Garden Cafeteria

If you wanna eat at the MFA, eat here:
I went on a Saturday and they offered a salad bar, fresh desserts, hot soups, a hot entrée of the day including vegetable sides, French fries, onion rings, burgers, chicken strips, and bottled drinks.
The salad bar can add up quickly since you pay by weight, but overall a decent selection of fresh veggies and premade salads. I really like the pasta salad with mushrooms and tomatoes.
I spent about $ 9 for 4 piece chicken strips and about a cup and a half serving size of veggies from the salad bar.
Not bad both taste and price-​wise for the museum!

Found this affordable little gem right outside the courtyard at the MFA. They have a great salad bar, hot food section, and dessert shelf! Their hot food is priced by weight.
I spent right under $ 8 for a decent plate of food – 1 sausage, pesto pasta, and grilled zucchini. Overall, not bad! The pesto pasta was delish and the zucchini was so so sweet! Pass on the sausage though. It was super dry and bland. Next time, I plan on trying their soup.
Also remember to save room for DESSERT! They had a s’mores whoopie pie for only $ 1.50!!! I was all about dat and obviously had to try one. It was the first whoopie pie I’ve ever had so it’s hard to compare, but I loved it! The outer pie had a lovely soft texture and the smooth chocolate in the middle was so so amazing and rich. What’s weird is that they also sell whoopie pies at a fancier little café upstairs for $ 3! It’s sliiiightly bigger but I’d stick with Garden Cafeteria’s for half the price.

Came here for high tea in January with some family. I think it’s a decent place but they don’t do anything exceptionally well. I’ve had much better high tea in Boston at places like the four seasons or Taj.
I think the courtyard café would be better for lunch– but I cannot recommend due to the fact that I have not actually eaten here (besides small tea sandwiches)

The Courtyard Café at the MFA, Boston is carefully tucked away, hidden if you will, down on the «courtyard» level of the museum. If you are looking for a quick snack, small bite or coffee in between absorbing the Paul Revere silver and all of the antiquities, the Courtyard Café is impossible to beat in terms of quickness and price.
There is a lunch special for $ 6 bucks (small soup, small sandwich, piece of fruit, cookie) – unheard of in the museum café world. Also, the café features a not-​too-​frequently seen plastic utensil dispensing system, not unwelcome during cold and flu season, and easily attainable water and cups from a fountain in the café. There is also the actual courtyard which is lovely in the greener months.
Being a small cafeteria, this is not a glamorous rendezvous spot, but if you’re hungry and need something sustaining fast, for a lot less than you’d pay upstairs at The Galleria, go all the way downstairs and find the Courtyard Café!