12th Avenue Cafe

12/18/08

Yummy cafe food! by Kerrie T. at InsiderPages

Contributor at Insider Pages

If you like the real thing when it comes to cafe food, I would recommend 12th Avenue. We especially love breakfast there. When my in-laws were visiting from Florida, they ate there every morning!

09/06/09

Comfortable, quick service and large portions

by Cyndy Bear at Citysearch

I like the relaxing atmosphere at the 12th Avenue Cafe. The food is satisfying and served quickly, and a lot of it. Try the Montana for breakfast and you will have enough to snack on all day!

12/17/08

Very filling Breakfasts (one of my top 3 choices on the east side)

by tigerlilies at Citysearch

I moved to the Issaquah a little over a year and a half ago and I was very sad because I loved several restaurants in Ballard/U District and I was afraid we wouldn't be able to find good ol' down home cooking. 12th Street Cafe isn't a 5 star restaurant and doesn't taut itself as one, but it does offer several great suprise dishes.

The Montana is yumy, but I was suprised to find that the healthier Vegetana (the vegitarian version of the infamous Montana special) was absolutely delightful. It's roasted potatoes, zuchinni, yellow squash, mushrooms, onions, brocolli, califlower, and onions smothered with cheese and a heap of sour cream. My husband and I order the medium and it fills two large plates--- instead of toast, order a side of pancakes and you'll be suprised when two plate sized pancakes are delivered along with the meal! The pancakes are light and fluffy and have been pipping hot.

We haven't had any issues with cold food or poor service., the service has been good each time that we've been there. The wait can get a bit long, but if your willing to sit at the bar, then you can hop the line. :) The waitresses have been friendly and have refilled our water glasses, coffee cups, and diet coke before we emptied the containers **even when the restaurant was slammed.**

I give it two thumbs up and recommend it (unless your posh or snobby and only want the top of the top dining experiences.)

• Pros: Downhome cooking!
• Cons: Long Waits

08/20/07

Great comfort food, not supposed to be high class

by rosie1919 at Citysearch

I am a little suprised at the bad reviews! This restaurant does not pride itself on being a 5 star establishment. It is a mom and pop style restaurant specializing in comfort and breakfast foods. Mostly a greasy spoon. The food is absolutely delicious. I was with 3 co-workers and we went to the place just to try something new. We were ordering our food to go, since it was pretty busy at noon on a Monday. The host/waitress gave us some menus and took our order quickly. The prices are comparable to other lunch restaurants in the area, with some items costing more than I would have expected, however, the portion sizes are HUGE! The food was hot, cooked well and tasted very fresh, even on a to-go order! The waitress wasn't extremely nice, but the restaurant was busy and she was just doing her job. I think everyone should try this place out for themselves because it looks like people either love it or hate it. The haters are mostly writing about their ONE bad experience. I highly recomment the Montana (fried potatoes, ham, bacon, tomatos, onions, green peppers, cheese and sour cream served with toast. It comes in 3 sizes and the small is enough to feed 2 people!) It's worth a shot and I prefer it to restaurant chains. I like the home-town, mom and pop feel! YUM!

• Pros: Comfort food heaven, large portions, home-town feel
• Cons: Not very many tables, loud

08/01/07

Worst experience in a long time!

by theash at Citysearch

Worst food and service I have ever experienced. VERY, VERY DISAPPOINTING. I had to request the table to be cleaned and the water glass had lipstick marks. When I asked for a clean glass the wait person didn't even apologize, and was actually rude about it. Should have left, it just went downhill from there. The food was nothing to write home about and the worst of it all was the extremely rude and unfriendly wait staff. A high price for very low quality service and food. My recommendation - Don't go there!!!!

• Pros: None
• Cons: Everything. Extremely rude service.

Out-of-this-world home cooking that's been an Issaquah favorite for more than a decade.

by Contributor at Citysearch

The Scene
Black vinyl booths and red laminate tables set the scene for cooking like Mom's, while photos of vintage airplanes remind you of the Eastside's aviation history (remember when there was an airport on 148th?). The place is bustling at breakfast; expect to wait at least 20 minutes.

The Food
The cafe's signature breakfast consists of a plate of fried potatoes, green peppers, onions, ham, bacon and cheddar that will hold you all day. Pancakes are the best --moist and feather-light. If artery health isn't an issue, order a five-egg omelet filled with Italian sausage, mushrooms, green onions and Jack cheese. Lunch and dinner fare are comforting, featuring favorites such as pot roast, chicken-fried steak and turkey with all the trimmings. Fish fanatics will love the seafood platter--a sampling of halibut, prawns, and clams with steak fries. The turkey melt is a delicious twist on classic grilled cheese.

06/06/05

Good home cooking. Great value.

by lotus5 at Citysearch

Come to 12th Ave. to get fed not to get pampered. Good ol' home cooking that won't dent your wallet.

• Pros: Good food., Generous portions., Friendly atmosphere.
• Cons: Long waits weekends.

05/01/05

DISAPPOINTING

by sandidog at Citysearch

I've been looking for a good breakfast place since we moved to the eastside and thought I'd give this place a try. This is not the place.

Eggs was fine but the rest, potato hash and bacon came cold. It was apparent that the hash browns and the bacon was sitting somewhere in the kitchen and they did not warm it up well enough. For the food that we got, it was very expensive.

The place was filled with people as we left -- go figure...

03/09/03

Nothing to write home about

by zerojason at Citysearch

When I stopped at 12th Ave Cafe, I could see that the place was fairly croweded. I was promised a short wait, that ended up stretching out for over an hour. Finally we were seated, and after ordering waited almost another hour for our food. When we were served, the food that showed up wasn't much more impressive than standard cafe fare. Our waitress was nowhere to be found through most of our meal.

• Pros: location
• Cons: long wait, crowded, average food

08/02/02

Gimme some of that Montana Special

by kellybree at Citysearch

There's nothing better then going to the 12th avenue Cafe on a weekend morning and ordering the Montana Special. Be forwarned, the small is enough to fill you up. The large size can feed a family. Not only is the food wonderful, but the employees are too.

• Pros: good parking, large portions, friendly staff
• Cons: wait in line