Ola Gifts Cafe

Very cute small coffee shop in East Somerville. The owner is super friendly and the atmosphere is inviting. I had an iced coffee and breakfast sandwich with egg, avocado, tomato and ham. It was very good. Everything, besides the pastries, is made right then and there so plan on having a few minutes to spare. They are quick and efficient though so just hang out on the bar stools by the window OR better yet, hang out and enjoy your breakfast there. If its nice out, they have seating outside and about 5 bar stools in the front. Both my coffee and sandwich came in at $ 8.50. Not bad! I will be back.

Small local coffee shop that makes their breakfast sandwiches on the spot. Sweet! Yes it can slow down the process of getting in and out with your morning coffee fix but well worth the few extra minutes needed. Everything in this tiny place is yummy looking and made with love. The owner is such a nice guy and I hope his business keeps trucking along. Yes I love my DD fix but whenever I can support a Mom and Pop I try to. And you should do the same. Just plan accordingly. Also great for lunch sandwiches.

Cute little place! Emphasis on the little — it’s definitely not for large groups. But I had a pretty amazing sandwich, made to order, and a plain old iced coffee. It was exactly what I wanted, both very tasty. Extremely sweet staff.

ive been dying for a good breakfast sandwich place and i finally found it. Also its my go to spot before sunday football games.

I move around a lot. Each time I move, I look for two things… a place to drink beer and a place to drink coffee. This place not only serves coffee, but they also have great food. I felt at home immediately. You guys rule so hard, thanks for existing.

I had a somewhat greasy egg+bacon in a bagel breakfast at 7:30 AM, which gave me energy for the whole week. My coffee was also intense. They have healthier and less greasy options, and the owner is nice and attentive. A very recommended option for the not so interesting east of Somerville.

One of the best sandwich shops I have come across. The gentleman who owns the restaurant is genuinely interested in his customers having a great experience. The food was fresh, delicious, and reasonably priced. This beats Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks any day.

Btw, they are open on Sunday’s. Unilocal has it wrong. Delicious food! Delicious drinks! Owner is so nice and accommodating.

I LOVE this place!!! The coffee is great but the real treat are the breakfast sandwiches!!! So delicious and made fresh ON THE SPOT. The owner is super nice and friendly! I cannot recommend this place enough!

This place is a diamond in the rough. I had no idea it existed until I took a summer job down the road. My coworkers frequent there. So, I’ve been going the last few weeks. A lot. There are a few things I love about this place:
1. The service
I love that they make everything right in front of you. It allows you to personalize your order and reminds you how fresh it is. The owner is a very nice man, who is there most mornings and always up for a chat. He’s very friendly and quick with your orders. The guy who has been there every morning when I’ve gone in is also super friendly, not to mention efficient and patient.
2. The variety
There is a lot of variety at this little place. They offer a lot of different kinds of items, and then within the items there is even more variety! They have a great selection of breads for sandwiches, cheeses, veggies, meats. There’s a lot of other things besides sandwiches they offer as well. There is also always some sort of free sample going on!
Overall, I have this place 5 stars for the good quality of food, the great selection of choices, and the superb service. My summer program is coming to an end so I won’t be going as much, and that makes me sad.
ps
When I went in this morning the owner was trying out «egg and cheese mini bites». I tried one. Perfect size breakfast sandwich for a great price! ($ 1.85) keep this item around!

I loved getting breakfast here this morning with a friend. The staff are friendly and the food is delicious. I look forward to coming here again for a breakfast sandwich, smoothie, and coffee. Great quality food, for a great price, with great people.

What a great little place.
Gus really listens to what his customers want, as seen by the impressive menu (for such a tiny place). Delicious smoothies w protein, chia, etc. He was talking about adding veggie smoothies and getting a new espresso machine!
FRESH breakfast sandwiches w choice of cheese, meat, veggies, bagel/​bread /​croissants.
Iced butterscotch lattes? Coconut? Pick your poison, Guaranteed they have it.

Agree with the sentiments about this being a hidden gem! Check it out if your in the area, they make a great cup-​o-​joe. Huge variety

I spotted this place one wintery morning on my way to Winter’s Hill. I had actually set off to find an established coffee shop in which to do work on my computer, but the warm foreign charm of Ola’s, and the full breakfast menu beckoned me in.
I went inside and Gus, the owner and operator, was immediately accomodating, informing me that I could have anything I liked in my omelette– for no additional cost, if I remember correctly. He then waited patiently while I took what must’ve been a maddeningly long time to decide what I wanted. He kept up intermmitent eye contact, though, even when other customers weaved in for coffee and out with to-​go cups.
Once I ordered, I asked if I could use my computer at one of his few small red tables by the window. He said «of course» and showed me where to plug it in, all while he made my omellette from scratch, and had its ingredients fresh on the grill, then in the oven. He brought it straight to my table, and it was DELICIOUS and hot (I don’t normally even like omelettes!), and the coffee was good too.
Gus and I discussed things of the world and things of his life; he is a very friendly man. He told me his plans for the place– to expand to an outdoor seating area and more seating for bigger parties inside. He said that at the time, the business was new and he was thrilled by the challenge of making it work, but also unsure of how to get it off the ground. He does everything for the business: counter, cook, cashier, finances, management, marketing, etc.
I was meeting my cousin Steveb later that day, and he is a die-​hard fan of DIY breakfasts, so I asked him to meet me there. He did, and he was just as pleased with the décor, Gus’s manners and charisma, and the food (an omelette he had made with egg whites instead)!
I told Gus that I wanted to help him get more publicity for his business. This is a bit delayed, but here it is.
Thank you, Gus, and to everyone who supports Ola Café!

This place is so cute. A definite gem in East Somerville. My latte was strong and delicious, and my made-​to-​order egg sandwich was cooked perfectly. The folks behind the counter were sweet and helpful, checking to make sure that every part of my order was exactly the way I wanted. You have a choice of croissant, various bagels, or English muffin for the sandwich, and I went with the whole wheat bagel, buttered and toasted. The coffee and sandwich were the perfect breakfast for a cold drizzly rainy day. The menu lists a variety of sandwich options as well as coffee and fruit smoothie options. There’s a bunch of cereals, chips, baked goods (including Portuguese sweet bread, cookies, muffins, cakes) and some fruit for gnoshing as well.
As others have noted this place is tiny, with a small counter with about 4 or so seats inside. So I’d say it’s best for takeout. No bathroom as far as I can see.

Small storefront coffee/​breakfast /​lunch restaurant. Very nice people running it. The muffins and turnovers look amazing. We had instant oatmeal, egg sandwich (both custom made for us) and coffee drinks. All satisfying for the stomach and soul. Very limited seating– only a counter inside and 4 small tables outside for traffic and people watching.
A great experience with friendly people.

90% sure that the brownie I had during the East Broadway Foodie Crawl was from a boxed mix.
I also had the tomato and spinach… sandwich? I wish they had a way to keep them warm, it would have been a lot better. It ended up being kind of soggy and too moist for me to enjoy.

EXCELLENT iced coffee, egg sandwiches are finger licking good and the owner is just lovely. This is a great, friendly little neighborhood café. Well worth a visit for the coffee alone.

Omgggg! I pass this place all of the time. Of course, as soon as I’m moving, I discovered it while looking for breakfast via the Unilocal app. Wow. The person working there was very friendly. Even the customers were. One asked the person behind the counter to help me out first since his order would take a while. I felt like I was back in Texas.
The iced latte was good, and they had soy milk. The egg sandwich kept me full until my 1:00 p.m. lunch.

Ola is on my way to the T in the mornings and is the perfect place to start off my weekday commute. Excellent service and good quality food and coffee for super cheap. The owner is amazing sweet and you can just tell he pours his heart out in his business. It’s a great place to stop by for a quick cup of coffee, and all of the food is made to order. He uses real eggs in all of the breakfast sandwiches (which I find is such a rarity for a fast breakfast place like this) so the quality of the food is surprisingly above average for a small coffee shop. That being said give him a break if it takes a minute or two instead of 30 seconds for your order, I promise it will be worth it. Also so cheap for such good quality!
Current special: $ 3 for a coffee and eglish muffin egg and cheese. So awesome.