I didn't know this chain before my recent visit to Arlington. Walked there to pick up delicious coffees with steamed milk and croissants with ham and cheese. Took back to friend's place, but this place had lots of seating options inside and out. Counter servers were fast and pleasant! Glad I tried it. read more

Caffe Nero - Ham and Cheese Croissant - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Arlington, Massachusetts

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I love Cafe Nero and particularly this location, which is my favorite. Its ambiance is exceptional and their coffee and danish fare are as good as any of their locations. It has a good amount of metered parking right out front and more just a block away. The store is always clean and well-maintained, their staff friendly and professional. Lately I've been ordering ahead using their App, which makes pickup even faster and more convenient than ever. read more

My first visit and pleased that the cappuccino is made properly! The snickerdoodle cookie ws delicious, too. The space is absolutely beautiful! I suspect this delightful place will put the I-won't-name-it competitor just next door out of business very soon! It is centrally located by many delightful locations, including the historic Regent Theatre which is just around the corner! read more

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Caffe Nero is everything a coffee shop can be. The coffee is delicious and there are many choices for snacks. The service is friendly and professional. The seating is spacious, with sort of a library vibe in the back and more social in the front. (And some seasonal outdoor seating). Seriously, if you want to open a coffee shop, do what they're doing at Caffe Nero. read more

Caffe Nero - a cup of cappuccino on a saucer - A ceramic coffee cup with a handle contains a coffee beverage topped with latte art, displaying a white foam pattern on a brown coffee surface. The cup sits on a matching saucer, positioned on a brown tabletop or counter. The background includes a black cord, indicating an indoor setting, likely a café or coffee shop. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Arlington, Massachusetts

Stumbled into this establishment a little bit unprepared with what we wanted to order, and boy did the man behind the desk make us feel unwelcome. There was nobody else waiting behind us, so no need to be impatient, unhelpful, and rude. At the end, he pointed out that he expected a tip on top of the $30 charge. read more

My first experience at this cafe was from its original location in London, a bustling scene resembling more of a lively pub where people were sipping coffee rather than pints of beer over gregarious chatter. Thankfully due to trying to look for a restroom for my four year old daughter, I'd like to thank the man spending an exorbitantly long amount of time in the Starbucks restroom where I was led further down the walkway to be reacquainted with an old familiar chap whom I haven't seen since I last crossed the Atlantic pond prior to said child in tow. Not sure if the name has any reference to Emperor Nero, but they might as be playing violins as I watched the Starbucks baristas burn their beans in the expresso machines from overheating. Not that you would know since the machines face the customer at Starbucks whereas the vantage point is opposite at Caffe Nero where you get a glimpse of your beverage being prepared. Sometimes I feel like ordering a mocha provides a little snapshot into the little touches that go towards other drinks. Rather than using chocolate syrup they use unsweetened cocoa powder and add a touch of sugar separately and then they strain the hot expresso mixed with steamed milk over ice a few times across two cups much like a martini, and the quality of the drink very much reflected the added care and effort. Can't comment on the quality of the pastries and sandwiches, but the ambiance and decor is far superior and refined compared to its corporate counterpart down the street with high ceilings, exposed brick, fireplace, and decorative bookshelves. Probably not quite up to par with the ones in London but at least a euro-step towards having to avoid traveling (probably the worst basketball pun ever) in these interesting times. read more

Went to this Caffe Nero on Sunday at around 4pm. This is a big, good location, they also have outdoor seating. I spent a few hours here working. I ordered black coffee which was amazing. And a dutch chocolate cake which was divine and rich, so so delicious. The person taking our order got annoyed because i asked for a receipt. I would return to the place. read more

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Great European feel and cozy spot to work. Americano tasted extremely dark, which is definitely European style, so can't complain too much. Would recommend for a place to camp and work. Super nice ambience! Also looks like they have good food and bakery treats. read more

Took them three times to get my coffee right, because they could not remember I said lots of oat milk, so first they gave me cream then they gave me a little bit of oat milk and didn't stir it, but filled it up to the top, they would not look me in the eye, they threw it into the sink and splashed it all over the edge of the sink and the floor, and said, don't worry about it, but when they thrust the coffee onto the counter, they offended another woman, who said the service here sucks. I have to agree. $4 for a cup of coffee is bad enough, terrible service, no! read more

Love the variety of seating and good WiFi, with a variety of food options. Great place for college students who want a peaceful place to study. Drinks are hit of miss, and it completely depends on who makes them. Seems like training varies on every staff member for how every drink is made, because a lot of the time it'll taste completely different. Kim the barista there is always fantastic, knows how to make everything and keeps the line moving! read more

A lovely location and a vast improvement over Starbucks and Dunkin's. Wi-Fi was good and chairs were comfy. That being said, the barista did NOT know how to make a flat white. A limp latte was what I got. Oh well. read more

location - great it was extremely chilly so seating outside was not an option. There are a lot of chairs inside but unfortunately, people seemed to decide to work from there for eternity!! So people who just want to have coffee and chat up with friends have not much choice. Espresso - Okay to taste I wanted the salted caramel hot chocolate but they didn't have salted caramel. I would have loved my refund but anyways, the drink wasn't great. Macaroons - okay All in all it's okay, nothing great. Lots of potential but too commercialized. read more

Food: The coffee here is decent. The baked goods vary. I've only tried each item once so maybe other batches will turn out better/worse than others. Ham/cheese croissant - Not great but not bad either Apple cake - dry to the point of being inedible after a couple bites. It tastes ok but not great and it's definitely not worth the dryness. Banana bread - Good! Actually moist and a decent banana bread. It could use a stronger banana flavor in my opinion but still good. Service: All the servers here have been great! They're quick and kind and will give you an extra stamp on your card if you ask. Ambience: A good number of tables. Always at least half full but tables turn over pretty quickly and the baristas get through long lines quickly. read more

3 stars means "A-OK" on Yelp so i will give it that. 3 stars for the ambiance and the nice people working there. Because this is a chain, they use ready to go powders for their chai and green teas. Yes Starbucks uses a mix too for their lattes but it doesn't make it right:) It's nice to get a quality product. Here it's just ok. My friend got a cocoa - it's no Burdicks just another mix. So go here for ambiance and a relaxing place to meet a friend. Do not go here if you are a coffee or tea snob:) read more

The Arlington Center Caffe Nero is the best cafe in town for work-from-home people. Fast internet, lots of tables and comfy chairs. A community of writers and other freelance types are here all hours of the day. The tea and food is relatively good for a chain. I love the Greek yogurt parfaits. The staff is friendly, but seems to turn over rather quickly. I love that there are reusable ceramic dishes and metal utensils for eating in caffe. My only criticism is that there is not a recycling or compost bin for waste. read more

Strawberry banana smoothie, ham & cheese croissant, vegan breakfast roll, and italian tuscan sandwich were quick to be delivered and tasty!

Big sunny hip and happening space, packed with people lounging about so it's hard to get a seat. Lots of sandwich options, pastries, coffee and frappes, teas. Two people trying to manage a big line during the weekend rush seems like too few people to make coffee drinks AND warm sandwiches AND ring you up. I felt bad for them. They also don't do the tip when you pay so if you don't have cash, they aren't getting tipped. That's cruel! Ice tea was good. Caprese sandwich was made with sundried tomatoes and they heated it up so that the mozzarella melted which seemed odd. Sandwich was okay but not good. read more

came for Starbucks, stayed for Nero. walked into the cafe and enjoyed the sight instantly: exposed beams, brick wall, skylight, floor-to-ceiling decorative book shelves, lots of comfy couches/chairs, tables of all heights, sizes and shapes, and a fireplace (possibly functional). vast spacious seating area, free WiFi, light music, and more than one stall in the ladies, together send a very clear message: you're welcome to stay here to chill, work, do whatever. 3 hours of complimentary wifi automatically connected; was using Spotify with it and had no problems at all. wall menu above the counter offers tons of coffee options with some lingo that an average American may not be able to decipher, but even so there are the basics that we can stick to, or inquire with the friendly barista. espresso machine faces the patrons (opposite placement than Starbucks), so one can appreciate watching how their beverage is made. drinks are SUPER yummy, in a sense that you can taste the coffee! I got a mocha frappe in the first round, which required the use of smoothie blender. the resulting content wasn't the icy bits as produced in form of Starbucks frappes, but instead a creamy, smooth concoction that reassembles coffee mixed with soft serve ice cream. also, unlike Starbucks', this drink has a strong coffee presence, not merely a brown colored beverage overpowered by sugary, syrupy sweetness. food offerings range from a selection of sandwiches ($7+) and pastries ($3+). I had the chocolate croissant, toasted. it was airy, flakey, had the correct amount of chocolate; not overwhelmingltly sweet. it paired well with my drink. they offer a rewards program (buy 9 drinks get the 10th free), in form of a little paper card to be stamped - old school, but poetic at the same time. with the brand's recent explosion of exposure, I can recall two other locations more convenient for me to visit, and I am much motivated to make a trip there after today's experience. as i was finishing my drink at the tail end of my visit, i was compelled to order another beverage to go - might as well work towards my next free drink, right? iced mocha is exactly what it is supposed to be: strong coffee with a notable presence of chocolate. the real test will be whether I'd see a smudge of syrup left at the bottom of my cup (as I would with Starbucks) when I'm at my last sip. time shall tell. but so far so good for now. I hope I didn't insult Nero by obsessively comparing it to Starbucks, but as a current SB member with an app on the phone and lots of reward stars collected, I have only that to measure anywhere else against. that said, if I were to ever find Starbucks and Nero side by side again (as in today's case), I will pick Nero over Starbucks in a heartbeat, even without the rewards. judging from how each rewards program works, Nero's current program is much more generous in comparison. bonus for this location: small alcove of 4-hr metered parking right outside of the cafe. read more

Caffe Nero - nice decor, cozy seats, yummy drinks. nice place to spend an afternoon. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Arlington, Massachusetts

Its okay. Parking can be a pain. Sometimes the workers are too busy having side conversations to help customers, but they eventually do greet the customer and apologize for their side conversations. Solid coffees and food choices. Wish parking was better and they had more workers. The line can be a slow drag. read more

I went here a few times and it was like I was stepping into a Pinterest picture! The chairs were so fancy and comfortable as well. The whole wall was just books that I'm sure you can just grab and read and put back. I tried a expresso muffin and a brunch sandwich with my aunt. It is very busy most of the time but the food is great and the waiting time is not that bad if in no rush. read more

Caffe Nero - This was my brunch sandwich and my aunt was a ham and cheese on a croissant - The image shows two hands holding different food items wrapped in paper. The top hand holds a golden-brown croissant on brown parchment paper. The bottom hand holds a sandwich with a round, toasted bun, wrapped in brown paper. The background includes blue and brown paper, suggesting a casual food setting. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Arlington, Massachusetts

Usually good but got charged for large iced coffee even though ordered and received small cup

Love that this is in the Arlington Town Center! There's usually some parking around, or I am lucky enough to be able to walk. The patio outside is great and the inside is large and spacious as well for lounging and enjoying your coffee or tea. Great pastries. Sandwiches are good too. Quick and pleasant service. read more

Good Coffee. Ordered the iced latte. It turns out they have only one size for iced (which is a grande - 16oz). It seems a bit small imo. The flavor is better than Starbucks - more of a "pure/clean" taste rather than just milky (which is what Starbucks lattes taste like to me). The place just opened up a day ago, so they are still getting things flowing, but overall very good. The seating area is large and nice. Lots of places to sit even though it was very busy. The fireplace will be fantastic in the winter. Comfy couches everywhere. The layout of the sugar/milk/straws is very poorly placed. Pretty quick ordering. read more

Caffe Nero - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Arlington, Massachusetts

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This place is great for studying or grabbing some coffee. It's a pretty big coffee shop with plenty of tables, rather than a cramped small space with tiny tables. The other thing that I like about this place is that it has a unique atmosphere thats different from your typical chain coffee shop. The breakfast and coffee were also decently priced as well. Would come back again! read more

Caffe Nero - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Arlington, Massachusetts

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Funny that this place abuts Starbucks. Unlike Starbucks, Nero is a Euro coffee shop, hit the mark. Seems like they are popping up everywhere. Not sure I love that, but the coffee is king. read more

Decent location in Arlington with wifi, tables, and good coffee. That said, Nero has been slowly going the way of Starbucks in the past few years and I give it another 5 years before it becomes so generic that I go elsewhere. Original locations had books everywhere and fireplaces. Now many newer locations have one or two shelves of books and no gas fireplace. Until recently, the menus were written by hand on a chalkboard. That has now, in Arlington, become a printed sheet pasted to that same chalkboard. Baristas were deeply trained a few years ago and now there are more and more who can't pour a decent cappuccino. Introducing an app for online orders will soon bring so many people through that they'll have to eliminate tables to accommodate the crowds. Most Starbucks these days don't really encourage you to stay and work like they used to 10 years ago, but their business is booming. Nero in 5 years will look just like Starbucks, with full auto machines, limited seating, paper cups only, and poorly trained staff who don't like their job - but they'll be more profitable. For now, it's still a good place to get coffee and work. read more

The pros: * Large seating area * A variety of chairs (some comfier than others) * Good tea selection * Their pastries all look good The cons: * Very few options for vegans. Don't bother * Wifi is super slow (I measured 0.35 Mbps download, 0.49 Mbps upload) Bottom line: * Fun place to grab a drink with a friend and catch up. Not a great place to do work if you need faster internet. Unfortunately, for food, us vegans have to go elsewhere. read more

So good here Sweet and clean I comeback soon My favorite latte. And oJ I like here very much read more

I'm obsessed with this place. It is sooooo well decorated. A whole wall is a bookshelf and they also have a fireplace. There are so many seats to chose from. They have yummy pastries and coffee. They have quite a few options for pastries which is awesome. The baristas are always super friendly and the place is always super clean. This is forever my favorite coffee shop. read more

Caffe Nero - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Arlington, Massachusetts

Over an hour wait for a lukewarm coffee. 10 minutes, at most, from where I live. Never again. Ever. This was a delivery this am.

Good coffee, yummy pastries, fantastic place to do work-lots of outlets and comfy seating. It fills up quick so get there early. Clean bathrooms. That's all you need to have a great days/nights work The annoying bittersweet thing, when connected to their wifi (very strong btw) it doesn't allow you to use YouTube or Netflix. Since I mostly go to do work, sometimes I need YouTube to help me watch a video about concepts that I don't know and it kinda stinks that I can't do it there. But nonetheless great place! read more

Beautiful design and great coffee and snacks. Four stars only because they seem to need more staff to keep the seating area clean. Tables need to be cleaned and floor swept. read more

Caffe Nero - Nice fireplace! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Arlington, Massachusetts

Awesome vibe. The people who work here are super nice. Delicious coffee- and so many spots to sit its insane (yet still somehow doesn't feel crowded, not sure how they do it!) Definitely going to be my new study spot. The outside seating is awesome too. And the decorations. This picture is just a shot of the small front part of the store from a little corner I was hiding in. I'll have to go back to get a big shot of the whole place. I plan on going back often anyways. A + read more

Caffe Nero - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Arlington, Massachusetts

Good coffee, good seating options, overall nice atmosphere BUT the ordering and checkout process is really screwed up. People bypass each other in line depending on what they order and which barista takes the order. Then the person sent ahead to the cashier area often ends up waiting longer for their order than the customers they bypassed in the first place. It makes no sense at all and it is easy to see that most customers are a bit confused by it. Another problem is the location of the napkins, straws, sugar, etc. table. It is in the worst possible position in the entire store. People who just picked up their orders are constantly squeezing by other people who are using this table. When you have to walk back to the table from the seating area it is even worse since you were going against the flow of people traffic. This is a really awkward place to put this table and it could be corrected so easily. It should also be cleaned up more often because the napkin dispensers are often near empty and the table top needs to be wiped down and tidied up much more often. I i'm still giving this place for stars for the quality of the beverages and be comfortable seating environment. It is a very new store and hopefully they will work out the kinks ASAP and do very well in Arlington Center read more

To start with the coffee is amazing!! The atmosphere is comfortable and there is a lot of room. The employees were nice. I'm from Arizona and wish we had one there! read more

This is a great place to sit and write all day. A nice spacious interior and cozy decor makes you feel in no rush to leave -- even if leaving would mean that you don't have to work on those damn cover letters anymore. I personally can't sit in a Starbucks and work without the crowds driving me up the wall, but Caffe Nero has the perfect level of buzz for me. I've come back about three of four times in the past 10 days. Plus, the espresso drinks are absolutely incredible, the iced tea varies from good to terrific depending on who prepares it, and the smoothies are simple but quite satisfying. Also the staff are wonderfully friendly!!! I would second what some reviewers are saying about a confusing check-out process, though. It's not clear where you're supposed to stand until it's your turn to pay. You're left wondering when it's your turn to pay until one of the baristas makes eye contact with you and smiles. Which is heartwarming, but ... Anyway- totally worth it. I would recommend this cafe to anybody. read more

Extra stars for being local and having good food and coffee plus frappes. Taking away an entire star because instead of having jam on the side you have to literally buy a small jar of jam which is nuts, and I'm annoyed that sandwich prices are so bloody high. read more

Generally excellent. The coffee is quite good, most baked goods likewise (I'm quite fond of the old fashioned chocolate cake and the cookies). They have brewed decaf, which I appreciate. There are sandwiches, and fare like yogurt or hard boiled eggs if you want something lighter or less expensive. Lots of seating, nice ambiance, clean bathroom. It's become my go-to cafe. Most staff are friendly, all have been professional. The only notable negative is that they often feel about half a person understaffed, which can impact wait time and/or keeping the bussing area/unused tables clean. Minor negatives that others might not care about: their HVAC makes some of the seats chronically drafty. Their hot cocoa is very latte-ish, foamy and subtle. (aka "weak") The register area can get a bit congested with people waiting for their orders. read more

The seating area is large and nice I really like this place I went to this store twice a week read more

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I like Nero and have been to many different locations. Here are my conclusions after visiting the Arlington branch for more than two dozen times. Pros: Plenty of space to sit and get work done, many outlets, good coffee, free 3hr wifi, spacious restrooms Cons: SUPER long wait time to place an order. This location is in desperate of for more staff to maintain cleaner facilities and assist patrons. Hope the current staff are trained better as well - except for the two male managers everyone else is stern. Additionally, Nero can't beat the variety of drinks that Starbucks next door offers, but their sandwiches are better. read more