Café La France

A lunchtime staple, this dinky little deli shop is the closest to fast casual I’ve been able to find around here… so, naturally, I come about three times a week during the day for lunch. Though the pre-​made salad selection is sparse (compared with their selection of sandwiches, paninis, and wraps), they’re generally willing to turn any sandwich into a salad. I love to do this with the Furnace, one of the winter menu options — grilled chicken, jalapeños, pepper jack, avocado, and spinach, mmm mmm mmm…
My only gripe is that the current person at the cash register (blonde hair, septum piercing) has snapped at me a few times while taking my order — which doesn’t make that part of the Café la France experience very pleasant.

Outstanding! I grabbed a «The Squall» sandwich on my way to Boston. Delicious chicken salad, not ruined with onions, but so well flavored, arugula, walnuts, and dried apricots (I think). Good wheat bread. Thank you for some real food worth eating! Wish I lived here, but I was just passing through. Next time I’m on the train Boston-​New York I’ll be tempted to get off and take the next train. Or maybe y’all would meet me on track two if I call in an order??? Very well done, folks. Please become a national chain and keep up the quality.

Soooo they just released their new winter menu and the breakfast sandwich «the snooze button»
Is fantastic. Avocado, roasted red peppers, sriracha, ehh and cheese on a soft brioche roll. YUMMMMY
I really love this place!
Cheers!

Best coffee, iced coffee, bread, eggs, sandwiches. All the food is fresh and delicious. The service is great too!

Life is too short for shabby food. Compared to the other Providence Café la France locations, this one straight out sucks. Microwaved eggs and meats, lukewarm coffee in pour it yourself urns, cheap flavor shots if you want something different. I got a griddle prepared egg sandwich with a fresh brewed cup of coffee at the Empire Street location for two dollars less and a much more pleasant reception from the staff. If they weren’t the only option in the train station, they’d never make it. Go to the Panera at the mall or go to the other locations.

Solid coffee choices. Coffee is organic and brewed regularly. Their butter coffee is worth a try.
Their menu is constantly changing but the sandwiches are average at best, the Roma grilled cheese was underwhelming and they microwave their eggs which may be acceptable for Dunkin but for Café La France? Come on, in this day and age if you want to be a gourmet café get a grill.
For a train station café they are excellent, 4 stars, but I have to knock it down a star due to the inconsistent service. It ranges from polite to exceptionally rude. Some of the staff are wonderful and some of them yell at the elderly for asking where the water is. Seriously?

Awesome food and great staff!
Make it stop ASAP!
Whether it is breakfast or lunch the choices are great. Fresh breads and creative menu.

Food is really tasty, prices are wonderful, the staff is a total delight and are HAPPY. This is a rare gem. Thank you!

Awesome sandwich, café, coffee shop, snack place located inside the Providence Amtrak station. Great sandwich menu, friendly staff and well priced!
What a pleasant surprise. I must say this is one of the best food places I have ever been to inside a train station. I loved my roast beef, avacodo, horseraddish sandwich on toasted seven grain bread.
Café La France is a standout option!

Just arrived via Amtrak from the big Apple.
Decided not to eat on Amtrak train.
This little café was absolutely wonderful. If I worked downtown I would come here for lunch!
I had corn chowder and a baquett. The chowder was terrific.
I saw a lot of folks ordering their sandwiches which all start with your choice of a large selection of breads.
They had a nice selection of breakfast sandwiches also; just starting with a few slices of tasty French bread and the whole experience is bound to be good.
This is one of those places that you get wonderful fresh foods in an odd, unexpected location.

I have been at the train station several times to pick up or drop off my daughter. Never paid much attention to this little place but today I did and I am happy I did. Brought my daughter to catch the train to New York this afternoon. Crazy day with work and drop off that I had not eaten lunch. So after her train departed and I was heading out of the train station I decided to grab a bite here and head back to work. Well I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the Club I believe it was called with the ham. My goodness, one of the best sandwiches I have had. I might just take a ride over for lunch without having to drop anyone off to catch the train. A must try if you are in the area.

It is such a surprise to find a tasty little café in a train station! It is local, not a chain and has a good selection. They have delicious sandwiches for both breakfast and lunch. They serve them quickly and have plenty of seating. You really couldn’t ask for a better eatery in a station. My only wish is that they expand their hours!

Although the Providence Amtrak station is lacking in food options compared to larger hubs like South Station, all you really need is Café La France. Plenty of reasonably priced and portable options, prepared quickly and with a smile!
The breakfast sandwiches really hit the spot, with plenty of scrambled eggs, gooey American cheese, and crispy (not limp) bacon. Plus, they’re only about $ 4. One note, though: the bagels are fluffy, NOT chewy, so if you’re a NY bagel snob or even a die-​hard Bagel Gourmet fan, you may be disappointed. I actually liked the fluffier bagel, because it made the sandwich easier to eat, and with a nice crust from the toaster oven, it still stood up to the ingredients. You can also get a sandwich on a croissant or toast! And if you’re in even more of a hurry, Café La France also has a pretty wide selection of bottled drinks, snacks, and pastries.

This little café in the Providence train station is a little piece of Cape Cod. The Cape Cod chips and the bottled local root beer, and cream soda are both nice treats. The Boar’s Head meets, wraps, and grilled panini sandwiches are worthy of Pennsylvania Avenue. I really loved my ham and cheese sandwich – made with care and a wonderful French bread roll. Sandwiches are about the bread very often. Just ask anyone from South Philly!

Don’t judge this place by it’s location! You wouldn’t guess you could find an awesome sandwich shop inside an Amtrak station, but I did.
I grabbed a panini before getting on my train. I’m pretty sure it was called the North Boston. I was in a hurry so I might have that slightly wrong, but they were super prompt in making my food which was awesome so I didn’t miss my train!
The sandwich had just the perfect amount of each ingredient: juicy grilled chicken, sweet roasted red peppers, savory black olives, perfectly melted provolone all pressed into a multigrain bread. And it held together too! Always a good sign of a perfectly made sandwich, and critical for mass transit dining.
Definitely get food here before hopping on the train. Solid 5 stars for this sandwich shop.

This is one of the best places to get a fast, fresh, healthy meal in the city. They have a very imaginative menu, friendly staff and most importantly awesome food. I’ve been going here every week for years and will continue to do so.

One does not usually associate a good breakfast experience with a train station but I’m happy to let you fine folks know that Café La France has indeed figured it out!
Taking a up a nook between the two main tracks and across from the ticket booths, Café La France runs a mean morning grill, I usually opt for a bacon, egg and cheese and they are always above average and use fresh bread and get the perfect meltation on their cheese (yes, meltation is a word!). The lean machine, which is egg whites with pesto and tomatos is equally on point and recommended. Haven’t tried their pastry selection, but everything always look fresh and tasty. The seating area is nothing special and does the trick. The staff here is great; almost too friendly for it usually being so early in the morning and they move fast so you don’t miss your train. Definitely worth a visit before getting on your Amtrak/​MBTA train.

Awesome little café – I would give it 6 train station stars if that were an option. Café La France serves real deli food and breakfast and puts Penn Station’s various food options to shame.
I may have intentionally skipped breakfast so I could grab something here on the way out.

I am a new commuter from Providence to Boston. I go to this café almost everyday in the morning. They are always conscious of the train times and that people want to get in and out. Their food and coffee are very good, although I stick pretty strictly to their pastries and yogurt cup (with fresh berries and granola). Their sandwiches do look delicious, so maybe sometime when I take an afternoon train I’ll try something.
Today I spilled my coffee, one of those spills where the coffee flips and sprays everywhere and lands on the floor, as I was heading to my train. One of the people working there offered me a new coffee and to clean up the one I spilled so that I could get to my train which made my day. It’s the little things in life! So overall really nice customer service.

Have you ever eaten the «food» that you can buy aboard an Amtrak train? It’s not a great idea. After all, no one should ever have to eat a sandwich that, in order to make it palatable, you microwave it inside the plastic bag it comes in. Ever.
And that’s why Café La France is so very, very necessary.
I’m not going to pretend like the chicken pesto panini was the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. But it beats the sad, sad Amtrak food by several hundred miles.* I would rather buy that panini in the morning and eat it for lunch than ever eat Amtrak food again.
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*Which, aboard an Amtrak train, could take anywhere from a few hours to three days.