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Categories: Coffee & Tea, Sandwiches [Edit]
Neighborhood: Davis SquareDavis (Red)
Mon-Fri. 7:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sat-Sun. 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
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Here's the thing, Diesel. Now that I've moved further than walking distance from you, I'm really missing you. This could be in part because it's cold out and the Cider Delux is my very favorite winter beverage.
I know it's not anything special (hot apple cider, caramel syrup, homemade whipped cream and a light dusting of cinnamon) but it's something about it that I just can't get enough of. I would forgo any other sustenance if I could just get 16 ounces of that toasty goodness.
Other than the Cider Delux - I guess you're pretty great. It's true, more often than not your packed to the gills and it's difficult to find a place to sit at any given time during the day, but it's okay. I'm a to-go type anyway (I guess...).
Your staffers are pleasant and adorably hip. Your decor is aces - if only I could find a place to perch and enjoy it...
The best Americano I have ever had. These are some nice baristas. I mean you walk in here cranky and as fussy as a toddler with dirty diapers and you leave convinced the world is a great place.
The space is too cool. The patrons adore themselves as much as they should, but no more. The staff are sessy as heck. And they have pool.
Oh, and they opened here when Davis was the armpit of the universe. They may have made Davis Square the go-to place it is today.
Thanks Diesel Cafe for making my stay in Somerville pretty damn sweet!
Coming from NYC for a few days, I heard about Diesel from numerous people and decided to check it out because it was right down the street from where I was going to be working for several days. The staff was great in every sense of the world, they were really sweet, kind, and genuine. The atmosphere of the entire cafe was really great too, the decoration of it definitely put some of these minimialistic places here in NYC to shame. Yeah, I definitely went there twice or three times a day while I was there until I came back to the big apple.
Before I left I made sure I went to the photobooth and took a picture of myself, because I'd never done it before and I thought, hey what the hell, why not? It was a good moment to mark coming to Somerville, which was a great area of Boston.
So thanks you all that work at Diesel for making my three days, you all rock. I'll be sure to come in again and again if I ever make it up there for good. Props to you all!
We only recently welcomed Diesel back into our lives. After moving to Boston last summer, we quickly boycotted this place for some time. And with good reason. The day the GF moved to Boston, she was at Diesel killing time and her purse was stolen. In the hippie commune that is davis square, can't we trust each other? And Diesel in particular, who the f*ck steals a purse here?
Anyway, after a good 10 months, we decided it was time to break the boycott and give it another go. Despite the fact that it's difficult to get seating here (and for the lack of free wi-fi, which costs them a star in my book and the biggest reason I didn't go with a 4 star), the food and atmosphere are pretty good. Like the decoration and student vibe of the place. Interesting crowd ranging from students to professionals (with apparently some purse snatchers peppered in for good measure). I always go for the breakfast sandwiches, and they are some of the best in the area. The perfect size, good selection of bagels/breads, and never over stuffed or oily like they can sometimes be.
The coffee is also excellent, though sometimes the mocha can be too heavy on the mocha and too lite on the espresso. But still tasty.
Overall, solid neighborhood spot to go for coffee, sandwiches, or to just hang out for a bit with a good book.
Just make sure you keep an eye on your stuff.
Diesel is one of those places that has a lot of regulars and is bustling most of the time. I like coming here because it is less pretentious and pricey than the Starbucks across the street. The dark roast coffee is very good and so are the sandwiches. Seating can be tricky, when I am with someone I send them to find a table while I wait for our orders.
I adore you Diesel!
Very industrial but inviting. Seems like the few times I have been there it's been busy, full of interesting indie people- reading novels or browsing the internet or just having engaging conversations.
There is one thing that didn't let me give this place the full 5 is that you have to pay for the internet and that is a big BOO Diesel! I think I would actually trek out the hour T ride more often if the internet was free.
Best espresso I've had in many months, not just in flavor but in presentation as well. Prices were reasonable too.
Cool, local atmosphere with tasty sandwiches/bagels, with a fair amount of seating for the usual coffeehouse activities. Convenient location in Davis Square, not far off the red line.
There's no doubt I will visit here on every trip to the Boston area.
I have been a fan of Diesel for years (and now Bloc 11, too)!!
The lattes are outstanding - always perfect.
And the hot chocolate too, is to die for especially topped with whipped cream (though, do they charge extra for whipped cream ?!)
I wish the baked goods and the cafe food were better, though. The potential is there for this to be such a wonderful lunch establishment but the menu just doesn't stand out.
Also the fancy oven thing that is part microwave, part toaster and part convection oven - it may heat your sandwich super fast, but still, it is a *microwave*. When you microwave bread, it is ruined. period.
I think what they need is some talented chef to take the potential that exists there and really refine it.
I like this place.
The space is very industrial looking and there's a lot of room if you can find a table. Plus it's okay to squat at a table for a couple hours, in fact I think it's almost expected.
My latte was tasty and had more espresso than what I'm used to, but that's not a bad thing. On the downside a small vanilla soy latte for $5.30? Seriously?
They recycle everything, which makes me, as well as the environment, happy :)
Oh and the ladies who made my latte were friendly, but not over the top. I'll definitely be returning when I can justify paying 5 bucks for a latte.
I've heard that Diesel was a bit inconsistent with the quality of their drinks but my latte was quite good. They did an outstanding job with the microfoam; probably top 3 in the Boston area. The latte art was nice. The beans were the only downside. I know it's anathema to say that I'm not impressed with Intelligencia beans, but I'm just not. I don't know if it's the shipping time or what, but they typically lack flavor.
Latte: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Cafe: 4/5
My favorite place to get a cup of coffee in the morning, or waste away an afternoon. This place has a great atmosphere, and they know how to serve up some awesome eats and drinks. Their industrial interior and rotating artwork are also worth a look.
The place can become a bit crowded, and finding a free power adapter can be a problem at times, so i suggest coming at non-peak hours if you want to get some serious work done.
Admittedly, the ambiance at Diesel Cafe is "cool" -- you can almost feel yourself getting smarter and trendier when you're inside.
Here's what's less cool: overpriced sandwiches and wifi...that you have to pay for. I live in Allston and the wifi everywhere is FREE. Also, it's free around the corner from Diesel at the Blue Shirt Cafe, where they also serve sandwiches and coffee. Which are also cheaper than at Diesel.
I like Diesel, but when I'm on a budget...I just can't afford to be cool.
Diesel is my favorite cafe in Boston. The coffee is fantastic. Baristas are knowledgeable, friendly, and can pull a mean shot of espresso. The tea selection is also excellent, and cups are brewed to order.
I love the ambiance here. I wish I lived closer. Diesel is the kind of place you could just sit in for hours and work, talk, or just watch the world go by.
I actually have to write for my job and I don't have an office so it's nice to have a Diesel-thon once in a while. I can feed and hydrate myself with ease, without the distractions of home. In order to prevent people from Yelping that you must be writing a fake novel/ that you hate other humans, just remember:
1) Eat
2) Drink
3) Visit the newly renovated bathrooms
4) Share the electricity, over-charging kills your battery anyway!
5) Let other people sit with you, they are usually sane and pleasant!
The coffee is good, get it iced with a vegan chocolate muffin. The sandwiches are delicious (a tad expensive though.) I suggest the Monkey Wrench or one of the cold veggie ones.
Favorite coffee shop of the area!
I love the Mochas at Diesel. Anywhere else they're just like chocolate milk, but at Diesel they're the perfect blend of creaminess, strong espresso, and dark chocolate. Diesel also has a great selection of teas and pastries. I think you've got to love someplace that serves something as simple as pizza bagels. They also have great sandwiches, juices, and some hummus.
The place is pretty trendy in a sort of counter-culture way, but it's FUN, not bogged down by the pretentious attitude that many places have. There's art on the walls that rotates each month. I can't say that it's particularly good art, but it's interesting at least. The place has lots of little details that make it special, like tables filled with hardware, and cool signs on the wall. They even have a photo booth, old school movie theater style. The pool tables are often occupied, and there are some taller bar-height tables near the pool tables.
Depending on when you go, it might be super crowded, or might have tons of space. The back area with the couches tends to be quieter than the front, and people seem to be pretty respectful about not disturbing people too much, despite the fact that overall it's pretty loud (and with music).
I'd definitely recommend it if you're in the area. In the summer they even open up the big glass garage door and let in the fresh air! It's a fun atmosphere.
OK now I come here like every day for the past two weeks (lots of work lately). So the food is ok, nothing stellar, and I have been eating here a lot. The brownie (even after they so kindly warmed it up for me and drizzled chocolate syrup on it) is just so-so. The teas are good, but I mean $3.50 for a pot? How about $2.50? $1 for a cup. They should by it from TeaZone and pass the discounted prices off to their customers. The cider again was fine, but I could get better from the grocery store.
And the people...so unique. Not exactly creepy, but very odd.
And internet is not free. The best deal is $14 for the month. I think it is like $5 for an hour....crappy.
The place has people cycle pretty frequently, so if you want a booth, just grab a nearby table and keep a watch, then pounce when one becomes available.
I don't know about this place. No free internet, tea is good, sandwiches are ok. But my problem is… Read more »
I've only had their tea and they do have a good selection of that. They have more than Tazo stuff and have real teas like Yunnan, English breakfast, Darjeeling, etc.
I might give their sandwiches a try but the pastries/baked goods didn't really entice me a whole lot. Either they seemed overpriced, having too much icing, really small, or uninspiring overall.
The good part about Diesel is easy to explain - they are a coffee shop with great coffee and espresso. The espresso, in particular, is fantastic. I believe it's Intellegentsia and the baristas make good lattes/Cappuccinos, in my experience. Just this morning I got a cappuccino with perfectly (not overly) steamed milk (microfoam).
I like the food that I've had too. They make one hell of an egg sandwich and both the multi-seed and wheat bagels are pretty good. I've had relatively good sandwiches and salads too. Overall, I'd say food is good, not great.
The atmosphere is cool and the people that work there are generally friendly and "cool".
The reason that I don't hang out here more though is that it costs $5 for an hour of Internet usage, no matter what the hour is that you're there. Come on! I know you need turnaround and can't have people sitting there all day, but if I wanted to stop in and check my email while enjoying a cappuccino, I have to pay $5. No thanks. There are plenty of places where overly-priced caffeine has the cost of wi-fi built in.
I tend to prioritize places with 300+ reviews low on my to-do list, but Diesel has been staring at me from my bookmarks for too long to ignore it. The general consensus is spot on: Maybe a little pricey, and the wifi isn't free, but the atmosphere is unbeatable.
To expand: Yes, the prices are a bit high, but honestly, the price of a good sandwich anywhere nowadays is high. Sure you could get a big mac at the McDonald's down the block for a lot cheaper, but why would you want to? And more importantly, would you want to sit there to eat it? Think of it as a $5 sandwich with a cover, and maybe it hits closer to the mark. And steering away from fancy items, basic drinks like coffee and tea aren't higher than, say, Starbucks, but are better. Wifi too is prohibitively expensive -- but sometimes I'm glad it is. Diesel is already almost always too busy to even find a seat, so I don't mind a little less incentive for others to park themselves on a couch and monopolize the space all day.
Diesel is the kind of cafe that makes me go out of my way to find myself in Davis so I can stop in. How many cafes do you know where you can shoot pool? The whole place bleeds cool, without coming off as artificially slick. It's a great place to sit with some tea and people watch, it's a great place to grab a coffee after a movie with a date. It's a great place to hash out some ideas with a colleague. If there weren't so many damned people, I'd be there every day. Which is probably why there are.
This place is cool-looking, the coffee and pastries are tasty, and it's HUGE. However, it is still often difficult to find a place to sit and they charge to use the Wi-Fi.
Best latte I've yet to discover on the planet!!!
(and believe me, I've tried quite a few)
They also have excellent croissants, sandwiches, raspberry lime rickeys, and fresh squeezed lemonade. The atmosphere is vibrant and full of life, with lots of great artwork from local artists rotating monthly. Oh, and you can usually find both parking nearby and a seat (which is pretty impressive given how popular a spot it is!).
The one downer is that you have to pay for wifi which is not cheap.
Spent WAAAY too much time here in college, especially when I was writing my honors thesis. Great coffee and pretty good sandwiches. I miss it. Great place to get work done, hang out with friends, or just people watch while having something yummy to drink.
Diesel is my favorite place to do work in Somerville, except for Tuesday nights, when some sort of community group meets (they're fun to watch, but louuuud). I love that knitting/crafts circles and motorcyclists mingle here and the coffee is great. They serve Intelligentsia and the baristas know what they're doing. I really like that they serve Vietnamese coffee hot and cold. I've never had a problem finding a seat, which is surprising considering that Diesel is ALWAYS packed. Also cool that they have a pool table you can use for under 5 bucks an hour (or around that).
About 95% of my job is done online through my company's database. I usually work one day a week at a place with a wifi connection as a change of scenery from home & office.
Went to Diesel tonight because it looked like a really cool place for this. I like the layout and the eclectic mix of people and the coffee was fine. But, I had problems with their wifi connection, which is a big part of what a place like this offers.
It's a fee based wifi connection from a third party company ($8/day and there's also monthly and hourly rates). $8 is kind of expensive if I'm also going to buy a sandwich and a drink & entering a credit card number on a public wifi connection makes you more susceptible to identity theft.
In spite of these concerns, I gave it a shot since I was there & had 6 hours of work to do, but after about 8 attempts and their wifi carrier freezing on weird white screens, I gave up.
The guy at the table next to me was a regular who pays a monthly fee and said that he's had similar connectivity problems. I'll probably give ithis place another chance.since lots of people on laptops didn't seem to be having problems.
This is a cool environment that was busy at 6PM on a Monday and looks like an ideal place to do work or hang for a while with friends, but it would be A LOT better if its wifi connection was more reliable, less expensive, and didn't require you to enter your credit card number over a public connection to get started.
Deisel has delicious coffee and a buzzy cafe scene of workers, hangers, poolplayers, students. I love the energy and feel of this place.
Minus one star for the internet carrier- make sure that if you sign up for the monthly $13.99 price that you write down the website of the internet carrier so you can cancel your monthly fee when you want. The website is: http://www.guestboxuse.... Just click, Cancel Membership when you're done.
Good coffee, fun setup, nice folks.
Still, for all their new-agey approach to layout, cuisine, etc, I am hating on Diesel for charging for Wifi. WTF? And, while we're at it, why not bounce those lunatic weirdos who hold booths hostage for hours - not that they don't have a right to share the space - but the excusatory "he's homeless and crazy so he doesn't need to buy anything, he can rightfully just sit and stare and mumble obscenities at the young ladies reading their books"...yeah, that needs to stop.
Much later, I have made Diesel my second home/alternate office location. Diesel's got good coffee for sure. Nice staff (90%+ of them are very nice) and good music (I can hear Lil' Wayne on some weeknights and Le Tigre on others.)
I'd love it if they had beer and wine in the evenings...
How about some mice with your coffee and bagel?
Having lived in NYC for the past 6.5 years, I'm quite…
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Bathrooms are a little... ick, but not too much they can do about it, given the traffic I suppose.
Great spot for chatting, not that great for studying. Good food, tea, coffee selection. Love that it's not a corporate chain. Hard to find seating often though and def hard to read/study... lighting not that great.
Probably the best cafe in boston in terms of food quality, size, diversity of menu options etc. It is funky, fun, unique and all its own. I would like to see some more healthy options, ie smoothies & juices, although I'm sure that can be a pain in the a & blue shirt accross the street does them pretty well anyway.
Where can you go to drink fair-trade cappuccinos and eat delicious organic sandwiches? Where could you spend an entire weekday working on your computer that has big tables and super-fast wifi? Where will you likely run into half a dozen people you know? All Diesel, baby, all Diesel.
Diesel used to be my second favorite coffee shop, but it has recently bumped itself to first place by a long shot. Two things changed. First, they started serving an egg sandwich. Call me crazy, but it's my favorite sandwich. Let me recommend that you get it on their rosemary focaccia bread - yum!
Way more importantly, Diesel is now the greenest coffee shop in Boston. They compost everything.
No, really -- they don't have trash cans.
They converted all their to go materials to compostable, and they removed all their trash cans. You just bus everything into a bin, and their staff separates it later.
It has become so pc to be green that it's almost uncool now, which makes me sad. I've been pretty radically green about my own lifestyle since way before it was popular, and things like this really matter to me. So finding a coffee shop like Diesel is just dreamy to me.
Note: they are a little pricey. Diesel is so popular that they can pretty much charge anything they want, so expect to pay $7 or $8 for a delicious, organic, fat, juicy sandwich.
Love love LOVE deisel. holy crap. i resisted going for sooooo long. thought i wasn't cool enough, thought it was always too crowded. well screw that. i'm NOT cool enough and it IS too crowded. but i'm in love. yea, i went there.
their sandwiches are incredible. in fact, i didn't even realize that they had soups and salads because their sandwiches are that amazing. i always have to get the brie melt. i've tried to branch out. the 0599 is fantastic. but the brie melt has been there with me through a lot. cured many hangovers. cheered me up when i was down. filled my stomach when i was hungry. thank god i work far far away in a land called the financial district, because i would eat lunch here EVERY DAY. it's bad enough that i live within walking distance.
deisel's coffee is also great, haven't had a lot of their pastries (trying to be good.... *trying*... ha) but they look delicious. They have so many different flavors of iced tea which i love. i have always found the staff to be very friendly and accomdating. fun atmosphere. interesting art. love it.
The service at Diesel is really a toss up about which days/times you go. The "attitude" that other commenters spoke is reflective of a few of the baristas (I'm sorry that I'm not hipster enough for this place). It's definitely not Starbucks service (located across the street).
But...if you have work to do, it can be a good place to plop down your laptop and work all day (if you get there early enough and catch a seat).
The food and coffee is great. I love strong coffee, which Diesel has plenty of.
If you want friendly service and a cleaner environment, go to Bloc 11 instead in Union Square (owned by the same people).
Delicious sandwich. I think I got the Autobahn 2.0, and it was super packed and yummy. The chai tea was also awesome!
Diesel cafe: the best of the best. Starbucks is across the street... Diesel is always full, and Starbucks empty. Does that say enough for you?
I forgot how rude students and the recently graduated are.
Luckily I was reminded during a recent visit to Diesel, where the behavior of the clientele made a more lasting impression than the food or drink.
Don't get me wrong - I don't dislike this place. They serve Intelligentsia coffee (though not my favorite, gets me all weepy for Chicago) and have adorable baristas.
Real estate here is offered at a premium - your dignity is the price during busy times of the day. You loom over Mac-shod students, asking each one, "are you leaving soon?" Sometimes you get a nasty, curt "NO". Other times you get a nasty and somewhat lengthy explanation of why they are not leaving soon. And you? You're the jerk for even thinking it is okay to talk to them.
What do you know? You're just another rube trying to get a seat. And they've got the power.
Update and upgrade time.
I've been spending a lot of time at Diesel lately and with time, my affection for this buzzing cafe grows. I love grabbing a chai and sitting by the "garage door" and staring vacantly into the street or plugging my laptop in by a booth & settling in for a couple hours of work.
There's usually a good number of ppl camping out at the place so no one really cares that you've been there for the past say... 4 hours. It does get pretty crowded sometimes, and I've had random people ask me if they could sit with me a few times, but for the most part they were pretty cool. Definitely a good place to get some work done, pretend to do work or just hang out.
P.s. I disagree that the servers are rude. Sure, they don't always shower me with love, but they're generally decent people
P.p.s. Try the egg & cheese and gobblit! (and chai of course!)
I had time to kill and I was in Davis so I figured I would bum at a cafe for a bit. I don't know… Read more »
I've been here about 3-4 times and I generally find the baristas and the patrons to be a little rude.
I guess if you want to be seen typing a novel on your Macbook Pro, or maybe watching a Wes Anderson movie, or maybe even posing with a Vonnegut novel this is the place for you. Especially if you spend hours there and buy like one coffee.
I felt like I was right back in Boulder!
This place has vegan bakery products - very rare! Even more rare - they taste good!! The sandwiches are good as well...there are a lot of options!
I have yet to go to this place and see if dead, it is always buzzing with people from all walks of life (which is another reason I love it!).
It is a great place for students to study, a quick lunch date, or some quality people watching. The layout and atmosphere are inviting and have a great vibe,
This place is definitely worth checking out - even if you are not a vegan (because lord knows I'm not!).
Pretty decent coffee shop, good atmosphere, good decor, very laid back. One of the few hipster type coffee shops in the Boston area. they also have photo booths and pool tables which is a nice touch and free wifi, which is always welcome.
The clientele and staff are a little elitist, but as I'm sure I've mentioned elsewhere, this is a part of the hipster coffee shop phenomenon.
Minus a star for being too crowded ALL the time, therefore forcing the staff to be even more inattentive than ever. Every time I go it feels more and more expensive as well. I love to get my coffee on but I just don't feel like I am always getting my money's worth once I go through the obnoxious line, finding my drink somewhere on the counter, and then navigating the individual, laptop-using table hoggers (as one person I have learned that I only need ONE chair and a small table...DUH!).
I want to keep that fourth star there but it's just not worthy in my mind. Another day, maybe Diesel can win me back...
This is a 3.5 that I am rounding up...
Great tasting coffee and espresso drinks; however, Diesel can…
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