Great food! Try the Smokin' Quesadilla. You won't be disappointed. Service is always friendly and reasonably quick.

i ordered a chai tea latte and it was amazing not to sweet it was perfect and very aesthetically appealing the lady who gave it to me was super nice too! read more

Cafe Gouda - Chai Tea - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

I never knew this place was there even though we go to the restaurant Da Vinci's two doors down often. Have been twice in twonweeks and already hooked on the Turkey club. read more

A hidden gem in Hickory. This place is perfect for a light breakfast or lunch. The black bean burger is delicious and everything I have tried on their menu has been exceptional! The coffee is great as well! You can shop the art on the wall, which is a neat way to support local artists. read more

Stopped in this morning for coffee and a snack around 11am. The place wasn't too empty, and everything looked clean. Loved the decorations. Ordered 2 capuchinos, one with skim milk and one with soy milk. They both came our nice and foamy and were delicious. We wanted a light meal, so we split the granola bowl. Though $5 seems like a lot 5, the portion is good and the fruits on top were so fresh and tasty! The table was clean, parking was easy to access, and the ladies behind the counter were great and so sweet! Love this little spot read more

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Great place to grab a sandwich, some coffee, or some soup. Busy at times, and it may take a while to get your food but it is well worth the wait. Staff are always super friendly as well. read more

Had breakfast here with a friend. The place was pretty full for a weekday morning, but the service was good and the food was yummy! I think we'll go here again read more

40 minutes for a sandwich and a salad after ordering at the counter. Seems very unreasonable. There's no reason menu items should take that long to prepare. read more

Love their breakfast menu! Also, the Becca's Garden and Hot Brown are amazing. Great restaurant!

My boyfriend brought me to this place he really likes it I'll be okay if I never eat there again not that anything was particularly bad it just wasn't good so I see no reason to return nothing stood out read more

Expired creamers, so wasted 2 large coffee cups, doordash ordering system failed to send the complete order, restaurant not familiar with Doordash, talked to a nice employee, then manager called me with an attitude about my order washing her hands, will never order from there, even pickup or even recommend this location, the manager went as far as to tell me "I guess you don't know what a monte cristo is" where NOWHERE it said it was going to be French toast bread, never in my life have I seen a Montecristo in French toast bread, it said egg battered but it never said cinnamon so it's ALSO WASTED because I'm allergic to cinnamon, but the manager didn't stop talking long enough to listen. DOORDASH should revisit their app but they should also revisit the relationship with the restaurant, yelp, Google and Facebook will hear about this. And TBH they should make that nice employee the manager or replace the manager, the attitude was uncalled for, treated me like I wanted to take something from her, when I originally called to INFORM about the expired creamer and to ask about the bread of the montecristo, DoorDash has fault in this as well, but the restaurant itself made the whole experience 10X worse. Please teach your managers people skills or you'll continue to loose customers. Never again! read more

Cafe Gouda - French toast bread on a montecristo, IT HAS CINNAMON, allergies not listed. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

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This was my first visit to this establishment and to say I was disappointed is an understatement. We paid for our order at 11:07 and proceeded to the coffee station. ALL the coffee canisters were empty. There was a sign that stated the kitchen time would be 45 minutes. Then at one hour waiting, we asked about our food after witnessing other customers who arrived after us receiving their food, eating AND leaving. They made excuses, never apologized and packed our food to go. I ordered the French toast with bacon, nothing special, my wife makes better at home. My wife actually had to make her own breakfast when she got home because, wait for it, it was cold! I will definitely not return. read more

Great local place to grab either breakfast or lunch. We have been for both and they always have great food. I would recommend whatever daily specials they have since those change every day (I think so). Food is made to order and usually pretty quick, even on the busy days. Would definitely recommend! read more

Love the Mozzarella sandwich. Atmosphere is laid back and friendly. They have a very cool staff as well. My kids love the waffles. The Hot Brown is fantastic too. Homemade soups and unforgettable as well. read more

Food was okay. Sandwiches didn't come with a side which was disappointing. Agreed with a lot of people on here that service could have been better. read more

Kept reading good things about this place, and the name sounded clever, so I finally came to give it a try. It's a cozy, artsy cafe, decorated in paintings by one person whose prices are set higher than I normally see in a cafe gallery... maybe I need to visit more? Either way, it was fun to look around while we waited because it was busy! We came around brunch time, so, as usual, I ordered breakfast (which they serve all day), and my husband ordered lunch. The lady who took our order never cracked a smile. Short and cold. Her greeting was hardly a greeting at all. Is that also a trendy cafe norm? My Harley breakfast sandwich came without the bacon, so I sent it back. My husband's Reuben sandwich had a poor meat to bread ratio and cost $9 without a drink or side. Besides the nice customers we met inside and the interesting assortment of coffees they displayed, the place was okay. I may return once more out of curiosity for their baked oatmeal... but I'm in no rush. read more

We have visited Cafe Gouda many times, but while we have normally enjoyed the food, we have not appreciated the 'attitude' served up as a side. Usually it was the older ladies at the register; today, as it turns out, it was the owner. We had ordered two sandwiches to go, and were told that the kitchen was backed up and it would be about thirty minutes. Since the restaurant was full of non mask wearing customers, we chose to wait in our car. At about thirty minutes, I went back inside to the register to check on the order. I explained to the young lady that we'd been in the car and wouldn't have heard it called out as ready. Before she had a chance to check, the owner came up and rudely told me that I'd come in at a busy time, and that our order wasn't ready (as if I'd given the young lady a hard time, instead of simply inquiring.) As said earlier, the food is usually good; because of the older register staff's bad attitudes, it's probably our last visit. read more

Ask about the Monte Cristo before you order it. Not your typical Monte Cristo, this one is more like a turkey, ham and cheese on French toast. Everything else was great. The music tonight was an added joy on a beautiful evening. read more

Cafe Gouda - Buffalo chicken Mac 'n Cheese with Bacon - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

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One word.. TERRIBLE!!! I ordered a tuna salad sandwich through Door Dash, and the Tuna was just unbearable to eat! It was runny, and tasted like sour milk! And they put cheese on a Tuna Sandwich!!! Who puts cheese on a Tuna sandwich?? And the pasta salad was awful as well!! . It was made with Zini pasta instead of the macaroni pasta! And it tasted like crap! Take this restaurant off of Door Dash and off of your radar to eat! read more

I grew up going to cafe Gouda regularly. This place will always have my heart. Always great selection of healthy foods, baked goods, and amazing drinks! We didn't know you could dine inside at this time so we got our food to-go. Staff was very helpful and friendly about questions of the menu. Great breakfast food, lunch or dinner selections, whatever you're in the mood for they have it! One of my favorites places to eat in hickory. read more

I have to say I am surprised by the negative reviews which almost put me off from trying this place, glad I gave them a try. They have a huge menu, they are open on Sunday which is rare around this area, the place was clean and the people working the day I was there were friendly and the food we got was good!!! I dont understand the bad reviews (except the nut allergy, thats a biggie) I had a Harley sandwich and coffee (it was in a thermos but was hot and fresh. The sandwich was grilled really nicely, all buttery and crispy. They have lots of space and a nice outdoor area with tables and umbrellas. Really glad I went. read more

Cafe Gouda - Harley - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

It's always a pleasant surprise to become a duke after only two check-ins! I've been coming here to get some work done over a cup of chai tea latte. I am rating this 4-stars because I personally think it is the best local café to get some work done in the Hickory area. Other options are Starbucks, Panera, or other random cafes without free wifi that are closed on Sundays. Finding a place that is open even for a few hours on Sunday is actually really difficult in Hickory, because everything completely shuts down on Sundays which is very unfortunate because that is the day when I feel too lazy to cook. I've tried their Reece's cookie, some sort of Gouda sandwich, and their chai tea latte. The menu is extensive and there are a lot of breakfast items I would love to give a shot. I enjoyed everything I ate and have no complaints with the food. This must be a great place to visit during the summer because they have a really nice outdoor seating area. I only wish it the staff cleaned up the dining area more frequently. It was a little difficult to find a table without old food morsels on or under the table. Concluding Haiku Open on Sundays Yahooo whooohooo yay yay yay! Free wifi tastes good read more

Cafe Gouda - Not starbucks - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

Great! Super sweet sandwich and soup spot. I got the Becca's Garden and pasta salad. I liked the sandwich better, the salad was a bit bland, nothing special. But the sandwich had a good blend of flavors and texture. read more

Been here a few times. Food is good. Apparently, according to some of the reviews they use French Toast bread for they Monte Cristo. Which sounds exactly like the type of breakfast life I wanna start living! Getting one this morning!! read more

Small cafe style and menu is different everyday. Gouda soul is a must! In door seating and outdoor.

Second and last time here for us. First time, we ordered the special, billed as a jalapeño breakfast casserole. What we got was mostly bread with burned cheese on the crust, a few visible jalapeños and zero visible eggs, dry and nearly inedible. We also came out of there reeking of the smell of grease. The ventilation system there must be nonexistent. Thinking that must have been a fluke because everyone raves about this place, we gave it another shot this past weekend. My husband ordered the breakfast special, which was biscuits and gravy, sausage and two fried eggs. I ordered a biscuit with egg, bacon and cheese. We waited almost 30 minutes for our food, meanwhile witnessing other diners who had come in after us getting served. When we finally got served, my husband's plate was completely cold. Eggs were rubbery and biscuit gravy congealed. The plate had obviously been setting out for some time. My biscuit was hot, but it was way overcooked-- not burned, but so hard I could barely bite through it. As a result, the whole thing was dry and chewy. And oh yes, the grease smell is still prevalent. As far as we are concerned, this place is 0 for 2. We won't return. read more

Cafe Gouda never disappoints! They have such an amazing range of options, whether you are vegan or vegetarian or you eat meat, there is a sandwich for you, which is sometimes hard to find around here! Highly recommend! read more

One of the best sandwiches I've ever had! Visited café Gouda while in town and glad we did! We got to try Becca's garden and the veggie delight sandwiches along with their tomato Gouda bisque and potato salad. I loved their Becca's garden. I'm a sucker for alfalfa sprouts and everything we had was fresh and delicious. I only wish we stayed in town longer so I could try other things on their menu. The service was friendly and I also like their drinks selections. read more

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I was home visiting my family for Thanksgiving this week and we decided to have some lunch after shopping..I haven't been to Cafe Gouda in ten plus years, however I remember the food being delicious. I was disappointed in the counter service from April. When I polietly asked what was the chicken soup was ( it was half written on the specials board) she responded, "I don't know, it's on the board." While the soup was great the service was poor. I'll choose another lunch destination next time I'm visiting. read more

I've rarely experienced worst service at an eating establishment, which when considering what this one charges for so much as a bowl of oatmeal, is pretty egregious. I suppose it deserves some brownie points for trying to be a decent local cafe in Hickory and the food is actually pretty good, but nothing can redeem the type of service you receive here. What a shame. read more

I called in an order for a salad and sandwich and still had to wait for a half hour. Service was very poor, indifferent and not a single apology for my long wait. I asked if my order was being prepped about 20 minutes into my wait, as other orders came out that were placed after i got there, and I got a grunt. I ordered the grilled greek salad and it was a sad, wet mess. Soggy veggies on a handful of greens. I just paid $9 for that. I won't ever do it again. So disappointed. read more

Food is really good, just wish I had gotten the side with the item I ordered. Got the Cheddar Jack Rotello and it said it came with small garden salad or chips and salsa. I optioned the salad, didn't get either. Would recommend though, as their food is sooo yummy. read more

I was looking for a place to grab breakfast with a friend who was visiting and decided on Cafe Gouda because we needed vegetarian options. The vibe was really nice, and the staff was super friendly. I got a breakfast sandwich that was delicious and my husband got the granola bowl, which was a really big serving. Overall, I was impressed and will be back! read more

I was disappointed with the service and was hoping that the meal would make up for the lack of helpfulness and the unfortunate taste of the coffee, but to my dismay the meal was also unsatisfactory, the half sandwich was decent but the fries were lousy. read more

Cafe Gouda - This was $8.03 for half a grilled cheese and some previously frozen and then fried shoe string fries. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

It pains me to write this, having been a fan of Cafe Gouda for years, but their service and quality of food have diminished terribly over the past few months. Case in point, this AM they gave my son the wrong order (banana nut muffin instead of blueberry) and we didn't realize it until after he'd taken a bite. He has a severe nut allergy and when we informed them of the mistake and his condition, the response was, "Oh, so do you want something different?" The acted as if we were to blame for wanting the right order and were totally obtuse to the fact that their error could have killed him (fortunately the muffin had walnuts and not one of the nuts he has a more severe reaction too). Poor service, snobby attitude and the food isn't worth it. We won't go back. read more

Visiting family from out of town, we were looking for a place to grab breakfast that wasn't McDonalds or Bojangles. Oh yeah, and it's Sunday morning. After discovering that the 14th St. cafe was demolished (literally), we drove over to Cafe Gouda. Great little place for breakfast, with a nice ambience. Waffles for the girl, and yummy breakfast sandwiches for wife and me. Great coffee, though a little heavy on the flavored choices for my taste. Friendly service. Will return. read more

Sandwich was average at best. Took 25 minutes to get a sandwich. Restaurant was not overly busy so wait was unreasonable for a turkey sandwich. read more

Cafe Gouda picked up a fan in me. Typical setup, you order at the counter and they bring you the food at your table. I ordered the Chicken Salad Sandwich and it was one of the better ones I've ever had. They put the grapes, raisins and nuts into the salad mix which added some texture to the sandwich made it better. The friend I was with ordered an extra item that I sort of.. some type of banana wrap with peanut butter and granola in it but I tried a half of one and it was gooooooood! Nice place, very busy at lunch time. Worth a stop if you are looking for a deli style lunch and in the area. read more

We were excited to try Cafe Gouda but were not prepared to wait 50 minutes for eggs & bacon! Kitchen must have been very disorganized. We were not the only ones waiting and we saw several people walk out. Will not be back for sure! read more

9 times out of 10 service is rude and slow. I'm a friendly and patient person. I've been trying to give this place a chance for over a year too long. I'm done. read more