One of the best spots to get breakfast in town. Seasonal specials are very interesting. Shrimp and Grits is my usual go to meal. Attentive service and cozy atmosphere. I stop in every chance I get. read more

Probably my favorite restaurant in all of Bloomington! The fort buster is my go to breakfast item and when they have the buffalo chicken horseshoe it's the best in town. read more

Ft Jesse Cafe - my first visit since March - ordered ahead, curbside pickup, food still AWESOME - everything traveled well - we got chicken and waffles and the best cornmeal pancakes ever - so hopeful that you guys are able to stay working!!!!!!! read more

This place is SO good and extremely affordable. Our bill for the chicken & waffles & Cornmeal pancakes plus two coffees was $24!! We're traveling through from Denver and we're so happy to find this gem. Delicious food! Thank you! read more

Love. Love. Unique Menu, good coffee, nice atmosphere. Only downside is the location, busy road and limited parking at times. Still You gotta try it! read more

My go to for breakfast in Bloomington. Everything I've tried is good. I love a good local spot. My only complaint is that seating is limited so if you have a large group be aware. read more

Breakfast is always good, but it's always crowded. Unfortunately they use a blend instead of butter for cooking, which isn't terrible. When they have an all butter option for breakfast I'll give five stars. What restaurant doesn't have real butter? Ridiculous. read more

Great food! Get there early! Usually a bit of a wait but worth it. Grab a cup of coffee and sit outside and watch the traffic till table is ready. read more

Very nice cafe .. me and my son went on a Wednesday morning the staff was very helpful and the food was good.. i had shrimp and grits which was very filling at a reasonable price. read more

Food was delicious, service was friendly and efficient. Toast was buttered without asking which is a pet peeve of mine but it's not a big deal. Would definitely come again. read more

Great service, delicious food, very reasonable prices! Highly recommend this little place. Kind of tucked away across from Bridgestone, but definitely worth finding. I need to come back to try more menu items. I'm full, but others' food still looks very desirable! read more

Great food! Always busy but staff is friendly! Our goto place for breakfast in Bloomington-Normal.

My number one, my go-to. This is where I take friends who are visiting from out of town. I have tried no fewer than eight items off of this menu at one point or another. This has made ordering very difficult, because I have loved everything I've had. My go-to's are either one of the skillets or the chicken and biscuit. 10/10 would recommend. read more

My daughter and I had the chicken and biscuit with gravy. It was so light and delicious even though it had gravy on it. My husband had the waffle breakfast. He said it was really delicious. read more

Best brunch ever!!! Love the creativity. The cold brew and the chicken and biscuit are really good! All of the rewards they've received are well deserved. read more

I love Fort Jesse Cafe. This place is a local gem in a town of mainly chain restaurants. The wait times can be long, but it's worth it!

Fast service! The chicken and waffles and the Carmel brew is amazing every time. Nice workers also

Best breakfast, we waited for 45 minutes before we can get seated but was worth the wait. The place it's a little loud but we didn't mind. Love the breakfast burrito. We definitely stopping by again if we come back to Bloomington. read more

This place has excellent food. Three thumbs up for the food. I wouldn't even call it diner food, its multiple steps above that. The down side is that this great restaurant is in a building that is too small for them. The tables are close to each other and there's not much room for waiting. Plus there is no separation between dining and waiting area, so its a little awkward. We waited outside, but I'm not sure what you'd do if its cold outside. read more

i love this place sooooo much 10/10 grandpas bfast best ever carmel cold brew yessss go to this place actually u won't regret

This restaurant has a wide variety of breakfast foods that are delicious and the servers are always nice.

Incredible food, priced right, with a great dining experience. Parking has a lot to be desired, but it's worth the price of admission.

After a recent move to the area, some friends came for a visit, so on a Sunday morning we went for breakfast. All of us had assorted skillet dishes. Mine a Mediterranean veggie skillet. Yum. Busy as before, but only about a 10 minute wait, but worth it. Looks like it will become a regular stop. read more

Great homestyle breakfast in a non-descript location. Highly recommend trying this place.

LOVED our breakfast at FJC. My daughter had chicken & waffles with eggs Benedict and said it was delicious. I had a waffle - The. Best. Ever. Crispy outside and tender inside. It was heavenly. read more

Wow this place is good!! Best place to get breakfast in the area. I split the chicken waffles and brunch burger with a friend. Did not leave Hungry. So yummy!! Brunch burger was killer. It was crowded & we had to wait but they have coffee while you wait which is awesome :)) read more

Fort Jesse Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Normal, Illinois

Delicious food, great service and the prices are unbeatable! It's always super busy in there so plan to wait for at least 20 minutes for a table. But they give you complementary coffee while you wait! read more

Yes, yes and yes. This place is by far the best breakfast place I've found since Charleston. The menu is phenomenal and my only complaint is that I felt the food caters to the milder mid-west palette. The options were phenomenal which made it a bit difficult to choose. The service was great. Lots of staff milling about making sure that you wanted for nothing. I will definitely be coming back to try all the things I couldn't have in one trip. Eat here! read more

Had the s'mores French toast special and was to die for! Recommend getting there early!

Think Anju meets breakfast. Amazing artisan food, friendly & knowledgeable servers, chill vibe, really good coffee, and very fair prices. Breakfast trumps lunch but both are worth trying out. The ever changing scrambles, chicken & waffles, shrimp & grits, and the pancakes with pork are my favorites. Bloomington needs a few more restaurants like Fort Jesse Cafe to replace these generic, over priced & overrated chain restaurants that clog up Veterans Parkway like mushrooms. Highly recommend Fort Jesse Cafe - well worth the 30 minute wait. read more

very nice spot.it was on a sunday when we went so i knew it would be crowded,and it was.wait was 30 minutes but had free coffee for the "waiting people".finally got seated and the menu looked very tasty and so did everyone elses plates,got a cold brew coffee it was good with fudge drizzle and whip cream.i ordered the shrimp and grits.they were good.this place is in a good location and have games and some benches out for everyone waiting.area was clean and their prices were very cheap. read more

Fort Jesse Cafe - shrimp & grits - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Normal, Illinois

Stopped in here over family weekend with my parents. To start off, we were a little confused with the way folks were seated. A man was seated at a 4 top all by himself, when there were other 2 tops open as well. With the amount of bigger groups and families of 4 that were in there at the time, it would have made more sense to seat the parties of 2 at a 2 top instead of a 4 top to get them moving through. In terms of the food however, it was spectacular. I had the French toast breakfast with scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage. These eggs might have been the best scrambled eggs I've ever had at a breakfast place. Absolutely fantastic, and highly recommend you get some scrambled eggs if you go! read more

There is nothing I can say that hasn't already been said about FJC. The chicken and waffles is a perfect dish. Literally, it is one of the best breakfasts you can order out anywhere in town. The cornmeal pancakes with Cuban pork is awesome. I suggest splitting the chicken and waffles and cornmeal pancakes with someone to get the best of both worlds. Another great breakfast is the bacon BBQ shrimp skillet. It is sweet, spicy and loaded with flavor. The shrimp is always fresh which is a nice touch for a breakfast menu. The coffee is self serve-so grab some while you wait-because you will most mornings during the week. read more

Amazing food!! Great customer service. I love this place!! Highly recommend the eggs Benedict

I was told (after I ate here) that the wait is usually pretty long because Fort Jesse Cafe is so good. Long story short, we didn't wait at all and the food was great! Oh and the prices we rather great too! read more

Good food. It's always packed but the staff is still on top of it! I grew up eating southern comfort food and this place is about as close as I've found in a restaurant/cafe setting as you can get to genuine. read more

This place is absolutely amazing. The food made me believe in the greatness of humanity again. The skillet that blessed my mouth had the freshest potatoes, onions, and tomatoes. I don't even like tomatoes but I loved the tomatoes in the skillet. Marvelous food, laid back atmosphere yet sophisticated. The only downside is that I didn't visit sooner. One of the best breakfast places in town. Hours after eating and I'm still hyped about it, probably will be until I go back again. read more

Oh my goodness! Food was amazing and service wonderful! A busy place that was worth the wait.

The food is outstanding and I am getting hungry just talking about them ! If you are looking for great food that won't break the budget this is your place !! read more

We have now been here 3 times and the food has been wo derful every time. The service is impeccable. Fresh glass with refill and my coffee cup is always full. Chic and waffles great, shrimp and grits great black berry turkey panini wonderful. The only down fall is the size of the place there is always a wait. It does move pretty fast though. It's probably what keeps the quality up. I will go back again and again read more