Al's State Street Cafe

First and last time. Seemed like a good quick place. Ordered ahead of time with light pesto and didn’t think it was a big deal. Must of offended someone because they gave me extra. When I got back to the office it was pouring out of the foil and paper. So much I couldn’t take it off or even pick it up. A mess everywhere. Making it impossible to eat. Went straight in the trash. Made a mess on my desk and no lunch for me.

Excellent food and a great value! My friend got the eggplant parmesan sandwich and I got a cesar salad. The portions were huge for the price point and they put a lot of chicken on the salad for just $2. With a great location that is a short walking distance from the harbor, this is easily one of the best lunch spots in the area. My only complaint is that I wish they had a gluten free bread option for the sandwiches.

Pretty good sandwiches and huge portions. The eggplant parm was solid! Will be back to one of the locations when I get the chance, its a pretty good deal for a nice lunch.

So these subs the steak and cheese the biggest I have seen and meaty. The cost of it was also shocking because I would order the same sub somewhere else, and it isn't as big and meaty, and they charge close to $20. Of course, they make it how you want it, at Al's and the bread is so fresh it's kinda doughy. You've gotta have it toasted a little bit. I really enjoy the sub it's like 2 large subs in 1. So that means you can share.

Small sub shop. AMAZING value. We got a large ham sub with 2 drinks for under $20. Fed my family of 4 lunch. Would be a regular here if we lived close. The bread is soft and delicious. Service was fast!

I'm a big fan of sandwiches for lunch, especially after a long walk through the city. Al's was clutch. $14 for a full sandwich is reasonable and the sandwich I had was generous with ingredients, and satisfying to eat. Friendly staff as well. Not much seating inside could be a drawback for some, but I liked taking my sandwich with me to eat half at the park and half later back at where I was staying. I usually take sandwiches to go so this was perfect.

Old fashioned sub shop....subs were great, atmosphere Alive and festive....clean..

Gave this place another chance after trying it a few months ago…unfortunately, my review hasn’t really changed. The sandwiches here are fine. Maybe a little better than Subway’s because the ingredients are fresher, but otherwise, it’s nothing special. Sure, the sandwiches are big, but they’re also expensive. A small sub is $11.50.

I ordinarily love this place and their subs. No complaints on the food. However-- for the 3rd time in a row I show up near their closing time and I am refused service. I understand that workers want to pack up and leave on time, but if your hot sub station is open until 2:45 don't turn me away if it's any time before 2:45. It's a treat to come here so it's disappointing to commute an hour and then be turned away when they are technically still open. Nitpicky yes, petty maybe.. but before they try to argue: it was 100% before closing time and today I was the last customer at 2:43. That's very near closing I get it. But It wasn't like there was a line behind me. But another time this has happened before, closed at 2:30.. which is much harder to argue.

We ordered a large meatball sub with a bag of chips and a drink - all for $13! I forgot to take a picture of this massive sub, but we were starving! And it was DELICIOUS. This small shop was a diamond in the rough. I'd definitely recommend for cheap, yummy food.

Top notch! The bread is absolutely delicious with any pairing. Recently I haven't had a steak and cheese in over 7 years, and it was the best of the best. Great cut of the steak, and the bread doesn't flake. I also had the turkey sub, and the chicken parm as well before. If you know what you're in the mood for they don't disappoint. However, I wouldn't recommend eating there if you're looking for a quiet place. It's usually quite crowded, so if you're just going in and out, it might be a better option. The staff is friendly and inviting, and the restaurant works efficiently. P.S (Steak, chips, and soda ; flat price in store all for $13.50)

Al's will always and forever be my office BFF. Extremely LARGE and affordable subs with the absolutely nicest staff. They are also FAST! You might see a line out the door but I can guarantee that the line will be done and gone within minutes. Whenever we have a big case to work on and need to put in those extra hours I always go and pick up subs at Al's and everyone has their favorites. Always fresh and ALWAYS delicious! I once actually held the sub next to a new born baby and the sub was actually larger! A small can feed me for a few meals at least, and their soup is a must have when it's available. Love Al, love his mom, love his staff!

Great chicken salad sandwich. Creamy mayo, large chicken chunks, and crunchy bread create a magical combo. The sandwich is huge and easily 2 meals so great value.

Great deal for a ton of food. Sandwiches were loaded with meat. Could have used a litte more marinara sauce but otherwise great deal. Two people can easily split a large

Great sub big. Bang for your buck delicious, really filling and the price was perfect $19 for sub and salad and can soda

Quick service. Huge portions. Delicious Sicilian steak. Limited bar seating so get it to go and walk fanueil hall.

5/10 chicken was not fresh, sauce was bland, tomato's where to thick, the only good thing was the franks hot sauce. #FrankTheWorld P.s the bread was fresh!

The BEST subs in the city. Seriously. This is one of the best places to go to grab lunch during work. Get the Italian with everything on it. You won't regret it and it's big enough that I always have half left. The bread is also phenomenal.

It's my offices favorite place for lunch for a reason!!! Absolutely the best subs downtown. We usually get small which is normal sized but if you want a whopping 16 inches go for the large for just $2 more. So reasonably priced and quick. Highly recommended getting your sandwich with the works (everything). Come and it may look empty but blink at noon and everyone and their mother shows up.

Cool spot right off state street for hot and cold subs. Walk right up and order with tons of options. Place is a tad hectic but awesome spot. Great spot for lunch and very reasonable.

Ordered the steak sandwich. I'd rather have Subway....for all thy hype really wasn't anything special

Had the opportunity to try a cold and hot sub and both were delish! It was filling and full of flavor.

I work in offices on State Street. ALs was our go to, unfortunately it was sold a few months ago and it's not the same. The prices have increased over 35%. The food quality is unfortunately not the same. I tried again one more time today. I ordered steak and cheese. Only!!! When I got back to my office, I realized it was steak, cheese, pepper, and onion. This will be there last chance with for me and anybody in my office. Al used to offer an amazing lunch special $12 for a small sandwich included a bag of chips and a drink of your choice. Now a small sub sandwich is $14 plus

Very solid sub shop. Generous portions, more than fair prices, fast staff, and plenty of them to ensure there's no wait. Very tasty.

The iconic yellow bag!! Everyone knows you are about to eat one of the best subs on planet earth when they see you walking down the street with that yellow bag... The amazing bread definitely sets this place apart from others, and the fresh ingredients don't hurt either. My go-to is the tuna; not too dry and not too wet with a great light tuna flavor. The chicken caesar salad is also one of my favorites ever - plenty of juicy tender chicken with phenomenal caesar dressing. You really can't go wrong with anything you order here. I definitely recommend checking it out!

Awesome lunch in Boston! Crazy fast and huge portions! We were visiting, but I'd definitely be a repeat customer if I lived nearby!

I ordered the pesto chicken sandwich for my mom she ordered the teriyaki chicken sandwich. The meat was bland. The pesto sauce and teriyaki sauce was bland as well. The customer service was okay.

I would not recommend ordering the soup here. The so called Italian wedding soup tasted like chicken and rice...there were no meatballs or kale and the pasta tasted like rice. I thought I ordered the wrong soup but when I called they assured me that Italian wedding soup has loads of chicken in it...hahaha unfortunately I had bought my boss some too and noticed he too threw his in the trash. AL, there is no chicken in Italian wedding soup!​

Okay, this is my kind of place! Looks like about 50 people working back there yelling and making great food. This may have been the biggest sandwich I've ever seen in my life and it was only 12.50. Skip Quincy market, come here and go eat on the benches by Feniel Hall. No place to sit in the restaurant, but who cares. I got the Pizzaiola and it was packed full of meat. Amazing My son got the Tuna and it was excellent. Yes.

This place can never READ or FOLLOW simple instructions ! I'm done spending money here . How hard is it to follow instructions provided by your paying customers .

Asked if I could order a steak bomb with no mushrooms and was told yes. When they called my number I asked again. I said now this is a state on with no mushrooms. And the girl said yes just as you requested. The attached picture is the pie of mushroom found in the very front of the 12 inch sub. There are many, many more throughout the rest of the sandwich. So I just wasted $14 and now on. The train to new york with nothing to eat.

It's the bread, stupid. There are at least 2000 subshops in Boston with sub ingredients as good as State Street Cafe. But only SSC has the bread: fantastic baguettes fresh from the oven, crusty exterior, the fragrance of the gods, and soft, pillowy interiors. I would go there for bread only if they ran out of substuffers.

Al's is the definition of a quick, boston, loud, sandwich shop. Al's is known for their large sandwiches, cold or hot, enjoyed heavily during lunch time. The lines are chaotic, fast, packed, confusing, but that's what makes it so great! Don't expect anything less of Boston hospitality here. They will yell & don't have patience, but that's what makes it so great. I've had everything from the Chicken Caesar Salad wrap, Meatball Sub, Chicken Parm Sub, and have built my own cold sub. All have been top notch in quality. The best is pairing with the box lunch combo with chips and a drink for $12.

Not far from the main road/tourist areas. Fresh meats, veggies,, whole olives, warm bread. HUGE large subs.

Al's State Street Cafe is a great place looking for a quick and easy lunch option in downtown Boston. They are right off State Street and a quick walk from any of the downtown subway stations. They have an extensive menu of sandwiches you can get either hot or cold. They have a lunch special that includes a drink and chips which is worth it. The portions are huge! So only get the large of you are really really hungry. The small is still plenty big enough for a meal. It can get really really busy during the lunch rush and the staff seemed to be a little frazzled by this. We have already gotten our full meal and had to fight our way to the cashier and she seemed confused by what wee wee saying. They also had limited seating and it was very noisy and chaotic inside, so it probably wouldn't even be great to in.

I think they're adding some kind of addictive drug to these subs because babyyyyyy I've ordered from here 2 days in a row and plan on it again tomorrow!!! Yesterday I had the chicken pesto sub and today was the steak Bellino sub. First of all the small is HUGE! 10 inches of goodness. How that's classified as a small I don't know and I'm low key mad because of course I feel like I have to finish the entire thing in one sitting. Let's just say I'm miserable and happy all at the same time. See you tomorrow Al's! P.S I meant to take pics but my stomach said forget them pics and eat. Sorry. Just try it. Thank me later.

Meatball sub was as long as my arm, what more can I say. It easily became my go-to. Excellent stuff here.

Greatest lunch option in downtown Boston! I love the chicken salad so much I would marry it. Broke my heart when I went full remote and no longer get it. Miss you Al!

Al's cafe is known for their HUGE sub sandwiches. The service is quite fast and affordable for how big the sandwiches are. The bread is the real standout and the fillings are pretty standard. Would recommend!

As the reviews have previously stated about Al's, you can never go wrong in getting a great and affordable meal there!

Oh how I missed Al's. I am definitely sharing my age when I remember the price of a small sub was $5. Although the prices have gone up, they still bake their bread fresh in store. FYI a "small" sub is in all intensive purposes a large. Theeir large can be a 2 mealer/shareable. I am a hot sub guy so I can't opine on the cold subs but wifey got the Italian (minus cheese) so you can hear her thoughts below. Ordering process - order ahead if you are ordering more than one sandwich, the lines get crazy during the lunch rush. There are 2 lines (hot or cold) if you are ordering hot and cold, order in cold and tell them you want as a hot sub. This place is chaotic during the lunch rush, so don't be shy. Their south station location is larger and more organized. The cold sub line is very straightforward and organized but hot subs is a hot mess (pun intended). Ask people if they are all set as you make your way to the counter, most people are waiting for their food, but there is no good waiting area so they just get in your way. The food - the meatball is great, i like to add hot sauce on it sometimes to mix it up and give it a nice kick. If you just order a regular meatball, you can be in and out like mcdonalds. The steak and cheese is solid, I always add mushrooms. The steak pizziola is ok, but avoid the chicken parm. Although the chicken is made with fresh chicken tender meat, the bread crumb crust lacks flavor and gets soggy. I guess i like the cheap frozen/unhealthy chicken parm. You can also order a bag lunch (soda and chips) or soup lunch. For the soup lunch I like to get the Italian wedding. I think in my past life, I was Italian because I love Italian wedding soups. Meatballs, pasta, and spinach in a soup? Who knew they make an excellent combo.. Maybe I just likes soups with some sort of noodle. *shrug*. During covid, they haven't had it. Hopefully when things get back to normal it comes back. Onto wifeys italian review - I was very disappointed with my sub. So many people rave about Al's and while I know they are known for their hot subs i figured I would give their Italian a try. I got mine without cheese because I can't have dairy. I am used to italians that are loaded with various cuts of meat and have a good balance of flavor between the bread, meat cuts, and milds however the store does it. I felt like my sub had too many pickles and not enough meat to balance out the flavor. The bread however was excellent as it was soft and chewy with a bit of crunch. I will not be repurchasing the Italian but am still open to try their other subs! Overall a solid 4.0, wouldve been a 4.5 but the Italian took it down a notch.

Consistently Delicious and fresh tasting. But I get diarrhea after eating here. So I stopped.

I was very amazed by this place . I stopped by to get a quick sandwich and this place was just bustling with the lunch rush . They get you in and out so quick , it's impressive how quickly they can get people in and out . It's a very casual place not many seats but their selection is impressive. I had the hot steak sandwich which is like a philly cheese steak type of sandwich. They let you do whatever add ons you want . It was really good and hit the spot !

I don't know what more you could want from a sandwich place. Great sandwich, friendly service. This is what you want.

Rather disappointed after receiving a chicken parm sub from this place to find that they use grilled chicken, that was rather dry, instead of breaded chicken cutlet in the sub. Unfortunately, this is a sign of a place or staff that didn't take the time to research what chicken parm even is.. I'm sure other stuff on the menu is fine but they need some classes on classic sub making... especially if you're gonna do biz in the Northeast TBH

Great sandwiches! This is an order at the counter place. Only a few stools to sit on inside. I liked the bread the most. Really fresh, crispy outside soft inside. And a small is 10 inches which is big making it a bargain.

Bring your A game to order at Al's! Had my first experience today and it was wild. Went right at high noon and it was a beehive of activity. I went to the hot sandwich side and ordered a "small" chicken Parm. They might be small but they pump out subs like no one else. It was friendly and fun. The sub was as I expected and cost just shy of $11. Would definitely go back again!

They use grilled chicken for the chicken parm subs... Everyone knows chicken parm subs use chicken cutlets! The chicken was barely grilled (almost pink) and chopped up into little pieces. The bread was extremely doughy and chewy. Barely any sauce.. The sub itself was huge though so bonus points for that I suppose.

Meatball sub for lunch, I went with the large figuring that I could save some of it for dinner later. Well, that didn't happen. It was just too delicious and I stuffed myself. The restaurant gets busy at lunch time. There's some organization here to divide people in half with "hot" and "cold" subs on separate sides, but I don't know how well that works. I was spotted by the young lady behind the counter and called over where I placed my order and paid. A few minutes later, my number was called and I was on my way. Back at the desk, I unwrapped a large sub. Ten decently sized meatballs with the right amount of sauce and plenty of melted cheese on a (almost too) soft roll. Delicious. I don't know that there's really much room in here to eat. Take it to go.

Can't say enough amazing things about Al's. every staff member is awesome and super efficient, the bread is INCREDIBLE and they have the best chicken salad in the country. I literally dream of this chicken salad sandwich. Must try!!!

Amazing!! Best sandwiches in town. Highly recommend their chicken salad sandwich with the works!

When Al is present, he really does "Rule the Roost," and ensure that the sandwich shop operates efficiently. Today, downtown at Noon time, is quiet, it seems like many downtown businesses still have employees working remotely. However, Al's is packed, and the line is out the door. The line moves quickly, the staff are very efficient. I think the locals know that Al's food is the best, and value the greatest, downtown. Al's ingredients are super high quality, his recipes are outstanding. Prices at Al's are a great value for a downtown/State Street sandwich shop. Most importantly, Al's sandwiches (hot and cold) are outstanding. The staff are efficient and friendly. No need to go to Sam LaGrassa's. LaGrassa's is good, their prices are about twice the price of Al's.

Soggy bread and horrible chicken. This is not a chicken parm sandwich. This is water boiling chicken meat in tomato sauce.

The BEST sub shop in Boston...hands down...NO close second. The rolls are delicious and the cold cuts are high quality. The Italian sub is my go-to and one of the best I've ever had.

Can't go wrong with Als, its a financial district/ waterfront institution. The chicken salad is my wife's and I's favorite, but I'm sure other subs are just as good. If you're a fan of spice make sure to ask for "hots", whether on the sandwich or on the side, you won't regret it. Warning; portions are large and the bread is to die for!

My daughter's home from leave, and she had one request that we make the trip From (RI) to Al's to get the ITALIAN sub. The bread is warm with just the right crunch, cold cuts are razor thin (perfect) and the veggie toppings are always super fresh. The sandwich is a consistant TEN we couldn't wait to dig in.

I love Al's and have been getting Al's sandwhiches for the better part of a decade. However, the location in Seaport is very lackluster. The bread is always undercooked and the sandwiches are skimpy. I literally got like 2 slices of cold cuts on my Italian today. Go to the one on State Street or South Street. Seaport just ain't it, and it has been a disappointment the last few times.