Pacific Street Cafe
70 Pacific St, Cambridge, MA
Crema's Take
“Pacific Street Cafe is a casual neighborhood spot in Cambridge where you can linger over a full breakfast or grab lunch quickly, though service can be inconsistent—some visitors praise the friendly owners and affordable, well-portioned food, while others have had less welcoming experiences. The cafe has earned genuine goodwill for catering events and offering substantial breakfast wraps and sandwiches without the aggressive upselling that plagues many coffee shops, making it feel refreshingly straightforward and family-oriented.”
What to expect
Google Reviews
I walked in and it was pretty empty excluding a couple guys. She didn't really greet me. I assumed she is one of the owners? She handed me my food at a counter before I went over to pay. So juggling a hot plate of food and salad with little register space was weird. The menu is huge. They make pizza, have salads and even smoothies. I didn't realize there is a more lounge-esque section until after paying and going to get my utensils. The place is much larger than it looked from the outside corner. I ordered the Blue Plate. Their menu is broken up by different plates and the menu of what is offered is rotated out depending on the day. They have a quick grab and go section as well of sweets, drinks, and fruit. The blue plate was chicken, rice, a side salad with lemon artichokes and olives. All things I love. I also got a salad that was just a garden salad that they add two scoops of tuna salad to, to make it a tuna garden salad. I guess because of the large menu they do this to help save on time? I also bought a banana. Banana $1: Good. Tuna Salad $11: It was okay. I liked the balsamic dressing. Nothing to write home about, nice and filling. Ate this before my Blue Plate. OKAY. Blue Plate Tuesday Special chicken, rice, a side salad with lemon artichokes and olives $14: SO she told me it was $15, which I thought was weird. Then rung it up for the listed price of $14. Then I sat closer to the kitchen, and hear a girl around the back I never saw come to the front say, " She should have known better to come in here." A bunch of laughter and more conversation, I cannot hear. I have never been there. I don't know these folks, so I don't assume this is in reference to me. Then a kid, lanky comes from around the back and keeps looking at me smirking. Super weird. I think nothing of this until I start eating my food. A couple of normal fresh cooked pieces of chicken with pieces I wonder if they cam out of the trash. Not warm, dried out and bitter. I spat out the food while sitting at the table. What the hell is this? I also bit down into something that exploded in my mouth that was hard. This happened twice. I spit out mouthfulls of food 4 times! I hear the girl around back also say something about how that would teach her to say she doesn't deserve to be paid. Then I see the same owner woman who rung me up go back and tell them " I told you to be cool and keep it down at least until she left." What they hell is this? Again, I have never been here. I do not know these people. I realize after the lanky tall kid w a high-top hair comes back out again smirking at me it might be about me. What the heck! So I start taking pictures and recording what occurred and talking about it loudly. apparently someone texted the other owner. Even the picture you will see below of me throwing my food away in the trash. Someone texted the other owner. He shows up and plays dumb asking ME if everything is okay. I say no my food was terrible. He offers me something else. I say, I want nothing else from this establishment. He asks if there is anything else he can do. I ask for a refund for my Blue Plate. He says to her did anyone else remark on the Blue Plate. This is when I notice that everything to make the Blue Plate is already stationed up front, but she went BACK INTO THE KITCHEN WHERE I COULD NOT SEE to put MY plate together. She goes to the register and hands me back $15. Whatever. I say thanks and leave. My money back does not fix what they just did, but it is a good start. Why cover for them? A. Never been here nor do I know them. B. I wasn't rude or demanding. C. I saw they serve 2 POC male customers ( Guy in blue by the table), so why is there an issue serving me? Granted, the majority of folks who came in were White, but still. D. Since I control no one's financial circumstances but my own, have stolen nothing from anyone, why would I and how would I be involved in blocking her money?! Did they think I was someone else? This was BIZZARE! What is it with people messing with food in Massachusetts! VERDICT: AVOID.
Very friendly staff/owners, comparatively affordable lunch, healthy food and good portions. Plus the register doesn't harass you to ask for a 30% tip (or any tip whatsoever) for a place that only does counter service, which is a huge relief compared to every other overpriced lunch place around. I really love their straightforwardness, friendliness, and amount of choice there. Plus it is normally not that busy, but probably should be more busy if people understood the value of that precious place.
Be very careful I work in the area & went to grab lunch & after using my card on their machine. My card was charged $98.71 without my knowledge my bank contacted me to notify me of a fraud charge. It was the only place I used my card that day so it was very easy to narrow it down. Be very careful when swiping your card. Not saying it’s their establishment. But something is definitely going on with their card machine.
Ordered a breakfast wrap that was not hot in the middle, was not seasoned well, and was not spicy (the lady asked if I liked spicy and I said yes). It's too bad, because the ingredients were decent. I've had food from here before and it's always meh like this.
Pacific Street Cafe is a lovely local cafe that my company used to cater an event for 40 people. We ordered their boxed lunch and were impressed with their food and service! Not only were the sandwiches delicious but the boxes came with a piece of fruit, a bag of chips, and an enormous cookie... and the cookie was so good the attendees asked where they could get more! My group had a snafu and we didn't plan for enough water for our all day conference, so I called Pacific Street Cafe after they already delivered lunch to us and asked if they could tack on an extra 3 dozen waters-- they did without hesitation and delivered them to us asap. Thanks so much for being the local cafe that cares about their customers!
Crema Reviews
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