Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Dottie's Cafe

    3.7 (59 reviews)
    Closed 5:30 am - 11:00 AM

    Dottie's Cafe Photos

    Business Info

    DOTTIE'S CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Casual
    Dogs allowed
    Good for groups

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - Dottie's Cafe

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    a sign for dottie's cafe
    Steven T.

    This place has been on my radar for a couple years now but with so many choices in town it took a while to get here so I stopped by for lunch. It's nothing fancy with a breakfast counter and cafeteria cheap booths and tables. The menu is not huge but it's a simple cafe. I had the hillbilly surprise which I re arranged by removing the English muffin and adding biscuits, removing the ham and adding sausage patties, removing the Swiss cheese and adding American topped with two eggs and sausage gravy which sounds so much better. I had hash browns with onions topped with American cheese. WOW all that re arranging and they got everything right. My food came quickly and it was piping hot and delicious.

    Breakfast skillet
    Maria T.

    I love classic breakfast diner food, it is my favorite type of breakfast food and Doties has always pleased me. It's always consistent every time, cheap compared to other places and I'm always greeted by the same friendly servers each time. The only thing I wish was better is the size! It gets seriously busy on the weekends so plant to get there super early!

    a cup of coffee on a table
    Stevie S.

    Atmosphere was amazing, lots of food for the low prices and the staff is so funny! Quiet place, not a lot of traffic going by. One of the only restaurants that doesn't have a single Tv, which is so nice

    Jeni H.

    Quintessential small town diner. Great food. Great service. Will definitely come back when I'm in town.

    Rohan D.

    I love this place. You might want to have some context to see if you'll also love this place. When I was a kid this sort of diner was where America went out for breakfast. When I was a young man, diners like this was where my workday started and finished (I worked 24 hour shifts). And now that I'm middle aged, my breakfasts at home have to be high fiber, low in fat and calories. Here, I can pretend it's somewhere between 1968 and 1978 and still don't have any idea what a cholesterol ratio is. Three women can handle a crowd filling every table and no one has to wait. Every order is perfect. Nothing fancy about the high octane bottomless black coffee, but it's fresh and hot and always topped off. Traditional American breakfast, and when I left I wanted to say, "You don't wanna get mixed up with a guy like me. I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel." But I couldn't. The waitress wasn't named Dottie and I knew I would be back the next day.

    Marchal P.

    Just a very small old school dinner. It has great service and great food at a fair price

    $5 special of the day

    See all

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    13 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    13 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Great little old fashioned local cafe. Love to stop for breakfast on our way through town.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    I am never disappointed at Dotties. Great food and service. Breakfast can be very crowded at times but worth the money.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    14 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Austin B.
    44
    162
    9

    14 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Kent M.
    137
    3482
    3104

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Great place, good people. Always make it a point to eat here when in Dubuque. Food is good, wait staff very friendly.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Good food with a homemade flare. I had the skillet and a cup of chili and both were very good. The restaurant is set up as a diner style.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Page 2 of 2

    Ask the Community - Dottie's Cafe

    Review Highlights - Dottie's Cafe

    The wait staff is very attentive and will keep your coffee cup filled.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

    Read more highlights

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for American 193 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Convivium Urban Farmstead - Chicken Pesto Panini

    Convivium Urban Farmstead

    4.3(71 reviews)
    1.8 mi
    $$

    Recently, some close friends, my wife and I drove over to Dubuque for a weekend getaway. We love…read morefarm-to-table restaurant concepts and in-city dining, so we thought Convivium would be an ideal spot to have breakfast on our first day in town. As great as this place could (if not should) be, it will never reach it's potential with the lousy customer service that we experienced. Why do I say this? Read on Yelper. We arrive for breakfast around 9:45 am on Saturday. There was a little bit of a line, which is to be expected at any well known breakfast/brunch establishment, right? The young lady working the register asked if we wanted to pick a table outside, handed us four menus and told us that someone would be out there to help us shortly. We sat at an empty, yet still dirty with plates from the last customers, table that was in the shade. Annnnnd we waited. As staff came out to attend to other customers sitting in the same patio area, the four of us sat there waiting for water, coffee, a smile... heck even an acknowledgement that we were there would have been nice. Seriously, if the Invisible Man was real and sitting at the table, he probably would have had a better chance of being noticed by the servers working that morning. We ended up busing our own table because no staff would bother to do it - I'm very serious. Nearly 20 minutes pass. As another couple comes into the patio, sits down and gets near immediate service with their drink orders, we had it! We entered the restaurant to find out what the problem is for such terrible service?!? The tall, head service member (did not catch her name) had an attitude for sure with her question "Did one of us seat you?" and we answered that "No, your host teammate told us to grab the table." She damn near rolled her eyes. Finally, lightening struck... someone showed up to give us water, wipe the table, and take our order. But don't get your hopes up that this was the end of bad service. Regrettably, it was not. We waited nearly 25 more minutes to get our order of eggs, potatoes, bacon, and sausage. Tough order for a breakfast place, don'tcha think? Out comes the food... without utensils to eat with. 4 mins of watching your food get cold motivated us to good inside and get our own utensils. As we did, the head member walks out with the items. Now - let's shift to the one positive part of the experience and that of course is the food. To show you that I am a reasonable reviewer, I will tell you that the meal was very tasty, cooked to order, and satisfying (especially when you're starving!). When I said at the beginning that this place can be great, the food is the reason why. After a Friday night of fun, a place like Convivium is just what you want for a Saturday breakfast before an afternoon of NCAA College Football - you know what I mean? But until management decides to hold the staff accountable for this terrible customer service, Convivium will be closed in less than 5 years (my prediction). Read some of the other reviews... we share the same general opinion. And this is coming from someone that values restaurant concepts like this one. Get it together before its too late, Convivium.

    What a disappointment. Yelp usually leads me to amazing spots, but this was a fail…read more I loved the concept and the cool vibe of the place but the food and the service were lacking the same luster. My dad, sister, and I stopped in on a Sunday afternoon. My sister enjoyed her chicken pesto panini but Dad found his pulled pork to be dry and bland. I ordered broccoli cheese soup with sourdough toast. The soup was absolutely disgusting. It was so thick, overcooked, and tasted like it had been on a back burner for three days straight. Not to be gross, but it looked like congealed dog vomit. When I mentioned to our server, she was very condescending. I would like to try again and hopefully it was just a tough day.

    Photos
    Convivium Urban Farmstead
    Convivium Urban Farmstead - Bread pudding

    Bread pudding

    Convivium Urban Farmstead

    See all

    Dottie's Cafe - tradamerican - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...