Tiny (3 seats), bare-bones counter serve fixing up fried chicken & other homey soul-food classics. Based on 357 reviews, the restaurant has received a rating of 4.5 stars. Price $$
✔️ Dine-in ✔️ Takeout ✔️ Delivery
Address:
233 River St, Cambridge, MA 02139
Phone: (617) 354-7644
Social Profile: 
Hours
| Monday
(Labor Day)
|
Closed |
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | 3–8 PM |
| Thursday | 3–8 PM |
| Friday | 12–8 PM |
| Saturday | 12–8 PM |
| Sunday | Closed |
Menu
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Menu Photos
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Reviews
Natsuki Nakamuro
I just love the fried chicken pancake from this restaurant: the pancake has a soft texture, while the chicken has a crispy exterior and tender interior. The sweet and salty taste is perfect, and it’s also rich in nutrients, which can satisfy my hungry stomach.
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Grace Zeballos Lee
We spent $83 on our meal (Uber eats) and I would say we were fairly dissatisfied. I had high hopes for this restaurant given all of the wonderful reviews they had.
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Fay Chan
The jerk wings were cold. I repeat COLD, like they came out of a fridge and they were hard as if old (you can tell by how shriveled the chicken is even in the pic). Mac n cheese was bland. Rice & beans ok. Catfish ok. Only the collard greens were good. Chicken very dry idk how so many people like it. My husband and I both weren’t pleased with the portions either. Overall just not very good.
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OfficialShawnBurke
Ordered the Chicken and Waffles. Had a Chicken and Cheese Patty while I was waiting. So tasty and delicious. As we got our order. We got a run for a gas leak ( Cambridge Fire Fighter) Long story short. I didn’t get to eat until almost 4 hours later. Everything was cold. But, guess what. It was still delicious. So, I can imagine how great it would have been of I ate right away. Looking forward to trying again soon.
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Tabitha K
If you’re like me and you just moved up to Boston from the South, you might be craving some fried catfish and no other fish will do. This is the first place I found so far that didn’t serve fried catfish as a sandwich or po’ boy.
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chelsea moses
I have been waiting to go to this place just to be let down.. they charged me 18.00 for 6 wing dings that was overly salty..with two sides Mac and cheese was not good the collards were tough.. When I ordered I thought I was getting the whole wings not wing dings.. order a second chicken dinner that was overly salty and order another wing dinner that was jerk and it was overly seasoned with some weird spices..we also ordered the Patty’s they were good and the cake was good I wasted 75.00 dollars ..we had to throw it out because it was to salty and over spice and we are from the south we love seasonings on our food..big disappointment. Will never go back..
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Joshua Man
The Coast Cafe should be the standard for soul food in Boston. I ordered the fried chicken thigh combination which comes with cornbread and your choice of two sides. The rice and beans were perfectly seasoned, the collard greens were tender without a single mushy leaf, and the cornbread completed the whole plate with its sweetness. But the fried chicken y’all — juicy, not over-battered, and no gaps or sloughing off as you take your bite. That’s extremely hard to do. Even before the pandemic, they mainly operated on takeout, and their experience shows with their friendly staff, attention to detail in neatly packing meal boxes, and maintaining food quality on the way home. Wish I still lived in Cambridge so I could be back sooner.
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Tara Tai
Man oh man! The Coast Cafe has been on my to-eat list forEVER and I’m so glad I finally got takeout from them! First off — the FOOD. Chicken thigh plate was delectable. Two big pieces of chicken thigh, fried to perfection, with the breading crispy and adhering to the meat instead of falling off the protein as soon as you tear into it. Similar story with the fried catfish: perfectly breaded, with a light, clean taste (it was almost a fattier, more delicious haddock, with none of that “fishy” taste.) Mac & cheese side was creamy and rich and the noodles were perfectly cooked, and the collards side was nice and smoky with bits of (I think) pulled pork. And the free cornbread? Holy smokes. I inhaled that so quick I couldn’t even take a picture. It’s Southern-style, so more like moist cake and sweeter, and it just made for the perfect end to our meal.
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Mike
This is THE place for fried chicken in the Boston area. The flavors were amazing and the portions were large. Price was very fair for the quality and quantity you get. I’m going to back here soon I’m sure – the chicken is outta this world!
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Jeremy Silver
This place is the best! When I had a snafu trying to bring food home to some friends and dropped the food, Tony, the owner, was SO kind and stayed open a few minutes after they closed to cook me up some more food for free. He and the whole staff were incredibly kind about it – and the food was DELICIOUS! Everyone needs to try this place.
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