Cafe Dino

WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS PLACE? Does anyone know??? It’s clearly out of business or something! But there’s no clear signage!

Great lunch specials-​fresh grilled chicken, veggies, rice and lots if choices incl paninis, etc

I really used to like this place. Now it’s very sub-​par. Maybe it’s due to the fact that there used to be these guy chefs that cooked breakfast and lunch who no longer work there for whatever reason. The current girls don’t listen. Either that or they are just poor cooks. Everything is undercooked. The home fries are barely cooked and are soggy. The eggs are runny and uncooked as well. I’ll even ask for the eggs well done so they aren’t runny and yet, it takes them 30 seconds to cook them. Obviously they aren’t done enough just from the time alone. I’m not sure why the rush cause I usually go later in the morning when nobody is there. Yet, I can’t get decent eggs out of them. You can’t do much about the home fries as they are sitting in a bin already cooked/​undercooked. The bacon is hit or miss and the toast is toast. You can’t really mess up toast. I just wished they spent a few more minutes cooking their food. Maybe some people love it but when you say well done, you’d think they try to make it well done.
The same applies for lunch as well. Ordered a steak and cheese. Please cook it well done because I don’t like my steak subs medium-​rare. Again, cooked in 3 minutes or less. Steak has barely turned brown but I guess that’s a sign that it’s cooked thoroughly here. Really disappointed and I probably won’t be going back unless I see new people working there.

The food tasted good until I notice not one but 2 hairs in my rice. I think that’s enough said. And yes the service is slow and they seem confused as other reviewers have stated.

Slow confused service.
Two eggs, bacon, home fries arrived as eggs, home fries and toast.
The girl cooking obviously didn’t know what she was doing, or give a crap.
They remake the order, oops no home fries left — eggs now sitting for 10 minutes while they work on other orders and taters are heating.
Finally, order comes, oops you wanted bacon too? Please wait.
And wait.
Everyone in there had this look of disbelief as to how slow service was.
I was watching behind the counter, the front of the house would check the orders and about 90% of the time sent it back to be fixed.
Never again, obviously.
As for the food once I finally got it, terrible. The home fries had a mealy texture. Ugh.
Yesterday they had a sign up that said «Won’t be open till 8:30am». Huh?
Someone is trying hard to have that place go belly up, won’t be long at this rate.

New mgmnt, unfortunately means downgrade to food taste, quality and quantity. Every meal now has less meats/​chicken (protein). Salads used to be awesome, now are bland as can be. Used to be a frequent goer, will not go back now.

So I have been here many times since my office building is right next to this place. They basically have the traditional breakfast sandwiches, regular sandwiches and paninis. BUT I swear to you the owner has eyes in the back of his head. While he is at the grill cooking he won’t even turn around and say «Hello…what can I get for you today». And you give him your order and then pay. I also think he has the most amazing memory because several people will come in and order different things and the health buffs with their egg white with spinach sandwiches and stuff and never get the order wrong. And if you like paninis… they are HUGE here! I can only eat half… so I can get two lunches out of one sandwich. SCORE! or For the win as they say these days!
Oh and if you have an android or iPhone, they do Level up here… I have a BlackBerry… so I am not priviliged to the service.
But anyhoo… come here because their food is good! And affordable too.

Café Dino is about as plain as they come in the Financial District. I really enjoyed the panini’s when I started working in the Financial District last year but the last few times I have been there have been terrible.
The worst thing about this place is the service, if I place an order I don’t expect it to be forgotten, this has happened the last 3 times and I am not going back.
The food here is so so, nothing special that you couldnt make at home. The only redeeming thing here is the homemade panini bread.
There are far better options for the price in the area.

Got the chicken kabob. Crispy lettuce, crispy cucumbers, whole lotta feta, juicy chicken… can’t beat it.

Fed up with this type of stuff. Just walked over and to get some lunch. I asked for a steak tip caesar wrap and was made a steak tip wrap with greek dressing, feta cheese and tomatoes. I have absolutely zero tolerance for this. You have one function at a sandwich shop like this and its to listen to what the customer is asking for and make it for them. The guy was clearly not even listening to me, heard steak tips and made me what he felt like. One word. Incompetent. Typical.

Portions are pretty huge, but I don’t think this place will last. My steak and cheese sandwich had too much focaccia bread and not enough flavah. It’s a mediocre place, and consumers don’t remember the average.

Love this place!
Great breakfast, great lunch, great customer service. Love the proscutto, mozzarella Panini! Great salads too!
Give’em a try!

I used to eat here almost every day at the Milk Street address and thanks to a helpful Unilocaler I made my way to the new address on 2 Oliver Street the other day in a fit of nostalgia.
Things that are still good — the Chicken Parm panini ($ 6.50). The bread and chicken are just great although I do think the size is smaller than before.
Things that could be improved — there are only 6 seats total. Although out of the basement, Dino’s is now only good for a quick grab and eat at one of the stools or just grab and go.
Otherwise, solid food for a good price.

Hey! You guys! Yoohoo, over here!
As it has been remarked, Café Dino (
) has moved to Oliver Street, into the sad empty shell formerly known as «Pressed». Less pizza, more sammies, bigger space, fewer rooms, longer waits, happier staff, closer to my building, and AMAZING BREAKFAST SANDWICHES. Also, they take credit cards now.
That’s all. Thanks for listening.

My co-​worker and I are here for breakfast sandwiches at least twice a week. The guys know our order and we’re always greeted warmly when we walk in. The new location is a bit smaller (not a problem unless you want to eat there), and THANK GOD it’s not any further from my office.
The breakfast sandwiches are awesome. There are mornings where I wake up knowing I’ll need a breakfast sandwich from Dinos to get through my day!
The pizza is tasty. The pasta entrees are on par with other places in the financial district.

Well… I just went to grab a slice… and it looks as if the place has been shuttered! :-((
Decent Chow, nice people… looked CLOSED for good… I’ll check back and if I am wrong… I’ll edit.

I went here for lunch the other day. I got the macaroni and cheese with Greek salad. It was a good lunch! The salad was really good, fresh greens, (not just iceburg lettuce) nice chunks of feta cheese and a dressing that was good. The macaroni and cheese was good. Not great, but good. It was a tad bit dry, but I realize that I got the bottom of the pan, and I think the last serving. It was tasty and cheese-​y enough. I would definitely give this place a try again. The seating is very labyrinth-​like. You can eat in the old bank vault. I found the lighting a little dark, but that’s because I like to read while eating lunch. I think my lunch set me back about $ 9.75 including a 16 oz. bottle of diet coke. About average price for the financial district take out places.

A great place to start your day, even if it is below street (and sea) level!
I recently went here for breakfast and had a prosciutto and swiss cheese omelet that made my entire day. The portions are generous, the prices are reasonable, and the cooks are friendly.
All told, definitely a café to check out; I have plans to go back for lunch later this week!

Café Dino, «the hole in the ground» as some people call it, is a great place to go if you’re feeling a little broke and looking for massive quantities of delicious food.
Seriously, the portions are frickin’ huge. Be prepared for sleepy time after eating here. (This is the only reason I don’t go here more often.)
I’ve never had their pizza, however I have had breakfast and a couple pasta dishes from Café Dino. No major complaints!
Some things to be aware of:
While Café Dino does take credit cards, they have signs posted everywhere saying there’s a minimum $ 7.00 charge for credit. While one would be hard-​pressed to have an order come to less than $ 7.00 after a beverage, I’m pretty sure this is in violation of at least one of their credit card merchant agreements. Although, to be fair, the one time my order fell short of $ 7.00, I was able to pay with my credit card anyway. Perhaps the signs are just there as a ploy to get people to spend more, and not an actual restaurant policy.
The only entrance is a double set of stairs. People who are wheelchair-​bound or otherwise unable to use stairs are unfortunately out of luck.

Yum! This is a total hole in the wall (actually, more like hole in the ground), greasy, fatty Italian lunch spot… how can you go wrong? Try a big fat slice of gooey pizza (and they have crazy specials too, something like 2 slices and a soda for $ 4), an enormous salad, a sandwich, or a hot entrée like chicken parm, lasagna, or mac and cheese. Mmmmm their mac and cheese…
Not a super vegetarian friendly place, but it’s doable (pizza, salads, mac and cheese). Vegans, don’t even think about it! But hey, what they have is damn good and huuuuge for what you pay. Mamma mia!