Caffè Nero — Restaurant in Boston

I'm only writing this review to thank the sweet barista who served me:

I love coming in here to work when i'm in the neighborhood, maybe once a month. I came in during the lunch rush and the place was packed. I was looking over the pastry counters trying to decide what to have with my coffee (would recommend a madeleine but ask for it to be heated up. makes it even better). And I could see the moment one of the baristas realized she had messed up: she had added whole milk to a latte when the customer had asked for skim milk. She immediately whipped up a replacement and kept the line moving (there was only one other barista despite how busy it was). She then looked back at the whole milk latte and looked to see if anyone had just ordered one or if she'd have to toss it. I made eye contact with her and told her that i'd have it if no one else had ordered it, was gonna order a latte anyway and don't care about the type of milk, i just don't like wasting food. She asked me if i'm sure that i don't have to. I told her i was. I made it to the cashier and she handed me my warm madeleine and coffee but refused to charge me for the coffee (the manager was right next to her too). Said it would have been trashed anyway and they were happy to just give it to me. Lesson of the day: be kind to baristas and servers and don't waste food if you can. I mainly drink oat milk and soy milk for climate change reasons, but it would have been worse for the climate to just toss that whole milk latte and ask for an oat milk one than just having what was already made.

And try to be kind people. Sometimes they'll surprise you and...

Service was horrible and very unprofessional, I ordered 2 sandwiches, salad, water and coffee to stay around 11am, the hostess who unfortunately I didn’t get her name( she had black and purple hair) brought my order in takeout bags and when I asked her why, she said we’re not serving plates now, at the same time a couple of hostesses brought plates for their clients so I asked again why then they’re getting plates and while not looking at me answered ( well I’m not serving plates now ) with a really bad attitude so I repeated, so you just don’t feel like serving and again while looking the other way replied, Yes I am not. I am visiting Boston to attend the graduation of my son ( a couple of blocks away from cafe Nero ) so I decided not to cause a scene and refuse to pay and call the manager ( no supervisor or manager were visible anywhere) instead I just took my takeout bags and decided not to let her ugly attitude ruin my day . If this business has a shred of respect for their customers they should definitely do...

The place is OK. I like their chocolate muffins and croissant sandwiches. It is usually crowded with students, so it is sometimes hard to find a seat, especially on weekends. The part that I don't like is the attitude of the baristas. Some of them are very moody and their attitude almost borders on rudeness, especially near closing time. Also their practice of asking everyone in line what their orders are while still serving the first person is stupid: they forget what you said by the time it is your turn anyway.

08/04/2019. I still get coffee at this location, but I stopped buying food items here. In my opinion, the hygiene has become unacceptably bad. Here are some examples: the plastic bin of dirty dishes is often overflowing, with bunch of small flies around. The milk, sugar, etc. are placed right next to the said bin of dirty dishes. I have seen many small flies/insects walking on pastry items. And the locks of bathroom stalls are broken. I hope the management is aware of these issues and planning on...