Cafe On The Common — Restaurant in Waltham

Its a decent coffee shop that also offers some simple sandwiches, bread stuffs, soups, etc... It has a nice view of the Waltham Commons which and just a minute from the commuter line stop. There is ice-cream available I believe on the other side of the store however, I have never ventured around the other side for it.

The coffee is good although it is a tad expensive compared to the national chains however, its all ground there fresh so it certainly beats a number of places just on that point.

The food is OK fairly cheap but, nothing that is particularly exciting or impressive.

The staff varies depending on who you get and the level of activity. The place is not well setup for a high-volume of customers like a chain would be, i.e. there are no pre-made sandwiches to microwave in 10 seconds. So at times you might have a bit of a wait on your hands.

As for the wifi its free and open and, I honestly have never seen an issue with it. I have been there on quiet and busy days and never noticed any appreciable impact on my laptop or cell phone.

Overall, I would say this is a great place to to sit for a relaxing bit of coffee and perhaps a bite to eat. If you are not in a hurry and looking to sit down for a spell and unwind, its a great spot. If you are in a rush and can't conceive of why the staff might need time to do things... just go to a chain...

Ordered a cafe latte. Iced. You know, it's a latte made with espresso, steamed milk (which adds sweetness and body), and froth. And then ice is added. I was served an iced espresso with plain milk. Okay, nobody's perfect, and I wasn't sure at first, even though it tasted nothing like a latte. I brought it to the barista and asked her whether there was any steamed milk, because it was supposed to be a latte. As if I had asked her a rude question she responded, "No, it's just espresso and milk." Did Mention it had barely any milk, either? I said, "I'm pretty sure lattes are supposed to have steamed milk." Taking a tone, she said, "Do you want steamed milk?" I nodded. She made a small dollop of steamed milk. Did I mention that I had ordered a large Latte? The milk didn't make a dent in the taste. She had handed me the silver carafe with barely any milk and then, wordlessly, ignored me when I thanked her. It was the attitude more than anything else that turned me off to this place. They should explain to their baristas that they should acknowledge their mistakes, even if it's to say, "Oh, I didn't realize that," and then make sure to correct it. Won't return, and won't recommend it to my friends in...

If I could leave less than 1 star I would. When I arrived to the cafe there was nobody in line. I stood at the counter waiting to order for 5 minutes. The employee behind the counter (short bleach blonde hair and piercings) was sitting on her phone right in front of me watching me wait, and ignored me when I tried to get her attention multiple times. When she was finally bothered enough to take our order, she was rolling her eyes the whole time as if I was clearly disrupting her phone time. Not even 10 minutes into being there, she tells me the cafe is prematurely closing at 4pm which I did not realize. Not only did she not say this politely, but she said it with such crass that I felt so personally offended that I’m writing a review about it now. I was confused why she was personally targeting my table while others around me continued to chat with her responding, “i’m kicking them out too”. Most rude, indolent and disrespectful service I’ve ever experienced in my life time. Seemed like a really cute coffee shop, unfortunately ruined by incredible...