Au Bon Pain - Cambridge, MA

Au Bon Pain - 5.0


Everywhere you go in Boston, you won't be far from an Au Bon Pain. With their roots in Boston, Au Bon Pain has over 200 outlets in the United States as well as South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan. If ever in need of a quick stop to get some food, they have it all from fresh sandwiches to croissants and soups to salads, it's a great option. Thing is, most of you knew that. The real question we need to answer is whether it's an option if you need to drop the kids off at the pool, so to speak. This Au Bon Pain is located between Central and Harvard at 1100 Mass Ave in Cambridge.


Location: After entering, most of the restaurant will be right in front of you. Pass the cash register on your right and turn right immediately after it. The restrooms are in that hallway, ladies first then the gents.
Grade: 7 out of 10

Accessibility: There are a lot of folks going in and out of Au Bon Pain and the majority of the workers are busy dealing with customers. Should be a pretty easy in and out.
Grade: 9 out of 10

Number of Stalls: It's just a one room, one toilet type of job for the men's room. We'd prefer if there was a urinal to prevent some of the #1 folks from pissing on our seat!
Grade: 3 out of 10

Stall Quality: The bathroom itself wasn't all that bad. Sometimes you wind up in these one room restrooms and there is no sink. Maybe there is no paper towels. While not exceptional, the restroom here has the bare essentials.
Grade: 5 out of 10





Toiler Paper: Sprechen-Sie Rough? One ply at it's worst. There also wasn't a lot of it (as you can see above) and the toilet paper that was there was completely exposed.
Grade: 3 out of 10

Cleanliness: This place wasn't too clean. Full trash can, toilet paper on the floor, general ugliness. It sounds like there is the potential for a good haiku here, no?
Grade: 4 out of 10

Scent: It was a bit stale in here. Not that The Shit Critic expects roses, but something a little better would be nice.
Grade: 5 out of 10

Flush: I'd expect an industrial toilet to do a bit more. It wasn't exceptionally weak, but I also wasn't the most confident that it was going to swallow a ton of toilet paper and a "Theo".
Grade: 5 out of 10

Aesthetics: This bathroom was a bit not the most asthetically pleasing bathroom. There was little to no effort put into making the bathroom nice for the folks who might have to have a not so nice moment inside of it.
Grade: 4 out of 10

The Bottom Line: This is a usable restroom. It might be a bit messy, and it might not be interesting. Barring it being in use, keep it in mind on a stroll down Mass Ave. That said, don't be shy about exploring other options.