Had brunch at Cafe Muse in Royal Oak and it was such a great find The place has a cozy, welcoming vibe and feels like a solid neighborhood brunch spot. When we arrived, it was somewhat crowded, but the energy was still relaxed and everything moved pretty smoothly. One thing that really stood out : the food tasted incredibly fresh and felt very thoughtfully prepared. Everything seemed made from scratch, which made the whole meal feel a lot more wholesome. Loved the avocado toast , simple but done really well. Also appreciated that they don't use seed oils, which is a nice touch if you're mindful about ingredients. Parking was pretty easy too, with street parking and paid lots nearby, so getting there wasn't a hassle. Overall, a really satisfying experience. Definitely planning to go back to try more from their menu next time. read more

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The service was poor The food was only OK If I had a gift certificate to this place, I would pass it along to somebody I didn't like. read more

Café Muse is primarily known for its brunch, and has a welcoming atmosphere. I've had three items here: the toasted peanut butter, jam, and mascarpone sandwich, the mac and cheese, and ricotta and lemon pancakes. The PB&J was good, but would've benefited from more mascarpone. The mac features Cotswold cheese. The green onions and chives infused into the cheese added some depth to the mac. The pancakes were my favorite of the three dishes. The lemon and ricotta are mixed directly into the batter, then topped with a sweet blueberry syrup once cooked. I will say, I wish the pancakes were larger. Price-wise, Cafe Muse is more expensive than a greasy spoon, and on par with other trendy brunch spots. Overall, it's a fine option for locals, just not one I'd necessarily travel for. read more

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The food is very unique at this small cafe. The parking was pretty easy on Washington Street. I got the Smoked Salmon scramble with the Yukon potatoes and my friend got the plain Jane scramble with a side of bacon. His meal also came with the Yukon potato's that were so yummy!! Actually my whole meal was delicious. The prices are high here so for 2 breakfasts we ended up paying $60, which already included the 20% tip. The other Yelp reviews talk about the amazing grilled cheese sandwiches so we might have to try that sometime!! read more

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We finished errands early, and decided on breakfast at Royal Oak's Café Muse. So glad we did! They are remodeling one of the two spaces inside so seating numbers are reduced, but we got a high-top table easily. Coffee is delicious - hot and fresh! My companion enjoyed a "Stuffed" French Toast meal. I found the fresh, hot, Smoked Salmon Scramble a terrific breakfast choice. It was large too with a big slice of smoked salmon! Scrambled eggs were light and fluffy, and buttered sourdough toast were a great texture variant. The warm side of mashed honey sweet potatoes was divine. Thin-sliced cantaloupe pieces garnished the plate to fill it out completely. Nice touch. Trisha worked all the tables in the place in a cool, efficient and effective manner. Beautiful job! We will be back! read more

Café Muse - Smoked Salmon Scramble - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

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Café Muse is always amazing! I have been too many times to count! If you are looking for an amazing spot for breakfast or brunch this cozy spot in Royal Oak is always a hit! Trisha is always great and the whole staff overall is always amazing! read more

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First time here and it is so nice! Really enjoyed the seafood grits. Very delicious :)

The staff and service today at Cafe muse was incredible! They had a violinist there who created a very beautiful vibe! Me and my companion both had the steak and eggs which was great along with a mimosa and tea which was also prepared well. Cant wait to go back again and enjoy more delicious food read more

Needed a place to go to brunch before we went to the zoo this cafe was charming and had a nice menu. The kids ordered plain French toast, and my daughter said it was the best she's had. :) I had a BLT on sourdough with a small spinach side salad. It was very good. My husband really enjoyed his steak and eggs. They do automatically charge a 20% gratuity despite the party size. Believe it stated due to shortage of staff. We experienced good service. read more

Excellent! I sat at the bar, enjoyed a refreshing drink and ordered my favorite, salmon scramble.. multi grain toast. read more

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They charge you 20% no matter the party size or the service they provide Food is too greasy If you are looking for real brunch don't go there. Overpriced. read more

What appears to be new ownership has raised prices by quite a bit. No change in quality. Only thing that seems to be underway is a likely pricey renovation to try to attract the selfie taking instagram demographic who are more than willing to pay a premium for food served in an environment that makes for nice social media content. Cafe Muse used to be a regular go-to but after last visit seeing how much more my typical order cost with same quantity and quality of food, I do not think I will go back and it saddens me to say that. I do understand that there may have been a need to mark up the menu, but not by as much as they did. read more

Well I only write this because there was some serious front of house issues. We walked in and were quoted 15 min until a table was ready. We waited for 30 min and the table that had been seated when we walked in didn't even have food yet so we figured slow service and needed to be somewhere in an hour so we went somewhere else. The staff were missing for long periods of time from the host station and weren't available to provide updates. We were only 2 people and could've sat at the bar. We ended up getting a text that said our table was ready 1.5hrs. from check in. Their food is good but serious issues with seating and would benefit from taking reservations. read more

It could have been good but... The place is not very big and only main portion is being used so if you have more than 4 people- most likely prepare to wait. Once you are seated - prepare to wait some more. Basically, this is not a place if you don't have at least a couple of hours to spare. Food was pretty good otherwise, BUT it seems like half of the items were served in seriously chipped dishes! And it's not ok. Now as far as actual food goes: oatmeal was good, cheddar grits was very good. But smoked salmon scramble wasn't what I expected. Salmon was very salty. I'm not sure if they fried lox or what- just don't. French toast needed to be redone. read more

Café Muse - Smoked Salmon Scramble - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

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Food was great and tasted amazing, their garlic potatoes were to die for. The ambiance was lacking. They sat me and my husband next to two other crowded tables while there were plenty open against the other wall. The waitress said nothing to us except "drinks"? And walked away. She gave off a very bad vibe, and we felt unwelcome. I don't know if she was having a bad day, or if we were underdressed. 20% gratuity was already included and they expected an extra tip. I'm not going back. read more

Café Muse - Lemon ricotta pancakes & the Plain Jane scramble with garlic potatoes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Delicious food Quaint restaurant with cocktails for brunch service was excellent. The ambience is cozy and and relaxing. read more

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This place is okay. Could be so much more. Doesn't seem to be diverse at all. Only one server and the food was okay . My son loved the BLT and fresh squeezed orange juice. But I ordered from the savory part ... salmon and eggs with fruit and caramel latte . Which was just ok not bad not good just ok and the salmon was over salted the latte tasted old I did not finish it. The ambiance is however very cute . Will not be on my list to return. read more

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The short rib eggs were a phenomenal substitution for the steak and eggs. Staff was absolutely amazing, ambiance was great. At the end, she gave us a bottle of champagne out of the kindness of her heart. Wish I could rate higher than 5 stars. read more

Café Muse - Mimosas - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Ive since eaten two more times here. Steak and eggs was better second time around here. Service from the owner was good 5/5 ... Came in for lunch. Ordered the chicken salad sandwhich. The sandwhich- 3/5 bland, in my opinion , needs red grapes croutons and a brioch bun. The service today was also 3/5. A last hour rush had the waitress with an unhappy face. Slow. And served tables in the wrong order. But other than that ....its a real great place. I like it a lot , Im just a good tipper and a tough critic! read more

Had lunch with a friend on a Wednesday at 11 am. I had no problem parking near the restaurant in street parking, which is metered and back in only (a bit difficult and counter intuitive). Service was pleasant and prompt. We sat along the side where there is a banquette on one side and a chair on the other of a two top table. I ordered a raspberry lemonade and ricotta lemon pancakes along with a side of bacon. The pancakes were six decent sized cakes, tender and delightfully lemony, with blueberry syrup - not too sweet. The lemonade was cool and refreshing. The bacon was just ok. My friend and I were able to take our time and didn't feel rushed in conversation. read more

Café Muse - Ricotta And Lemon Pancakes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Incredible place. We were only in town for a week so we looked on Yelp and figured we'd try each of the handful of places that looked good. Honestly, we went to Cafe Muse the first morning and then didn't go anywhere else. Some places have the sort of menu that you want to try a dozen or though things. The plan Jane eggs and the mushroom scrambled eggs were for the perfect breakfast. Not too much cheese to make you feel heavy. A simple serving of eggs, perfectly scrambled, a delicious ladle of garlicky potatoes, and two half pieces of perfectly buttered toast. Boom. Feeling good for the day ahead without too much sugar, cheese, or salt. But sorry to say, if you're trying to lose weight, their sweet breakfast options are also phenomenal. You gotta try the Vanilla Waffle with fresh berries. The french toast was a favorite of my father in law. The homemade granola and yogurt was also good. And on top of all of that, they have excellent coffee/espresso: strong, dark and rich. I would be amiss if I didn't point out that they have attentive service with a smile. They do need to get an automatic door closer. As is, the double door creates an air vacuum/pressure situation where the inside door slams loudly every minute if not more so. Just over and over. So odd not to fix that. But I know when working for a long time at a restaurant you get immune to the sounds. But regardless of that one thing, each trip was better than the previous one. We loved their food and the service we received there. And every family member we took there left saying they can't wait to return. read more

I arrived at Cafe Muse around 10:15 on Saturday and had no problem getting a table for two. There are not too many tables inside, but thankfully it was not busy at the time. The hostess was very quick to bring me water and coffee while I waited for my friend to join me. All of the sweet breakfast items looked amazing, but we both ended up getting the Plain Jane Scramble. The food arrived very quickly and was steaming hot. The eggs were nice and fluffy and were a great sized portion- neither of us could finish our eggs! With the meal comes a giant slice of sourdough bread, and we chose the garlic potatoes over the mashed sweet potatoes. The toast was great, and my only complaint was that the serving of the potatoes was not larger. The meal also came with a few slices of fruit and the pineapple was very good. I chose to add on a side of bacon which was cooked perfectly. The coffee was standard but also tasted good. My friend ordered a vanilla latte and she felt that there was a bit too much foam on top, which she ended up scooping off. Our server was attentive, but towards the end of our meal we did have to wait a bit to get another coffee. I did not have a problem with the 20% gratuity being added on, but we had good service and I would have tipped 20% regardless! But I do understand the frustration of not receiving good service and then having to leave a mandatory tip. Based on my experience today, I would recommend Cafe Muse. We had good service and while we ordered a "plain" breakfast it was executed well. I would definitely be interested in coming back and trying some of their sweet options next! read more

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Delish food. I got the mushroom and cheese scramble skillet and it had so much flavor. My friends got the Plain Jane skillet and enjoyed it. Only knocked off a star because after getting our food service took a while for the little things like ketchup or coffee but the staff still had a great attitude! Once we reminded them they were able to bring it out again with a small delay. It was a Saturday morning brunch so they were running around busy. Great location too in walking distance of many other royal oaks shops! read more

Party of 12 and staff struggled to accommodate. You cannot change seats at the table or it'll disturb staff. Steak served at one temperature. Overall was good. Would like to try again with a smaller party. read more

Café Muse - Steak And Eggs - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Food 5/5 So, the Exotic mushroom scramble and the Smoked salmon scramble have had me in a chokehold for years now. So much so I won't order anything else. The other menu items spark my interest. I just cannot come here and not order a scramble paired with a mimosa. Service 3.5/5 the restaurant has been short staffed. Causing long wait times, certain items not being in stock and unpleasant staff. I sat at the bar during my last visit her service was amazing! Ambiance 5/5 I absolutely love unique art work and color scheme. read more

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I visited this restaurant once. The restaurant has two seating areas, but only one side was open. We waited about 30 minutes before we were seated. The waitress seemed to have short patience when dealing with the customers. The menu is sort of limited when it comes to selections. We were their for brunch, and the food was decent. I don't think I would go back because of the selection of dishes served. It was fine, just a different spin on food selections. read more

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I was there with a group of 20+ people for a local brunch club. I received my drink fairly promptly and it was a very refreshing drink at that. It took quite a while for our orders to be taken, but with so many people trying to figure out what they wanted, not everyone was actually ready to order at the same time. I don't blame the staff for that. I ordered the mushroom bisque along with the three-cheese grilled cheese sandwich. Both were served hot and fresh, and both tasted good. I don't know that this was the 'best' grilled cheese I've ever eaten in my life, but it was a decent one. read more

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After being turned away from a different breakfast spot my sisters and I came to Cafe Muse. This was my first time here but my sister said we would love it. It was a little busy but we got in table in less than 10 minutes. The host was friendly and gave us updates as we waited for the table. I started with a coffee with Baileys. It was the perfect amount of baileys and the coffee itself was good too. I ordered the exotic mushroom scramble with a side of chicken sausage. The eggs were so fluffy and flavorful. The mushrooms were cooked with the perfect amount of crisp on the edges. I wish I had asked what brand of chicken sausage they use. It was chicken, kale and Asiago cheese in the sausage. My sister ordered the ricotta and lemon pancakes. She said they were fluffy and delicious. I look forward to going back and trying a few other things. read more

Food was fine, the interior was fine, the service blows. Rude & slow. Wouldn't go back.

Wow, such a shame as I really enjoy the food here. This is about their auto gratuity. The issue is how they hide the fact you were charged the auto 20% unless you are reading through the itemized bill. The credit card bill makes no mention that you were automatically charged 20%, but then asks you to tip. If you only look at the credit card statement you will end up tipping twice. Yes I caught it this time, but the past 4 times I tipped twice. By the way the waiter and waitress do not mention the 20% automatic gratuity. This is deceptive and fraudulent. I seriously thought it was just a super expensive breakfast. No more, you lost my business. read more

I heard great things about this place and one of the Meetup groups planned a brunch, so I had to try it. One of those trendy places in the heart of Royal Oak, it is open for breakfast and lunch only but on the carry out menu has desserts listed that the server told me is only on the dinner menu - WTF. Ordered their "famous" grilled cheese sandwich which comes with either a side of salad or soup or chips. I choose the daily tomato soup. Bad choice because of the corn in it - never seen corn in a tomato soup. When the server saw I didn't eat much apologized and got me a side chips. For the sandwich, why would anyone think it was the best in metro Detroit?!?! Yes it is on fancy bread with fancy cheese and had honey & basil, but I have had much better in too many other places. It did warm up well the next day since I took half home. I ordered a side of thick cut bacon that was crispy but again I have had better. Had saved room for dessert, but told that was only served at dinner. Maybe I am just out of their target market, younger 20s & 30s or maybe I have just eaten many more places to compare the food. My table mates enjoyed the drinks and thought the food was much better so that could be the reason. Having coke products for us non drinkers is always worth a star along with good service, so you know how unimpressed by my food choices. read more

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I have been coming here since 2016 and this was the worst experience I ever had here. I'm newly married and took my wife here for the first time. I was bragging to her about how good the food and service was. I was let down BIG TIME. My server didn't seem to even want to take my table. I could over hear her asking another person if she had my table and if the other table had come first. I was here first by the way. This will be my last time here. There is even a 20% tip added to the bill no matter What. So you can have a crappy experience and you still have to pay the 20% tip. Also this place is very loud. I have been here many times and it has never been this way. Wished it was better but it wasn't. I really like this place before. I gave it two stars cause the food was so so this time. read more

Café Muse - What I paid for a crappy time. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

The wait was 25min which I found to be wonderful for a Saturday at 12:00pm Spinach-feta-pear salad was amazing Cheese and onion omelette was so good -undercooked for what I asked however it was still good Potato's were good, cold but still tasted yummy Toast was A1 Bacon was yum I hadn't been here in a couple years and I was happy to say it was still super good My friend also got the BLT which was super good however if you're remotely sensitive to dairy cut the mayo read more

Café Muse - Spinach feta pear salad Cheese and green onion omelette Bacon Toast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Breakfast was delicious, and service was great! We got a table fairly quickly, but soon after the place began to fill up and the wait time was long. Expect a rush during brunch on weekends. We tried the exotic mushroom scramble and vanilla bean waffle. The waffle was the winner between the two. It was not overly sweet and so moist when cut into. I had hoped that there would be more mushrooms in the scramble. read more

Café Muse - Vanilla Bean Waffle - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

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Great brunch place, I always go during off times and miss the rush thankfully. Get the waffles they are so delicious and you can't really taste the difference compared to other waffles. Prices are reasonable too and waitress was super nice. read more

The Price for the portion size and selections are extremely disappointing! The food and selections are very good! However, be aware your plate will arrive with a spoon full of potatoes and 1 piece of toast which is highly over priced!! The margin on no breakfast should be this expensive. They include the gratuity which is fine, but be aware, potatoes, eggs, and a cup of coffee with some grits should not be nearly as expensive as they represent at this restaurant. You will feel like you should have worn a tuxedo. read more

7 years later so it's time to update this review. My boyfriend and I went here about two months ago now for RO Restaurant Week. I was treating him as a late Valentine's present. The hostess seemed kind of aloof. We had a reservation and she seated us at a high top near the bar - not my preference but it looked like there weren't any others available (there are, there's another section of the restaurant, but I didn't know that at the time). Our waiter was good and also fast with water refills, which I appreciated. We both ordered soups for the first course. Mine was okay but very tomato-y, which I dislike. My boyfriend's was the truffle mushroom soup, and even as someone who loves mushrooms, I didn't like it. For our entrees, he had some sort of shrimp dish and I had chicken. The chicken had the skin still on it and was a bit greasy, but the portion was big. My favorite part of the meal was actually dessert, I had some sort of pistachio pudding I think and he had chocolate cake. Both were very good. It was $25-35/pp for the RORW menu and I'm not sure how much of a discount that was from the regular menu. Based on this experience, I can't say I would hurry back to Cafe Muse, although I do want to try their famous grilled cheese at some point. read more

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Could not be more disappointed. I used to love Cafe Muse. Any time I wanted to do something special for Brunch I would suggest there. For Mother's Day I took my mother and grandmother there for a special breakfast, they drove over an hour to come - worst dining experience I have had in a VERY long time. First, when I made the reservation two weeks in advance no one mentioned that it was a breakfast buffet. So that was disappointing right off the bat when I arrived, but ok. I was sure it'd be phenomenal since the hostess said they always do a Mother's Day brunch. Speaking of hostess, when I arrived the restaurant was maybe half full (emphasized that it was NOT busy, nor was there a line of any sort) and I still waited at least 10 minutes for someone to seat me, about five minutes in someone did acknowledge me and ask me to wait while she went and laughed with the bar staff for five more minutes - I could clearly see her??? We were seated with no instruction for the buffet. I grabbed a coffee from the coffee bar they had set up (coffee was horrible but what do you expect when it's mass produced for an event, I understood), there was honey all over it. The "waitress" (I put in quotes because she had regular clothes unlike the rest of the staff) came to finally tell us about the coffee bar and we asked what other people were drinking in the large mugs. She goes "oh those are cappuccinos, they're not included" and we say "ok, do you have a drink list?" then looks visibly annoyed and rattles off like three drink items. We all agree we all want cappuccinos, which she verbalizes a third time that they cost extra - we get it. Finally get to the food - it was really not that great. And not a single item was labeled so I couldn't even tell you what was and was not good unless the item was painfully obvious like mac & cheese. Then at the end we get a $200 bill (already includes a generous tip) for only three people who had a terrible experience all around. My grandma mentioned to me "I think we bring it up to the register, I saw someone else do that" and I told her I didn't think so, then the "waitress" who was picking up a dish nearby goes "i've been waiting for you to put a card down" - which she wasn't even the one who dropped the bill so how would we know that's what she was waiting for? she didn't ask how our meal was or check on us or anything. For all we know her sole purpose was to grab drinks and that's it. I hope the kitchen staff received that tip because the one lady we spoke to was the only pleasant person there and she was working her butt off!! I've worked in customer service for years and I get that people can have a hard day, things can get busy, etc. But almost every single person we encountered was a true displeasure and the food was sub-par. I won't be going back even for a regular meal or ever recommending this establishment again. I was embarrassed my guests drove so far for this experience. read more

Automatic 20% gratuity and you can tell. The servers are a bit sassy, it's on the brink of plain rudeness. Food was fresh. (Side note: drinks aren't actually refillable. But for some reason the menu only labels 2 drinks "not refillable") I'd try something else before returning here read more

Café Muse - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

My first time was today . Born n raised in Royal Oak I can't believe I've never been here till today!! We had the stuffed French toast and the Grilled Cheese ( featured on Oprah) and I had a Bloody Mary . Omg the food was delicious! And a nice portion size too. The Bloody Mary was pretty spicy- a little too spicy for my taste but yummy! To those complaining about the 20% gratuity being automatically added to your bill - The notice is clearly written on the menu and on your bill. In addition they've highlighted it for those of you not familiar with this being a restaurants option. And as I mentioned , it's clearly added on your bill. If you aren't reading your bill that's on you and not worthy of your low reviews. Our service by Kristen was very good. She was quick and friendly and made good suggestions. We will be back! read more