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    Maria's Cafe Bistro

    4.7 (32 reviews)

    Maria's Cafe Bistro Photos

    MARIA'S CAFE BISTRO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Outdoor seating

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    Breakfast quesadilla
    Duane S.

    Amazing food! Both meals were so flavorful. The hash browns were properly crisped (not the mush ones you sometimes get), tons of flavor with the country fried steak and gravy too. My ex wife ordered the breakfast quesadilla (I took a bite or two ) and we both loved it. Service was good and the ambiance was fantastic. Probably will never be in Ottawa again but if I am, I'll come here for breakfast!

    Bacon and cheese croissant, breakfast Quesadilla
    Crystal L.

    Tried this place based off of reviews and wanting to try something different while in town. The food was great! Portions were perfect. I got a breakfast sandwich and my husband got yet breakfast quesadilla. They even split my kiddos meal between two plates which I didn't ask for but it's always a sweet gesture. Service was good as well. There was one lady running the dining room and she was very timely with each tables needs as well as cleaning up after people left. The only reason I took one star away was due to the bathroom. There is a sign stating you cannot flush anything. No toilet paper even. So although this did not effect us on this trip, I can only imagine using the bathroom where someone before you put their dirty toilet paper in the trash. And maybe it's a temporary plumbing issue. Otherwise, it was very good!

    Marias Bistro salad with steak

    I've eaten here a handful of times and it's safe to say it's probably my favorite restaurant in Ottawa Illinois. Tonight I got Maria's Bistro salad, they never disappoint and the food always comes out very on point. The cook definitely knows what he's doing. Also their baked potatoes are amazinngg.

    Mediterranean skillet with side pancake and toast.

    Wonderful food and excellent service. Small town atmosphere, family run and delicious - I had a skillet, my daughter had crepes and my wife had the avocado toast. All were excellent. Menu has many options. Will return when traveling through again.

    a picnic table outside

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Great food and generous portions. Note: they stop breakfast at 1:00 PM at least on weekdays.

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Great food and service. The Mediterranean omelet and frittata was delicious. Both my kids enjoyed their Mickey Mouse pancakes.

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    3 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Great food was delicious it a little better skeptical to walk in but once your in it's great

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    3 years ago

    What a cute place. Food was good. Staff was wonderful. Had breakfast croissant sandwich. Yum. Specials had Mexican flare

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Will repeatedly eat here and recommend highly. Asparagus soup, Pesto chicken and their crispy French fries was awesome.

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    2 years ago

    Said it was open, but it wasn't. We showed up for breakfast, but guess Maria decided not to.

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    3 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

    The service was great. The Rueben sandwich was the best I have ever had. Great food.

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    3 years ago

    Very friendly and great home cooked food. Enrique is not a cook but a chef, I would highly recommend it to anyone.

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    4 years ago

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    Ask the Community - Maria's Cafe Bistro

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    I don't usually write reviews about places I visit, but today I had such a unique experience that I…read morefeel like I should share it. The place is Garden Berry Cafe in Ottawa. The name is quite a mouthful, but it definitely makes you curious enough to go inside and see what it's about. The interior is very grey and urban, with some fake flowers here and there. The menu is pretty large and has a lot of interesting-sounding options. After we looked through it for a minute, one of the waitresses brought us another menu saying, "Here's our special menu." It was mostly coffee drinks, which, unfortunately, didn't look particularly appealing to me. I ordered the Route 14 crepes, and apparently the name was quite challenging. The waitress asked me "What?" at least twice, so eventually I just pointed to it on the menu. Then she proceeded to write down my order by basically cheat-sheeting from my menu. Lol. My husband ordered one of the breakfast skillets. The food looked good when it arrived. But oh boy... My crepes were stuffed with mushrooms, onions, cheddar cheese, and spinach, topped with hollandaise sauce. The cheddar was melted and the spinach was fine. The crepes themselves actually tasted good. But the onions were raw and crunchy, and the mushrooms were so undercooked that they were rubbery and hadn't even been properly browned. The hollandaise was sprinkled with something that looked like paprika, although it smelled strongly of cinnamon, which was... interesting. When one of the waitresses asked how everything was going, I politely explained what was wrong with my dish. They apologized, said they would tell the kitchen, and offered to replace it. I declined because, honestly, I wasn't interested in taking the chance of getting the exact same thing again. I was perfectly willing to just finish what I could, pay, and quietly never come back. But then the waitress came back. And this time, instead of simply acknowledging the issue, she explained that next time I need to make sure to ask for my vegetables to be "well done." She also added that she always eats raw mushrooms. Soooo... am I supposed to order breakfast and specifically say, "Could you please make sure my vegetables are actually cooked?" I've never thought I needed to specify that mushrooms and onions should be cooked when ordering a breakfast dish. It felt like I had to take responsibility for the kitchen not properly cooking the ingredients in the first place. That second conversation honestly upset me more than the food itself. I had already accepted the situation and wasn't demanding anything. But being told that it was essentially my mistake for not ordering the vegetables correctly was not something I expected. The total was $36 for two meals and one regular coffee. The food had potential, and my crepes themselves were actually tasty. But unfortunately, the experience -- especially the way the complaint was handled -- was enough for me to decide that I won't be coming back.

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    Maria's Cafe Bistro - tradamerican - Updated September 2026

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