Ball Square Cafe — Restaurant in Somerville

So when I walked in the place was bustling. No one greeted me, which wasn't a great sign. I was all the way back near the cashing out stand before anyone said anything. They offered me a table in the louder busier room, but I declined for a table frequently sunned- two over from the bathroom- because there were fewer people in this room and the likelihood that anyone was going to choose the table next to the bathroom with all those other available was unlikely, so I would have a decent amount of peace and quiet for my meal, which was between 1-3. I ordered: 3 Stack Gluten Free Pancakes- Buttermilk 2 Eggs Lox on a Gluten Free English Muffin with cream cheese, capers, tomato, with a side of red onion Small Orange juice Real Maple Syrup (You have to ask for it and they charge extra.)

So my food came out in a timely manner, but my drink first, and the OJ was good.

Food first up: the lox with the eggs- which was a bit weird. I wanted my eggs with my pancakes, but it was my fault for not being specific. I had to also pay for and ask for an extra cream cheese because one was only enough for 1 side of the English muffin because it was big. I was also disappointed because the English muffin was not warm, though it looked edges had been toasted- nut not the middle. Weird. It was still tasty. I usually like something pickled more than capers with my lox, but the red onion added a nice touch in place of that.

The pancakes came out and they stayed warm and were fluffy. They put whipped cream on the side that was a little sweet, but it is not my thing, so I was grateful it was on the side. She forgot my maple syrup, so I had to ask for that as well as extra napkins, because the one they give you with the knife and fork is never enough. The eggs were fine.

At some point during my meal, I has something purposefully spilled on me and my table that was stinky. I sat with my back against the wall, but whatever this was got on my pants, and my phone which was on the table. It really stank. There is at least 4 feet of space between me and the table next to me, so there was no accident of a food spill- this was a foreign substance. I didn't and don't know any of the people who were present, so this was alarming. I don't know if they were staff or not, but they had on a black top, so they could have been. No one apologized, and I was really upset by this. I had to find sanitizing wipes to clean off my phone just touching the liquid. I had to wash my hands again after eating to get rid of the smell.

While I enjoyed my food, there was no dill with the lox, or any other special seasoning. Lox is yummy and salty, so are the capers, but there wasn't that extra touch. I really enjoyed my pancakes, but the almost cold English muffins was not okay, and the lack of toasting made them a bit crumbly.

As a gluten free woman, the pancakes were stellar, just be sure to be specific about any of your needs and be aware you will need to remind staff. Lox fine. I would say go, but make sure you are vocal and ask for any...

I have never left a Google review, much less a negative review. But I just had such a terrible experience that I felt I needed to share it, and I hope someone at Ball Square Cafe sees this and does something about it.

I should start by saying this review is completely regarding the take-out experience. I have eaten here once before (dining in), and had a pretty normal experience and enjoyed my food enough. Today I thought I'd treat myself to a stack of pancakes, and placed a pickup order. I was notified it would be ready twenty minutes later, so I showed up a few minutes after that. When I walk in, I see a "Take-out" sign and expect to find a table or something below it where people pick up their orders, like everywhere else does. But there is nothing there. In fact, there is a bin of dirty dishes on the floor here, and this small spot is literally right next to a staging area for the waiters with coffee and dishes, etc, basically in the middle of the room with no room to stand. I see about 3 or 4 waiters in this area, bustling about since the place is packed. I expect someone to talk to me, but after 5 minutes of just standing there awkwardly, I have to flag someone down to go check on my order. She walks away to the kitchen, but then she comes back and doesn't say a word. After another 5 minutes I flag someone else down to check again. This time she does actually come back and tells me it'll be a few minutes. More waiting. Meanwhile, everyone is just kind of ignoring me and avoiding eye contact. I'm stood in a pretty awkward spot and every once in a while the dish guy (really nice guy) has to ask me to step aside so he can get to the dish bin that I'm standing in front of. What is going on??? Two more times I flagged someone down to check on my order, and was told it would be a few minutes. No one offered to check for me, I had to make intense eye contact to get someone to talk me, and twice the first they said was, "You all set?" Like no, why would I be standing here if I was all set....?? I ended up waiting 35 minutes before I gave up and just left.

Look, I don't blame the waiting staff. They are some of the busiest workers around, and they are just doing their job. It really seemed like no one knew whose job it was to talk to me or the other people waiting for takeout. Which is why I hope someone higher-up at Ball Square Cafe will read this: you need to fix your take-out experience, or get rid of it. There was no protocol, no communication, and I ended up just feeling like I was in everyone's way when I was there to pick up A SIMPLE STACK OF PANCAKES. When I left, I had ordered almost an hour ago. It would have been quicker to sit down and order. Absolutely...

Not even sure where to begin with how terrible our service was. Went to this cafe as a party of 3 around 2:15 today, keep in mind we’ve eaten here before and were super impressed with both service and food! Today was nothing of the sort. We came in knowing exactly what we wanted, thinking we were helping out and being “easy” guests, but clearly that didn’t make a difference. First of all, we didn’t get our drinks for 25-30 minutes, shared one waffle (very good by the way) before getting our drinks, and didn’t get our entres until about an hour after us placing our order. The runner brought one of us the wrong plate of food, put it down on the table, and then took it away and brought it to another table right in front of us, which is a heath violation, and also just disgusting. I told our server I wanted my eggs well done (last time I got the same thing and they were runny and not fully cooked) and they came out incredibly undercooked, so much so that the WHITE part was still gooey and runny (after taking almost and hour to arrive at the table), ew. Unfortunately we got our food WELL after other table that ordered WELL after us. Our server was incredibly inattentive, he came over once and then never checked on us. Not sure if he was in the weeds, he was around, but we even tried to flag him down and he walked away. After flagging down 2 other servers, we sent the runny eggs back, and let the staff know that we ordered steak tips (med rare) that came out well done and burnt (which we left untouched). They acknowledged it and still left it on the check ($27). By then, almost everyone in our section was complaining and wanted to cash out to leave, but had to wait at least 10 minutes for their checks.

Just to mention, after the runner brought the wrong plate and still served it to another table, he came back with the right plate and said “sorry about that, there was a fight in the kitchen, and almost a show”…idk but we found that incredibly inappropriate, especially after waiting an hour for this plate of food that came out burnt. I mean…thanks for that terrible excuse, that makes us feel so much better!

I would just like to wrap this up by saying that I am a server, and have been for a while. I know what it’s like to be weeded, i’ve seen coworkers get reviews like this and it’s not fun, so if anything i understand. there is still no excuse for how horrible our experience was today. if you’re looking for good food, try it out, just don’t get eggs or steak. If you’re looking for good service, don’t waste...