Phoenix Cafe

We’ve been going here for breakfast weekly for 3 years. It is like one big family there. Everyone is nice. We always sit at Angela’s table. The food is good. It’s your typical eggs, bacon, ham, omelette, pancakes place. But the service and the low prices are why we go.

I had high hopes when I walked in with my family based on reviews, but was a huge disappointment. Now sure what people like about this place. Let’s start with something positive though. It’s location — great! Interior is not the best but has a lot of kids drawing on the walls which gave it a family touch — that’s great as well! However, nearly everything else is sub standard. (Sorry but that’s true). 1. Booth seating is very small, 2. The glasses they serve water in looks like it was picked up from a garbage dump, nearly every glass is broken/​cracked, looks unclean even though they may be clean 3. The toast they serve, is the bread from shoprite — my toaster can do much better with. (You should make your own bread if you have a restaurant). 4. Orange juice — that’s canned Tropicana as well. (Why would I pay you for what I can get from my fridge? It’s that simple). 5. The scrambled egg, ham, bacon nearly everything appears to be frozen food. I can’t believe how people flock to this place. I’m sure it can be done better, I’m never going there again.

My boyfriend and I are frequent Phoenix eaters. its always super good and not too expensive. some of their dishes could use a little more flavor but overall its really good and the wait staff is always friendly!

Nasty diner employees all seem unhappy it’s obvious they have an incompetent manager. Food came out cold yet tasteless! This place is below mediocre. «Siri!, remind me never to step foot in this place again!»; «your wish is my command!»

Hands down this is my go to place for breakfast.
They offer many specials at a great price and in good sized portions. You can also order off the regular menu, prices there are very fair for the area.
I have always had a great time here, I love the hole in the wall diner feel to the place (so be warned, it isn’t super roomy) This place has the best breakfast around!

Worst place EVER. Reason 1: It’s not a café. It’s a diner. Reason 2: The waitress and every worker there hates their job and exude negativity everywhere. Reason 3: The food came out cold. Reason 4: the menu does not accurately describe what’s in the food. Do you really need any more reasons? DON’T GO.

Decent place in downtown Somerville for breakfast/​lunch. Reasonable prices and generous portions. Service is fast and friendly.

Was excited by reviews. Corned beef hash was no good! Eggs on eggs Benedict were tiny. My wife’s croissant sandwich was fine; nothing special and conservative on the bacon and cheese. Good prices ($ 42 for 4) and friendly waitress, but very average food, and atmosphere /​décor leaves much to be desired. Went slightly out of our way based on Unilocal reviews; wouldn’t recommend.

This is great diner food at a great price. I wish it was open for more than breakfast and lunch because I love going here. The staff are some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet and always make you feel welcome.

Went there for the first time and loved it. Very good food that’s fresh and inexpensive. The place is small but features the personality of an old school diner. Fitting rather nicely into Sommerville’s warm, embracing small town charm.

If I’m in downtown Somerville and it’s time for a satisfying meal, especially if I’m on a schedule, Phoenix fits the bill.
Portions are generous, prices reasonable, service quick & friendly, and the food is good. Lunch specials start at $ 6.
I rarely have trouble finding metered parking within two short blocks.

We’ve been here before several times and the food was good with fair prices. But today’s visit was different. My wife ordered a gyro omelet and she had to use ketchup to give it taste. My piggy omelet was just ok. Both of these items are on their breakfast special menu which includes a beverage. My wife ordered a plain tea with lemon (not anything special like Earl Grey or such) and they charged $ 1.20 extra for it. Then I asked for some cinnamon sugar to go with my toast and they charged .30 extra for that too. Not a big deal but it’s little things like this that will turn repeat customers away.
I’m giving them 2 stars because they were good but this recent visit changed our mind about this place. I hope they take this as constructive criticism.

This place isn’t bad for a quick diner style breakfast and the service is friendly but don’t expect much in terms of décor and it is small. The Somerville downtown lacks legit breakfast joints so its nice to have this diner.

Will not return for multiple reasons! I can get over the outdated décor and musty smell of this diner, I can even get over the food that was at best only okay, but I cannot get over the fact that when we asked for feta on our scrambled eggs we got a 6″ by 6″ slab of feta on a plate. (Will post picture) The waitress told us they could not add Feta cheese on our scrambled eggs, but said she could do it on the side. We did not expect a slab of Feta (we were expecting feta crumbles like most other normal restaurants) and were then charged an additional $ 3.50! My husband literally took less than ¹⁄₆^th of the cheese which was way too much already! All other cheeses were only an extra $ 1 or $ 1.25 cents. The waitress did not tell us this prior to ordering and when we tried to address the issues afterwards, she didn’t do anything about it. Extremely POOR management. They certainly took advantage of the situation as there was NO WAY anyone could of eaten that slab of feta. Absolutely ridiculous.
The pancakes, eggs, turkey Benedict were just okay. The home fries were so mushy and tasteless though. Orange juice was room temperature and the food took quite a while to come out.
Many reviews stated how cheap this place was, some of the menu is cheap, but most of it is just normal prices.

Walked in with a tea from Starbucks that I had been enjoying for an hour. Stopped in the café to have lunch. Before we sat down the owner said «no outside drinks». I told him it was almost finished and that I would like to finish it. He said «no outside drinks, I have a sign». So I asked him if he wanted our business and he replied «no outside drinks» so we walked out. Interesting he would not want to sell $ 25 worth of food because he would be missing out on the sale of a $ 1.50 tea. Bad business. Oh and its my birthday. Thanks guy.

Very good food – great find! Cheap pricing too. Country, small town atmosphere.
Just keep in mind that they don’t substitute items in their menu. For example, with the Phoenix Grandslam, you cannot substitute their French toast for their (amazing!) Cinnamon Raisin French Toast.

We came here multiple times and its the go to place for a breakfast. The food is decent, price is good too. Their service is however outstanding. They remember us every time we come in and even remember our favorite location. Overall it is the nice atmosphere and good food thats worth returning for.

The food is average. I’ve had rude service here before. A diner would probably be a better choice

GREAT prices! By far the most fair diner prices around. Decent sized menu-​meaning that it’s not SO huge that it takes forever to make a decision but that it’s big enough to have plenty of options.
It’s the perfect mix between being either a small diner or a larger, diner-​like café.
The staff is incredibly friendly although some aren’t re best at speaking and understanding English, most of them do, though.
The owner is AMAZING! Her name is Andrea. She’s hardworking, she’s there every time i have been there, she’s accommodating, always there to greet you and for when you want to pay your bill and her staff seems to adore her!
I’ve never been let down when eating at Phoenix Café and I would suggest it to anyone looking for a diner OR a café to eat at if wanting good price, friendly staff and great food!

My favorite breakfast spot. They have a great breakfast special if you get in before 11 (I usually oversleep and don’t), and they serve a limited breakfast menu all day. They also have a good lunch selection.
The food is typical diner fare. Pancakes and hamburgers and stuff. Great place to grab a quick meal or just sit and chat for a while.
The staff is also very friendly and polite.