Metro Catering

Super convenient, quick and cost efficient while also providing a good rotating variety(a bit slower during breakfast/lunch rushes)

This is the best bang for your buck anywhere in Boston, but unfortunately it's a serious hassle to access since it's in a state building. Worth it, though!

They give you a lot of options. It's just the options don't change that much. Gets boring after you've eaten the a while. Salad bar is okay. It constantly restocked just selections are a little odd

I've been in here several times as I have business in the Ashburton building. The cafe is open (once you clear security) and located down an escalator. Breakfast and lunch are served and I've had both. Coffee in the morning is great with all the usual fixings. Almost a dozen varieties of coffee, some flavored and some different roasts. Surely, something for every taste. Cooked to order breakfasts or just grab a pastry and go.

Under $5 for a large coffee with a fresh muffin is a good deal. Lunch includes hot stuff and sandwiches. The guys making sandwiches do a great job and after about three visits, they will recognize you. Big coolers with lots of soda and juice options. Lots of different varieties of chips, too. They accept cash and cards.

Good food at great prices! When you're in a pinch working in Downtown Boston and want a variety of healthy and "home cooked" meals, this is your best bet!

The only bad part about Ashburton Cafe is having to go through security like at the airport. It is a Govt bldg so security is necessary. Once you are through that you go downstairs and enter a sea of food options for lunch. They have an extensive salad bar. A hot entree area, a grill area, soup, etc. The people who work there are all very friendly too. Tons and tons of places to sit.

They have free books you can take or bring books of your own to drop off. Its a pleasant place to eat lunch. They serve breakfast too but if you don't work in the building, you can't get in until 8:00a (through security).

Honestly the best cafeteria I have ever set foot in! The selection is unreal. You can get literally anything your little heart may desire with endless options! Not only is the selection great, the food itself is practically gourmet, and you can customize anything you want. Considering the building it is in, the prices are very decent. Lastly, the staff are all very pleasant and always have me leaving with a smile on my face.

It's a bit overpriced for food. Quality isn't bad. Webpage for the place could use some updating as well.

For the past few years prices have gone up steadily and their nickel and diming you to death. Just take a look at all the tacky signs posted through out the cafe. Over priced and lower quality, time to bag it or go outside for better quality at or below their prices.

I work in the same building where this cafeteria is located. I've never ate lunch here before as I've always brought my own food in, but occasionally I buy breakfast. I usually either get a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich or a egg combo depending on my mood for that day. Both times were good and the combo was pretty big in which two eggs, toasts, meat, and home fried for only $4, which is quite cheap for the size of the portion.

This is consider cheaper than buying a breakfast sandwich at Dunkin Donuts and it taste better. The lady who makes the food is really nice so you don't have to worry about rude staff and such. Other people are right, you don't have to work in this building to come here, I've seen people from other places coming here for lunch, which makes it extremely packed during peak lunch hour (which is usually between 12PM-2PM).

The cafeteria also have their daily menus posted online so you can see what they have for specials on that day. Just google "Ashburton Cafe" and you will find it. Is almost like how in elementary school you would bring home the lunch menu and circle the days you want to buy lunch (those days were fun.) I would recommend coming here for breakfast and lunch although be warned it will get cramped and busy during those hours. Other than that, it is worth a trip here. The coffee and tea here are cheap as well so you can just stop by here for that reason alone.

This place is basically a cafeteria on steroids. This place is always busy, busy, busy. Since they have a huge building of people who work there & then those like me who go there, it makes for a bit of waiting & being in tight quarters. The options are pretty endless which is cool. Salads, sandwiches, asian food, pasta, hot meals, grill, deli, snacks, beverages. Thanks for having so many different options.

Really amazing value and the food is not to shabby! This is inside the One Ashburton building. This is a state building cafe, so there is security to get into the building, I have only experienced lunch and snacking here, not breakfast but from what I have seen and heard it seems great. Love the Buffalo Wraps on Mondays, can never go wrong with the Oodles of Noodles on Thursdays (make sure you time it right or be ready to wait in line) and also the Deli Sandwiches on Friday (cannot beat fresh cut pastrami).

Also the grill line is awesome. Burgers are amazing and the quesadilla is a huge size for the price, very filling. The biggest plus is the cheap coffee! So good and a great price. AND THEY HAVE SOY MILK! A lactose intolerant persons happiest moment when they can have coffee. Not to mention the cream cheese brownies?! YUM!

Great breakfast and lunch choices for very low prices! It's in the state building, but you don't need to be a state employee to eat here. Once you go through security, take the escalator down and you will be at the cafe. The food choices differ daily, but there is a main entree section, grilling station, sandwich station, salad bar with plenty of choices, and a specialty food station (like asian noodles, pasta, nachos, etc). They also have a soft serve station too! You can eat the food in the seating area or just take it to go.

I am writing this update simply to add that I counted the coffees today, and there are TWELVE - yes, 12 - varieties of brewed coffee to choose from. You can even mix them for a custom blend since the coffee is self-serve. Plus there is iced coffee (2-3 varieties), and all the milk/cream you could want (including soy).

Three (Four) Words. Oodles of (F*****G) Noodles. Yes, this delicious indulgence was recommended by my coworker - and the reason I'll look forward to every Thursday (BESIDES it being payday). mmm mix n match those 4 sauces - do it you won't

Ashburton cafe is one of the reasons i am excited to come to work in this building everyday. the lunch rush looks intimidating, but since everyone is split into so many lines it is really not any worse than waiting for food anywhere else around g-center. and the cafe is PHENOMENALLY cheap. when i say 'excited to come to work' here what i mean is 'excited to come do my slave labor internship' here, so this is a really key point. miscellaneous final thoughts: clean premises; friendly and accommodating staff; ridiculously convenient (if you're already in the building).

Ashburton Cafe may be a slight pain to get to (x-ray your bags, step through beeper), but the guards are friendly, and HOLY MOTHER OF AMAZING this place has great food/drinks/noms sold SO cheap. I imagine there's some government subsidizing happening, but I can't be sure. That pretty much sums it up! I've been getting veggie omelets from Peggy for quite a while now; they are so tasty and at under 4 bucks for a huge omelet, there can be no argument that Ashburton rocks ALL the socks all the way off.

That's it. I'm saying it. Ashburton is the miniature version of the Festival Buffet at Foxwoods. Have you ever been? Yes? Then you know what I mean. If you haven't, I'm sorry. You have one of two choices. 1. Go to Foxwoods. 2. Get yo butt ovah to Ashburton. My ma-dukes works in this building, so when we meet for lunch this is where we go, I'm pretty dang impressed with all they have to offer and they have a rotating food station where every day it's a different thing.

Other than that, they've got everything from salads to a soft serve machine and hot and cold options in between. So many beverages to choose from too. You may share a table with me someday, we do it elementary school lunch style up in this biznitch. I guess the only difference between here and there is this place isn't an actual buffet, it's traditional cafeteria style. That doesn't stop me from making the comparison. Deal with it.

I've been eating at this place for years. I love the salad bar options. Everything is fresh. (They have to follow the government health guidelines since it is a government building, you can't go wrong). The grill stays open until 2:30. Everything is made to order. I recommend to go before noon or after 1:30 because you will hit the lunch rush and it can get crazy.

The prices are subsidized (awesome) you can get a fresh burger & fries for $5. There's a frozen yogurt station where you can add your own toppings. There are daily specials everyday and you can generally find anything you're in the mood to eat. They have an online menu updated daily: http://www.gometro.com/Ashburton/

The Ashburton Cafe is tucked inside the McCormack building, across the street from Suffolk University's Sawyer Building. Please don't bring your knives, guns, or drugs to this cafeteria because since it is a government building you do have to go through a security check. Once inside you will be treated to the best (and only?) true cafeteria in the downtown area.

They have everything here, from pizza to BBQ to fried chicken, burritos, burgers, and subs. The prices here are very reasonable. Maybe they are government subsidized? Either way, you can't go wrong here.

Ordinary cafeteria food service food but not too bad tho had a chicken salad wrap with chips and a nantucket pretty good.had to take care of some buisness in this building at the mccormack building and had a pretty good lunch that afternoon.nice people and good prices but its a hell of a walk up a hill near the state house.so if you like walkn up steep hills to get here you'll be a happy camper.

I love the Ashburton Cafe so much. It doesn't really look like much, however the food is amazing, and surprisingly affordable for downtown Boston. I ate here nearly everyday for six months while I was working in the McCormack building this summer. The staff is really friendly, and the food is tasty, oh and they have free wi fi too! They try to switch up the menu so there's a variety, however there's nearly everything here.

My favorite is the grill, where the guy will make everything made to order. They have a great salad bar with a wide variety of options that would make any dieter or vegetarian thrilled. Try breakfast here too, the pancakes are amazing! Watch out for employee appreciation day around Labor Day every year. All state employees get great food on the cheap (hot dogs for $.25 or chicken fingers for $1). It's fantastic, and it's their way of saying thanks to state workers. It opens up really early every day and closes at 3:30. It's definitely worth the trip through security!

I give the Ashburton a fourth star out of love. I think I'm actually in love with this place. You know what it is? It's a cafeteria. They make hot entrees, calzone (back in PA we called 'em "strombolis"), deli sandwiches, grilled stuff, pastas, salads--almost anything. And honestly? Like your school cafeteria it's all really made with love.

The cooks and servers there have a mission--to feed you food made by their own hands. And the food? It's pretty good. It's comfort food. It's not No. 9 Park, but it's better than your average deli. But, again, the selection is great, and you cannot beat the prices. You cannot. Beat the prices. You can pretty much get anything for less than $5.

And they have a bajillion coffees with a medium selling for $1 even. So if you want some comfort food, head over towards the State House, and across from Suffolk University, it's One Ashburton. Visitors go in to the left, get through the (sensitive) metal detector, and take the escalator downstairs. And chow time.

There are a dearth of really good options near the State House, but Ashburton Cafe is the King (or perhaps, Senator?). The highlight of this place is really the amount of deals they have. Example 1: a pasta bar, where they'll saute up some fresh veggies, or meats, for you carnivorous types, and mix it with one of several types of pastas and sauces they have each day.

It comes in a portion big enough for two days for under $5. A deal like this can't be beat! Example 2: They'll happily sell you a 16 oz. travel mug for your coffee for $1.99, and refills are only $1. Useful, when you need to refuel while at work in the Hill. Second cheapest coffee around is prob. the coffee at Fill-A-Buster, and you can get three or four varieties of any of several different popular brands (Starbucks, New England Coffee Co., etc.), too.

Example 3: Daily specials -- this concept seems to only apply in cafeterias, but then, there you are, the benefits of dining in the oh-so-fine Ashburton Cafe! Not always vegetarian specials, though, but you can always check the weekly menu and specials at gometro.com. All right, I could go on, but you get the idea -- Ashburton Cafe is a cafeteria, and it's cheap. It's also not bad. What more could you want from a breakfast/lunch place? -K