You come for the cafe, but you want to stay for Joe and his team. If that isn't the definition of a classic, southern hospitality-style diner, I don't know what is. Now, this hospitality was really brought to light when we walked in with a party of 9 including 3 small kids, and they didn't even bat an eye as they welcomed us in with a smile. Joe himself made sure we had everything we needed and were taken care of. Not a bad start! As far as the menu goes, it's your classic diner breakfast fare. Silver dollar pancakes, french toast, omelettes, and the sort. We got our food very quickly for how much we ordered, which all came out perfect! I loved my omelette (I added jalapenos and they did not skimp on the fillings) and hashbrowns. My husband got the French toast which was also very good. Everything from bacon to eggs were cooked well. Normally simple breakfast foods don't get a 5-star review from me, but I swear you can taste the love put into it and that makes all the difference. As we were heading out, Joe made sure to tell us how much he enjoyed having us, inviting us to come again. Even the staff were working together very well and spreading the same love as we wrapped up. I tell ya, I almost didn't want to leave! So I guess the only thing left to do is keep coming back for some of that good ol' southern hospitality and comforting food. Thanks Joe for the wonderful experience and good food! read more

Breakfast done well! Great portions. Had the Biscuit and gravy with a side of the Texas long sausage. Very fresh and very filling! The best part of the experience this last time is meeting the owner Joe. He made the experience even better. read more

Genuinely the one breakfast spot I can always count on recommending to people coming to town. The Belgian waffles, juice, and GRITS are divine. Please get the grits. Joe is lovely and loves what he does. I've been coming for years, and even recognize some of the same servers which means it must be a great place to be! Love the hustling ambiance and homey feel. read more

10/10 found on yelp and was served by Joe himself! Definitely recommend- he is sweet, food is delicious. read more

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Their biscuits and gravy are nothing to rave about. Dry biscuits and lukewarm gravy. I'll try their other stuff and update

I am not the type to write a review but OMG this place was bomb! The workers were all so nice and they know what they're doing...I couldn't recommend them more. The food was so tasty and definitely what I mean when I say I want breakfast. The inside is super cute and think you need to take your friends there right now!! read more

Joes Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Orem, Utah

the vibes the atmosphere the grits and the love this man has for his business! i was like seriously so hungry the other day and my man was like your grouchy let's get you some food so we went to joes cafe and now i'm not grouchy anymore!!! read more

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It's still there post COVID. But it's different. I don't know if Joe is still there or not. But he wasn't cooking today. I ordered steak and eggs and got a side of pancakes. You used to get hot, crispy, buttery, silver dollar pancakes. Mine came cold, no butter. I had to tell them they were cold. The remake was only marginally better. Something has definitely changed in the way they cook their pancakes---disappointing since that was what always drew me there. A big pile of hot and buttery silver dollar pancakes Anyway---I'm making myself sadder the longer I write. I'll Finish with this. The steak was big and cooked just ok. Eggs and hash browns were great. read more

Wish I could have had the experience of dining in because it sounds like part of true Joe's Cafe experience is meeting Joe and not only being served wonderful food but wonderful hospitality. Today we picked up some breakfast to go and enjoyed it at home. I thought those cute little silver dollar pancakes were absolutely wonderful. They were buttery and almost melted in your mouth. Something about the size just makes kids (and kids at heart) want to devour them! The waffle was made from the same batter and was light and airy and totally delicious. The fresh strawberries on top of the waffle were perfect, but I did not care for the strawberry fruit syrup/spread. The French Toast was massive! Hash browns were so crispy on the outside and very soft on the inside. Just what good hash browns should be! Everything was buttery...just what you'd expect from a Southern Food cafe! read more

Joes Cafe - Pancakes, French toast, and waffle (everything to-go) - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Orem, Utah

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I had been hearing about Joe's Cafe for a long time, but I finally decided to go and the hype is fully justified. Joe's specializes in breakfast/brunch items, but they also have a variety of burgers, sandwiches, and salads. I asked our server what she recommended, and she pointed to the Ana omelet because it was named after her. I got grits on the side. Service was great. Ana was training a young man, so they could easily have messed up our order, but everything came out quickly and on pointe. The omelet was fantastic with moist chicken, and I liked that the peppers were actually cooked into the omelet rather than tossed inside the omelet like a calzone. The grits also lived up to the hype. Sweet and delicious. It was one of the best brunches I have had in a long time. I was there with a larger group, and everyone else ordered an assortment of waffles, egg entrees and burgers, and everyone enjoyed their meals. One of my colleagues had another lunch to attend, so he only ordered a drink, but Joe came out and gave him a silver dollar pancake and small bowl of grits so he wouldn't feel left out. Great food, great service, great people. I will definitely be back. read more

There is no place that provides the type of delicious food and southern hospitality like Joes cafe. Im From California and travel to Utah for work from time to time. It doesn't matter if im working in salt lake or Provo, I always make it a point to eat here. Joe welcomes you with a huge smile and provides a fun environment that makes you enjoy the incredibly delicious food that is served up even more. Im finally going back to Utah on Tuesday, and the first place im stopping at Wednesday morning will be joes cafe. Delicious grits, biscuits and gravy, and some amazing French toast. Cant recommend this place enough. And the walls are full of pics of joe with his happy customers that'll make it difficult not to crack a big smile yourself. See you Wednesday. read more

Joes cafe is a great place to go to brunch near the Provo/Orem area. This place is so authentic, with the family that runs the place right from the south. Joe is amazing! He told us exactly what to order, giving us great recommendations, and telling us that we had to try his grits. We ordered the steak breakfast burrito, french toast plate, and an omelet, and all of them were amazing. His kids work with him, and the service is incredible! Although you order at the front, he won't let you pay until "he has earned his money." Great chef, very authentic southern food, great vibe about the place. If you are pressed for time, come here another day. Not sure if it was due to COVID or not, but it took a little bit of time to get the food out, to be fair he did warn us about that. read more

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Good food, good prices, and excellent service. Open for breakfast and lunch only. Has eggs, ham, hash browns, and sourdough toast.

Service was phenomenal. Went for breakfast and had grits and a breakfast sandwich. Highly recommend. The grits were so tasty. Definitely will be back next time in town. read more

Excellent service and delicious food! Our servers were both awesome and they got our food out so fast! Brought a family of 8 here and they accommodated us easily and happily. Been here before and will be back again. Anything you order is super tasty. read more

As always Joes cafe makes me feel all the good things in my heart and my belly!! Their food is the best southern food you can find in Utah County! If you need a small business to support and want to feel like you've just gone to heaven go visit Joes! Their service is phenomenal and they were so nice! I always love stopping by!! read more

Joes Cafe - Biscuits and gravy with eggs - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Orem, Utah

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We dropped our kids off early at the Provo airport and we're looking for breakfast. We couldn't have found a better stop. First we met Joe in the parking lot. Great guy!! He sat us immediately and could not have been more hospitable. The food was great (make sure you order the grits). Service was awesome. The place was packed. Joe's will be our #1 stop for early airport runs. Thank you Joe read more

Joe is everyone's best friend. The whole staff was friendly and helpful. super clean restaurant with and fun atmosphere. AMAZING GRITS!

Excellent food! We had the waffles and French toast. The grits we amazing! Highly recommend joes

My friend Joseph told me about this guy who opened up his own southern-style restaurant in Orem. Being the melting pot that Orem is, there are a plethora of different foods that you can sample. For example, there are Chinese restaurants without any actual Chinese employees, Japanese restaurants with seemingly only Chinese employees (I lived in Japan, so I always try and talk to them in Japanese), and Mexican restaurants with mainly Caucasian employees. In this day and age, it can be hard to find something that is "authentic." While those restaurants may be delicious and pay homage to the cultures they represent, they are lacking something--soul. Joe cooks with his soul. He is a passionate man. He takes notice of each and every customer that walks through his door. It is as if you have been personally invited to spend a Sunday night at his home with his family. The warmth, the excitement, and the love that you expect from the south is in his blood. I ordered biscuits and gravy, which happen to be one of my favorite southern breakfast foods. If I remember correctly, it was around $11 or something, which I find to be a little too expensive. The quality, on the other hand, was really pleasant. The flavors complemented each other to create a Ratatouille moment for that one creepy slender man looking food critic. The only reason this is 4 stars is because the wait was pretty long, the food was a little expensive for my taste, and it was pretty crammed inside that little restaurant. If those things were improved upon, ez 5 stars in my book. read more

Great food, great atmosphere, and great service! Joe personally greats his customers and ensures everything is up to his standards. Will for sure return, often! read more

I used to eat left overs from Joe's cafe with my hospice patient that was a regular. Now I bring my son. It's the perfect greasy spoon. Very affordable, kind and sweet staff that goes out of their way to make your visit a great time, and absolutely delicious food. read more

Joes Cafe - Kids banana waffle combo - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Orem, Utah

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Get the Grits! If you come at all and don't know what to buy, by golly, you better get those grits. They are sweet grits and they are down right doggone delicious. I once asked the owner, Joe- a kind and true southern black gentleman, what he did to make his grits so delicious. And he pulled up a chair next to us and said, "Now I don't want to offend you, but the secret is this: brown sugar, baby. I dip my little pinky finger in it and stir it around." Lol! That man IS brown sugar: the sweetest man around. And his food is well worth tasting. His French toast is buttery and addicting as well, and his omelets are loaded, seriously loaded. The Denver omelet particularly had buttery onions and peppers in it I wish I could drink they were so good. We take all our family here when they're in town. But remember they are a small family owned breakfast and lunch joint so they are only open 8am-2pm and could be randomly closed any other day around holidays. read more

Joes Cafe - (Back) Omelete with grits and an English muffin. (Front) French toast with scrambled eggs and bacon. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Orem, Utah

Delicious food and fun ambiance. It's always busy and can be hard to find a table but the food is worth it.

This is a strange 5 star review for me. Is it 5 star food that competes with my other 5 star reviews? No. Is it arguably the best version of old school diner food you can get? Probably top 5 I've ever had and certainly #1 in Utah. Tried a bunch of stuff from eggs to omelette to Texas sausage to toast. Biscuits and gravy were solid for sure. Biscuit was obviously homemade and amazing. Grits are on the sweet side. As long as you expect that, they're incredible if unconventional. Will make this a go to for this type of food in Utah. read more

How often does a patron get to hang out with the owner of the restaurant? At Joe's you get the full southern hospitality you expect from the South. Being from Texas, Joe's Cafe staff provide true customer satisfaction and service. You are part of Joe's family when you eat here. Get here early enough you can get your breakfast or brunch quick enough that you can get on with your day quickly. Regardless to what time you get here, you'll only wait a little and get your grub on and go! read more

Very nice café. Extremely local feeling and it's amazing! There are pictures all over the walls of Joe with his customers. Awesome place had some pancakes and they came out perfect read more

Fantastic food in a fun environment. It was a little cold and there was only outside seating, but overall were really enjoyed it and the service was wonderful. read more

I'm sorry I'm normally pretty happy with Joe's but I've got to give you a review today and hope that the next time the cook keeps a better eye on the pancakes. I go to you because I love your pancakes I love how golden brown they are on both sides I love how full of the flavor they are drenched in butter and syrup. Today out of all days I got a very bad stack of pancakes. Out of all the days I actually ordered a large stack today instead of the smaller stack and all of the pancakes are under cooked white white on both sides no butter no syrup and it's just very very very disappointing this morning. I would love to drive over there and give you back all these pancakes what a waste of money! Please do better just for your customers and your ratings! read more

Joes Cafe - A stack of flavorless raw pancake mix! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Orem, Utah

Fabulous food great experience. Joe is a lot of fun. Definitely going back when I'm in town.

Full five stars for this place. We love places like Joe's Cafe. The food is awesome, the service is friendly and the vibe is comfortable. Everyone in my family loved their meal and we all got different things. Among the five of us, we had omelets, hash browns, grits, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, steak and eggs and standard bacon and eggs. Joe came out to greet us and see how our meal was and he's awesome. This place needs to be on Diner's, Drive-in's and Dives. Someone call Guy Fierri... read more

Joes Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Orem, Utah

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Joe's was the last place I ate out literally the week before the pandemic shut down and I worried it might not survive but luckily for everyone, it did and it's as scrumptious as ever! Brought my husband in this time and had the most epic breakfast ever. I returned to my favorite eggs, bacon, toast and the ever so perfected grits. Husband tried eggs, sausage and pancakes. It's worth noting here that my husband prefers his eggs over hard and until going to Joes, had never had anywhere prepare them correctly. One bite he immediately exclaimed "this guy knows how to make them right." Reasonable priced, friendly service, clean. Seriously, if you're looking for the best breakfast ever, Joes café is the place to go. read more

Joes Cafe - Eggs, bacon, grits and toast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Orem, Utah

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I recently moved to Utah county and was surprised at the lack of cafes around me, however once I tried Joes Cafe I realized there was no need for anymore! Joe was welcoming guests when we came in creating a great atmosphere, and the food did not disappoint. I had a breakfast sandwich and my fiancé had biscuits and gravy, both of which were great. On top of good food Joes also has good prices. Glad I found a new breakfast spot I'll be back soon. Highly recommend. read more

Joes Cafe - Breakfast Sandwich , Hashbrowns , Biscuits and gravy. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Orem, Utah

Great spot for breakfast that tastes like home cooking! Nothing fancy but just good food and fair prices. It can get rather busy so call ahead if you have big group or want to know the wait time. They have great service but during the busy times the waiters sometimes seem overworked and stressed and it can take some time to get refills or other things. read more

The food and service here is so great the biscuits and gravy reminded me of my grandmothers!

Being my first time here, I had a sample of the grits and they were delicious. The small stack of pancakes I ordered we a bunch of little pancakes and I could only eat half. They were plenty for me to eat and take some home. The cook and servers were nice and kind and I believe they are wonderful people thus far. read more

Went to breakfast there with my wife this morning. I had the pancake combo. I ordered my eggs over hard. When my plates came out I realized that there was no way I was going to eat everything! The plate of pancakes was enough for three meals (and yes they were delicious!) here is the kicker though.... My eggs were cooked correctly! Yolks popped and thoroughly cooked. I ate as much as I could, but tapped out about halfway through the mountain of pancakes! The waitresses were very polite and kept my water glass full I told my wife that the worst thing about Joe's Cafe is that my office is about 2 miles away.... I will definitely be going back!! (And adding to my waistline I'm sure) read more

If you are deciding wether or not to go here you should DEFINITELY GO HERE!! The staff is super friendly and helpful. The food was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!! You get a BIG portion for what you pay for. I don't like grits but the rumors are true. Joes Cafe has the BEST grits!!! I had a bamboozled look on my face when they brought out my food. It was the pancake stack and I couldn't even finish it all. Coffee was great and Joes juice was exquisite!! It's also in a very cozy environment. It's a nice small restaurant and the pictures on the wall are very wholesome. I would love to meet Joe some time because he has a fantastic establishment! Thank you Joe for the great experience read more

Joes Cafe - Pancake Stack - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Orem, Utah

WOW so glad I finally made it out here. Joe's is AWESOME! How can so much character fit in one little restaurant? For starters, the food is stellar. I've been thinking a lot about it, and I can confidently say that this is the best omelette I've ever had. You heard me right! THE BEST OMELETTE I'VE EVER HAD. They also give you so much food! The prices are awesome, especially for how much food you'll get. Because Joe's is so yummy, it WILL be crowded when you come. So just plan for that. Probably not the best place for big groups. While the crowds and coziness add a lot to the character, it added a little frustration for me. I felt so much pressure to quickly shove my food down my throat so they could turn my table around. And I have no idea why, but you have to go to the register twice--first to order and then when you are done to pay. Makes it near impossible to walk in and out of the place. And no one likes waiting in line once, let alone twice. Overall though, this place is still worth it! If they can get their organization down a little better, this place is an EASY 5 stars! read more

Joes Cafe - Western omelette with wheat toast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Orem, Utah

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Food is amazing. Best gravy around. True southern style breakfast. Coffee is excellent, and service was excellent.