Pros: Great food, giant portions, fabulous choices
• Cons: Long waits, crowded

01/07/06

Breakfast and Brunch are Great!

by meredith4444 at Citysearch

Breakfast and Brunch are fabulous. It is a but pricey though but well worth it for the yummy food. However, the dinner menu is also expensive and not as good as the breakfast menu. I had a 26 dollar steak which was just okay, it had a tomato topping and corn-mashed potatoes. I didn't really think it was anything special. My friend ate a pasta seafood dish that was jut average as well. There are many other and better places for dinner in J.P. . I would not go back to Centre Street Cafe for dinner.

If you are going for brunch on the weekends, expect to wait in line for at least 20-30 minutes. The wait staff are really nice and you can get coffee while you wait.

• Cons: crowded

06/21/03

Best Brunch Ever

by husker at Citysearch

Centre Street Cafe has the best brunch in Boston. It is served until 3:00 on both Saturday and Sunday. The portions were huge and super-fresh. I had the blueberry banana pancakes and my boyfriend had the truckstop special. Both meals came hot and bursting with flavor. The place was full but the line was short and we waited less than 5 minutes when we got there around 2:30 on a Saturday. The staff was super friendly and the crowd was very eclectic. Prices were reasonable for the huge portions. We will definitely be coming here again!

• Pros: great food, friendly staff, good value
• Cons: wait, service kind of slow