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    Irene's Cafe

    3.4 (387 reviews)
    ModerateAmerican
    Open 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Irene's Cafe Photos

    IRENE'S CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Dogs allowed
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Irene's Cafe

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    Catrina S.

    The food here is on point. We started with the potato skins and the albondigas soup, both delicious but the potato skins were literally the best I've ever had! The blackened chicken salad was fresh and flavorful. Will definitely be back :)

    Lauren W.

    I've been coming here since I was young and it's great every time! A classic diner cafe in the middle of tower-- which is my favorite place to be! Kind staff, good food, a great atmosphere! Not usually a wait, food comes fast when I've gone, and I like to grab teazers afterwards too ;) a win win! It's on the corner so parking is super easy! Definitely bring the family by for breakfast!

    John W.

    Let's get to it. This was our 1st visit & more than likely the last. Irene's has a strong menu with plenty of options. The meal we had was extremely good. Service wise, it started off very well but declined tremendously throughout the meal. Totally ruined the whole experience. I gave this place 3 stars its more like 2.25 but that's not an option.

    Monaco Sandwich
    Kevin L.

    This is just your hometown cafe offering a ton of menu items. No razzle dazzle, just good food. The three of us each ordered the Monaco sandwich, which was pastrami with pepperoni. It was on a fresh, soft roll and was very good.

    Jambalaya W/ Chicken, Sausage and Shrimp

    Irene's Cafe has the best food. Today they started their Mardi Gras menu and one word, Delicious. We ordered all of the items to try. The Jambalaya with Chicken and Sausage and Shrimp has a sweet tomato flavor. The Chicken & Sausage Gumbo with steamed rice has the perfect amount of spice. The Red Beans and Rice with Ham and Smoked Sausage has the perfect amount of smoke and spice. The Bread Pudding with Bourbon is a perfect way to cap off any of the meals.

    Coffee
    Elidia G.

    We had breakfast, i had country fried steak, the gravy was very good usually I'm not a big fan of that but it tastes different here, the muffin the comes with it tastes fresh made, the server was kind and was making sure we had everything we needed.

    california bagel
    Estela P.

    Excellent service and by far one of the best bagels I've had in Fresno!! Must stop by. Very great vibes and very cozy ambiance.

    Chicken fried steak. Pancakes. Toast. Biscuits and gravy.
    Ashley M.

    A tower staple. This place is awesome. Breakfast is the best. Pancakes are amazing. Dinner is good also. Huge burgers. Great fries. But breakfast is my fave. Nice dining outside. I prefer to inside. Servers are always super friendly. Great spot for lunch dinner or breakfast!

    Country Fried Steak
    Ken T.

    The food is solidly okay. I gave an extra star for the service. They were attentive and kind. I had the country fried steak and it was okay. The broccoli was over cooked and on the menu it stated vegetables so I was expecting a medley. The gravy was okay but lacked some flavor. Like I said, okay. My son enjoyed the spaghetti and my daughter finished her burger although the fries left a lot to be desired. They tasted like frozen crinkle fries that were reheated multiple times. The place has definitely seen better days but the patio was nice aside from the flies. Probably won't be back though.

    Unfortunately, this is the second time we've experienced extremely poor service at Irene's. We decided to give the place a second chance, hoping the first visit was just a bad day -- but the experience was just as disappointing. We've been waiting for about an hour, and no one has even come by to take our order. The staff shows no sense of urgency or attention to their customers, and it feels like being ignored is the norm here. On top of the slow service, the place has a roach problem -- which is unacceptable for any dining establishment. Between the lack of service and the unsanitary conditions, we won't be coming back and can't recommend this place to anyone.

    California Burger and Fries, BLT add avocado in the background
    Belen M.

    I have never been to Irene's and I haven't been inside (we ate on the patio), but the food I ordered was exactly what I wanted and I LOVED it. I ordered a Bahama club, and while it may seem like a simple deli sandwich, all the flavors just came together so well and I will be back for this sandwich! You can't beat the fries either! Served warm, on their own plate (not next to the sandwich) and well seasoned. My husband had the California Burger and Fries, which oddly these fries did just come on the side of his burger, so he shared with me as it was not as big of a portion of fries. The burger looked huge and delicious. My sister ordered the BLT and added avocado for an upcharge. She also chose the side of fries. She enjoyed it too. We all ate half of our sandwiches/burger and took the other half to go. I loved the open patio seating and being able to people watch the sunday afternoon Tower Shenanigan's. The patio was open enough that I had no reservations bringing my daughters jogging stroller here to have her by the side of the table for her nap while we ate. Even though we were on the patio the service was very prompt from the minute we walked up and asked if we could take an open table. A lady came right away to wipe it down and bring us menus. Service was just want it needed to be, nothing more nothing less and I appreciated it that way. Hopefully we can come back so I can have another Bahama Club and maybe try something else on their very extensive menu!

    Double cheeseburger
    Felix M.

    Great restaurant located in the tower district. I had the double cheeseburger which was very good but pricey 18 no fries. The bun was nicely toasted and the meat was very flavorful highly recommend.

    Chicken Country Fried Steak
    Sarah D.

    A Fresno famous diner and I'd never been there until January 2024! Great breakfast place I've been missing out on. Nice greeting when we entered, it was a weekday morning, not too busy but seemed to be a lot of regulars picking up orders to go. Great coffee. I tried something I usually don't get at diners and it was great! The chicken fried steak, eggs and hash brown -yummy! This was the perfect sized portion in my opinion. Love the location of course and hope this Tower staple is here for many years to come.

    Chicken Croissant bacon avocado sandwich with fries.

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    5 months ago

    Everything was perfect! Great food and great service and clean place. We definitely will be back! Thank you! :)

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    2 years ago

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    11 months ago

    Great food, large portions, great service. Nice cool breezes on the patio. Enjoyable breakfast.

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    1 year ago

    Great food, excellent service. Cool vibes. Tower district favorite of ours. Highly recommend this place to all comers.

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    11 months ago

    Basic American food. Serve mainly Sandwiches and burgers are $17-$20. Sides/Fries are $3 extra.

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    1 year ago

    The people create good energy and service is great they bend backwards to help you. The best burgers in town.

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    Chef Paul's Cafe

    Chef Paul's Cafe

    4.5
    (915 reviews)
    2.0 mi
    $$

    Very unsuspecting hole in the wall type of place from the outside, but the inside is very warm and…read morewelcoming! Staff is very kind and Chef Paul greeted all the customers that came in! I'm not too close to Fresno but would recommend this to anyone who is in the area. I would make it a point to come back again if I were in the area for sure! My husband got the chicken and waffles while I ordered one of their specials of the day - rib tips. I got mashed potatoes and macaroni on the side (they were delicious but definitely regretted not trying other sides). The rib tips were perfect, smokey and tender. The fried chicken was sooo crispy and juicy. I do prefer crispier waffles, but it still went well with the very crispy chicken. The portions are plentiful, I had enough for a second meal.

    We drove an hour to eat here from Atwater and it was well worth it!…read more Fried chicken was the best. We also had the catfish and it was delicious, as well. Our favorite: fried green tomatoes and okra for appetizers. The sauce was awesome. 5 stars! The sides: collard greens were very salty for my taste but full of flavor. Rice pilaf was flavorful but was also salty. Sweet potatoes were perfect. Corn bread was just ok. 4 start. We met Chef Paul himself. He was nice and very funny! The restaurant is small so there will be a wait. We got there around 2pm so we didn't have to wait too long. Maybe just 20 mins. We'll be back for sure if we're back on that side again.

    Photos
    Chef Paul's Cafe
    Fried fish snapper, with potato salad and Mac and cheese with side of cornbread
    Fried fish snapper, with potato salad and Mac and cheese with side of cornbread
    Chef Paul's Cafe

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    Mi Cafesito Van Ness

    Mi Cafesito Van Ness

    4.2
    (101 reviews)
    0.4 mi
    Family-owned & operated
    Outdoor seating

    This was a cute and highly organized spot to get hot food and coffee. I absolutely LOVE…read morechilaquiles. I decided to try this place due to the pictures and reviews. The staff is very nice and I got my food, to go, very quickly. I loved the fact they had more than sauce to choose from. I chose red and verde as they told me the poblano can be spicy, and other times not. Depends on the poblano. Next time I am going to try the poblano sauce and eat there. Not wise to take chilaquiles to go. Had I ate there I would've had more of a crunch. But, that's on me not them. Will definitely come back! (Oh wish they had rice but understand that may not be traditional)

    I need to be honest--we came here expecting to really enjoy it because of all the positive reviews,…read morebut unfortunately, we left pretty disappointed. The photos online don't fully represent what the place actually looks like. The restrooms were in very poor condition, to the point that I didn't even feel comfortable going inside. When we first walked in, there was no greeting or direction from staff, and it wasn't clear whether we were supposed to seat ourselves or order first. Another frustration was that there were no prices listed on the menu. It's difficult to order when you have no idea what you're spending or how much the drinks cost. I ordered a large Americano, which only came with two shots of espresso. For that size, I would have expected three or even four shots. The coffee wasn't very strong, and instead of fresh half-and-half, they only offered the small packaged creamers. My parents ordered the Number 3 and requested it on a plate. The eggs were overcooked, the beans lacked flavor, and the potatoes were not crispy at all. We also found it odd that it wasn't served with bread or even a tortilla. I ordered the Number 1 as a torta, and I would say that was probably the best thing we had. The chorizo was flavorful, and overall I'd give the torta a 7 out of 10. Unfortunately, the atmosphere and overall food quality did not meet our expectations. Based on our experience, we won't be returning.

    Photos
    Interior / Seating
    Interior / Seating
    Mi Cafesito Van Ness
    Inside dining

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    Inside dining
    Libelula

    Libelula

    4.3
    (420 reviews)
    1.7 mi
    $$

    I will begin by saying that the road work that is being done around the restaurants location is…read moredefinitely a big inconvenience when it comes to finding parking. However, it is definitely worth it! For a while now I have been wanting to try this place and finally for around to it. The staff was great very kind and friendly as soon as we walked in. Our waitress was amazing, she was always checking up on us, making sure we had everything we needed it and that we were comfortable. I ordered the Fried Chicken Biscuit with Tater tots and for my drink I ordered the OG Lemonade. Starting with the sandwich, the chicken was nice and juicy, very crunchy as well. The flavor of the chicken was very good as well. The buscuit added that nice hint of sweetness that just tied the whole thing together. The tater tots were definitely crunchy, which I loved. They give you a very well serving of tater tots. I did not end up finishing mine, but they had great taste and texture. The lemonade was very refreshing, and it just hit that spot so well. It was appealing to the eye and tasted like freshly squeezed lemonade. Overall experience was 10/10, I would come back. The place gives off vintage coffee shop vibes even though it is not a coffee shop. Seating is definitely very limited inside. However, they do have outdoor tables with umbrellas which is a nice touch. Price-wise I would say it is a bit pricier compared to other similar restaurants I have visited. The total came out to $45 for two plates of the chicken biscuit and two lemonades.

    We stopped in to celebrate a birthday as well as support the business as I know they have been…read moredealing with the negative impacts of street closures. But while the food was delicious as usual, everything else was surprisingly mediocre. Despite not being busy when we arrived, we had to wait over an hour for our food and watched while other couples received theirs and ate before us, despite coming in 15-20 minutes later than us. And even though it all tasted great, my food was cold, as if it had been sitting for a while. We were told a couple of large to-go orders came in that disrupted the timing of our food, but in reality, it seems like our order got lost in the mix. It finally came 70 minutes after we arrived, and I was surprised that when my partner asked for a refill of their tea (which they naturally finished well before our food came), they charged them for a second drink and didn't even offer to comp the refill for the long delay. I don't expect freebies when I go out, but it just seemed like we were more of an inconvenience to them than anything. It's unfortunate because their food is always great and I want to see them continue to succeed, especially during this difficult time with road construction outside. But this was a pretty frustrating experience, and will unfortunately make me hesitant to dine-in again in the near future.

    Photos
    Decorations
    Decorations
    Benedict- Pork- English muffin, sous vide eggs, braised pork, hollandaise $16
    Benedict- Pork- English muffin, sous vide eggs, braised pork, hollandaise $16
    Libelula

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    Irene's Cafe - tradamerican - Updated July 2026

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