Diesel Cafe — Restaurant in Somerville

Pros: Great space. Airy, bright, colorful, funky, has great character. Vintage gas pump from an old has station. Vintage photobooth, like at the state fair. It used to work, too, but then it kept breaking and they stopped fixing it. Major bummer. But it's still there and lends retro charm. Two pool tables, in case that's your thing. More atmosphere. Fun booths upholstered in classic red and white vinyl, plus a couple high top round tables, and a bunch of small tables, a long table against a wall for studying/working, and one large wooden table if you like sitting closer to strangers - no judgement either way. Walls feature rotating exhibit of artwork by local artists, a different person every few weeks. Free WiFi. Yep. Lots local color. People of all ages flock here. Very LGBTQ-friendly, as reflected in the staff and some of the clientele. A fair number of wall outlets. Large glass storefront for prime people watching on the street, or watch the people inside (equally good). In the summer/warm weather they open the glass and if you get one of those spots, you're basically al fresco. Games cupboard in the back. Vertical wooden magazine rack with a few old New Yorkers, etc., and a variety of small local rags. Great place to meet a friend for coffee or to study together. Bathrooms: 2 (or is it 3?). Modest menu with a few breakfast items, sandwiches, salads, pastries, and of course, coffee, tea, and espresso drinks. Plenty of veggie- and vegan-friendly options.

Cons: Expensive!! Seriously pricey, compared to other areas cafes. None are cheap, buy Diesel really pushes the limit. Major wallet shock. The trade-off for free WiFi? Maybe. But they were pricey even when they charged for WiFi. Now the prices are higher, and there's a three-hour limit on the free WiFi, which, I get. Their hot chocolate is disappointingly bland and thin. The booths are HARD to get during prime time. Sometimes you can't find a seat there period, full stop. The bathrooms - ew!! Gross. For an upscale cafe with high prices, the bathrooms are in a shameful state. They stink. It looks like no one cleans those stainless steel toilets, at least not often.

Verdict: If you can spare the cash, handle a gross-ish bathroom, and don't mind fighting for a seat, go for it! Plenty of atmosphere, a great Davis Square vibe, lots of natutal light in the front half of the joint, great people watching on both sides of the large, sunny stotefront, color, life, and a great location. Not too many independent coffee shops left in the area. Diesel is worth checking...

For our annual coffee crawl this year, my wife and I are biking around Cambridge (and Somerville), MA and trying to determine the best place for iced coffee. We are reviewing based on for categories: taste, coffee/ice ratio, atmosphere, and customer service.

Diesel Cafe Cambridge (Iced) Coffee Crawl 2015 Winner

Taste: * Wow. I expected great things knowing that they brew Intelligentsia Coffee, but these are some of the best iced drinks I've had. My honey latte was fantastic. Perfectly balanced coffee and honey flavors with an espresso that really complements the honey. The espresso has a sweet caramel and fruity palette that works really well for iced drinks. The star of the show, though, was the salted caramel latte. The homemade caramel sauce combined with that espresso is just about the perfect drink. Whoever came up with that recipe is a genius as it's just a perfect pairing. The saltiness and sweetness balance out, keeping the drink away from cloying and safely in the refreshing summer drink range. It's definitely a bit dessert-y, but not in a bad way by any means.

Coffee/Ice Ratio: ** They make the drinks and mix them all separate from the ice, so you know your drink is going to be properly made every time. Enough ice to make it refreshing, but a little too much if you don't out-drink the melt.

Atmosphere: * Again, top marks here. There is tons of space, so even though it's crowded, it doesn't feel like it. There's a great vintage industrial feel to the inside, complete with a garage door that opens up the whole front of the shop to outside. My one small complaint is that they charge for WiFi. Since there is no signal here (at least for Verizon), that's annoying. You can connect via xfinity, though, so there's that option at least.

Customer Service: ** They were busy, but were still polite and didn't rush us at all. The barista was very professional and quick. The whole staff is very well dressed, polite, and makes great eye contact. I'm sure on less busy days, they'd be more talkative and engaging.

Overall, this is a great spot with great coffee... Can't...

I love Diesel Cafe. I think it will always be special to me, because my friend took me here for the first time on my birthday. We played pool and brought coffee. We also talked about our life here. Anyways, the interior is aethestically pleasing. It simply screams "hipster" and "alternative." Ever since that day, I've been coming back to this cafe. I even brought my dad here once. He really liked the coffee and the design. He even shared photos of it on his Facebook, which almost never happens when he goes somewhere. Everyone I've talked to about this cafe, they all love it. Even my professor :P Of course, the coffee is really good. I only drink iced coffee, but it's really good. I cannot say things about the food since I've only ever brought coffee. The bathrooms are also clean. I only have two complaints: sometimes seating is hard, regardless of the time of day. As other people complained about, there are some individuals, alone, who sit in the four persons booth alone. From my time at the UMass Dining halls, I learned that I should only sit in two person tables if I'm going to eat alone. I suppose I'm being hypocritical here, since one of the photos I shared, I was alone and took up two tables :P The other complaint is the Wifi. I didn't know how to set up the free 45 minutes. I certainly would not connect to public Wifi and enter my card information to purchase the Wifi. SSL encryption aside, I'm sure people could get your information another way when you're using public Wifi. I tried paying with cash for the Wifi, but the staff said the provider was third party, so they couldn't take cash. However, not having Wifi could increase your productivity if you are able to do...