Real Food Cafe
3514 Plainfield Ave NE, Grand Rapids
(616) 361-1808
Recent Reviews
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Our server, Jacqueline, was efficient and delightful!! The banana granola pancakes were HUGE and tasted amazing!! Highly recommend!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The place lives up to its name, everything I've eaten here tastes like it was handmade, with an old fashioned generational recipe.
Update, years later, and it's only improved year by year, it's my "ol' reliable" when I want a special breakfast.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
WON'T RETURN. EVER!! SPECIFICALLY ASKED IF THERE WAS AN UPCHARGE TO USE CREDIT CARD and was told NO, only upcharge is for checks. Upon studying our receipt, we find a 3% surcharge for the "FAST RISING EXPENSES". Seriously??? The portions have gotten smaller, I paid $3 for a glass of iced tea with no refills. We didn't even see our waitress again until time for check. Place wasn't very busy at all. What a slap in the face. This is just an average diner, nothing special about it.
Food: 3
Service: 2
I hope this was just an off day, but this place has some serious issues. It's a classic breakfast/lunch spot, but during our visit, it was poorly managed, the food was subpar, and there were numerous problems.
1. We arrived around 12:45 PM and weren’t seated until about 1:45 PM. While a wait is expected on a Sunday, it was clear they forgot about our party, as the hostess came out 45 minutes later to check if we were still there. During this time, we noticed several empty tables, but we figured it was just a typical Sunday brunch crowd.
2. We ordered drinks, and while the coffee was warm and tasty at first, I found about half an inch of coffee grounds at the bottom of my cup. Not a dealbreaker, but it does make you question the "freshly brewed" claim on the menu.
3. The waitress did her best, but they were out of both pancakes and cinnamon rolls, which was surprising. Pancakes don’t take long to make, so it was confusing.
4. About 20 minutes later, only two dishes—hamburger and egg whites—arrived. Four other items were still missing.
5. Another 10 minutes passed, and finally, my daughter'sFrench toast with her eggs arrived came out. We were still waiting on a waffle and two eggs Benedict. At this point, my oldest was sharing her fruit cup with the younger two, and she mentioned the burger was mediocre, but she was too hungry to care.
6. One eggs Benedict finally arrived, but by then, two of my kids had already finished their meals. The hollandaise sauce was a congealed, lukewarm mess—it looked like they didn’t even bother reheating it. Which not sure whether to applaud that or not...since they still served it
7. When everything was finally served, we sent the eggs Benedict back because it was cold, slimy, and on soggy English muffins. We finished up and left feeling pretty disappointed.
I really hope they can fix these issues, but this experience was just sad.
We did talk with the manager. And she gave us some future gift cards.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
They were very gracious about my food allergies and made sure I had food I could eat without getting sick.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Eggs Benedict
We decided on a Sunday to order takeout. Seemed very hastily made, with meats undercooked despite options in menu requesting well cooked meats. I threw out 45 dollars worth of food, never to eat there again.
I guess you can only order take-out online now? Online prices are more than the prices on the menu when you dine in. Nutella stuffed French toast is $14 on the menu, but $19.20 online?? Tried to call to ask why and to see if I could order over the phone. The person who answered was unfriendly and hung up on me when I was asking questions.
Service: 1
My wife and I and another couple stopped here this past Sunday, late morning, and got seated right away. It's a large place but it was busy, including several tables outside. The food was excellent, as was the service. They have baked goods for sale at the counter too. Definitely worth the stop.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Real food. Great place for breakfast. Noisy.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Always have a good experience here.
Vegetarian options: You can choose to make some meals vegetarian.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Eggs Benedict, Monte Cristo, Veggie Hash
Restaurantji Recommends
Great spot! The friendly team is always filling your coffee and taking good care of you. I've been here multiple times and have never had a bad experience. Great food all around. From the omelettes to the hash and even the lunch sandwiches it has all been good. I would recommend stopping by and seeing for yourself. I know I'll be coming here again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Thank you to your General Manager (Jess) She made us feel so welcomed and has a very kind and pleasant attitude that makes us the customers feel warm and fuzzy. We will definitely be going again. The food was wonderful Our cook today (Raul) NAILED IT Thank you again
Great food
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I had heard so many good things about this place but those were the 2nd worst pancakes that I have had in my life ?. They were dry and hard. I could only eat about 3 bites. I went home hungry ?.
Also when we arrived none of the waitresses were friendly or even greeted us. Instead we were left sitting at a table for about 10 minutes with all of the waitresses ignoring us. And being told about 3 times just to wait (even though it wasn't busy). There were approximately 10 tables or more empty. I won't go back there. There are many nicer and more delicious places than that restaurant.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
Bakery Review: For the last eight years or so, I've ordered an Italian Cream Cake to celebrate my birthday as it was the best, most moist, flavorful cake I've ever had. Well, this year, I ordered one again and was so disappointed as it wasn't even close to what I was used too. It was dry, extremely dry...the frosting wasn't the same at all. The cake had no flavor, had an overwhelming sweet taste only and was so dry. After serving a piece to myself and a guest, trying a few bites, it ended up in the trash with the rest of the cake. I discovered that the bakery chef I was used to had retired last Fall. Sad, guess I'll have to try my hand and make my own now.
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