This is exactly the kind of spot that existed in my small town, growing up in Pennsylvania. We came here for breakfast and the place was packed with locals, who are likely drawn here for the generous portions and fairly-priced meals. My family grabbed a booth right by the front window, which allowed us to watch the action inside the restaurant as well as Main Street. The coffee was fresh and they were great about topping it off. For our breakfast, I got the cheese and ham omelette served with potatoes. My partner also got an omelette but got the grits for his side (great choice!). My daughter ordered the pancakes, always a hit, and our son got scrambled eggs. We all enjoyed the meals and the great environment inside. It's a great spot for families and filling meals. read more

Overall lackluster. Food: breakfast order was good, nice dense pancakes, good scrapple, eggs cooked well. Lunch order was okay but no flavors or seasoning, minimally salted. Service: kind staff but slow service. Seating was full, so likely some of the wait was due to that. Ambiance: loud to the point it was hard to hear the people sitting at our own table. Table across from us was full of children with no adult supervision, and the younger kids were rambunctious, and the older kids wound up screaming at them. Same kids were yelling outside the bathrooms and wandering in and out of the back repeatedly. Just too loud for me and my group. read more

Basic is sometimes underrated, but at this cafe basic is pretty great! I had a cheese omelette that was as described - fluffy eggs folded over cheese - and it was terrific. The home fries were tasty, not deep fried, and done perfectly - not too mushy. Super plentiful so of course we took the remainder home. Wayne had a sausage and cheese omelette, sausage was ground so it blended nicely and the flavor was great - same deal with the potatoes. He opted for the biscuit, I went for wheat toast. All basic, but more! Service was quick; and you can tell the place caters to and/or is supported by locals. Love that! read more

Mountaineer Cafe - sausage and cheese omelette, potatoes, biscuit - Desserts Near Me - Madison, Virginia

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Third time eating here. Does not disappoint! Great place for breakfast or lunch. Great food and great service read more

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The service is amazing and food was good, but we then watched a lady clear tables, deliver food and then plate food and never washed her hands or wear gloves. read more

Stopped in for lunch on the drive back to NoVa from Carolina. Easy access on/off Route 29 - Business. They have daily lunch specials, Thursday is fried chicken. You get two boneless breasts with two vegetables and a bevegage for $7.95. The chicken portions were sizable, I opted for the fried squash and the potato salad. The squash was very good, the p salad...ok, if you like mustard based. The iced tea was exceptional! You can sit on one of five stools at the lunch counter or they have several tables. Lot's of glass, sunny, open and airy. They also have a 'wall of fame' with old football jerseys of Madison HS players going back to the 40's. A nice touch of local history. read more

Stopped by mountaineer cafe on the way down to Birmingham, Va. Loved the place. Food was good for the value, won't find any better prices! Fried mushrooms were delicious. All their pies are home made and the black berry pie was amazing. Staff are warm and friendly. Definitely recommend this place as a nice road side stop. read more

Mountaineer Cafe - Tuna salad, stuffed mushrooms and grilled cheese. - Desserts Near Me - Madison, Virginia

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Unfortunately, we were unable to eat here. Mainly because we were never greeted or even acknowledged, even after sitting for a spell at a dirty table. Newer customers were given immediate priority...the unwelcoming atmosphere caused us to leave. We felt the need to express our circumstance to the waitress on our way out, which seemed to trigger someone to follow us out. We were even graced with a parting picture as we left in our cars. Madison was full of strange vibes and wary glares for out of towners. Fortunately, this lead us to the Country Cafe, not too far over in Culpepper Virginia. Much better experience in comparison. The friendly staff made up for the cold shoulder Mountaineer gave us. read more

I really don't understand why this place has zero reviews. This is THE place for breakfast in Madison. Walking in you immediately feel like an outsider, everyone in this restaurant knows each other & are greeting with hugs, handshakes, & backclaps. However the feeling quickly diminishes as you are greeted sweetly set at ease. Don't come here if you are in a hurry as the feel if definitely "country". And is it ever worth it; food was spot on & the home fries where possibly the best I have ever had. Now, I'm a bit of a country boy & I like Scrapple. Scrapple here was incredible, while a bit salty it was unique & delicious in taste. Prices are more than fair & breakfast for SIX was less then $30 with tip AND we were all still full after hiking three hours later. Stop on in, be polite, relax, & I'm sure you will be raving as I am. A+++ read more

Come here and expect: super casual, inexpensive, a 100% neighborhood joint What I got from it: Looking for a place in Madison VA wasn't hard, and I hoped that whatever I walked into was going to be decent. Folks, this place is more than decent, it's a community paradise. On a road trip with my friend coming from DC and going to Lynchburg, I could only hope that we would run into a great eatery. This place looks like a diner, and when we drove by it, the most promising thing I noticed was that it had nothing but large trucks in its parking lot, as if it was holding a truck owner meetup. I knew that meant there were men in that diner who trusted it for great grub, so my friend and I definitely were happy to give it a try. We ordered the double patty bacon cheeseburger that comes with chips, and we split an order of onion rings. I was immediately in love with those rings: the batter was subtly sweet, and they were not over done. That burger also hit the spot with its meat and cheese and bacon just having a grand o' party in my mouth. The guys in the place were cool. They said hello, and the staff was awesome and friendly. Totally worth your try. It's a diner with no fancy frills, and for once I was please with that. read more

I was torn between 3-4 stars. They were very busy and only had 1 waitress. Food was at least 30 minutes to arrive. However, our waitress was awesome and sweet. The BLT was very tasty and fixed just right. The fries were okay but not hot. The onion rings had a great flavor but cold. They were out of the peach cobbler which looked great. Tried the cherry cobbler, but it was not good at all. Lacked flavor and juice. Based on the amount of people in there you could tell it was the local hang out for the town on a Friday night. If you are passing through and need somewhere to eat this is good for that. I would not come back just to eat there. read more

Mountaineer Cafe - BLT and fries - Desserts Near Me - Madison, Virginia

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Have only been to this place one time for breakfast about 18 months ago, but would not be inclined to come back soon. (However, I believe the place has since changed ownership) The scrambled eggs were overcooked and the coffee was weak. However, the prices are very reasonable. read more

Cool little spot. When I'm in town visiting Mom, we usually hit the Pig & Steak at least once for some buckets of grease. This time she suggested the Mountaineer, as she'd heard good things about it since it changed ownership (maybe a year ago?). We rolled in on a cold Friday about 1pm to find a relatively empty restaurant; only one table was occupied, which is never a good sign. Undeterred, we sat & perused the well-worn paper menus. I went with some sandwich (can't remember the name): roast beef, cheese, mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions, on (un-grilled???) texas toast. Mom had the Hoagie, which was kinda a Philly Cheese steak with steakums (the real ones), cheese, mayo, lettuce, onions, etc. GMA had Chicken Fried Steak with toast, stewed tomatoes, and green beans. The two sandwiches were good - nothing out of the ordinary, but exactly what we were looking for, and both came with crispy greasy crinkle-cut fries. The Steak was a good portion covered in simple brown gravy, cooked well. Stewed tomatoes seemed made in-house with plenty of sugar, while the beans were cooked southern style with plenty of salt & steamed soft. Yummmm... Service was good & prompt and prices were wonderfully reasonable. Only complaint is the terrible cold coffee my GMA got. Nothing gourmet, but just what we wanted - cheap, good, filling, and greasy. Well done Mountaineers. read more

HUNGRY? Looking for good food that really will hit the spot? This is THE place. This is not fine dining by any means, but rather a random hole in the walls hidden on a side road for the locals. Thank you YELP for guiding us here. They give you a heaping serving of whatever you may be craving for breakfast with a nice large cup of coffee to send you off on your trip. I still fondly think of this place and prob will stop by next time I'm in the area. read more

This a great place to stop in and eat. A good old hometown dinner. Every time we around in this area we stop in. Great prices and good food. read more

Mountaineer Cafe - Good hometown place to eat! - Desserts Near Me - Madison, Virginia

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The prices were reasonable, and it was clean and bright. But I couldn't get past the cheese fries. It was just that bright orange cheese-in-a-can sauce poured over fries. Incredibly disappointing. If I do go back, I will be wary about what I order. read more

I love breakfast in little towns, and the folks here were friendly. I'm guessing it's deer season, because the lot was filled with trucks, and the two guys in camo at the next table were pounding beers at 9am. Pretty standard diner fare complete with scrapple and watery coffee. All the food was serviceable, but it doesn't get any more complicated than pancakes, meat, and eggs here, so don't expect any brioche or espresso. The Lady and i stuffed ourselves for $13 including tip. So you can't beat the price. read more

This place has always had good food. The remodeling looks great. I have to come back for breakfast.

We were visiting the Shenandoah park, and staying at a near by town called Stanardvile, in the morning we decided to explore the area and we ended up in Madison. We found the Mountaineer Cafe very simple place, clean, bright, clean bathroom all your need in a morning breakfast place nothing fancy at all (not that its a bad thing). I ordered the pan cakes and they were great pancakes, I also tried biscuit with eggs and cheese which my wife ordered it wasnt bad at all. read more

I stop here often when in the area. Reasonable prices. What they do, they do right. One of the few places I can get good sausage gravy and biscuits. Homemade pies are a must. They have daily specials. read more

Nice and clean restaurant, server was great! Coffee was good and the food was good. The waitress gave a few recommendations one was the buttermilk pancakes with chocolate chips. The other was the mountaineer. Which has toast, bacon, ham, sausage, eggs and sausage gravy two biscuits. We both ordered her recommendations and it was good. The mountaineer is very filling. If you go away hungry it's your own fault. The pancakes were good didn't need syrup on them. read more

Mountaineer Cafe - The Mountaineer - Desserts Near Me - Madison, Virginia

Great homestyle food, great people. Service is very very very slow, if you're hiking this not the ideal spot.

Fantastic! Food like mom use to make :-) and the price is great too! Place is clean, and staff is friendly.

Burgers were great (and cheap!) as usual. We really hope the new owners bring back the local sports teams decor -- it really made us feel like a part of the town whenever we visited. Friendly staff! read more

The rudest people I've ever met in my life, the worst service, and when we finally got our food it was absolutely atrocious. Never coming back - try a few towns over, Culpepper has this real nice little breakfast place called the Country Cafe. Real southern food and real southern charm and hospitality. They gave my mom flowers for being a first time customer. Fast service and amazing food for a real cheap price. But in all honesty you'll be treated better and eat better at McDonald's. Cheaper too. read more

A group of us ate here for a Sunday morning breakfast. The service was incredibly friendly, and the food was more than adequate. A few of us had the biscuits and sausage gravy, which we weren't wild about, thinking the gravy lacked the proper amount of sausage. Others in our group ordered the standard egg and home fries options, and everyone was happy. The coffee kept on coming. I'd certainly come here again. read more

Had a high-quality country breakfast here the other day. Love hitting up these small diner-type places after long hikes. Will definitely return! read more

Excellent. Almost missed this wonderful cafe and diner. The staff were warm and welcoming. Breakfast was great - especially the pancakes.

One of my favorite little spots in Madison county!! This is no fine dining restaurant by any means morrow a hole in the wall joint but we all know they have The best food!! Service is always great and food is always good! If lookyour ing for a small hometown diner with great food.. this is your place.. && you have got too have the creamed chipped beef sooooooooo amazing!!! read more

Was looking for breakfast with the family but most places in stop serving breakfast after 10:30am. Starting driving up 29 and bumped into to Madison and found this place. Just a good old diner with lots of locals. The food is basic and on a Sunday it was a little slow but the service was friendly. You can tell this is the town meeting place. Prices were very reasonable. And the town seems like a great place to take a walk with lots of cute little businesses and wonderful old buildings. I would like to come back again for lunch or dinner. read more

We were visiting in Madison and went to the Mountaineer Cafe for breakfast Sunday morning. When we got the menus my first word was wow, which made my wife cringe until she looked and saw the wow for for the pricing which was so low it looked like a mistake. Not to be fooled though, the breakfast was fantastic! The service was great even for a busy Sunday morning. We would absolutely recommend the Mountaineer Cafe to anyone. read more

I am a Madison County resident. I love the Mountaineer Cafe and go there often. The fried oysters are excellent, along with the fried squash. Those items are hand-prepared there. Daily specials are always good. They serve beer. A TV is available behind the serving bar. Serving is personal and you don't get a check -- you go to the register and tell them what you had. This is a great place to stop so don't miss it when coming thru Madison. read more

I agree with everything reviewer Steve said. It's a nice little casual place in a small town. It isn't fancy but it is good and inexpensive and a great pit stop if you're traveling along US-29. Sure beats Hardees, McDonalds and Burger King and I think it was cheaper, too! read more

Stopped on the way back to DC from Shenandoah. Crab cake was delicious and fries were good too. The grilled ham and cheese was just ok. The best part about the meal was the pie at the end! Baked fresh and delicious. We had the toll house pie and Oreo pie but wanted to try everything. Appropriately priced and very friendly service. Worth the stop. read more

Super friendly staff!! I was in a huge rush to get to Charlottesville and needed a quick snack. Food looked great and would have loved to have sat down to eat. I let them know I was in a rush and they quickly boxed up some potato salad and coleslaw and rolls. All were very fresh and tasty at a great price. Place was filled with friendly locals. Will be back to sit down next time. read more

Great local place. Just off 29 in the center of town. Newly renovated, clean and great breakfast. Was packed the Sunday we were there - a popular place. read more

Delicious breakfast. Country ham is very good, biscuits are great...chipped beef terrific. ..pancakes, awesome. Lovely, clean and fantastic service. read more