Caffe Graffiti

Great North End location.

Best Cafe Mocha in North End. Owner is nice and interesting to chat with. Don't expect brewed coffee here-this is European as in-espresso drinks only.

The first time we walk into Cafe Graffiti:

We all walk in, me, my wife, two girls. I'm looking up at the menu, kids are checking the place out. I walk up to the counter. Behind the counter is the owner. Probably 6'6", big guy, tatts all over, could be intimidating to some. My daughter walks up to the counter and looks up at him. At the time she was 9.

Huge dude with tatts looks down at her, holds out fist, tosses head back slightly: "Sup?"

Little girl makes fist, raps it on huge dude's fist, tosses head back slightly: "Sup."

We've been going here ever since.

Great location to relax and people watch.

Very warm and welcoming atmosphere, I go here every time I'm in the North End (which is pretty regularly)

Groupon expiration for this place was approaching fast, so the boyfriend and I stopped by for an impromptu brunch one gorgeous Sunday. And can I just say I am so glad I did not pay a cent for this meal.

Service was utterly abysmal. Had to seat ourselves, were ignored by staff, finally served by horribly bitchy, unsmiling waitress (why am I dropping the subjects in these clauses...I don't know...), endured awful coffee-flavored cocktail with too much ice and zero flavor (besides coffee). And it wasn't just us. All the guests in tables around us were looking lost, then annoyed at the complete lack of service.

The food was decent but it's so simplistic an amputated monkey could make it. I had the Carbonara with a side of home fries. Noodles that clearly came out of a box, potato pieces that clearly came out of a package--yeah, nothing to write home about. The boy had the Scramble with a side of smokehouse sausage. Again, nothing remarkable in any way (they didn't have jam for the accompanying toast, much to his disappointment).

Paid with our Groupon and left without a single "thank you" from the several staff members milling about. Yeah, I won't be coming back. Shit-ty service, thy name is Caffe Graffiti.

What the hell? I came to the North End for THIS?

In short - the meal was average at best, WAAAY overpriced [cashing in on the North End 'brand'] and super cramped on the inside. The waitstaff, or "Frank" the owner is a great guy with good intentions. But he should have stuck to the pastry business.

One plus - is that the coffee was awesome and very authentic.

Also - if any Mafioso reads this and disagrees, please don't kill me.

My wife and I were tired after a long day of touring Boston and wanted to try some pizza in little Italy.

We got a seat by the open window and it was awesome watching the people of Boston walk by on a beautiful day.

I ordered a Diet Coke and we got a pizza with proshuetto witout cheese (My wife doesn't like cheese on her pizza)

The pizza came out like a flat bread and it was amazing. Thin crispy crust with a nice sauce. I added grated parmesan and hot peppers and it made it fantastic.

The service was fantastic and an overall great dinner.

SHORT VERSION: GLAD I had a 1/2 PRICE PRE-PAID CARD...
This place was empty and the waiter was still impatient & annoyed.

We wanted to eat outdoors, but arrived to find their patio EMPTY. The waiter tells us we should eat inside, because it's getting cold out, and other diners have moved inside. SO...we let him lead us in...

...to another EMPTY DINING ROOM! Where are these "other diners?" Despite the lack of work for the waiter, he still gave off an air of IRRITATION, ATTITUDE & ANNOYANCE.

I was served 6 or 8 RAVIOLI...FOR A DINNER PORTION. I'm a small girl, and I left hungry. SALAD WAS NOT INCLUDED. The prices were NOT CHEAP. The ravioli was NOT MEMORABLE. The atmosphere was NON-EXISTENT.

Really terrible. The service was terrible, and the server was obnoxious. The wine list is seriously lacking- we tried every glass of red on their list, and they were all bad. They ran out of the only good beer on the menu after 1 bottle.
When we finally got menus, it wasn't the same as the one on the website. Very few vegetarian options, and even though they have a full bar- we couldn't get drinks at the table.
This may be the first restaurant you see as you walk into the North End, but there are 500 better ones right behind it.

A couple of weeks ago GroupOn had a deal that was good for $40 worth of food for only $20 at Caffe Graffiti and I was excited to visit. So last Friday night my boyfriend and I ventured into the North End. I lucked out and parked outside which was definitely a high point.

We had eaten a late lunch that day, so we planning to maybe split an app, have dessert and maybe a drink or two. I told the hostess this, but when the waiter realized he seemed a little miffed that we were not ordering dinner. He actually seemed grouchy the whole time. Mind you the place was empty, so he should have been glad to be waiting on anyone.

For a beverage we each ordered the Pomegranate Fizz. It was pretty good, but definitely low alcohol content. I think they waved the St. Germain over it. We decided to order the fried calamari to which our waiter proclaimed "good choice, no one else makes it like us." Well, he was right, but not in a good way...we were served what appeared to be a large portion of fried calamari but upon closer examination you could see that they "fill" the order with fried vegetables (Cauliflower, carrots, peppers, etc). I would not have minded the addition of the vegetables but for the fact they were drenched in lemon and salt making them unpleasant to eat.

Throughout our time there, I mentioned to the waiter that we wanted dessert. However, he never asked us if we wanted it and after ordering a second round of drinks (cordial of Sambuca and a SoCo Sour) he brought us the check. I had to remind him we wanted to dessert.

At that point we should have just left, but the Baccio Gelato was calling my name, so we had some. That was all that looked appealing to me in the case (they do not have a dessert menu).

Sad to say I will not be adding Caffe Graffiti to my elite list of favorite spots in the North End.

Honestly, when I read all of the negative reviews, I figured we had made a serious mistake in coming to Caffe Graffiti for an early lunch. BUT it was cold, we were hungry, and there was very little else open in the North End at almost noon on a Sunday, so in we came. As we were entering, an older gentleman standing outside assured us that we had made a good choice, and that we'd have "the best cappuccino in town", which was very cute. Apparently he's a die-hard regular, which is cool in my book.

We seated ourselves in one of the few open tables, (which turned out to be horribly wobbly, so we ended up moving as soon as another table was clean), and looked over the somewhat limited brunch menu. I quickly decided on the lobster croissant (I'm guessing this is Caffe Graffiti's version of the lobster roll), and my husband opted for a general 2 eggs breakfast with a couple of sides.

I do have to say that service was surly at best. When our server finally came over to our table, she simply stared at us until we stuttered uncomfortably through our orders, then she picked up the menus and left. I don't believe she actually uttered any words, and forget about a smile.

However, the cappuccinos were good, my husband enjoyed his breakfast, and my lobster croissant was pretty freaking good (there was fresh basil on it, which was a nice touch), so I'm still going to give 3 stars, even with crappy service. I will forgive a lot if there's good lobster involved. Plus, the owner (?) or someone did come to our table to see how we liked our meal.

The area where we sat had plenty of windows overlooking Boston, exposed brick walls, granite topped tables and wood floors. It was cozy, inviting, and let in plenty of winter light, which was nice.

Prices were reasonable, and we left full and happy...and were thanked by the hostess as we left. I don't know that we'd be back again, but it wasn't the mistake I feared, so Caffe Graffiti is indeed A-OK to me.

"Hi, welcome to our completely empty restuarant. Just apps and some drinks? please feel free to stand at our bar and look out over our completely empty patio that we are reserving for people who are planning on ordering dinner (but apparently are just not going to show up)"

Shoving everyone to a small bar area if they don't commit to having a full meal, forcing them to gaze at a fully empty restaurant and patio - well that's just plain dumb business sense. especially when this guy walked in, laughed at the hostess for such a ridiculous rule, then promptly walked across the street and sunk a solid $70 into their competitions' till.

Came here hoping for a North End cafe with killer espresso and maybe some desserts after a big meal... expecting ambiance, a place for a good conversation, and some good coffee. Didn't eat anything, the espresso wasn't horrible but nothing amazing, and we made the mistake of sitting at the bar. With a barista/bartender who wasn't exactly a people-person that day. It was a "meh" experience to be sure.

Worst part was watching him wipe up a milk spill then use the same nasty rag to clean the milk frother/steamer. Is that standard practice?

After we left we walked a block over and passed by two other cafes that would have fit the bill perfectly! They're out there, you just gotta look for them.