No idea if the restaurant is great, but Cafe Rustica seems like a bad neighbor. The adjacent biz has an unofficial loading area, which most honored for years but the cafe owner has recently started parking his car in the area & takes up two spaces. Once when I was there first, he tried to get me to move. I'm glad his biz is doing well but success seems to have made him entitled and inconsiderate of his neighbors. Maybe there is a bigger picture that I'm missing but I know that he has made it more difficult for me to work with his neighbor.
Patrick Foley
Great lads, great food. Rustica special with chicken salad everyday.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jea Kim
Small local cafe that serves affordable coffee and amazing Italian sandwiches.For over two decades, Cafe Rustica has been a beloved cafe among the locals in this Somerville neighborhood. With classical music gently playing in the background, this quaint cafe offers a soothing ambiance that is perfect for a brief but relaxing stop.I’ve been coming to Cafe Rustica for a quick bite over the past two weeks. After trying their roast beef sandwich on my first visit, I instantly fell I love. The sandwiches here come with a perfectly toasted and pressed paninis, and each bite offered an irresistible crunch. Roast beef itself was just okay, so on my subsequent visit, I got the Italian tuna sandwich. Packed with classic Italian ingredients – like roasted peppers, a drizzle of olive oil, and fresh tomato – it was one of the best simple Italian sandwiches I had in a while.The cafe has a 45-minute limit on table usage, although I'm not entirely sure how strictly this rule is enforced. Despite the crowd during my visits, people didn’t seem to have any issue finding seating.If you’re looking for a simple Italian panini sandwiches, Cafe Rustica might just be one of the best options in the Greater Boston area. Will definitely be back to try more of their sandwiches.Parking: Free 2hr street parking on Somerville Ave (easier to find) & Beacon St
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Italian Tuna Sandwich
Nikta S.
Our experience at this restaurant has consistently been exceptional. The food is consistently wonderful, and the service surpasses expectations every time. This has become our go-to breakfast spot every weekend.
teddy laurita
Really excellent neighborhood cafe!! Couldn't recommend it more highly, the food is really excellent which you don't often see at cafes honestly, really awesome.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Egg Sandwich, Pastrami & Swiss With
Manuel Guillen
One of the greatest little cafes I've been to in the Cambridge/Somerville area. The owner and staff are always so welcoming and a pleasure to talk to. The food is delicious and well done. The environment is small and cozy. Love coming here when I get the chance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Egg Sandwich
Clint F.
This is now my second visit to cafe rustica and I have tried most of the cafes in this part of town. Cafe Rustica has bomb sandwiches. The bread is fire, the ingredients are fresh, and it's not thrown together haphazardly. Also the manager is super nice.
Brandi Donahou
It was amazing it had a great atmosphere and I loved the food I got a croissant with peanut butter and honey you should get it if you go there!Kid-friendliness: It was kid friendly it made my kid smile to see my kid smile mad me happy!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Ham and Swiss Sandwich
Hannah F.
This place rocks my socks. It's the friendliest service and cheapest coffee/breakfast you'll find around the Porter Square area. (Note: they prefer cash, but will take credit/debit with a small 75 cent fee - still a great deal). I had the great pleasure of finding this place when searching for a breakfast sandwich one morning nearby Porter Square. This place was a great find for breakfast! It was a slowish morning - I was one of 2 or 3 customers in the cafe - but it gave me the chance to have a table for myself (they had signs up with a 45min table limit, so I'd assume the place can get pretty crowded other times of the day). Their breakfast sandwich menu was super flexible (pick bagel or croissant, pick toppings other than eggs, you get the point). I tried an egg + mushroom on croissant one day (about $6.50) and a bagel with ham + egg on my second visit (about $5.50) - both came out piping hot and were quite filling! Highly recommend for a classic egg sandwich. For coffee, I got an almond milk espresso macchiato and this ran me about $3.50 for a double shot - this is a solid dollar cheaper than any nearby location (and all of their coffees were priced like this). One thing to note, like a lot of other cafes in the area, the place isn't open on Mondays. If you're looking for very friendly service and a well priced breakfast, please oh please check out Cafe Rustica!
Aditya Bhamidi
The coffee, the atmosphere, the rustica special sandwich. The warm welcome from Farouk, really brightened my day.I ate here almost everyday for 6 years everyday.I still crave and think about food from here.Vegetarian options: You can ask for rustica special, the best vegetarian tomato Parmesan sandwich I have ever eaten.
Fantastic little sandwich shop with reasonable prices, great staff, and a chill
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kirk Hardy
Great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Italian Tuna Salad Sandwich, Cucumber and Tomato Salad, Pastrami Sandwich Special, Roast Beef and Brie on Focaccia, Provolone Sandwich, Pastrami & Swiss With, Salads
Carol King
Spent 2 mornings enjoying coffee, bagel sandwiches, oat milk lattes, pain au chocolat with Farouq and team. Splendid! Loved hearing him greet each customer. Many regulars stopping in.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nathan Gaynor
I was passing through Boston for a week, trying to visit as many different restaurants and deli's as I could, and Cafe Rustica was so good I had to stop in twice. Great sandwiches and great staff, wish I had longer than a week so I could have stopped in again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Roast Beef and Brie on Focaccia, Baguette, Pastrami & Swiss With
No idea if the restaurant is great, but Cafe Rustica seems like a bad neighbor. The adjacent biz has an unofficial loading area, which most honored for years but the cafe owner has recently started parking his car in the area & takes up two spaces. Once when I was there first, he tried to get me to move. I'm glad his biz is doing well but success seems to have made him entitled and inconsiderate of his neighbors. Maybe there is a bigger picture that I'm missing but I know that he has made it more difficult for me to work with his neighbor.
Great lads, great food. Rustica special with chicken salad everyday.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Small local cafe that serves affordable coffee and amazing Italian sandwiches.For over two decades, Cafe Rustica has been a beloved cafe among the locals in this Somerville neighborhood. With classical music gently playing in the background, this quaint cafe offers a soothing ambiance that is perfect for a brief but relaxing stop.I’ve been coming to Cafe Rustica for a quick bite over the past two weeks. After trying their roast beef sandwich on my first visit, I instantly fell I love. The sandwiches here come with a perfectly toasted and pressed paninis, and each bite offered an irresistible crunch. Roast beef itself was just okay, so on my subsequent visit, I got the Italian tuna sandwich. Packed with classic Italian ingredients – like roasted peppers, a drizzle of olive oil, and fresh tomato – it was one of the best simple Italian sandwiches I had in a while.The cafe has a 45-minute limit on table usage, although I'm not entirely sure how strictly this rule is enforced. Despite the crowd during my visits, people didn’t seem to have any issue finding seating.If you’re looking for a simple Italian panini sandwiches, Cafe Rustica might just be one of the best options in the Greater Boston area. Will definitely be back to try more of their sandwiches.Parking: Free 2hr street parking on Somerville Ave (easier to find) & Beacon St
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Italian Tuna Sandwich
Our experience at this restaurant has consistently been exceptional. The food is consistently wonderful, and the service surpasses expectations every time. This has become our go-to breakfast spot every weekend.
Really excellent neighborhood cafe!! Couldn't recommend it more highly, the food is really excellent which you don't often see at cafes honestly, really awesome.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Egg Sandwich, Pastrami & Swiss With
One of the greatest little cafes I've been to in the Cambridge/Somerville area. The owner and staff are always so welcoming and a pleasure to talk to. The food is delicious and well done. The environment is small and cozy. Love coming here when I get the chance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Egg Sandwich
This is now my second visit to cafe rustica and I have tried most of the cafes in this part of town. Cafe Rustica has bomb sandwiches. The bread is fire, the ingredients are fresh, and it's not thrown together haphazardly. Also the manager is super nice.
It was amazing it had a great atmosphere and I loved the food I got a croissant with peanut butter and honey you should get it if you go there!Kid-friendliness: It was kid friendly it made my kid smile to see my kid smile mad me happy!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Ham and Swiss Sandwich
This place rocks my socks. It's the friendliest service and cheapest coffee/breakfast you'll find around the Porter Square area. (Note: they prefer cash, but will take credit/debit with a small 75 cent fee - still a great deal). I had the great pleasure of finding this place when searching for a breakfast sandwich one morning nearby Porter Square. This place was a great find for breakfast! It was a slowish morning - I was one of 2 or 3 customers in the cafe - but it gave me the chance to have a table for myself (they had signs up with a 45min table limit, so I'd assume the place can get pretty crowded other times of the day). Their breakfast sandwich menu was super flexible (pick bagel or croissant, pick toppings other than eggs, you get the point). I tried an egg + mushroom on croissant one day (about $6.50) and a bagel with ham + egg on my second visit (about $5.50) - both came out piping hot and were quite filling! Highly recommend for a classic egg sandwich. For coffee, I got an almond milk espresso macchiato and this ran me about $3.50 for a double shot - this is a solid dollar cheaper than any nearby location (and all of their coffees were priced like this). One thing to note, like a lot of other cafes in the area, the place isn't open on Mondays. If you're looking for very friendly service and a well priced breakfast, please oh please check out Cafe Rustica!
The coffee, the atmosphere, the rustica special sandwich. The warm welcome from Farouk, really brightened my day.I ate here almost everyday for 6 years everyday.I still crave and think about food from here.Vegetarian options: You can ask for rustica special, the best vegetarian tomato Parmesan sandwich I have ever eaten.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Great food, nice folks working there.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fantastic little sandwich shop with reasonable prices, great staff, and a chill
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Italian Tuna Salad Sandwich, Cucumber and Tomato Salad, Pastrami Sandwich Special, Roast Beef and Brie on Focaccia, Provolone Sandwich, Pastrami & Swiss With, Salads
Spent 2 mornings enjoying coffee, bagel sandwiches, oat milk lattes, pain au chocolat with Farouq and team. Splendid! Loved hearing him greet each customer. Many regulars stopping in.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I was passing through Boston for a week, trying to visit as many different restaurants and deli's as I could, and Cafe Rustica was so good I had to stop in twice. Great sandwiches and great staff, wish I had longer than a week so I could have stopped in again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Roast Beef and Brie on Focaccia, Baguette, Pastrami & Swiss With