Canteen

They are CLOSED?! :(
Where am I going to get my crepes now???
I’m not sure [SIMONtoo] sells the crepes… does anyone know?

As someone who visits Boston (Central Square, specifically) very often, I would give it 0 starts if I could. The food is good, especially for the price. But the customer service is so awful that I would never go back, no matter how good the food is.
1) They are constantly locked or closed during their business hours. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked over there at regular lunch hour (1:30PM on weekdays) to find the door locked or simply shut down.
2) They constantly run out of food. And I don’t understand why they can’t fix the problem since this has been happening for a while.
3) The people working there are just flat out rude.
I can deal with #3, since the price is reasonable. But #1 and #2 make me so angry so often that I’d never go back. Plenty of other great options in the neighborhood that are much more reliable and dependable than this one.

In a word, YUM.
Came here for the first time when a friend was in town and we wanted to get a good breakfast. We both opted for crepes: I got the parfait and he got the Montmarte. It took about 10 – 15 minutes for our food to come out, but once it did and we dug in, we were both silent for a good three or four minutes… that’s pretty much the best-​ever endorsement for a meal. Both crepes were made to perfection, mine full of super-​fresh, juicy fruit and delicious yogurt and granola, and my friend’s with incredibly tasty Swiss and mushrooms. Based on the quality of the ingredients and the immaculate preparation of both meals, I definitely plan to come back here and try other things off the menu.
However, there is one drawback to this place, which I discovered after the fact when revisiting Canteen’s Unilocal reviews in greater depth: the listed business hours here mean virtually nothing. They were supposed to open at 8:30 the morning I went, yet at 8:50 the place was dark and locked and all the chairs were still up on the tables. Luckily it was a gorgeous morning so my friend and I nursed some coffee at Au Bön Pain down the street and came back at 9:30 (Canteen was just opening then), but I’d advise calling ahead to make sure they’re open if you need to keep a schedule.

Update to my 5 star review.
Canteen seems to be having some issues lately regarding their inventory and staffing. Seems they regularly run out of ingredients for certain sandwiches. One of the two managers (who gave really great customer service to customers) recently left the business, and as other Unilocalers have mentioned, customer service has suffered. I’ve heard customers get yelled at, which I think is pretty unacceptable.
When the overworked kitchen crew gets buried in orders, they will sometimes lock the door and «close shop» until they can catch up. If you’re open, you should be open. Just tell people there may be a long wait. Closing up is not acceptable. I’ve been locked out once and I wasn’t happy about it.
That being said, the food is still fan-f***ing-tastic. Thankfully, food quality hasn’t suffered and they are still some of the best crepes and sandwiches I ever had. I’ll put up with these problems as long as the food is still this good, but if it starts to suffer, well…

BEST BLT OF MY LIFE.
There’s not much around the immediate area, but it’s a true diamond in the rough. Located right smack between the central and harvard T stops, canteen is a small, clean little shop that specializes in making sandwiches. BUT, what all the Unilocalers have said before is true. they make a MEAN BLT.
It’s the perfect combination of bacon, lettuce, tomato, egg, and avocado (oh mah gawwddd. EVERYTHING tastes better with some ‘cado on it!), all on fresh Iggy’s bread.
I’m not a huge sandwich person, but after eating at canteen, i’ve had much more respect for the classic sandwich.

The BLT was a pretty great sandwich. For the food, I’d rate 5-​stars. But it took an incredibly long time to get the food, especially considering there was no one else ordering food at the time. Not sure why a BLT would take so long to make, so for that… 4-​stars. The sandwich itself is a win, however.

I’ve never been much of a sandwich person, but Canteen just might be making me into one.
They have wraps, crepes, and full-​fledged sandwiches… and by full I mean FULL fledged. Bursting at the seams. A small-​sized sandwich keeps you full all afternoon. Bursting with flavor — that «cherry pepper mayo» is lip-​tingling spicy!
The sandwiches have some amazing combos. The BLT would be delicious on its own (the bacon was perfectly cooked), but it also includes a fried egg and AVOCADO. Avocado! The steak sandwich has blue cheese and balsamic aioli, mmmm. The «crafty» (turkey, bacon, avocado, cherry pepper mayo) also has caramelized onion jam! «Green Goddess» is the name of my favorite bowl at Life Alive, but Canteen may have had the original Green Goddess: spinach, asparagus, zucchini, broccoli, avocado, fresh herbs, feta, basil walnut pesto, and cilantro lime vinaigrette.
The sandwiches are hand-​made to order and served piping hot. They can be a bit of a salt-​fest, but suspend judgment and just go for it – it’s worth guzzling water all afternoon and waking up bloated the next day! All the sandwiches are served on Iggy’s ciabatta, and when the sauce starts to soak into the center, but is stopped by the powdery, crusty outer layer… I can’t take it, it’s so good.
Canteen isn’t usually crowded. It’s a nice, sunny place to eat; plenty quiet for reading/​getting a bit of work done while you eat. The crowd includes professionals, grad students, families. Service is friendly and cheerful. They clear your plate when you finish eating. Music is hip-​hop/​top 40ish and that’s cool with me.
I am not sure where the owner is from (English is not his first language) but the restaurant seems to be going for a French creperie/​café vibe. There is an extensive crêpe menu (mushroom/​Swiss, apple/​brie, fromage/​jambon, lemon/​sugar, strawberry/​Nutella, and many more). Breakfast (crepes, breakfast sandwiches and wraps, French toast) is served all day.
Another reason Canteen feels European to me: the owner willfully refuses to partake in the American obsession with instant service. I consider this a good thing. If he is busy when you walk in, he takes his sweet time finishing up the sandwich he is making before looking up to greet you. But once he does that, you have his full attention.
Just one gripe: a very prominent sign in the window urges folks to download the iPhone app to save $ 3 on the first order placed with the app, and $ 10 on every 10^th order thereafter. I dutifully downloaded it and tried to use it – got to the final stage of my order and was told that the restaurant «is not taking orders at this time» through the app. OK. So I called the restaurant and asked to place a take-​out order. I said I had tried to use the iPhone app and the employee who’d answered the phone told me, «Yeah, it’s been down for awhile.» I had been to Canteen the previous day (that’s when I downloaded the app) so I felt comfortable telling him the sign was still in the window. He apologized — but when I went to pick up my food, the sign was still there, and as far as I know, it still has not been taken down!

(Please read especially if you have any food allergies)
I work directly across the street from Canteen. I usually go only when it’s terrible weather and I don’t want to walk down to Mass Ave Diner (which is a better choice if you are looking for somewhere in the area to eat). The prices are sort of steep at Canteen, but the food is always delicious.
This morning I called Canteen to put in an order for pick up, here is how the conversation went:
me: Can I order a breakfast sandwich with bacon and egg w/​o cheese?
him: #3
me: I’m not sure, I don’t have the menu in front of me…
him: #3
me: okay… and I have a friend who has a gluten allergy,
him: then she can have a salad
me: I was wondering if you could throw together some egg–
him: (laughs) no, the only thing we can get her is a salad.
me: please cancel my order.
Seriously, how hard is it to put some eggs and bacon in a to go container for a person with a food allergy? I know you have the ingredients! I just ordered them w/​bread.
I think I am most frustrated because the previous owner (or manager?) used to set that up for us any time I asked (and was happy to help!). I guess the guy understood customer service. Word on the street is– he’s no longer working there.
Regardless of the weather, I will not be going back to Canteen.

Came to Canteen because of my husband’s research on Unilocal.Needless to say, Unilocal has done it again and led us to an amazing breakfast/​brunch spot.
We arrived fairly early and it was pretty empty, so we had our order put in right away… because of all the hype about the Canteen BLT, we HAD to order it. And we’re glad we did!!! We ended up taking 2 large orders to go back to NY because we didn’t know when we’d be back to Massachusetts!
We also ordered a Crafty… sorta like the BLT but replace the bacon with turkey, and it’s still awesome!!!
They’re crepes are delicious, a little on the crispy side, but still quite good. I ordered the Frenchy crêpe, stuffed with brie, green apples, honey and walnuts… I think I may just try to recreate this at home, just to have a little Canteen part of my daily life.
French toast! SO GOOD! It was just the perfect amount of fluffy yet dense breakfast bite. Top it with some fruit, and you’re good to go!
If we ever venture out into Mass. again, we will definitely be back! A must try!

Canteen is actually a 3.49. But given that I am a stat major, I followed the rules of rounding down.
My friends and I decided to do family style here. We ordered four crepes: oeuf and fromage, braised leg of lamb, carnivale, and sweet crêpe ridiculous. All my friends proclaimed that the crepes were amazing, and while I thought they were good, they tasted dry: the shells were overcooked and did not have the slight moistness that really brings out the flavor in crepes. This dryness affected my whole experience as even two days later, the dryness still clings to my mouth. Pouring on the balsamic vinegar and honey drizzle onto the salad that accompanied my lamb crêpe did not make up for the dryness. It’s like adding extra sugar to a dish that is already too salty: something just doesn’t feel right.
The plates were quite dirty, and as I glanced at the utensils (many of the knives which were of different styles, as if they were too cheap to purchase a uniform set), they had so many water stains on them that I had to use the plastic ones. Service was slow, and the place was not particularly clean or welcoming either.
At least I was with amazing friends and good company that really made the trip a memorable one. Trust me, despite the three stars, we will be back.

Canteen, I worship you. Even though you take what seems like an eternity to make my delicious Crafty sandwich, I will forever love you. At approximately 9:00am every weekday, I count down the hours until I can be reunited with you at lunch.
The roasted turkey is so juicy and to die for. They’re generous with the avocado (in the Crafty and in every other sandwich they have produced for me), delicious crispy bacon, and caramelized onion. The real kicker is their cherry pepper mayo, which tastes like sriracha on crack (if that’s possible). The BLT is delicious as well, but I prefer the Crafty. Next up: their crepes look AWESOME.
Don’t brush this place aside like I did for 2 months. I actually thought it was closed for the longest time because they have these insane tinted windows.
Call ahead if you can, I think they even prefer it when you place your order and pick it up.

It is true, from the outside this looks like an unassuming, dark café, but come inside and have the food — it is more than that!
This is a very small spot where you order at the counter and there’s about six or seven tables. It can very cramped. They have the large windows and when the sun is shining, it’s great, love the sunlight shining through — unless it’s a really hot, humid day — then maybe not so much.
Anyway, on to the food they have sandwiches and crepes. I had the crêpe with melted brie cheese, apples, walnuts and a honey balsamic vinaigrette. This was amazing! It was quite filling and delicious! I loved how much they packed in the apples. My friend had the nutella and strawberries crêpe, which she loved.
They have a selection of crepes and sandwiches, I’m definitely coming back! Oh and I do appreciate how cheap the food is. Great place!

SIMPLY the best BLT ever!
from the outside, Canteen looks like a nondescript & dark restaurant, but once inside, you can enjoy the casual brunch atmosphere w/​the sun coming through the TALL WINDOWS
(they should make their windows transparent from the outside, so more people notice them, nonetheless they still seem to get a lot of business!)
order the LARGE canteen blt… you’ll want it all to yourself & its a better deal… bacon, romaine lettuce, & tomatoes w/​avocados, egg, & onions on IGGY’S bread. mmmmMm toasty goodness…
we washed it all down w/​a pom lemonade, although it wasn’t all that special
NEIGHBORHOOD GEM, there is not much else around here!

I have to preface this review by saying that I was visiting my friend, and for the first three days I was there (and the week before), he kept telling me how good this place was and how he was blown away by the BLT.
That said, I didn’t think it was not deserving of the hype. Don’t get me wrong, it was still good, but not anything to write home about. My friend also admitted that the first time he had the BLT, it was better, so maybe the kitchen was just having an off day.
My buddy got the Cuban, and we swapped halves. The Cuban tasted as expected and did not disappoint.
Service was also good. I noticed Aaron behind the counter taking an extra second staring at my credit card and realized afterwards, it was so he could write down my name with my order ticket and call me when my sandwich was ready. Very crafty. They brought my sandwich to me, but my friend had to go to the counter to pick his up for some reason. Very odd.
And a final tip– a small sandwich is still pretty substantial, so if you don’t have a deep stomach, you might want to skip the large.

I really wanted to love this place since I just moved around the corner from here a few weeks ago… Deanna told me about the BuyWithMe and I thought it was fate that we had just moved here and we could could a deal eating here! If you know me, you know I always enjoy eating on a deal, so if you ever see a good groupon or something let me know!
Well, I had heard this place was all about the crepes. So of course we had to get one. Matt J. and I got their eiffel tower crêpe which was eggs and onion and cheese and spinach and chives but without some good old chulula hot sauce, it really wasn’t anything special. The «crafty» sandwich on toasted ciabatta bread with this amazingly tasty spicy sauce and avocado… wow that was a good sandwich. But for $ 9 with nothing else with it (no fruit, chips, anything…) I dunno if it was the best buy in the world, but it definitely beat out that crêpe for flavor.
But ya gotta hand it to the crêpe man. Only one person manning those crêpe plates and he got all of those crêpe orders out, while still telling the cashiers what to do. So my hat goes off to him and hopefully next time I’ll order a better crêpe… maybe that salmon one… hmmmmm

SO GOOD! The menu really isn’t all that big but it still took us forever to choose. Everything looked amazing. I had probably the best BLT of my life — with avocado and a fried egg. SO good! Sean had one of their other sandwiches and really liked it too.
After lunch we went to walk around Harvard’s campus for awhile and on the way back it started pouring so we decided to stop back for dessert! The crêpe was lemon, sugar and strawberries and was plenty big to share. Fantastic! I haven’t had a better crêpe outside of France.
Would go back in a heartbeat if I’m in Cambridge again. Yum!

With only one star to start with, there’s no where to go but up!
The reason for this single star experience is simple — lack of good customer service…
I called in the afternoon and asked them when they would be closing, and was told 8pm. I arrived at about 5:45pm to grab a quick dinner, and the place was locked up tight, with a sign hanging on the door stating «Closed for Catering.» (This was on 4/​28/​2011.) Good for you, but bad for me, and terrible customer communication.
Note: under 10 minutes walk from Porter Square T stop.
(1 star)
*** ⁶⁄₂₀₁₁ visit ***
Due to the previous «visit» I called ahead to confirm that they would be open for dinner shortly before heading off. I was even warned that their crêpe thingie wasn’t working so they unfortunately weren’t serving any crepes at this time.
When I arrived and stood there mulling over their menu, I realized that no crepes basically also mean no desserts. *sad*
It took some convincing, but after a bit, the cashier did a search in the fridge for the tomato purée the fella on the phone had told me that they had available. It was worth it though as their $ 1.99 demi portion of the soup arrived properly hot and tasty.
I ordered two small sandwiches —
GREEN GODDESS 8.99 large 6.79 small
Basil Walnut Pesto, fresh baby spinach & asparagus, feta cheese, zucchini & broccoli, avocado & fresh herbs tossed in cilantro lime vinaigrette! Warmed on ciabatta.
CRAFTY 8.59 large 6.79 small
Roasted Turkey, fresh avocado, Bacon, cherry pepper mayo, caramelized onion jam, warmed on ciabatta
Both arrived with nicely toasted ciabatta bread. The Green Goddess was overflowing with veggies, was flavorful due to the feta, and was a surprisingly juicy sandwich — mainly due to the asparagus. The Crafty was tasty with a nicely crisp slice of bacon.
I ordered and paid at the counter, was instructed by a little sign to bust my own table, was served my meal on real plates, located silverware by the water set there for our convenience, and enjoyed the food at one of their 5+ tables.
A rather large handicap accessible unisex individual bathroom is located behind an unmarked door to the right of the little hallway just beyond the 3+ stools set alongside a counter for additional seating.
Funny enough, after 2 half sandwiches and a demi of soup, I was still feeling peckish. Don’t know if that says more about the portion or my appetite…
No Wi-​Fi here.
(upped to 3 stars)

Flavors are fresh. And this well developed menu will keep you wanting more.
I’ve only been here once, so I’ll have to go back to try more items.
The Canteen BLT is savory and satisfying.

Gourmet sandwiches around the corner from my house? Yes please! I tried each of their sandwiches and loved almost every single one.
I tried the Caprese last because I’m Italian and I’m generally skeptical of any Italian imitation. But when I tried it, dripping with ripe tomato juice and olive oil, I was reminded of home and I had one of those dreamy flashback moments like the food critic in Ratatouille. It was exactly the flavor I was craving for on a hot summer afternoon.
In fact, they have a sandwich for pretty much every mood. Their BLT is a perfect breakfast, their European is great when you need something light and refreshing, and their Braised Leg of Lamb is for when you want something that’s filling and full of flavor.
They also have a new special every week, and that keeps going back there exciting. As if the warm welcome I get from the staff each time weren’t enough!

A decent little café/​restaurant if not slightly overpriced.
The staff are friendly and the food is good, though far from mindblowing. I had the Warm Organic Egg Wrap, which was nicely toasted and, true to its name, warm and melty on the inside. I also tried the Brioche French Toast, which was decent, but probably would have tasted better with some fresh fruit. Unfortunately, that’s an extra few dollars and really not worth it. I also tried the Crafty sandwich, which was delicious. But like pretty much everything else on the menu, it’s about a few dollars too expensive for what it is.
Which is unfortunate, considering they have some pretty interesting menu items like Chocolate Torte and Pineapple Upside Down Cake.