We had an excellent dinner at Pomona Cafe this past week. The food set the tone, particularly the Chicken Milanesa, Pollo y Limón and Chicken Violet. Each dish was thoughtfully prepared, beautifully plated and full of flavor without trying too hard to impress. The room is just as appealing as the menu. Warm lighting, striking artwork and a polished atmosphere make it feel special without feeling stiff. Best of all, the noise level allows for actual conversation, a feature that can be cocktail. The cocktails did not disappoint. Service was equally strong. Our server was prompt, knowledgeable and attentive without hovering. He answered our questions clearly and offered recommendations that proved well worth taking. The owner also stopped by to ask about our experience, a thoughtful gesture that made the evening feel genuinely welcoming. Pomona Cafe is a terrific addition to Swampscott, and we'll gladly return. Highly recommend! read more

Tried this place two times, both times was really disappointed. Also while we were here we saw them setting up for a graduation part or event of some kind, during this process we saw either the owner or manager take a rag that one of the waiters was using to dry clean plates, she sprays it with cleaner, wipes down the tables and seats then after she was done we see her start to finish wiping the clean plates with the same rag... and of course since she did that the waiters continued to do so with the same rag after she started doing something else?!? Disgusting. Apart from this.. if you can get over that, the food was really meh for the $, the chicken was dry and hard to chew and it just seemed like something I could cook on my own at home and I'm not even very good at cooking. Also got an espresso which was acidic and 1/2 cold. (This we've tried twice and both times just as bad) read more

This restaurant is superb! We have been for brunch and now dinner and it's excellent in all respects. The food is exquisite. The drinks are sublime, in the coffee is out of this world. How is it possible that there's not a line out the door? I love the decor. Fantastic for date night . Go now! read more

Great brunch spot! The Pomona Omelette is a must try. Fresh veggies, plenty of cheese, and so fresh. The cheese pull was strong! Service was great and quick. The chai latte I had was really good and perfect for this cold weather. I will definitely come back! read more

Pomona Cafe & Wine Bar - Pomona Omelette - Cafes Near Me - Swampscott, Massachusetts

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Service is complete garbage. Don't care about people who sit in. Waited 30min with them service walk ups.

I love the coffee here... probably my fave barista around! Service is outstanding. Food is excellent. Love this for a casual get together.

We have walked past Pomona many times and we finally decided to go there for breakfast. The menu sounded great and we were excited to try it out so we called ahead of time to reserve a spot. It was pretty busy and there were only two servers on the floor so we expected some wait time. Once we were seated and ordered our drinks and food, we started noticing bugs on the wall behind us and where they were preparing drinks in the kitchen. They served our breakfast and one coffee, but we waited on the other two coffees until we were almost done with our food. My daughter's waffle looked undercooked but we didn't say anything. The whole time we were eating we had to swat away fruit flies( this was indoor seating!!). I am very disappointed in our experience and we won't be going back. read more

Pomona Cafe & Wine Bar - The bugs on the wall behind us - Cafes Near Me - Swampscott, Massachusetts

Food is delicious Staff is great New dinner menu also has great options. Im picky & always like their food and new dinners. read more

This is such a lovely little café. It's definitely a splurge, but it's very pretty and the food is FRESH. Really nice location by the ocean and a unique menu. The owners are sweethearts. Perfect for lunch with a best friend. I've never been there at night, but I have friends who come for cocktails and they love the vibe. read more

Very Nice People, place and food the staff was so pleasant and engaging ! Great ambiance ! Fresh food carefully made and just a joy to visit this place! Many thanks! read more

Pomona Cafe & Wine Bar - Interior Decor is relaxing and awesome! - Cafes Near Me - Swampscott, Massachusetts

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Came here as soon as we got in to town as it literally states open from 8- 4. Door locked, no one answering. Maybe keep up with your garbage mates. Several others also tried the door. Locked up and dark. Crap owners and no responsibility on their end. Lost out on a lot of customers to the great trap down the road. read more

Pomona Cafe & Wine Bar - Front entrance - Cafes Near Me - Swampscott, Massachusetts

Friendliest staff I have ever had the pleasure of being acquainted with! The ambiance is pure sophistication, modern, natural and elegant. I took my father out for a quick bite in between running errands. We enjoyed a fresh salad and coffee whilst viewing the ocean, ya simply can't beat it! Pomona Café is open most days from 8am-9pm. There is also a wonderful wine and cocktail selection menu. Highly recommend! Fresh ingredients. Beautiful display. Cute plates. Muchas gracias para todo. read more

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Love this little spot whenever I am in town. Their handcrafted coffee drinks are delicious as well as the breakfast entrees. It's a quant and cozy spot with a beautiful view. read more

Had a wonderful dinner with a friend here. Every detail was carefully crafted - the decor, the lighting, the friendly and polite service, the dinnerware, the plating, and we loved the food! So much so that we are booking my friend's birthday brunch here a couple of weeks for now. Thank you so much for a wonderful evening, Pomona! read more

Pomona Cafe & Wine Bar - tables and chairs - Cafes Near Me - Swampscott, Massachusetts

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I have been a number of times since they opened a year ago. Initially, I was impressed with the friendly staff, amazing coffee drinks, cocktails and food. I felt very welcome and like a valued guest. The location and atmosphere were the icing on the cake. In the past 5 months the service has declined considerably. The food is still good, but service is incredibly slow, some staff seem to be just milling about not doing anything. My husband and I went for after dinner espresso martinis over the summer and despite the place being quite empty the drinks took a good 20 minutes to prepare. The bartender seemed new and not really sure of what he was doing. I've been for coffee and pastry or lunch during the day with similar results. One time we waited 20 minutes at a table with menus for our orders to be taken only to be informed that we needed to order at the counter. It feels poorly run and disorganized, which is super disappointing after the attentive and welcoming service they had when they first opened. I've kept going back with the hopes that things might turn around, but it hasn't improved. I'm really sad because the location, concept and atmosphere are very promising, but a poorly run restaurant can't get by on those things alone. I won't be going back. read more

Beautiful location with great lighting. Not too much seating though so heads up! Didn't try the food, but we ordered some coffees that came nice and quickly. We were there for quite some time and I could tell it was making our waiter impatient, but I understood given the space. I'd come back to try their menu with some of my girlfriends! read more

Sunset water view with the beautiful tropical flowers bursting with color all around you! Gem of a place and their guava sangria was delicious along with the port wine sauce with my meal. Looking forward to more dining experiences here!! read more

Have only ordered drinks here and honestly was not impressed. Decent service and ambiance is cute with a good view.

Food was excellent, employees were super nice. The only thing I think they could improve on is the size of their side dishes. I ordered a side on home fries and it was embarrassing how small the order was. Also know that when you go there, be ready to wait a long time. read more

Food is only okay, fairly priced but the menu isn't great and takes forever. Yelp and their website says they open at 8 AM, google says 9 AM. I went there today at 9:10 AM and they weren't open. What type of café can't open by 7:30 AM? read more

Went a second time and was less impressed than the first time. Basically the same order - but mixed results. The chicken parm and pomegranate cosmos were still excellent, but the pizza was over-cooked and much more bland than the authentic thin crust I had a couple months back. And the watermelon salad was just ok. This means the chef differences night to night may need a closer look. Also, service was friendly but very very slow -- despite us being only 1 of 4 tables occupied in the entire restaurant. It took 15 minutes just to get waters and our first drink... and at the end of the meal, I had to get up from my seat to ask for the check because we hadn't seen our waiter for 15 minutes after clearing. On its own, no big deal. But there was more ... It was cold outside and we agreed to sit outside only because they said they had heat lamps. But we found they were out of gas, strike 2 ... the details of running a good restaurant aren't being followed closely enough; then the bathroom was out of paper towels entirely so guests used the facilities and went back to their Tables with wet hands. I made a comment to my server about it and he tended to it. I see this as a staffing problem - the same guy who sat us, served our food, and brought us the bill -- was also our bartender. I'd like the owners to start staffing this place and paying attention to details in order to put smiles on customer faces, rather than running a lean ship to make a buck. You gotta build a following in the neighborhood by offering consistently great food AND service. If you build it, they will come. Please build it. read more

So happy you are finally open and bringing in some delicious into swampscott. Great lattes great food, great music. My new go to place. read more

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Love Pomona! We go there often and always have good experience. Fresh food and amazing service.

Amazing and beautifully presented breakfast dishes. Delicious coffee, prepared to your exact liking. Great and very friendly service. Beautiful view of the water from the outside seating. read more

Great people, great food, great drinks. Go here if you can. Had some interesting drinks and the food was spot on. Cannot recommend this place enough. read more

Lovely luncheon bistro with limited selections of salads & sandwiches. But the food was delicious & prompt friendly service. Would return!​

This is a treasure in our neighborhood! The food and drinks are delicious! The owners are so nice and welcoming. I highly recommend this gem! read more

Pure incompetence. I've worked in the service industry for decades, and it takes a lot for me to leave a bad review. First the server skips me and assists the person behind me in line. I waited 15 min (place was empty) for my two coffees to go. Finally I get handed one iced americano. I reminded him I ordered two hot drip coffees and asked "do you have drip coffee"? He apologized and assured me "yes we have drip coffee". He proceeds to make me two watered down americanos. Told him these are not drip coffees, these are americanos. Not my first let down here. But will be the last. This place tries to be pretentious and just falls short in all departments. Will never go back. read more

Five stars for finally opening a much needed amenity in the area! We love our breakfast spots. Great location. Outdoor seating. Coffee is all Colombian roast. I tried out the iced coffee and it was pretty good! Somehow resisted the delicious looking pastries in the window display however I'll be back again to try those out soon. This restaurant should do well year round as long as they keep up with the demand at that location. Again, very excited this is actually open now. :) read more

Holy cow, this place was fantastic. And somewhat unexpected. It's very small, so I guess we were thinking their offerings would be limited. We were wrong. There were three of us, and each of us loved our meals. We split a watermelon salad to start - it was great. Then between us we tried the risotto, bolognese and chicken; each meal was great. Big plus - we weren't shouting over a din to be heard. The service was excellent, the overall vibe relaxed. It was a really nice place to have a meal. Will totally be back. read more

I LOVE this place. Exactly what Swampscott needed. The ambiance is great, food is delicious and everyone on staff is so friendly and kind. read more

Pomona Cafe & Wine Bar - I got the Pomona bowl with Chicken and it was amazing! - Cafes Near Me - Swampscott, Massachusetts

Horrible service, their coffee machine often is broken, the wait time to be serviced anywhere from 15 min to 45 minutes . Food is so so , the only advantage this place has , there is no other restaurant open for breakfast within 15 min range. Would not recommend this place. read more

Went for the first time today for a friends birthday and absolutely loved it. The cocktails were delicious and fresh tasting, and the food was wonderful. The staff is so friendly and made the experience even better. Would highly recommend to anyone going through the area! read more

Very nice place. Bright lots of window light. Beautiful wall art. Service was very good. Food delicious and quick. Nice experience.

Much anticipated cafe is let down by poor organization and slow counter/to-go service. Waiters come and go from behind the counter but no one is dedicated to taking to-go orders... it seems like you might get lucky and someone will agree to take the order and then walks away. The last time I had to ask (after standing by myself at the counter for several minutes while a waiter never looked up) if someone would take an order. Lots of staff milling about (polishing glasses, examining bottles, tasting the cut fruit) but still took 6+ minutes after I ordered to actually receive my iced coffee order (nothing fancy!). Unfortunately it's hard to dedicate 10+ minutes just to pick up a coffee. Hope things improve!!! read more

Really the only place to go in all of the area for good food and drinks!! Also get the Churro!

I have had breakfast, lunch and dinner at this wonderful place. Everything is fabulous including the staff and owner!!!!

The ambiance is light and airy. The staff is polite. However, I have been a few times and my coffee order was wrong each time. This place is primarily focused as a European coffee shop. Additionally, there is either not enough staff or the staff is not properly trained. Service is very and I mean very slow. Smiling faces and apologies are nice but they need someone to train the staff on how to serve in a place that has busy takeout and also seating. Finally, the staff clearly doesn't always know what utensil goes with what item. I received a bitter caffe latte with a soup spoon and had to ask for a spoon and sugar. As indicated, this is primarily a coffee shop, I don't know if it's the quality of the beans...best is Lavatza...or if they press the coffee too tight when making an espresso or latte. Pressing and packing the coffee too tight makes for a bitter cup. This place has potential to be fantastic and I will comeback in the hopes, they are still working out the kinks. read more