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Cafe Kushco
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- None
12 reviews for Cafe Kushco
I had Cafe Kushco for the first time on Friday night. We ordered delivery, and it was a huge mistake. Delivery was quoted to us for 30 - 40 minutes, and it took more like 70 - 80 minutes. Huge mistake.
The food arrived cold and late. Meh. And, also no apology from the driver. Not even an acknowledgment that the food was late.
But, the reason for the 3 stars is because, even though cold, my tuna melt was huge, delicious and very well flavored! My friends both enjoyed their meals, as well.
We also got the potato salad as a side, and it was not very good. It was very reminiscent of the Stop and Shop deli counter potato salad. That is not a good thing.
Overall, if you're willing to wait, I would recommend this place. If you're not willing to wait, I would look for something else.
I've only had takeout here so I wont comment on the inside.
If I did, then it would probably knock off a star or two.
As some have said, the service could use a little help but for me,
as long as you keep it short with a call, a thank you at pickup and a goodbye
it's not an unpleasant experience.
Now the good stuff: the food is pretty friggin amazing! They have gigantic sizes for everything they serve which makes the prices reasonable. Ingredients are always fresh, everything is really customizable & the standard sandwiches & wraps are awesome. I usually go with the salads & the hot wraps. Awesome falafel if you're into that kind of thing :)
The food is REALLY good... the service is REALLY shoddy. Actually, I should say the service is really inconsistant because sometimes it's very good and other times, you could wait forty minutes for them to make your food. And don't bother having them deliver - that'll take two hours. Order ahead of time and then pick it up.
I honestly love every single sandwich I've ever gotten from this place and they will go out of their way to make things the way you want them, even if it's not on the menu, so long as they have the ingrediants. And the staff is pretty friendly and VERY talkative.
I'll definitely get food from here again, but I will always call ahead and pick it up myself.
I live in the downtown area and frequent Kushco a lot. I think the detractors need to relax a bit. Kushco isn't a sloppy sub shop or fast food place. They use real, wholesome ingredients when it comes to their food. So guess what, it is going to cost a bit more. You might have to wait a little longer. It happens.
What you get is outstanding food from people who really appreciate your business. I've gotten to know this husband and wife team and they work their arses off and given the economy right now, they have to do it alone (whereas they used to have a handful of employees). I always cut them some slack and I can say that once you get to know them they are truly wonderful people.
But enough defending the nonsense remarks, here's my review...
Best Bets...
- Boston College on Foccacia (best seller they have, just an unreal sandwich)
- Chicken Teryaki roll-up
- Chicken Parm roll-up
- Greek roll-up with chicken
- Hummus and Falafel roll-up
- ANY Frozen Yogurt Concoction
All of the HS and Double Stuffed sandwiches are tremendous and they have no problem mixing and matching ingredients for you. All of the sandwiches come STUFFED. You will not go hungry.
The selection of soups are great, I would recommend the beef chili or corn chowder. They always come with some sort of warm bread, often foccacia (tremendous!).
Haven't had the pizza since the first time I went. That's not a knock on the pizza, but rather a testament to the overwhelming sandwich board.
Sodas are expensive, I'll grant you that, but I rarely get one there.
This is an order in and take out place. This isn't a sub shop, this isn't McDonalds, so relax and people watch while you wait. If you can, call ahead, wait ten minutes, then leave to pick up your food.
And remember, you get what you pay for. So while you might get a soggy sub a few blocks away for $1.50 cheaper, why would you?
Cafe Kushco is an asset to the downtown of Salem that caters more towards the residents of the town and the order out lunch crowd. I couldn't imagine living here without it.
Cafe Kushco is a real gem when it comes to dining out in Salem. Not only is the food really good, but the owners are very very nice people.
This is not the same old disgusting sub shop that seems to be very popular in Salem, which usually includes rude employees, sports on a tv somewhere, meatheads, and drunk people. Here, you actually get a nice environment to socialize, have lunch, work on the computer (they have internet now), etc. It does take some time on occasion for the food to be done, but that's fine because it's fresh quality made food. So if you're in a rush, it's probably not the best place to go, but if you're looking for good food, and place to relax, it's perfect.
Cafe Kucshco is one of those places you tend to love or Hate. They offer Mediterranian style food. For a takeout/sitdown place they offer a nice atmosphere.
I honestly wish I liked it more here, the people are really nice. I just don't think their food is that good. However I do know some people who absolutely love it.
They do have one sandwich I love. It's grilled chicken, spinach, and tomatoes on grilled bread. I think this is called the HS1 or HS2? In any case it is delicious, but does not makeup for the other things I've tried here.
It is hard for me to give Cafe Kuscho a bad rating because the people there are really really nice. The atmosphere is very much that of a local business started by ethnic people who know a thing or two about food.
Unfortunately just don't think their food is worth the price. For example: A chicken Caesar wrap and a drink costs about $10 total. This is ridiculously expensive.
While the people their are very kind, the time it takes them to prepare your food is not what you'd expect from a place like this. The delivery tends to be really slow. They really need to hire more people here.
Cafe Kucho's best item is their frozen yogurt, which you cannot really differentiate from ice cream. There are LOADS of toppings to choose from and considering that it's better for you than ice cream it's well worth the price, which is about the same as you'd pay for a medium ice cream cone.
It's worth trying, but definitely not the best food around here. Cafe Vesuvius in Marblehead has similar food that is higher quality and at a much better price.
Hands down, the worst falafel I've ever had. And not even by a little! This stuff truly sucks.
I visited this small, run-down restaurant last Saturday. In addition to paninis, melts, pizzas, calzones, salads, and cold sandwiches, the menu runs a ridiculously large gamut of cuisines in the form of various wraps: Chicken Parm to Middle Eastern to Beef Teriyaki. Now, back to the heinous falafel!:
First off, the wrap was slathered in - literally - about 3/4 of an entire container of hummus. You could not take a single bite without getting hummus squeezins all over your face and hands; it was disgusting and unnecessary. The wrap was fully half Romaine lettuce which was old and thready. There was a little tomato, some shredded carrot, cucumber, as well as the green pepper I asked them to leave off.
Now, by this time I know you're intrigued about the actual falafel part. Yes, well, I've saved it for last because there was so freaking little of it - but looking back maybe that was a blessing. I don't know when this stuff was made/fried/whatever but it was NOT freshly made. It was cold, extremely hard, flattened, and dry as cardboard. There were exactly TWO falafel balls on my entire twelve inch wrap; one on each side, torn into halves and positioned down the length of the wrap. The consistency was just so thoroughly desiccated that this didn't taste anything like falafel. It didn't look a whole lot like it either: instead of the crispy-coated sphere of creamy beige goodness it was a small, hard, flat, dried-out cow patty that was actually green inside.
I asked for potato salad but they were out. I then asked for cole slaw and they took my money for it but it never actually materialized. Luckily I remembered to ask for my money back on the way out.
My boyfriend had an average turkey club sandwich but reported that it was unfortunately drowning in a very thin, very mayonaissy Russian dressing.
I would never go back to this place again.
Update 05/28/08: The reviewer "hegi i." obviously owns or works for this business, or has friends who do. No matter how nice the people are who run this place, the sandwiches are awful and the service is non-existent. Rather than posting a fake review, these owners/managers should pay attention to the feedback here to improve what's wrong.
i've gone into this place a number of times, just due to the fact that it is less than a drunken stumble from my front door. so on three separate occasions, i ordered a ham and cheese sandwich on white bread. perhaps the easiest, quickest sandwich to make EVER.
twenty-five. minutes. later.
still the only person in the place, and my sandwich will have just arrived. it's like someone had to go rustle up a hog, and then go carve the ham... this place just consistently takes a long time, whether you're getting a complicated panini with soup, or two slices of dry white toast (which I have yet to test).
two stars, because the sandwiches are actually pretty decent, despite a perplexing and consistently unnecessary wait time.
when the cashier told me i owed $15 for a chef salad and a prosciutto/mozzarella/tomato/basil/etc. sandwich on regular multigrain bread, my brain did a WTF. then i put the sandwich in my mouf.
yes, the sandwich was delicious. i loved that it was great quality, thinly-sliced prosciutto. i come from eye-talian gloucester where prosciutto is done right, so i'm glad to have found some good stuff in salem. the sandwich was packed with stuff but didn't overwhelm and did not collapse under pressure. the bread, which initially bummed me out cause i like fancy bread, was actually very dense and tasty and loaded with multiple grains. it had a bit of a sweet flavor, but nothing to ruin the experience. good times. and it was only a little oily, but that's cause the roasted peppers were probably soaking in the shit for days. a very 4-star sandwich.
the salad, to be honest, i haven't had yet, but i looked at it for a long time. it's regular old garden salad with turkey, ham, and swiss. it's very large and, for february, the veggies look good. there is plenty of meat rolled up on top and, if it's like the prosciutto, it's great quality. you can usually tell just by looking at a salad if it's good, and i can tell i'm going to have a good lunch tomorrow. i'd say it's a 3.5 salad, just cause it takes a lot to impress me with a salad.
i haven't had anything else at cafe kushco but i'll probably update this review once i do. the cake slices looked absolutely ridiculous, and i'm super curious about their frozen yogurt; i feel like they have at least 20 varieties and they all sound like a tasty party. i'm going to stop in for a coffee at some point too, just to see what's up....cause fuck dunkin donuts. they had a shit-ton of soups and wraps and panini and fantasticness that made my brain do a dance. they have lots of good ingredients. avocado showed up on the menu several times. i have a boner for avocado.
i took my stuff to go because i felt like getting home to my dog, but it seems like a place i wouldn't mind, eating in-wise. it's not like a legit sit-down restaurant or anything, but there are plenty of large tables and it's nice enough in there. as i waited for my food to be prepared i didn't get bored cause there's a lot to see, plus the place is mainly windows, so you can do a lot of people-watching.
so yeah... good food, kinda steep prices, don't know if ALL the food and prices mix, but what i got was worth the money for the most part. i am certainly willing to try again to find out.
p.s. the salad was definitely good.
So, it's October in Salem and you've only got 2 people working at night...at prime eating time. F*cking ridiculous.
We waited 20 MINUTES for a cup of ice cream....nothing had to be cut or cooked. Ice cream. 20 minutes.
You get 2 stars because you're the only place that offers tofu ice cream for my boyfriend. Otherwise this place sucks.
Also...no french fries?? You sell sandwiches up the wazoo and no french fries.
i will just list my favorite things here:
*the chicken teriyaki wrap... it's so big and so filling
*lemon chicken soup...one of the best soups i have ever had...
*and their chicken, feta, onion pizza...yum
that is all...get the soup
Weekday lunch is always insanely busy- I think that shows a bit of how good this place is. Rated 3 instead of 4 because of atmosphere, I recommend take out over eating there.
The quality of sandwich varies, back when the owners themselves made the sandwiches they were amazing. I still get food here as I know what to expect. I love the variety of flavors they offer and will continue to eat here even with the bland decor.
