Espresso Royale Caffe

Love this place, one of the best cappucinos in Boston

Asked for a large soy latte with two shots, got a small that was barely warm. Bought a chocolate bar by the counter. Total came to over $ 8. Unimpressed. No cup sleeves available.
Pastries are not protected from the staff by a spit shield. There’s a lot of shouting and leaning over the food, so that setup is a bit gross. Ceiling is covered with cooking/​smoke stains.
I had thought this ERC was related to the chain in Michigan, Wisconsin, California, and Illinois, but it’s not clear it is. I liked the other ERC because you could get soy lattes with unsweetened soy milk. This one offers them too, but overall, it seems to have a much narrower selection of drinks.

nice study spot, but with small tables.
service is friendly & great.
bagels and coffee are solid. but, bagels can be a bit hard to eat since theres so much stuffed in it.

Artfully pulled coffee; great cappacino; delicious almond macaroons.
Best coffee in Boston — we tried a few others to be sure but wished we’d come here every day.
Lovely sitting outside in the little walled garden, watching the rest of the world going to work while we didn’t need to.

Espresso Royale was well, just A-​OK. One of those places I usually wouldn’t even remember to review because there’s actually nothing special to write about. The sunrise breakfast sandwich (egg+bacon+cheese on a bagel) was decent, not fantastic, and my cortado tasted slightly off.
Still, wifi and a window seat isn’t the worst thing. Maybe I should have gone with the recommendation and gotten a Spanish latte. Mm.

While the location on Commonwealth is very convenient to BU, it is so busy because it is only the coffee shop worthwhile for miles. The coffee is good, yet a overpriced for not being great. The quality changes with different workers and it is very obvious.
I would love to see more diverse bakery options and more consistency in the quality of the espresso drinks!

Chill place on Newbury Street with friendly staff. We were exploring Boston on foot and stopped at Espresso Royale for iced teas. No wait to order, and we got our drinks almost immediately.
Staff is friendly, but they screwed up our order. Three iced teas: 1 green, 1 crimson berry, 1 red zen. It’s not that hard. By the way, the red zen is fantastic. Lovely blend of flavors.
Be careful if you sit outside. None of the tables are level. Wobble, wobble, and there goes your drink.

Espresso Royale is a chill place.
It’s a great little coffee shop on Newbury St. I can always count on for solid coffee and good snacks. Every time I stop in desperately looking for a caffeinated kick (which is pretty often), I know their baristas will make me a cappuccino (my go-​to-​drink) strong enough to my liking.
(Never mind the fact that it’s always really strong ’cause I ask for extra shots of espresso… I swear I’m not addicted — or am I???)
I mean, what more could I want?
The Café is also spacious with lots of tables and seating. Like I said earlier, Espresso Royale is a chill place, so come here and just chill out.

Decent coffee, lousy service. How hard is it to toast a bagel? Apparently it’s far beyond the ability of ER’s staff. Not so much sliced as chopped, barely toasted, butter blobbed on one piece only. I posted a photo of it. When I asked about it I was told «I can’t do nothing about that right now.» Nice.
I watched them throw trash across the service area, not knowing or caring that it missed the trashcan. Rest assured, with so little adult supervision, these kids are practicing hygiene the same way they prepare food — its only a matter of time before someone gets sick. Thankfully I know never to risk coming here again.

Landed in Boston at 7:30 AM on a redeye from San Francisco. Have a meeting to attend at 12:30. So sleepy.
Luckily I Unilocal breakfast on my phone as I near the office building and discover Espresso Royale Caffe. Ordered a tequila sunrise bagel (two eggs, choice of meat, onion, tomatoes and best of all — jalapeño cream cheese) and a large coffee with steamed milk. End up replacing the coffee within ten minutes because it was so delicious and I was so in need of caffeine.
Cozy spot, yummy food and free internet. On a rainy Wednesday morning, it provides a nice oasis from the commercialism of Newbury St.

I’ve been here twice so far, and each time their coffee has been really really good. I love that they have a condiments station that offers not only your usual suspects — skim, low fat, whole, half and half — but also my favorite, soy.
I got the Chia Sandwich this time on a garlic bagel with the cream cheese spread, and it was super delicious. For around $ 6, this sandwich is definitely one of the most economical and delicious things I’ve had so far in Boston. Definitely going to come back and get it more often!
Regarding hipster central: yes, it’s true, this place has a lot of hipsters. But hipsters know their coffee and their music — they were playing Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs when I walked in :)
The only thing setting them back from getting 5 full stars is the small size of the restaurant, and how long it took for them to get my sandwich ready. Serves me right for coming during the Saturday brunch hour!

I only had the coffee here so can’t comment on the food. There are many varieties of coffee and drink choices. I chose the caffe latte. It was pretty good and tasty.
We sat inside cause it was so hot and there was no issue with finding a seat. The noise level is a bit higher than expected, but still tolerable.
They also have a frequent coffee club or discount card that I noticed.

This place is one reason why a Unilocal app on your phone is necessary.
Wandering around Newbury Street with my hubs and bro-​in-​law, we were starving for lunch. I suggested a bagel place, and naturally we pulled up Unilocal to see what was nearby. Score for Espresso Royale Caffe, where we were more than satisfied with our meal!
This place has fresh, fresh, fresh baked kettle boiled bagels in tons of varieties — spinach, whole wheat everything, egg, etc. There are many suggested bagel sandwiches or you can build your own. My bro-​in-​law got the veggie explosion (something like that) — literally filled the the limits with all their veggie offerings. His only note for improvement would be an addition of hummus.
I had the Sahara sandwich on a whole wheat everything bagel — YUMMMM. It was packed with hummus, sprouts, cucumber, roasted red peppers, and Havarti cheese. Absolutely delish. My husband made his own with turkey and veggies and was equally pleased.
Prices are pretty good (around $ 5 – 6 for most bagel sandwiches, and they are super filling). Although I didn’t have any coffee, the people sitting behind us were complaining about its quality. So maybe this place is better known for its bagel goodness.
Friendly and pretty efficiently paced service.

A Comparison
Espresso Royale is affiliated with Pavement, which is just down the street and over a block on Boylston. I myself prefer ER for the better drinks, nicer service, more interesting selection of sandwiches (will be sure to actually try one next time), and atmosphere (cozier, less hipster, slightly older crowd).
Coffee & Tea
A delightful Spanish latte with just enough sweetened condensed milk for the thick texture and lightly sugared taste, which compliments the well-​pulled espresso shots!
Their Earl Grey tea is also excellent. One thing about Earl Grey is that it generally draws those who are die-​hard Earl Grey drinkers and those who actively work to avoid the stuff. I find myself to be a rarer in-​between, just because I used to work at a café and acquired a taste for the smokiness of it during my formative, teenage years (I reminisce). However, if you’d like an introduction to a great Earl Grey, ER’s blend has fruity, almost sweet, undertones and lacks that strong bergamot punch that usually deters people from this strain of black tea.
Issue
Internet, while unlimited (Pavement Coffeehouse, an affiliate, only allows for 1 hour), is actually limited in how its connection times out every 30 minutes or so. As a matter of fact, this is an issue that’s plaguing me as I type this review.
Another issue, especially relative to Pavement’s spacious interior, is that ER is significantly smaller — demonstrated by how the lack of outlets is rectified by the fact that two short power strips on opposite sides of the seating area are sufficient to serve all of the tables… When it’s more crowded on a weekend afternoon, and even if you’re really thirsty, it’s just worth walking down another block on Newbury in either direction to find a less crowded, though mediocre café.
Summary
Opt for ER over Pavement if you have enough time for a 10-​minute stroll. Don’t come with too large a crowd, and stake out a table before it gets too crowded on the weekend. You’ll be safe ordering both their espresso-​based drinks and/​or teas.

Ducked in for breakfast one morning and again for a sandwich on my train ride back home to NYC. Has the vibe, décor, and atmosphere of a typical college town coffee shop, with lots of small wooden tables inside and a few on the outside, lower level patio area. Staff aren’t particularly friendly, they mostly seem indifferent, but got the job done. Be ready to wait, they mostly take their time with everything.
For breakfast, the tequila sunrise bagel sandwich was fantastic. Pretty good, chewy bagel, not obnoxiously big, and filled with the yummy goodness of scrambled eggs, bacon (my pick of meat), onions, tomato, and jalapeño cream cheese. Lots of bagels available, and several sandwiches, breakfast and regular, to choose from. Regarding my caffe latte, their coffee art surprised me, and the coffee is pretty decent too. They have all the basic coffee offerings, and some less conventional ones, like Spanish latte.
As for the train lunch to go, I picked up a turkey avocado club. This was just ok: average multigrain bread, average turkey, and no avocado, just a spread. I got spoiled in California where turkey with avocado slices was a sandwich standard. They have some other ones on offer but feel like sticking to the bagel sandwiches if I go back.

I review coffee shops the way most begin the first dance with their prom date: hanging my head in an «aw shucks!» kinda way, kicking imaginary rocks and stuffing my hands in my pockets. Why? I don’t drink coffee. Thus, the baristestament to Espresso Royale’s reported expertise is a non-​factor here.
What I do consume (some would say on a professional level) are breakfast sandwiches. A recent trip to the ERC brought forth a Sunrise Special — scrambled egg, cheese and sausage on a whole wheat everything bagel. In a word: scrausegglicioucheegle. In a few words: a really scrumptious breakfast for under $ 4. As an avid Bagelworld fan, I was definitely pleased with density and crunch of the toasted Bagel Rising product, and the guts of the ‘wich — while awesome! — are hardly screw-​uppable. They do slap two slices of cheese on there, which is unique if unnecessary.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get back to awkwardly not knowing where to hold my dancing partner… Here? (SLAP) Here? (KICK) Here? (EYEROLL)
Ah, high school.

My friends and I were walking along Newbury Street, craving something sweet. While we could not find the type of tasty treats we were jonesing for, we decided to duck into the Espresso Royale Caffe to warm up from the cold.
We made a quick pit stop in the bathroom, which I am mentioning here solely as an advisory. The restroom was small, cramped, and absolutely filthy. I recommend holding it for elsewhere…
Now to move on from the potty discussion… I was extremely impressed by their selection of organic coffees and loose leaf teas. Though some of the fruity teas were appealing, the seasonal apple cider called out to me. I loved the fact that the sweet nectar was sourced from a local farm. Each sip provided a refreshingly crisp bite as straightforward as chomping into an apple directly.
Though we passed on their sweets, the cozy café was also serving sandwiches and pastries.
The Espresso Royale Caffe offered a snug haven from the hectic crowds of Newbury Street. It was a great place to grab a drink and continue our walk, but I would not spend a lengthy time there, as it was a bit claustrophobic.

I would prefer to give Espresso Royale Caffe 2.5 stars, but seeing as that’s impossible and also seeing that I’m a caring guy, I’ll gladly round up. However, I’d put Espresso Royale Caffe on the same level as Starbucks — it’s basically Starbucks with latte art.
Newbury Street isn’t just home to some of the top clothing designers in the nation, it also features many authentic (aka, not Starbucks) coffee shops. While my vanilla latte was tolerable, it was certainly nothing to write home about, hence why this review is uncharacteristically short for me. I’d much rather walk up to L’Aroma Café and enjoy some truly fantastic espresso, not to mention the delicious bakery sweets.
The battle for Newbury Street’s best espresso, and Back Bay as a whole for that matter, is still being won by L’Aroma.

Iced tea is awesome.
Jalapeño bagel is awesome.
Cream cheese is awesome.
And the service is friendly.

Stop #8
By now, Cindy and I’ve been in Boston for a little over 6 hours. We’ve had lunch, chocolates, ice-​cream, and most recently afternoon «tea» (alright, pizza) (see
). Time for some coffee. Espresso Royale was just like I remembered it in 2001. Unlike Caribou or Starbucks, this place feels laid-​back like a neighborhood coffee house ought to be. They serve Jim’s Organic Coffee at $ 1.85 for a medium cup. Cindy liked the thick foam with her cappucino and said «condensed milk is key.» This is also a good time to bring up a cool advertisement I read in the local CityPaper. Not sure if this is still offered but Banq 21 was offering a «Banq Insured CD menu.» Basically, it’s a reduced-​fare three-​course price-​fixe special. It’s a fairly intriguing Asian-​fusion menu; too bad we never had time. By now I would’ve finished my coffee. Back out to Newbury Street before it gets any colder.
Note: In February of 2009, Cindy and I embarked on a 48-​hour eating tour around the greater Boston area. I called it the Boston Masticare — a bad pun off the Italian transitive verb «to chew.»
[Last Visit: February 14, 2009, 4:49 PM]