I used to meet my son here for brunch years ago when he was a freshman at Tufts. I hadn't been in a long while, but had fond memories of the self serve coffee bar and the eclectic breakfast options, so headed on over there last week on our way home from Dorchester. The place is still comfortable and we were greeted with a warm welcome. The coffee bar was JUST as good as I remembered with several options of flavored coffees, different flavor syrups etc... I settled on the classic benedict, other around me ordered the corned beef hash omelette, the CB hash benedict and the steak tips and eggs. We also ordered a peach bellini from the bar, a first! All food came quickly. My benedict was excellent. Perfectly poached eggs with lean canadian bacon and a solid hollandaise on top. The corned beef hash was on point, and the steak tips were very good. The only reason I am going with 4 stars instead of 5 was the price point. We had 3 hot beverages, one bellini and 4 entrees and the bill before tip was $89, that felt like a lot for breakfast, even coming from Portland, Maine! Other than cost concerns, I highly recommend Sound Bites! read more

Decided to treat myself to a breakfast delivery in light of quarantine and so glad I did! The delivery was fast, warm, and delicious. Thank you for sacrificing your time and energy during this tough time to provide delicious meals to the neighborhood! read more

Sound Bites Cafe - Broadway Bowl - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

For being one of the more popular breakfast spots in town, and with a 4 star Yelp average, I walked out after breakfast thinking 'meh'. Would give it 2.5 if Yelp allowed it. To be fair, the Crunchy French Toast I ordered was delicious. However the Broadway Bowl my friend ordered was not as advertised on the menu, with more green peppers than anything else in the dish. The veggies and eggs in the dish were supposed to be on top of home fries but was basically mashed potatoes...weird. We both ordered sides to go with our meals that came out 10 minutes before the entree, which was also strange to me. Tip: Before you take them up on their serve yourself breakfast drinks, check the back page of the menu for the prices, since only the hot coffee is bottomless and the orange juice is almost $5 a pop. Tip #2: Do not get seated at the tables by the door in the winter time if you can help it. I know, welcome to New England, but this establishment doesn't have a vestibule or a waiting area so at peak times when people are waiting for a table the door is held open. read more

Good food and big portions! Came here with a big group of friends and we got a table right away. They have a self serve juice/coffee bar where you make your coffee, tea, or juice. The menu had a bunch of breakfast options, sweet and savory. I ordered a breakfast bowl that had red peppers, eggs, cheese, onions, potatoes, and avocados with a side of toast. It was super good and very big! The food came out surprisingly fast and the service was good. They did mess up a few of our orders but were very accommodating and had great customer service. An example being I had ordered a caramel chai tea latte and they brought it out but it was a caramel coffee of some sort. Long story short, the owner tried to show me how to make one at the coffee bar but it still wasn't very tasty. So they took it off of my bill with no problem. Super yummy breakfast spot that also serves lunch and dinner! I would recommend! read more

Sound Bites Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

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4.5 on the Benny Scale I've been on a search for the Best Benny in Boston 2010. My #1 fav spot, Grecian Yearning in Allson, sadly, burned down (sniff) and I've been in search of benny ever since. This was my first trip here and definately won't be the last. The Avacado & tomatoe eggs benny was Delic! The hollandais was creamy smooth with lemoney goodness and the avacado portion was Huge!...and the potatoes!! I loooved that they were GRILLED mashed potatoes with a little bit of heat to them and all golden crusted....yummmmm (I posted a pix). My only complaint was that the english muffin was toasted lightly and my eggs were a little on the poached well side...I like my muffin with more of a crunch to it and my eggs lightly poached so the yolk breaks and runs everywhere. When my friend and I arrived (11ish on Sunday), there was a line out the door, but because it was just the two of us, we were seated immediately. The waitstaff was fast, friendly and efficient and the prices were fair. Even though the place was packed, I didn't feel rushed. I will definately be back for more! read more

Sound Bites Cafe - tomatoe & avacado eggs benny - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

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This place is awesome. The vibe is great. Bustlin' and fun. I got my go to brunch drink, a bloody mary and though it looked pretty, it just tasted okay. My bf got the orange juice and it was delicious probably because it is fresh squeezed. They start you off with a fruit bowl and it is a really good fruit bowl. It had a lot of different fruits. Any place that gives me a fruit bowl to wet my palette is two thumbs up in my book. For entrees, I got the corn beef hash with scrambled eggs and toast. My bf got an omelette. I forgot which omelette but he said it was the best he has had. The corn beef hash was good but it needed something more. It just seemed like a heapful of meat. We got the nutella stuffed french toast. That was SO DARN GOOD. We were quite full from eating our breakfast and surprisingly devoured the french toast. I will certainly be back. I saw a lot of delicious looking plates being served to other patrons. read more

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A slightly sub par breakfast spot that feels like the restaurant you'll go to once all other options have been exhausted. However--great coffee bar! Now this isn't to say it's not worth going; I think the omelette, although a bit oily, was pretty filling and not too expensive, but just the overall experience didn't really do it for me (toast and potatoes were not too good). Further, the chicken and waffles my friend ordered was more like a piece of chicekn katsu on a waffle, so we swapped it out for french toast, which was much better. The one part of the meal I really enjoyed was the free refill self-serve coffee "bar." It had various blends from hazelnut, to pumpkin spice, to vanilla, and everything in between Then they also had all the syrups and milks you could imagine to put in your coffee. Overall an "eh" experience. read more

Sound Bites Cafe - Self serve coffee - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

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Super quick, crave worthy , the hype is real, food so good Speedy service, Amazingly friendly owner !!!! Try the French toast with mascarpone !!!!!! read more

Definitely looks good! The guy cleaning the windows didn't realize he was spraying cleaner onto my food. Beverages are self service. read more

Sound Bites Cafe - Stuffed French toast with cream cheese. With mango and strawberry on top. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

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Everything on the menu sounded delicious. I just had to preface that before I wrote down everything we ordered. Between two of us, we ordered a side of two sunny-side eggs, a side of corn beef hash, a stack of blueberry/banana pancakes, and the smoke salmon benedict. All the non-alcoholic drinks are self-served in the back corner. The corn beef hash was bomb. The stack of pancakes were a lot. It came out exactly the way it looks in pictures. They were really fluffy, and they didn't hold back on the blueberries/bananas. The smoked salmon eggs benedict was also really good -- and it came with their version of home fries, which were grilled mashed potatoes. We ended up taking half of the eggs bene home, and one of the pancakes. It was a ton of food, but everything we had we would highly recommend. I need to come back to try other parts of the menu and the bloody mary. The staff was very friendly, except for the one woman who we asked to get us ice water. She had an annoyed look on her face when she pointed to the water cooler that was directly behind us... so that one's on us! read more

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Food is really good, but good Lord the service is slow/ relatively unattentive. If you're out for a day and in no particular need to do anything else, it's a good option, but constantly needing to flag someone down for everything.. that ain't it. Also, check your bar garnishes. Questionable sometimes. read more

Came here for the first time with the boyfriend and our 2 friends. They have been there before and spoke very highly of the food here. They did NOT lie about that at all. Our server was so nice and funny. She had a great personality and definitely made our dining experience amazing. The food.....oh my god....the food was soooooo good. I am wishing I could get it delivered to me at work right now. I had the smoked salmon eggs benedict and it was everything I ever hoped for haha. Toward the end of our meal I think the owner came over to us and gave us a round of green tea shots that our server came up with. It had whiskey and we all weren't big whiskey drinkers but it was very tasty! Thanks to the server & owner for the shots!! My boyfriend and I live close by so we will definitely come back for brunch or breakfast soon! read more

Sound Bites Cafe - Smoked salmon Benedict! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

I came here around 1pm on a Sunday and there was no wait. My boyfriend and I sat at the bar, and while we were looking through the menu, 4 different servers came to ask us for our order. They are definitely diligent and not short staffed! The set up is a little different...they have a little station for water that you can get yourself, and for soft drinks and juice there's a fridge that you help yourself to as well. The food itself I thought was delicious. We had the eggs Benedict and the Challah French Toast with fruit. The eggs Benedict was nothing spectacular, but definitely still good. I liked the home fries, even though they weren't really fries, and more mashed potatoes. Really good flavor. The French toast (WITH the fruit and whipped cream) was my favorite. It comes out with a large variety of fruit on top and it makes for a nice photo as well! I would recommend this place for a quick stop when you're nearby for sure! read more

Sound Bites Cafe - Classic Eggs Benedict and Challah French Toast with fruit and whipped cream - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

Best Brunch in Ball Square! I just moved to the area and have tried every brunch spot in ball square. This one is the best! Their corn beef hash is amazing, great drinks and service. Love love love sounds bites! read more

I had a fantastic smoked salmon benedict this morning, and realized that I never wrote a review for these folks. Sound Bites has been great for years, and they've found a way to make delicious food quickly. The line can get long, but they're really efficient. That said, this is not the place for a lingering, 90 minute brunch. There's not a lot of hand-holding, the staff are busy, and the speed is the ambiance. It's a unique combination. read more

Loosing it's charm?? I've been here a number of times. I LOVE THE HOME FRIES!!! Ok now that that's out, I can talk about the other stuff!!! I have noticed a slightly downward trend in the quality of the food. What used to be made with love is not being slightly just handed over to you. I had the lamb dinner on St. Patrick's day, I know..I know..I'm a bad Irish girl. It was good but not amazing. I came for lunch just the other day. The chicken kabob was dry and the french fries were under cooked. The falafel was horribly over cooked. I was in for breakfast, over the winter, and was happy to savor a good omelette so maybe I just have to admit this is just a good old breakfast place. The staff are super nice every time I come in. The one thing I do notice is when they get busy they get curt. Don't take it personally. read more

Been coming here for almost 30 years and it's always been really good. People will have their gripes but all in all this place is the bomb. Salt of the earth type joint that is a representation of old Somerville. Please get the griddled garlic mashed potatoes home fries (might be the best in Massachusetts) and Bloody Mary....also the corned beef hash if you have the money. Oh yeah and there is amazing gluten free options too. read more

Ordered soundbites on Uber eats while visiting a Boston. I ordered the fried chicken benne and it was okay. I never had chicken on eggs Benedict before and wanted to try it.I ended up eating the chicken and the eggs with hollandaise separately. Not by any means the restaurants fault just personally didn't like it together but it was delicious eating it separately. Sides of bacon were a huge portion for the price and orange juice was very very delicious. They also gave us a side a fresh fruit which was super nice! When I visit Boston again, I would have breakfast here. read more

Sound Bites Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

Another delicious breakfast at Sound Bites, with customer service that goes always goes above and beyond! read more

Sound Bites Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

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My absolute Ball Square brunch brunch spot. The self serve drink area and fluid waitstaff can be unconventional if you haven't seen it before; no one server is assigned to your table and you can flag down anyone when you're ready to order, and drinks are tallied at the end of the meal. Their specials are my brunch highlight, but the moroccan eggs are a firm go to. Servings are large and reasonably priced. I almost always end up with a to go box read more

I should have known better. Anyway. This is a diner. If you have high hopes go elsewhere. I followed other reviews and got the challah French toast with fruit and cream. The fruit was fine. Not sure why people are raving about it; perhaps they're used to canned fruit or other such garbage. The French toast itself was basically just toast. Idk bout you but I like my French toast to have more flavor. Service was quick. read more

Ah, a review from my Tufts days. Yikes, sound bites... it's been a long time since I've been here man. As such, I have a hard time remembering exactly what it was like. To start off, when I was here, I got something of a breakfast sandwich: I think it was sausage and egg sandwich actually. One of the good things is that the food comes out pretty quickly. The brunch scene on this street is actually pretty wild on saturdays and sundays, so I feel like sound bites manages the speeds pretty well. The staff is also friendly here, which is a plus. It's not like that kind of over the top friendly you get at kelly's diner, but a more normal kind- sort of hard to explain. read more

Staff is wonderful. Great food and great drinks. Try the pina colada sangria! This place is what makes this neighborhood great.

Highly recommend. Stop in to sound bites and brush up on your Boston brunch lore. The history between sound bites and their rival next door is Bostonian to its core. I highly recommend you read the Boston Magazine story covering the sordid affair while you wait in line for a bite. To begin, you line up outside while waiting for a table. When the weather is nice there is both in and outdoor seating. You can pop out of line to grab yourself a cup of coffee from the serve yourself section at the back of the restaurant (they'll add it to your bill when you are seated). When you are seated, it's serve yourself coffee and water. There are typically some brunch and drink specials. The drink specials never disappoint - I hope I didn't forget to mention that it's a full bar here.... On to the food, I always start with a warm blueberry scone. I don't care how hungry or hungover I am, I start with a scone. Then I'll let the menu guide me. My go to is the breakfast sandwich with avocado. Sometimes I get it "deluxe" which means it comes with grilled tomato and onion. While that is very tasty, it can get messy and I normally just give up and fork and knife it. The breakfast potatoes here are TO DIE FOR. They're like mashed potatoes but then griddled nice and crisp on the outside. You'll normally have a good dining experience here, but the bathrooms do leave something to be desired and while they execute on the savory brunch options really well, if I'm looking for sweeter brunch I'll normally go next door. Overall I say 4.5 here rounded down to four. read more

Big portions and all you can drink iced coffee?! YAS PLEASE. I got the salmon eggs benedict this was delish however the portion of salmon was rather skimpy. My friends got omelettes, the Broadway bowl and artichoke Benedict - all had leftovers to take home and thoroughly enjoyed their meal. We got the special French toast with walnuts and khalua to share and boy was this decadent! The perfect sweet counterpart to our savory dishes. I also loved that our waitress asked if we wanted separate checks before we placed our order - made it easy for us by saving us from venmo charges and mental math. The line outside is long and multiple parties of 2 were sat but for larger tables the wait was about 10-15 minutes around 11:00 on a Sunday. Whole parties must be present to be seated. read more

Omelette with goat chs and mushrooms was great but the potatoes that came with it must have been scraped from the bottom of a pan...they were mashed with a thick dark brown layer of crust that was just sitting on top like a sheet of ice on your car windshield...I would've preferred hash browns. Omelette was massive though, so portions were generous - I shared with another person! We also split a bacon egg and cheese on a toasted croissant- DELISH and so cheap! Yum This was not a dine-in review, so next time I'd like to eat there if the line isn't a mile down the road :) read more

This place is amazing!!! Self serve drink bar has so much to choose from and coffee is unlimited in about six flavors.i had the hash-- I have had a lot of hash and hands down the best has I have ever had! Not from a can-- fresh corned beef big strips with sweet peppers and potatoes. Toast comes out with butter in the side-- love this. My friend got the Boston blue and the blueberry muffin was split and grilled-several perfectly cooked bacon strips, mashed potatoes and cheese omelette. Fresh fruit was crisp cold and delicious. Now to the waitstaff-- most excellent- super friendly and fast. read more

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Yummy... great brunch. Not the absolute best in the Boston area.. I'd still prefer Neighborhood any day (since you get like a 4 course meal, and the wheat meal is AWESOME).. but Sound Bites is still up there. I'm really glad I came here and tried it. Also love that they have breakfast all day. We got free fruit plates.. nice touch. Service here was good & casual. You have to get your own water. They came by a bunch of times to get our order but we weren't ready, and when we finally were ready the service seemed to disappear. We ordered: (Special) Strawberry, banana, cream cheese stuffed french toast - really good! Special was supposed to be blueberries but they left me sub in strawberries. This was delicious; however I was a little disappointed it wasn't actually *stuffed* french toast but more like a french toast sandwich. Doesn't stay together as well when you're eating. Cereal walnut almond french toast - delicious, but a lot sweeter than the stuffed french toast. Loved all the fruit on top. Greek omelette - they make their omelettes fluffy - just a personal preference thing, but I don't like them as much this way. This was ok.. not spectacular. Their read more

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Great breakfast place with an extensive menu. Many options including plates, omelets, waffles, and pancakes. Self-serve coffee/tea: There were many options for both. I tried the hazelnut coffee. It was watered down and I didn't taste a hint of hazelnut. I got one of the breakfast plates that included eggs, sausage links, french toast and wheat toast. No complaints here. It was a great hearty breakfast. I went with my roommates and the waiter split the bill for us automatically which was nice. read more

The Green Omelet - the way this place cooks the eggs for the omelettes is by far the best Ive had to date. Moist but yet not at all soggy (vs when you steam/use a cover, which makes them moist and slightly soggy). Truly perfect! The potato mash is amazing and one of my favorite sides. read more

Sound Bites Cafe - The Green Omelet - the way this place cooks the eggs for the omelettes is the best Ive had to date. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

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cool "pick out your own drinks" section. Delicious food. The atmosphere speaks to the place being well loved over the years. Unpretentious and honest breakfast food, plus a mimosa? Yes please. read more

Sound Bites has so many incredible options for when you want something inventive for breakfast. But sometimes you want simple: scrambled eggs and gluten free toast really hit the spot. Their staff really works as a team - very efficient service. read more

I love this place. I usually get the Eggs Benedict twice toasted English Muffins topped with poached eggs and Sound Bites' fresh homemade Hollandaise sauce. Served with home fries. Which speaking of home fries, you must have them if you go. "a creamy, griddled-till-golden brick of garlicky mashed potatoes that, semantics aside, is no-bite-left-behind good." ~ Boston Magazine (and it's all true) Yummy brunch place to eat some good food and have a couple good drinks with a friend or with a special someone. I usually enjoy a nice mimosa when I go. And they give you coffee cups to go when you leave so you can take some with you. The worst of it, there is usually a line but don't worry- it goes fast read more

(Breakfast review) Food is bland and lackluster. Eggs have no flavor and are mushy. Blueberries in pancakes appear from frozen. Bacon was just fatty pieces. Pancakes lacked flavor too and I had to smother them in syrup and butter to remotely taste good. Raisin toast was hard and unexciting. Overall, except for the fresh fruit, nothing "popped" here. Just average to below average brunch sadly. On the bright side, they sat us quickly and the food came incredibly fast. But I wonder if the quick food speaks to why it's not very good. Next time, I'm going to the place next door instead. read more

Amazing food, staff and ownership. Great food choices from classics to what's trending. What a nice break from the busy part of the city. Better than most number one breakfast places in then downtown Boston!! Definitely worth the visit. read more

My boyfriend and I came here late on a Friday morning. We are seated immediately in a comfortable booth. My first impression showed that the place was friendly and prompt. The location is clean and well maintained. I ordered the challah French toast with caramelized blueberries and mascarpone. My boyfriend got the chicken and waffles. We also got a side of bacon, and two iced coffees from the self serve coffee station (which is really cool!!). Both plates came very quickly after we ordered, and they were both awesome. On top of that, we both walked out with our iced coffees after we were done with breakfast. Really great experience, we will be back! read more

Sound Bites Cafe - Self serve iced coffee, very good - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

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Phenomenal!! Greek omelet was yummy and quite large. The best home made corn beef hash I've had!! Nice fluffy pancakes!! We sat at the bar and the bartender was very efficient and nice!! Will be back. read more

This is a great breakfast spot and also lunch too. Come here all the day however I always get the same thing Broadway bowl no cheese and egg whites ... IM OBSESSED! My boyfriend got the turkey burger .. biggest I've ever seen and he enjoyed it. This is a help yourself drink service which works well. read more

Sound Bites Cafe - Broadway bowl and turkey burger. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

Great spot for breakfast. Huge portions. Love the self service coffee/tea area with lots of flavor options and sweeteners. Had the scone scramble - cheddar and dill scrambled eggs were really yummy. Chose the raspberry scone which came warm. My daughter had eggs, bacon and French toast. Fresh squeezed OJ was worth the money. Amazing side of fruit! It was quite cold when the door opened - it's early Nov so hopefully they put a secondary door up when it gets to be winter. Cute decor. Full bar. read more

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Breakfast heaven! I've been going here for over 20 yrs. Staff are always very friendly and the food is excellent. Fresh fruit and veggies, great coffee, and gluten free options! The bar is a super improvement as now you can get a Bloody Mary with your brunch! read more