Life Alive Organic Cafe Central Square — Restaurant in Cambridge

My partner and I came here for lunch on March 8th at 1:14 pm. We have been to one other location and wanted to check out the central location while in the area. We ordered 2 noodle plates, a smoothie, and an iced tea for a total of $52.26 including 20% tip.

We decided to go sit downstairs because most of the seating upstairs was taken. While we were getting settled in at a table in the basement we were admiring what a cozy atmosphere the dining area had. A person across the way began asking “what is that… what is that?” loudly enough to catch my attention. When I looked over she was pointing right behind me. She then asked me “is that a mouse🐭? Or a roach?” When I looked I saw a little mouse🐭 scurrying along hugging the walls. It popped out briefly to look at something on the ground, and to my horror I saw another little mouse ☠️, but this one was clearly deceased (smooshed and flattened). At the same time our waitress brought down one of the plates and our drinks.

I tried to discreetly tell our waitress about what I had just seen without raising alarm. I told her about the living mouse🐭 and said that he was coming to check on the dead mouse🐭 and pointed it out. She said she couldn’t see what I was pointing at because she had her sunglasses on (??), so I continued pointing and said that the dead mouse 🐭 was literally 2 feet away. She saw it, told me she would go get her manager, but that they already knew they had mice 🐭 and had traps out to deal with it.

The manager started to come down the stairs with our last plate of food, so our waitress was going to intercept him to inform him of the mouse situation. She stopped him at the worst spot, and before she could tell him what was going on we watched him step directly on the dead mouse 🐭. I had to look away, but my partner froze and watched the whole thing. When the manager realized what had happened he went over to the supply bar that held utensils, straws, to go boxes, etc.. He grabbed a napkin and a to go box, and came back over to the dead mouse 🐭, brushed it into the box, then went and threw it into the same garbage bin that customers would also be using. At this point a few other parties in the basement noticed what was going on, and the manager remarked “they [the mice🐭] have been here far longer than us” and that “they have friends… had friends”. Then he went back upstairs.

We went upstairs to try to collect ourselves enough to eat a little but, but were ultimately too grossed out by what we had just witnessed.

I work in the food industry and understand that mistakes happen. I also recognize that food attracts pests, especially in cities. I try to be understanding when mistakes do arise because it’s part of the business. What I have been struggling with over this situation is how the manager and staff dealt with it. The managers comments and jokes were completely inappropriate for the setting, especially to make to paying customers. He didn’t offer any sort of apology and the only explanation was “they’ve been here far longer than us.” All that tells me is that this establishment doesn’t take pests seriously and that they deal with them all of the time. This was probably the worst experience I’ve ever had at a restaurant, and it left me severely grossed out. I keep seeing the mouse 🐭 being stepped on when I close my eyes which has been an unfortunate thing to bear witness to. This ended up being a $52.26 lunch date that we left trauma bonded from. and had to process for 3 days. We were not offered a refund or...

I am Alberto and I have been a loyal customer of Life Alive, at 888 Commonwealth Avenue, Brookline (BU location) since their opening. Unfortunately, I was shocked with a horrible customer service I received from one of their employees and needed to share my experience so others are aware. My two young daughters and I visited the BU location and I ordered my meal to dine in. I was given a number and we picked a table to wait for my meal to arrive. My 2 young daughters were eating chips and salsa from Chipotle while I waited for my food. A food-runner, maybe the manager, came in with my coffee on a to-go cup and without saying a single word to me, she said “Sir, you need to leave this facility immediately because we don’t allow outside food here”. Those were her exact words without saying anything else. I was baffled and surprised and started packing my daughters’ chips back in the bag. As I was putting their food away, the young lady told me I was to leave immediately because my kids would contaminate the entire place and Life Alive takes this kind of things very seriously. I told her I understood, and I would gladly leave, but I would prefer to cancel my 3 meals that I had placed. She stood next to me and pointed me out the door. I told her, once again, to cancel my order so I could leave, as at this point, I was all packed up and ready to leave. The girl left angrily to cancel my order and one minute later, she looked and me and yelled from the kitchen counter that my meal was ready and packed, and I could leave the building. I want everyone to understand the complete embarrassment since she was saying this loud in front of other customers my two daughters. I want to make clear that I completely understand contamination having managed 5-star hotels and restaurants all over the US. However, this employee was rude, unprofessional and made a simple situation a difficult one. I was embarrassed to have had that experience in front of my kids and others. Clearly, this restaurant lacks good training of their staff. I wish this young lady could have politely approached me, instead of aggressively “escort” me out like my kids are a hazard to the restaurant. I will never come back and hope you don’t either. It’s not worth it! Customer service is not what they...

Good food, VERY HEALTHY: salad bowls, wraps, smoothies, kambucha on tap (!!), unique teas.... KALE on everything! haha 😂 (ok not EVERYTHING, but it seems like it, haha). This place is trendy, funky, busy, very hipster. They're a little pricey, and it's crowded almost all the time, so if you're in the mood for a cheap, quite bite to eat, this is NOT the place to go. I knew that going in cuz I pass Life Alive a lot, but as a Google Maps Guide, I know that a lot of people looking at these reviews have never been to the place whose reviews they're reading so I just like to give you guys all the info you need to make the decision that best suits your needs. FYI they have big portions! They have 2 salad sizes; I can't remember what the larger size is called, but their smaller salad size is called "demi" and it was so big that even though that's all I ordered for dinner I almost couldn't finish it. Oh man, get a smoothie, they are soooo good, and they have lots of healthy delicious options; they're FILLING though, so if you get a smoothie don't order too much food. So that's a money saving tip because 1 of their large size salad bowls & 1 smoothie will feed 2 people. If you're looking for an upbeat, funky place with super healthy food, then this is the place for you! If however you'd prefer a cheaper, faster, quieter, more mainstream lunch, then check out Au Bon Pain across the street, they are perfect for that; I know I like different things in different scenarios! I hope my review has helped you decide!...