Excellent menu with a variety of sandwiches, salads, soups, and specials.
Kristen Butler
This place is the first place I went in Rochester, and it was a wonderful introduction to this delightful city! Renae is an absolute DOLL- so sweet, so down to earth, so accommodating, but she also had us laughing!
The food was fantastic. We had the burrata, which was excellent. It came with a loaf of bread, and not one of those tiny bullshit loaves of bread other places try to pass off as enough bread. This was actually enough bread to eat all the burrata!
I got the Figgy grilled cheese and I might not ever be able to eat another grilled cheese again. My husband got a pizza- $10 on Thursday evenings!- and we had the cutest interaction. The pizza got dropped, it seems, so the chef CAME OUT to personally apologize. The replacement pizza was out minutes later- no big deal at all! It was such a nice personal touch.
It was so nice to grab a latte and a six pack of beer too. All in all, a fantastic experience. Will absolutely be back if I get the chance to come back to this wonderful city!
Darnell Cooper
Great staff Great Atmosphere Great food I was Able to customize an already existing item on the menu. Which was great for me because I don't eat meat
Susan Schneggenburger
Great friendly staff! Great food! Pet friendly!
Ash C
In March 2025, my family and I visited Park Avenue to celebrate my birthday. After enjoying a lovely shopping experience at my favorite store, we decided to have lunch next door at Magnolia’s Café. Unfortunately, what should have been a joyful and relaxing meal turned into a deeply disappointing and upsetting experience. We were served by a waitress named Renne, whose behavior was shockingly unprofessional from the beginning. She was rude, dismissive, and brought full-sized adult meals for my young children without confirming the order. When we asked politely for the receipt to be corrected, her attitude became even more hostile. She left abruptly, and when she finally returned, she handed my mother the revised receipt with the words “pain in the ass” written on it and threw it in her face. As a foodie who has dined in and reviewed countless establishments, I was absolutely stunned. Not only by the level of disrespect shown to us as guests, but also by the fact that no manager or staff member stepped in to address or correct the situation in the moment. The lack of accountability was appalling. To make matters worse, although we received a call from the manager about a month later with an apology and a promise to send a gift card as a gesture of goodwill, that gift card was never received. It felt like yet another empty promise on top of an already terrible experience. This level of unprofessionalism, especially in the hospitality industry, is completely unacceptable. What should have been a pleasant birthday outing became a distressing memory. I truly hope the management takes this feedback seriously and implements the necessary steps to ensure guests are treated with the respect and courtesy they deserve. – Disrespectful service, no accountability, and broken promises. Not recommended.
Susan Innes
We went for Sunday brunch. We were seated right away because we chose to be inside on a fairly nice day. The service was excellent. We had one girl who came and took our drink order, another one that came and took our food order, and a third girl that brought out our food in a timely fashion. The restaurant by the time we got our food was pretty busy. I noticed I was missing a knife so I went to the counter and there was a woman talking on the phone so I waited there. The third girl that had delivered our food walked right behind the woman on the phone and I called out to her. She did not hear me, but the woman on the phone said to whoever she was talking to “ can you hold on a second” and she put the call on hold. She looked at me and very disgusted said “can I help you?” I said to her that I was trying to get my waitresses’ attention who was standing behind her and she turned around and saw the woman and said “she’s not a waitress“. She said “what do you need “, again very rudely. I explained to her all I needed was a knife. She gave me a knife and gave me a very dismissive look. I was so shocked. I really didn’t know what to say. I didn’t interrupt her phone call and I was trying to just to get the attention of the girl that bought us our food. I have never been treated so rudely in a restaurant in my life and when I asked the waitress who this woman was that was on the phone when she came to our table later, she told me that she was the general manager, her name was Alyssa. I have two groups of people in my family who owned pretty big restaurants, very recognizable restaurants, in this city and one on the lake, and if their general manager ever treated a patron like that, they would be reprimanded if not fired. I did nothing to warrant this woman being so rude and snotty to me. It might be a while before I go back to Magnolias but I do have to say the food was very good and our servers were excellent. If I was the owner, I wouldn’t want this woman representing me or my restaurant.
James Santos
I was thoroughly disappointed with our recent experience, which is particularly concerning given our usual fondness for this establishment. Our party of three was seated at 12:45 PM and didn't receive food until 2:00 PM, with drinks and a simple order of bread and oil taking 45 minutes to arrive. Despite inquiring with the host, our server, Meredith, attributed the delay to a backed-up kitchen, yet larger tables seated after us were served promptly. The lack of apology, explanation, or acknowledgement from the server was notable. Although we paid the bill in full, the 20% tip was generous considering the subpar service. For the prices charged, customers expect exceptional service and to feel valued. Significant improvement is needed to rectify this experience.
Erin Goheen
Both the food and service were fantastic. The french onion soup, tomato soup, egg salad, and sunflower bread were all delicious. (The coffee did taste weirdly more like tea than coffee, so perhaps avoid that. Also, there's literally one bathroom, so that was slightly problematic).
Polina Levov
We cane here for lunch with my family. Food was delicious and service was efficient. Their soups and sandwiches are amazing. Highly recommend.
We work close by twice a month, and decided to try a new place . Magnolias did NOT disappoint!! Everything we ordered was fantastic, fresh, and plentiful. I ordered a ham n cheese on a panini, and it melted in my mouth, probably one of the best sandwiches I've ever had..highly recommend! 👍👍👍👍👍
Siaržuk Saĭ
My go-to place for amazing french onion soup and half of the sandwich. Affordable price for combo, delicious, and always with a wide smile.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cream of Tomato Soup
Miles Fann (ShopeViewerMountain460)
I got the chicken basil BLT and it is one of the best sandwiches I've ever eaten. Full of flavor, chicken is tender, bacon crispy, nice lettuce amd tomato. I like to test restaurants on BLTs and this place passed the test. Such a nice vibe! I sat outside which I highly recommend! Come eat here!
Excellent menu with a variety of sandwiches, salads, soups, and specials.
This place is the first place I went in Rochester, and it was a wonderful introduction to this delightful city! Renae is an absolute DOLL- so sweet, so down to earth, so accommodating, but she also had us laughing!
The food was fantastic. We had the burrata, which was excellent. It came with a loaf of bread, and not one of those tiny bullshit loaves of bread other places try to pass off as enough bread. This was actually enough bread to eat all the burrata!
I got the Figgy grilled cheese and I might not ever be able to eat another grilled cheese again. My husband got a pizza- $10 on Thursday evenings!- and we had the cutest interaction. The pizza got dropped, it seems, so the chef CAME OUT to personally apologize. The replacement pizza was out minutes later- no big deal at all! It was such a nice personal touch.
It was so nice to grab a latte and a six pack of beer too. All in all, a fantastic experience. Will absolutely be back if I get the chance to come back to this wonderful city!
Great staff Great Atmosphere Great food I was Able to customize an already existing item on the menu. Which was great for me because I don't eat meat
Great friendly staff! Great food! Pet friendly!
In March 2025, my family and I visited Park Avenue to celebrate my birthday. After enjoying a lovely shopping experience at my favorite store, we decided to have lunch next door at Magnolia’s Café. Unfortunately, what should have been a joyful and relaxing meal turned into a deeply disappointing and upsetting experience. We were served by a waitress named Renne, whose behavior was shockingly unprofessional from the beginning. She was rude, dismissive, and brought full-sized adult meals for my young children without confirming the order. When we asked politely for the receipt to be corrected, her attitude became even more hostile. She left abruptly, and when she finally returned, she handed my mother the revised receipt with the words “pain in the ass” written on it and threw it in her face. As a foodie who has dined in and reviewed countless establishments, I was absolutely stunned. Not only by the level of disrespect shown to us as guests, but also by the fact that no manager or staff member stepped in to address or correct the situation in the moment. The lack of accountability was appalling. To make matters worse, although we received a call from the manager about a month later with an apology and a promise to send a gift card as a gesture of goodwill, that gift card was never received. It felt like yet another empty promise on top of an already terrible experience. This level of unprofessionalism, especially in the hospitality industry, is completely unacceptable. What should have been a pleasant birthday outing became a distressing memory. I truly hope the management takes this feedback seriously and implements the necessary steps to ensure guests are treated with the respect and courtesy they deserve. – Disrespectful service, no accountability, and broken promises. Not recommended.
We went for Sunday brunch. We were seated right away because we chose to be inside on a fairly nice day. The service was excellent. We had one girl who came and took our drink order, another one that came and took our food order, and a third girl that brought out our food in a timely fashion. The restaurant by the time we got our food was pretty busy. I noticed I was missing a knife so I went to the counter and there was a woman talking on the phone so I waited there. The third girl that had delivered our food walked right behind the woman on the phone and I called out to her. She did not hear me, but the woman on the phone said to whoever she was talking to “ can you hold on a second” and she put the call on hold. She looked at me and very disgusted said “can I help you?” I said to her that I was trying to get my waitresses’ attention who was standing behind her and she turned around and saw the woman and said “she’s not a waitress“. She said “what do you need “, again very rudely. I explained to her all I needed was a knife. She gave me a knife and gave me a very dismissive look. I was so shocked. I really didn’t know what to say. I didn’t interrupt her phone call and I was trying to just to get the attention of the girl that bought us our food. I have never been treated so rudely in a restaurant in my life and when I asked the waitress who this woman was that was on the phone when she came to our table later, she told me that she was the general manager, her name was Alyssa. I have two groups of people in my family who owned pretty big restaurants, very recognizable restaurants, in this city and one on the lake, and if their general manager ever treated a patron like that, they would be reprimanded if not fired. I did nothing to warrant this woman being so rude and snotty to me. It might be a while before I go back to Magnolias but I do have to say the food was very good and our servers were excellent. If I was the owner, I wouldn’t want this woman representing me or my restaurant.
I was thoroughly disappointed with our recent experience, which is particularly concerning given our usual fondness for this establishment. Our party of three was seated at 12:45 PM and didn't receive food until 2:00 PM, with drinks and a simple order of bread and oil taking 45 minutes to arrive. Despite inquiring with the host, our server, Meredith, attributed the delay to a backed-up kitchen, yet larger tables seated after us were served promptly. The lack of apology, explanation, or acknowledgement from the server was notable. Although we paid the bill in full, the 20% tip was generous considering the subpar service. For the prices charged, customers expect exceptional service and to feel valued. Significant improvement is needed to rectify this experience.
Both the food and service were fantastic. The french onion soup, tomato soup, egg salad, and sunflower bread were all delicious. (The coffee did taste weirdly more like tea than coffee, so perhaps avoid that. Also, there's literally one bathroom, so that was slightly problematic).
We cane here for lunch with my family. Food was delicious and service was efficient. Their soups and sandwiches are amazing. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Incredibly loud inside
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
A nice quiet lunch next to the sidewalk. I already have my next choice on the menu for our next visit!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Grilled Cheese
Awesome place. Food, drinks, indoor / outdoor seating, bakery, great staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We work close by twice a month, and decided to try a new place . Magnolias did NOT disappoint!! Everything we ordered was fantastic, fresh, and plentiful. I ordered a ham n cheese on a panini, and it melted in my mouth, probably one of the best sandwiches I've ever had..highly recommend! 👍👍👍👍👍
My go-to place for amazing french onion soup and half of the sandwich. Affordable price for combo, delicious, and always with a wide smile.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cream of Tomato Soup
I got the chicken basil BLT and it is one of the best sandwiches I've ever eaten. Full of flavor, chicken is tender, bacon crispy, nice lettuce amd tomato. I like to test restaurants on BLTs and this place passed the test. Such a nice vibe! I sat outside which I highly recommend! Come eat here!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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