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Categories: Diners, Breakfast & Brunch
Neighborhood: Central SquareCentral (Red)
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I used to live around the corner from this place and can say with certainty that it is one of the best diners in Boston (and surrounding areas).
Mass Ave Restaurant has become famous for its breakfast. I'm a stickler for pancakes, so I can speak to the pancake crowd. The pancakes are huge, buttery, and fluffy. They are distinct from your typical diner pancake, and I can assure you that no other diner in the area can match them.
And of course I must mention the prices! For $6 you can have two huge pancakes, two eggs, potatoes, and sausage links or patties. Its so much food they have to bring it to you on two plates!
This is definitely your local hole-in-the-wall diner. On Summer mornings, expect a line. Too many people can't resist. However, the line always tends to move much more quickly then one can account for. If you are going with a big group, I would not recommend this place. Even if you can get a seat, you will be taking up the whole restaurant.
Service is definitely friendly. The same servers have been there for years and have gotten to know their customers. The only downside to service is that once you are served, they tend to never come back. Its hard to get refills on coffee. Usually we just walk the three steps up to the counter and make our requests or flag them down from our seat.
Little Known Secret: Mass Ave Restaurant is a Mexican restaurant but the breakfast is purely American. It used to be open for dinner, but people flooded in only for breakfast so they now are only open through lunch. However, the Mexican dishes are real, delicious, and authentic.
Cheap does not equal good.
There's always a soft spot in my heart for a good greasy spoon breakfast. Cheap eats, large portions, abnormally fast service, and a good basic cup of coffee. That's what you usually get if you don't mind humble surroundings and a simple menu.
But there is a point at which something is just too cheap. The coffee was not good. The space feels unusually dirty and poorly lit. The whole place was being serviced on a Sunday morning by two young women (who looked to be teenagers) who could not possibly handle all the work. Service was spotty. I watched some poor kid complain to his dad that his pancakes tasted like fish. The food I ordered was okay at best.
I don't even like it for camp value.
If you make it past the supremely uninspired name and into this cozy little diner, you'll find great food for great prices. The $6 omelets are huge and come with the most delicious cheesy-potatoes. I could barely finish the whole thing, but I couldn't stop eating it, it was soo good.
This place says that it's Mexican food, but they have a full page of standard breakfast diner fare (with a little Mexican flair, like the cheesy potatoes) in addition to their full page of more "standard" Mexican lunch/dinner options.
There should be more places like Mass Ave Restaurant. There aren't, so it's remarkable to me that while there's always plenty of people inside, there's never a wait (this is NOT a big place). I don't always need crazy-fancy breakfast fare; sometimes, you just want a coffee and a Denver omelette. Or a coffee and french toast. Or a coffee and pancakes. Or, hell, orange juice and a bagel. This isn't the ultimate diner, but it's the best in the area, and totally comes through on serving up exactly what you should be expecting when you come through the door.
Plus they make all the food right there. Like... RIGHT there. So if you're into that, grab a seat at the bar, bring a paper, and enjoy.
GRIMY! That's how I describe this place. The food is nothing special... very buttery and tasty... simply diner food. But it's definitely down home, hole in the wall. And you can't beat $24 for 3 people's breakfasts with coffee, including tip.
Walking into the Mass Avenue Restaurant, you feel like you've been transported from the middle of Cambridge to a rest stop on the side of the highway in the mountains and that's exactly why I love it. From the burly regulars at the counter to the sizzle of the bacon on the grill, there is something terribly nostalgic and familiar about this place, yet is very much unlike most of the dining options in the city.
M.A.R. is ridiculously cheap. For two coffees, an omelet with homefries and toast, and two eggs (any style) with homefries and toast, the bill is under $12 dollars. Try to find that anywhere else, I dare you. The staff is also super friendly and chats with everyone like they are family, even if they've never seen you before. The food is unpretentious but totally tasty and portions are giant. Come hungry if you are in the mood for an omelet.
Oh yes, and despite serving all meals, they close by 6pm.
This place really grows on you. I live near by and sneered at for years. And finally I started going, and going.. and now I am hooked. They don't have much, but that is actually a good thing. With a small kitchen like that I would be scared by a bigger menu. Just stick to the eggs and bacon--which are surprisingly good--and you will be satisfied. And for 2 eggs and bacon for under $5, even better. Super nice staff as well.
No reason to go to gussied up zoe's down the street for twice the price. Kind of sad how atomic bean next door looks so nice inside, but can't nearly satisfy the soul like mass ave restaurant.
One of those places where you really want to become a regular, Mass. Ave restaurant is the type of spot where the staff jokes around and busts your balls, and you love it.
This little friendly city diner has arguably the best price-point for brunch in Cambridge, with most dishes from pancakes to french toast to omelets coming to barely over six bucks.
The food is no-frills so come expecting as much, although its very tasty for what you pay. So sit down, order a Mexican omelet and a coffee, and enjoy.
I love Brunch... especially when I don't have to make it to Brunch Last Call, which is usually around 2pm at most brunchstablishments. Mass Ave Restaurant serves breakfast all day, which allows for a hungover 3pm Brunch, which makes for a very happy Scotty.
The menu is loaded with cheap dining options. Add three giant pancakes for just a couple bucks, and you have the perfect brunch combo. The hash is exactly what I expect when eating corned beef hash, which has proven to be hard to find in the area.
Mass Ave [restaurant] is nothing fancy... so don't expect bells and whistles (if that's what you want, then you'll have to bring your own.)
Totally filling meal for two = under $25, including tip.
The service -- eh, good enough... but the overall experience definitely warrants 4 stars.
Cheap delicious diner food in a ridiculously retro atmosphere? Amazing.
To say Mass Avenue restaurant is "no frills" would be a bit of an understatement. It looks a little sketchy from the outside (and quite frankly from the inside) but when I read the great reviews, I figured it was worth a shot. It's a perfect brunch spot with a bunch of Mexican options for lunch too (that I am now dying to try). Huge brunch spread for four people came to $33 including tax and tip. Not bad at all.
You's po?
You's make your way over here.
You's don;t want to talk to anybody while getting some homey foods from the hours of 11:30AM-4 or 5PM?
You's grab your reading material and sit here.
1 bus right infront or Redline to Centra.... wait let's be real.. only the neighborhood peoples treck on over here like it's their job.
Mushroom omelette with wheat toast, I hug you.
Quicktime symbol's blue colored walls and flat yellow walls you're pretty too.
CHEAP CHEAP CHEAPEST breakfast in town. Yes, it is mostly diner food (with Mexican fare for lunch), but it's perfectly dandy for what it is. The two ladies who work there are dolls and are ready to please and efficient. You can get coffee, OJ, French toast, bacon, and home fries for under ten bucks, and that's including tip.
Wow, you just can't go wrong with this place.
The food is plentiful and cheap, they are willing to accommodate special requests with a big smile and a 'yeah sure'. Their cilantro chicken is OUT OF THIS WORLD and their bfasts are grrrrreeeeat.
Sure the decor leaves something to be desired (I love the old french/Italian random pictures on the walls), but honestly the people,food and service are so great I can't complain.
Spontaneous lunch! I came here a couple of weeks ago with Annie P. and I didn't hesitate to say "yes" when she asked me if I wanted to eat breakfast-like.
Sure the place is small, a bit shabby, nothing special, but who cares? the food is good, home-style and cheap, the waitress was very friendly and attentive.
I had the Mexican omelet (doh'!) that came with cheese, some sort of tomato sauce, a side of potatoes and sour cream that I didn't touch, because I didn't think it was necessary in order to enjoy my food. I'm a sinner.
You have the option to choose from toast (white,wheat,etc) or muffins.
My omelet was good, though I think it could've used more flavor or maybe ad some spiciness to it, but it was good overall and so were the potatoes.
Our check was around &17 for two people, plus tea and OJ.
Great place to eat good and cheap.
Great diner. They serve a pretty mean breakfast and it looks like they're serious about serving the rice and beans variety of Mexcian meals.
This place also has a serious group of regulars of which some order meals using the phrase: "the usual, please." I haven't gone here often enough to have a usual with the waitstaff but one of the cooks knows what my usual is and he starts making it when I nod an "affirmative" to him, which often gets me my food before other people. This sort of situation is a good litmus test for a diner, whether the waitstaff and cooks see you as a regular and give you better service and food if you go often enough. My hat is off to them for their diner work ethic.
If you haven't gone yet, but plan to, please note that it is cash only. Also, please note the tip cup near the register. Sometimes it is woefully empty despite the high volume of patrons going through the diner.
Mass Ave Restaurant is an old dog you pat with genuine love and affection. Yes, it has green plastic tablecloths, a vinyl-tile floor and tables that can't seat more than 4. It is still a 5* establishment in my view, and here is why: I don't always want a fancy meal in a fancy place, as nice as that is sometimes. Mass Ave Restaurant is exactly what the name implies, and no more.
I tend to call them when I wake up on Saturday or Sunday (or both, on such as this past weekend) to order us up some breakfasty take-out. When I asked my gf what she wanted for breakfast, she said "Everything." and proceeded to name off what that entailed. I called the order in (one thing to note is that you should speak slowly and enunciate when ordering by telephone, because they seem to have trouble hearing you) and the girl said it would be "5, maybe 10 minutes." !!! On Sunday morning?!?!
Omelettes are about $5, side orders of fries and onion rings, which are crispy and good are $3, and their club sandwiches like the cheeseburger (recommended) are $6 and come with a side.
Know that they do not fire up the fry-o-lator on Sundays, and that homefries are a wonderful thing, and not to be neglected.
Oh, they have a few Mexican items on the menu, like rolleno plates. I've never been in the mood to try them because their other food is so good. I note this because the door and menu say they are a Mexican restaurant.
Service when eating in is not usually anything special, but prompt and dutiful. I think eating in is pleasant enough. There are barstools and about a half dozen tables. Regulars tend to be at the "bar" which is all well and fine because I don't like sitting there. They always accommodate requests and generally I just feel like I am getting my money's worth of good food every time I order anything from Mass Ave.
Ever since I moved to Cambridge I have been looking for the local greasy-spoon. A place that isn't fancy, but serves decent food (mostly brunch) very cheap.
This restaurant seems to be it, and it was right in front of me all along, but I never thought to give it a try.
The decor is very simple. The food is very cheap. The people are friendly.
If I could request anything it would be that they kept the dining area a little bit cleaner. This is probably whats keeping this from being a 5 star review.
To sum it all up the bang for the buck here is the biggest selling point, and thats really not a bad selling point.
Great bacon and eggs. It's definitely all grease and butter (the menu says that everything is cooked in butter so they're definitely not hiding from anything)..hash browns were iffy and the waitresses didn't know how to ring up our bill but I'd definitely go back to try something else.
Make no mistakes, you're not coming here for "brunch" or trying to impress anyone.
Breakfast food is supposed to be fattening and greasy. It should be served by a waitresses with sass that ignores you half the time. She might even call you Hun. The food should be quick and cheap. Mass Ave Restaurant is no frills. You order an omelet you get an omelet. It smells like oil and bacon and I love it!
This is one of the rare gems lost between the foofy breakfast/brunch spots in Harvard and Central. I'm a weekend visitor and enjoy sitting at the counter reading my book, sipping my coffee, and enjoying a hearty sausage omelet. Sit alone and you may be coaxed into conversation with one of the regulars. Dining can be tough for groups. There are only a handful of tables and you can't sit more than a group of four. This diner is Cambridge, and you find yourself between grad students and plumbers alike.
Admittedly, the service isn't spectacular and the food doesn't break ground but it's consistently good, affordable, I never leave hungry and I always enjoy the visit.
This has been a hangover helper for about 8 years now. Its a little tough to review the MAR - I don't think that ownership has changed but the personnel/cooks/etc have shifted over the years and its not always the same. Example: The 'main server' (whatever you want to label it) has changed a few times since I've started coming here ... ranging from rude as hell to nice as can be. Most of them are 'friendly enough', they're not going to wipe your ass for you or anything but they'll get your order in and take care of you.
I liked it better when you could be a complete pig and get a stack of pancakes as your bread side to the egg platters & omeletes. My gut probably likes it better the way it is now.
Bottom line: You can go in, get yourself a good breakfast for a fair price in a true neighborhood diner setting.
A decent diner. If you want eggs and French toast, this is the place to go. There was one time I received horrible service -- it was so bad that it was worth knocking off a star.
Watch out -- this place will be busy during weekend mornings. Be prepared.
Amazing little hole in the wall diner. But I miss Lisa, who was the only waitress for many, many years and suddenly disappeared off the face of the planet.
I've never had their dinners. I always go for brunch. But their pancakes are some of the best in Boston, generously sized. Everything is fresh and delicious. No credit cards, but you hardly need them because everything is so cheap. (If you have no cash, there is an ATM in the grocery store about 2 doors down)
Friendly waitress,
Lot of food in one order.
Cheap!
Tastes good.
Fast Service.
Another happy day starts here!
Awesome neighborhood cheap breakfast/lunch eatery!! I love the atmosphere there, always lively, and the big counter where you can eat facing the kitchen. They have two separate menus: American breakfast/lunch/sandwich/and-what-not, and Mexican. Everything is REALLY filling so it's good to have a big hunger before stepping in:)
Their eggs come with home-style fried potatoes (*not* French fries) that are pretty tasty. But I like the eggs at Brookline Lunch way better. The Mexican stuff is just OK.
Best items I've had so far: blueberry pancakes (really fluffy) (but too bad the syrup is not maple) and *grilled* corn muffins. Yes, grilled muffins, cut in two and caramelized to perfection. Yum yum yum.
It's better if you're not in a hurry because it can take a little long, even for a simple egg-and-cheese sandwich.
I love their refried beans!!
This is a great place for brunch though be warned if you're trying to be healthy this isn't a great place since everything is in buttery goodness. I've eaten their omelletes and pancakes as well as the shrimp quesadilla. The portions are plentiful and cheap to boot. Don't be put off by the meager diner decor as everything else makes up for it. Service is quick and friendly. I've never left hungry and at the end of each meal I'd like to just hug someone because the food has made me feel that good.
I like this place for breakfast. I love to see my food being made like two feet away from me. It's also a good place to stop in in the summer and get a cup of iced coffee and a bagel.
I like the girl who works there - she is really nice, as is the rest of the staff. They make a mean breakfast. I don't care if the coffee is practically water, that isn't why I go there... It's for the greasy eggs that are cooked JUST how I like them and toast, ecc. So good. Pretty cheap too... I'm just sayin'... I like it.
I ate here on recently after a long time of walking by it, and suffice to say, it's rather unimpressive, despite my roommate's raving about it.
The food is typical griddle stuff. No more, no less, and it's pretty hard to screw up pancakes, so yay for that, I suppose. The bacon and pancakes were acceptable, and the coffee didn't make me wretch, which is why this place manages to even come close to passable... Anyways, that leads me to my next subject....
The service here is wretched. My girlfriend and I were the only people there, and they couldn't figure out who was getting what order, no water refills, no coffee refills, and I had to flag someone down to pay for the food at the register, rather than actually pay at the table. I'm all for homey feeling, but even IHOP an Hardee's have their shit more together than this place.
Ywo stars now updated that I've been to places like Renee's, Zoe's, etc... It's cheap, but other than that, go to Zoe's for the same food (and REAL maple syrup with your pancakes), a little more money, but actual service that makes you want to come back. The service is that bad.
Straightforward, unpretentious, inexpensive, delicious diner-style breakfast...FINALLY! Seriously, at the Mass Ave Restaurant you get what you pay for...and what you pay for is yummy, yummy breakfast food served without a side of snotty hipster attitude or fruit foams and other silly concoctions. From the over easy eggs to the mexican omelets, this is the stuff diner dreams are made of, served with a side of bacon, sausage, hashbrowns and toast. The staff is friendly , the atmosphere casual, and the form of payment : Cash Only. If you are looking for a place that doesn't F around with breakfast & lets you enjoy your OJ & coffee in peace while you read the paper with plenty of locals and friendly chat...look no further. Skip the bullshit fancy pants breakfast's being offered by other local eateries and come here and get yourself some pancakes & eggs. If you don't leave fat-happy with a full wallet....then you are dumb.
It has been pointed out to me that not only am I not the first person to review this place (phew), I got the damn name wrong. More reviews are here:
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Lordy, should I even be exposing this place to the quixotic whiny Yelping masses by writing a review? I mean, my mega-yuppie banker friend/neighbor goes here sometimes, so I guess the word is out, but still.
I don't know if it's not enough Greek immigrants back in the day, zoning peculiarities, or what, but there are almost no diners in the Boston area, and even fewer places like this - so goddamn unremarkable and reliable that it's named THE MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE RESTAURANT. That is a lousy name and a mouthful to boot. All Central Square eateries have a nickname in my household, and we call this place Bad Girl after the waitress who worked there ages ago and wore track pants with saucy phrases across the ass. We LOVE Bad Girl, even though it's changed ownership since the Bad Girl days and should now probably be called Chica Mala to reflect the number of Mexican dishes that have been added to the usual diner fare.
There are some Sunday mornings where you're awake at a reasonable hour, and you can open your eyes all the way and you're not hungover and it's probably sunny. Those are the Sundays when you spend $20 on a fancy brunch at a restaurant where they don't use folding chairs and serve OJ with pulp in it. Other Sundays, you know that the most you can hope to accomplish is bathing yourself and reading the entire newspaper. Those are the Sundays when you drag your ass across the street (cause in this case "you" = "me" and "you" live, like, across the street) and drown your $3 pancakes in ungodly amounts of maple flavored syrup and I-guess-it's-probably-butter just to give yourself a fighting chance at making it through the day. You'll be a little embarrassed by the other customers who've obviously just come from church and are pretty clearly functional human beings, but you'll get over it, I promise.
I gotta hold one star back because although there's quite a bit of lunch-and-beyond food on the menu, this place closes down early (5 PM at the latest), and you can't be the true, platonic ideal of a greasy spoon if you can't feed my drunk ass french fries and grilled cheese in the wee hours.
Great spot for a greasy weekend breakfast. A local favorite but be warned: high risk of smelling like the griddle when you leave. I think it's family owned & operated, too.
I love this place. It has replaced S&S as my favorite gathering and debriefing place on Sunday morning. The food is cheap, greasy, and delicious; exactly what you need to recover from your Saturday night and feel human again. Not a lot of frills, but that's not what you're looking for. This is a solid meal that won't break the bank, and even better, won't make you wait all morning.
Four stars for a $4 breakfast? I rate on awesomeness, and this place is awesome. I find that most cheap breakfasts taste incredibly generic, spongy, flavorless, etc. This place though is legitimately good; it doesn't taste generic, it's fresh, tasty, and very, very satisfying. Is it the best breakfast ever made? Of course not. I'd put it on par with a breakfast at Zoey's except with less variety. Most excellent.
Delicious. Quick. Courteous. Great breakfast food for the right price. Get a seat at the bar and watch your scrumptious meal made right in front of you.
The Mass Ave Restaurant is a nice little neighborhood luncheonette-style restaurant -- 6 or 7 tables in the front, a 10 seat counter in the back facing the griddle and grill -- and its something you'd think there would be more of in Cambridge. As a result of the dearth of such eateries, breakfasts on weekend mornings are crowded, but worth a few minutes wait. The pancakes are quite tasty, and can come as part of a breakfast plate with eggs and meat for a very bargain price.
Service is friendly, but you'll get your food in the order it comes off the griddle -- this isn't neccesarily a bad thing in terms of freshness, but can leave one person looking at a steaming plate of scambled eggs and home fries, while someone else at the table is still sipping coffee waiting for pancakes.
I've stopped in for lunch once or twice now, and the subs & sandwiches are adequate but nothing exciting. I would probably order breakfast at lunchtime. I've never gotten around to trying the Mexican portion of the menu -- they tried staying open late for dinner a year or so ago, but couldn't build a following, now they close at 6 pm every day.
I think this place really deserves 3.5 stars -- 2 for lunch/early dinner, but 4 for being the kind of place you always want to roll out of bed for on a saturday morning.
My boyfriend and his little brother and I went here yesterday morning for an impromptu Easter breakfast waiting for family, and I was pleasantly suprised. I walk by here all the time, and never really thought to go in. It's brightly painted and pretty small, with a completely exposed kitchen, and a very cute little whole in the wall. They have specials of the day, which I went for when I saw they have HUEVOS RANCHEROS! It's definitely the first time I've personally seen a place serving huevos rancheros in Boston, so I had to have them. Our food came out really quick, and the boys have omelettes, and they were highly approved. The home fries were very herb-a-licious, as was the clearly homemade salsa. It was a delicious mexican treat to start Easter. It ended up being under $25 for three of us, which is damn cheap for most Cambridge breakfast joints. I will be definitely going here again when we want breakfast and I don't want to cook it.
FYI to all credit card users, they don't take them here.
Went here because it popped up on my friend's iPhone and read rave reviews... waited over an hour for our food with little apology from the staff. Half our party was served 30 minutes before the rest of us and after all that, the food was nothing to get excited about.
I seriously think the breakfast here is cheaper than if you bought the groceries and made it yourself. I'm not sure if I've ever spent more than $4-5 and have always left full. It's passable food too - nothing fancy but nothing you'd send back either. The family that runs/owns it is always sweet and makes you feel like you're in their home. You can get in and out fast if you need. Or linger over your coffee and paper. And no one minds either way.
This is my favorite place to go for breakfast. It is pretty small (6-7 tables and a counter) but there is always a place to sit (if you are by yourself or with 1 or 2 other people.) The waitresses are awesome and their breakfast food is delicious. I haven't tried the lunch yet because I always get sucked into eating either the blueberry pancakes or the Mexican omelet. The best part is the cheap price.
I can only speak to the quality of the ham and cheese omelet as it is the only thing I have had here. However, I have had said omelet perhaps 100 times and it is equally scrumptious each time. No frills or fuss here. What else would a restaurant on Mass Ave be called if not Mass Ave Restaurant? Ah, if only life were as simple.
A combination breakfast/mexican food joint? Seems an odd fusion but this place is busy all day long serving up its greasy but tasty basics and all for very low prices.
Neighborhood: Harvard Square
Category: Diners
Neighborhood: Central Square
Category: Diners
Cambridge, MA
Category: Breakfast & Brunch
Neighborhood: Inman Square
Category: Italian
Somerville, MA
Category: Diners
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