Francesca's Espresso Bar - Boston, MA

Francesca's Espresso Bar - 7.9


It was by accident that I discovered Francesca’s Espresso Bar in the South End, but am I glad that I did! Killing time on Tremont Street while waiting for a friend, I saw this little café, which looked cute but not too fancy or swanky like a lot of the other places around the area, and they offered ice cream, so how could I not go in? The atmosphere is laid back and the small café looks like it could be a great place to get a sandwich/cup of joe/ice cream etc, read the paper and relax. Located at 564 Tremont Street in the South End, Francesca’s had a mean hot fudge sundae and is a place I plan on visiting again!

Location: The cafe in general is pretty small. You walk in, and there is a counter where you can order and to the right of the counter, there it is. It even has a sign on it to let you know.
Grade: 8 out of 10

Accessibility: Accessibility is pretty easy here – I basically just walked in to the joint and in to the bathroom and no one really seemed to notice or care. The only issue is that it is near where the people who work there go in and out with food, so it is a little clustered.
Grade: 8 out of 10

Number of Stalls:There aren’t any stalls – it is a one toilet unisex bathroom. Obviously, if it is already occupied, you are as they say, shit out of luck. However, if you need privacy, then this is your place to go, because you’ll be all alone!
Grade: 5 out of 10

Stall Quality: This restroom was pretty big. You could probably have a small dance party in there. There was handles near the toilet so if you are elderly, incapacitated or even just needed to hold on for dear life, you could.
Grade: 8 out of 10






Toiler Paper: Standard industrial 2-ply, safely guarded in a big plastic dispenser. Had one of those giant rolls in it, was only half way done. Didn’t really see any back up in there, but you can see inside the dispenser so you should know if you are running low.
Grade: 7 out of 10


Cleanliness: Overall pretty clean – a nice garbage can for disposing of paper towels and other junk. No real mess anywhere.
Grade: 9 out of 10

Scent: No gross scents – could almost smell coffee etc from out in the café. Overall, pretty pleasant.
Grade: 8 out of 10

Flush: Standard small business style toilet, no industrial power flushing but no doubt that if it was brown you could flush it down.
Grade: 8 out of 10

Aesthetics: This was my favorite part of the whole experience! By far, the most interesting art work/decoration of any bathroom I have seen. Sitting across from the toilet is little table and glued to it is a sculpture of broken coffee mugs etc the waitstaff has broken, with the names of who broke each piece on it with a sharpie. It was so neat! In addition, there are little guest checks with sharpie stick figure drawings of people. So artsy, so much fun stuff to look at!
Grade: 9 out of 10

Extra Credit: Plunger, just in case you need to make an ice cream sundae of your own. +1

The Bottom Line: Walking around the South End on a warm summer/spring night can be a delightful experience, and whether you’ve just had dinner somewhere else or are just looking for a good place for lunch/coffee/ice cream, then you should wander in here like I did. They even have a rack with a selection of local publications if you need some reading material, with your coffee or in the john!

Contributed by: 2 Ply Pi