The restaurant is small and clean. Service was great. I had the egg combo and it was good. But, other breakfast spots have more options for less money. read more

Excellent family restaurant. Everyone's food looked delish, fresh bright fruit, crispy potatoes & a bag of where they order their grits so it's not boxed Cracker Barrel type. Very cute artsy decor & friendly servers. The older gentleman seating customers was very accommodating & while people waited outside he brought them coffee. Awesome! Ordered the Steak & Eggs, 2 Eggs Combo w/ Bacon, Crispy Chicken & Pancakes, Turkey Bacon Pancake Sandwich! Absolutely delicious home cooking! I highly recommend all four. read more

When we arrived there was a little bit of a wait as the restaurant was completely full. The food was good and the fruit was fresh, which I always really appreciate. A single order of beignets provided a good size serving that multiple people can share. They were very good. My husband was hoping to order Steak and Eggs, but we found when we arrived that it is no longer offered on the menu. He was also hoping for fresh squeezed OJ, but that wasn't available either. Overall, the food and service were good but it did feel a bit crowded and the menu was typical (with the exception of the beignets). read more

Visiting from out of town and was looking for a Breakfast spot for the family and came across Shelly's cafe. We choose this place because my daughter wanted to try beignets. Went on a Saturday at Noon and there was no wait. The servers were welcoming and friendly and got us seated right away. Our orders came out fast. Food was delicious. Service was great. It was clean. The new owner came out to talk to us which was nice. Felt very homey. I love a place with great service. Definitely recommend Shelly's cafe. We will definitely be back when we visit again. read more

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So glad I found this gem. The food was absolutely amazing as far as flavor and freshness. We enjoyed everything we got it actually came out pretty quickly and our waitress was friendly and attentive. Though they didn't have grits which for me is a southern breakfast staple Id definitely go back and recommend any one visit for a great breakfast at a great price. read more

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I wanted to try breakfast outside for a change(read: My breakfast items ran out at home). I usually go to First Watch,but wanted to try another place. With yelp, I found Shelly's. Shelly's is located in an overly large and inactive plaza on Florida. It is close to the Florida/Bearss intersection. Upon entering , you see that is it is a very small cafe that can seat 35 folks MAX. I was greeted by Cameron, a very affable and efficient guy. I decided to get coffee but wanted something different so I got the beignet bites. Reviews heaped accolades on the pancakes so I didn't need an excuse to also order the Banana walnut pancakes lol. Impressions: Coffee: Solid coffee, but not my favorite ever. 3.5/5 Beignet bites: ($4) I've never had beignets but I really liked this . Imagine a sweet hot chewy pastry but in the form of spheres. There were approx. fifteen of them covered in mounds of powdered sugar. They are similar in size to "donut holes". This could have been breakfast enough with the coffee ! Since it was listed under "sides", I though the amount would be miniscule. 4/5 Banana walnut pancakes: ($8) . There were three of these pancakes and they were 4 inches in diameter similar to ihop. One cool thing is that they had a a lot of banana topping and walnuts. I assumed since they had those things on the inside that they wouldnt give them as toppings also. Great to be proven wrong! They tasted great. They really taste home made, like if your mom made them for scratch. While I love first watch's pancakes, they feel super heavy but Shelly's felt very light. I cant say which is better. FW has 2 big cakes for $7; shelly's has three smaller ones for $8. Draw Shelly's has buttermilk, chocolate chip, banana, and banana walnut varieties IIRC 4.5/5 Service Cameron was very quick in refilling my coffee and creamers. He asked how I found out about the place. I asked him how long Shelly's was and he said 1.5 years. Until recently, I havent gone to this plaza for anything but now I have a reason to! Overall: a great place to get breakfast in North Tampa. read more

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Have you been to Shelly's Café? It is absolutely one of my favorites! The food is delicious and clearly prepared with love, the service is some of the best I've received anywhere and they even block off tables for social distancing which I so appreciate! Everything I've ever ordered there have been delicious! Check it out! read more

Shelly's Cafe - The most amazing Banana Nut Pancakes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tampa, Florida

Was pleasantly surprised how much we like the food. Prices were reasonable and restaurant was clean. Only complaint was waitress did not come back with drink refills. Will definitely go back as she was young and probably does not realize coffee refills is a must read more

Shelly's Cafe - Beignets. Really tasty and warm - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tampa, Florida

Nice little cafe in Tampa. Food was delicious and the service was awesome. One thing to note is that they don't serve alcohol. It's located in a shopping plaza so there is plenty of parking. I recommend the French toast. It was delicious! read more

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Cute place in Good Food. Service was excellent. I had the ham and egg sandwich, which is served on pancakes. Yum!

Very good lunch place. In addition, a good breakfast place. They start early and close before dinner. I would said this restaurant is definitely 4.5 stars restaurant. They located in a small plaza and may be they are the only restaurant. Which make the parking area basically for this restaurant since no compete restaurant. I got the two pork chop. They actually has plenty of food because it come with two eggs, side of your choice and toast. I have my egg sunny side up. Seem like their egg are not regular egg because the yolk is more yellow. May be farm raise. I like the pork chop seasoning with a bit sweet. It look like Hawaiian style cooking. The chop is good grade because it has good fiber when you break the meat. I would compliment the chef skill to Caramelize the pork chop. The service is excellent. It is definitely the destination for lunch and Breakfast. read more

Shelly's Cafe - Pork chop with two eggs - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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Local Cafe in Florida Blueberry Pancakes had lots of blueberries and good flavor don't expect your normal size Pancakes these were on the smaller size just a little bigger than silver dollar Pancakes. The grilled cheese sandwich was good was looking for spicy mustard and they didn't have it. Overall serive was good very friendly and attentive however prices were high. $11 for 3 small Pancakes . Over priced I would skip this next time. read more

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For me, 4.5 stars, but when low prices & diligent servers are factored in (especially after reopening), FIVE stars seems fair. This restaurant has been in my "Must Try" Collection for at least a year. It has averaged 4.5 stars the entire time, which was my incentive to stop in today. (The low prices are welcomed when feeding my size 0 daughter who regularly orders two full breakfast entrees, as she did today.) The restaurant is located in a strip mall on Florida Ave not too far from Bearss Ave & I-275. There are approximately 3 outside metal tables, & 14 interior tables on site. While we were there, two young male servers handled the dining room & checkout. Both were friendly & helpful-- just down-to-earth guys. This is the first restaurant I've ever visited where every photo/picture on the wall is not only level, but evenly spaced. Fascinating. Our wonderful server Cameron did have a couple of missteps, but he immediately took ownership of them, which was impressive. My rye toast turned into delicious raisin bread toast, & my side of VERY tasty ham became four strips of excellent bacon. (I kept the toast, but did request the ham.) Cameron even boxed up our vast leftovers. Our food was very good, while the Banana Caramel Nut French Toast (@ $8.95) will be calling my name for YEARS to come (even though I got just two small bites of it:) Yes, it's A MUST TRY whenever you drop by! (See the pic for induced drooling, & notice the rhyme:) From the Vegetable Omlet to my One Egg Breakfast, we were more than satisfied. Oh, & don't pass on the Home Fries-- basically a soft, thin kettle chip that's DELICIOUS w/ ketchup! (My dad made them for us girls as kids-- I appreciated the nostalgia.) This is a great little breakfast & brunch cafe offering breakfast foods & lunch daily (w/ the exception of Tuesday). One of the interior signs mentions that Shelly's Chicken Sandwich is "better than Popeye's & Everyone Else's." I plan to return to take that challenge...while placing an order for the French Toast:-) read more

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the lady that helped us was SO cute and so sweet. they helped us as soon as we got in and made the environment so cozy for us to be in. the food was also so yummy and as soon as my friend and i got our food, we stopped talking for a solid 5 minutes. such sweet people, such yummy food!! read more

Excellent! Service was fast and smooth, pancakes were fluffy, coffee had a strong buzz with notes of hazelnut. Will be back! Thanks yall!! read more

After searching for a brunch restaurant near USF, Shelly's was the highest rated place to show up! Located in a small strip, the restaurant is easy to miss. Upon walking in, the restaurant is very bright and clean, with frames with inspiring quotes lining one of the walls. I went with a table of eight, and they gladly accommodated us. After being seated, it did take a little time for the waitress to get all of our drinks out and take our order. When the food came out, we were all very impressed. I ordered the Shelly's French Toast Combo, which came with two slices of french toast with strawberries, bananas, and blueberries, along with two sides. They are very generous with their portions, and I was extremely full after finishing the meal. When we were all finished, it was pouring outside, so my table stayed for an additional hour chatting. The waitress continued to look after our table and took the dirty plates away. For the price, service, and quality of food, I highly recommend Shelly's! read more

Shelly's Cafe - Shelly's French Toast Combo with Sausage & Home Fries - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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Amazing! First time here, staff was great and very attentive. We also had Western Omelet very good! read more

Shelly's Cafe - Caramel Banana Walnut French Toast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tampa, Florida

This visit was about what I expected, although I'm unsure on if I'd come back. I came here with family from out of town & state, hoping to find an easy breakfast place. Located to the left side of a somewhat run down strip mall, it was a little oddly placed and hard to get into but enough parking for our visit. We came in and sat ourselves, the tables were extremely close together and there wasn't much room for people to move in the restaurant. Our server came over, he was friendly and helpful with a nice sense of humor when my brother requested "medium rare" toast when asked how he wanted it (bread type, but misunderstood). I felt that our food and drinks came out quick enough, typical diner food with nothing special to stand out. I felt that it was a little confusing looking at the menu. I had the one egg combo with bacon, toast, and home style potatoes. The potatoes had a good crisp but nice softness inside, the egg was cooked over easy and correctly. I didn't get jelly for the toast and wasn't able to, and the only hot sauce available was Tabasco, which isn't really hot sauce in my opinion. In summation: real standard diner experience with neat art on the walls but cramped inside. For the aesthetic and food quality, I would expect a price to match but found the price tag to be on the higher side. Would consider eating here again some day. read more

Nice cafe. Easy parking. Good food. Great service! A few of us went there for breakfast. I'd recommend getting there early as the place starts to get crowded as the morning progresses. read more

Why 4 stars? Because our 2nd visit was distinctly different than the first. --- --- --- After my first trip to Shelly's, I was convinced that I'd just discovered some of the best pancakes that Tampa Bay has to offer. I absolutely loved everything I ate, but the highlight of the experience was Shelly's Pancakes, which were out of this world. I've thought about them ever since I was lucky enough to be in their presence. But unfortunately, visit #2 to Shelly's made it seem like there were some definite changes made in the kitchen since visit #1. My wife and I shared a Western Omelet combo with eggs and bacon, as well as the aforementioned Shelly's Pancakes. The eggs and bacon just looked... for lack of a kinder word... pathetic. The eggs tasted fine, but were super thin and just looked like they were mass-produced at some kind of low-end cafeteria. The bacon was sadly even worse on both fronts. It looked and tasted like it wasn't even real bacon that was cooked in a microwave. The western omelet was similar to the scrambled eggs - tasted fine, but just looked unappealing. The one saving grace of our meal were the home fries which were unbelievably delicious! I wish I could have those with every breakfast for the rest of my life! But onto the main event: Shelly's Pancakes. Last time, these were so wonderful that I wanted to get up and dance between bites. This time? Run-of-the-mill pancakes with fruit on them. I was so bummed! But because my experience was so epic on the first time around, and everyone in here has been incredibly friendly during both of our visits, I'm rounding up and going with a 4-star review. According to Shelly's expert, Chris W, he's had many 5-star experiences here, so I'm hoping that we just caught them on a weird day where the primary cook was sick, or something along those lines. read more

Finally! Proper French Toast! Shelly's is a comfortable and friendly breakfast and lunch café. The coffee is nice and strong, and the raisin toast (often hard to find) is good. Shelly's brags a bit about their pancakes and I'll try them next time. But for now, I wanted French toast. So often it's soggy in the middle and here it isn't. The bacon eggs were good. I thought it was slightly pricey. In any case, I'll have to return for the pancakes. read more

What a little gem. Very non descript but worth the find. The beignets are the bomb. Delicious warm crispy bites with powdered sugar. Jumped right into them. Then ordered an egg with bacon and potatoes and fruit. The waiter was super nice and suggested I order the fruit in place of the bread for an up charge. I said sure but did not expect the beautiful grout plate I got. Prices are reasonable and breakfasts are huge. Place was spotless and really cute decor. Find it and you will be happy. read more

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this is a great, cute little spot that is not overpriced. portion size was really good. my friends and i all enjoyed our food. service was also really great, we received our food quickly. Our waiter was super nice and it is clean inside read more

Shelly's Cafe - Omelette - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tampa, Florida

I rarely review restaurants but Shelly's really impressed me and my friends. I ordered the French toast pancakes with the Shelly's topping and it was excellent. The fruits tasted so fresh and combined perfectly with the french toast. My sides also were delicious, as the bacon was perfectly crisp and the potatoes were nice a toasty. Everyone in my group was left with a good impression and a full stomach. read more

Shelly's Cafe - French Toast with Shelly's toppings. Side of bacon and home fries. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tampa, Florida

I can't say enough great things about this place. Such a hidden gem that I'm so grateful to have found. The Shelly's Pancakes are my absolute favorite! They really pack on the fresh fruit. Also, their service is amazing! I've been here a few times and usually Cameron is my server. He's so kind and attentive! read more

Shelly's Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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Such a good breakfast spot! French toast was amazing, and the staff was super friendly!

We were looking for breakfast near Busch Gardens, but not a chain. This place was 10 minutes from there. We had French toast with bananas, strawberries, and blueberries. Syrup was also available. Our other dish was the Tampa omelet with ham, peppers, onions and hash browns on the side. We chose whole wheat toast. The coffee was good. All the food was flavorful and well prepared. Our service was great. Our waiter kept a close eye on our progress, and kept the coffee cup full. This is a good breakfast option anytime. Not just if you are going to Busch Gardens. read more

Shelly's Cafe - Shelleys french toast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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I came for the beignets and the pictures I saw on Yelp. After gorging myself on Beignets that were the mini version of a cafe du monde, I sipped on the fresh brew and ordered up a shrimp omelette. Shrimp and goat wrapped in a nicely cooked - not too hard, not too soft egg wrapper. Potatoes were thin sliced, triangles, fried to a some soft, some crisp. Mom had brioche french toast - the verdict is out on hers since she was too full from the beignets!! Huge side of fruit with the french toast, if you eat in, they pile it on top. Oh and you pick your bread to pair with the meal - I picked raisin bread & I am happy I made that choice! No one ever has raisin bread for a choice. read more

Shelly's Cafe - Coffee n beignets Yes please - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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Perfect small gem in the area. Food was hot and service was very exceptional. Lily was our server and she was BOMB! Prices are very reasonable and food was great. Comfortable environment and well kept/clean. Had a very small wait time to sit, but was quickly serviced. Highly recommend for a nice sit down breakfast/brunch spot. read more

Shelly's Cafe - Banana Nut Caramel French Toast, Scrambled Eggs w/ Home Fries. Shelly's Pancakes, Veggie Omelet, Home Fries w/ an English Muffin. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tampa, Florida

Shelly's is my favorite breakfast place in North Tampa. Shelly and her crew get it right every time. There is not one breakfast item that isn't excellent. Her home fries however are light years above everyone else's. The only unmet desire is that I really thinks she needs to add corned beef hash and eggs. Please! read more

We decided to try Shelly's cafe for Saturday's Brunch. The Cafe was small and cozy cafe. It had a pleasant, soothing ambience. The staff was friendly and helped us to decide the order. We first started with drinks which included Orange Juice and Hot Coffee. For brunch we ordered Veggie Omelet, Tampa Omelet and Shelby's Pancakes. Hot Coffee: The coffee was good and hot. 5/5 Orange Juice: We thought It was a tropical orange juice not fresh orange juice. This was only our complain. Rest everything was fine. 3/5 Tampa Omelet: Tampa omelet was healthy and fulfilling. Omelet was provided with english muffin and Potato chips. We loved the omelet. 5/5. Veggie Omelet: Veggie omelet was also healthy and fulfilling. Both the omelets were amazing. It was served with potato chips and white bread. 5/5 Shelby's Pancake: We loved the pancakes it was amazing. 5/5 We loved this place. This was our first visit and definitely not the last. read more

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Okay, we're not starting off that great. This is our first visit and the place is clean, the employees are nice and the atmosphere is great BUT we ordered our food and I got my home fries and eggs and they're still piping hot. My French toast and my bacon came later and they're ice cold, how does that happen in a restaurant that has a nice crowd but isn't really that busy at all. Still waiting on my food and my wife is finished hers, I don't know ‍ what's going one but with each passing second my irritation grows. I'm watching the servers bring people their coffee and food and here I am still waiting... The Good - it's really clean here and the atmosphere is really nice. The customers are all eating and smiling and no profanity can be heard at all, the servers are courteous and well manner. The Bad - I don't do much complaining about anything and it has to be really wrong or messed up for me to say anything, I normally just express my feelings in my review. I got my eggs and home fries first, the bacon came about 5 minutes later Cold , and the French toast came about 6 or 7 minutes after that, even colder. I cut into it and it was absolutely cold like it was made but sitting so I sent it back. The Confusion - One server took the French toast and bacon away, the other came asking if I wanted to order something else, all I wanted was my food hot, he said that we're going to put it in the oven and I said "whatever you need to do to make it hot"... about 10 minutes later, the owner, Shelly, came out with a fresh order, they deconstructed the French toast and also brought a plate with the bananas, walnuts and Caramel. She wanted to make a point I think to show me that the food was hot but the cold bananas they put on it made the French toast cold... Guess what, I put everything on the French toast the way they made it and then cut into it... it was STILL hot which disproves what she was saying, my food sat and they brought it to me cold. I understand that things happen, own your mistakes, don't insult my intelligence with unproven explanations and theories because I make it my business to blow it out of the water. The rating 3 stars because Cameron was a very accommodating server and he deserves credit for making it right. The owner could learn graciousness and humility from him. read more

Shelly's Cafe - And no one is killing each other over it. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tampa, Florida

So, I've been meaning to go to Shelley's and Sunday was it! We were a party of 8, but the service was still good... you never know with a party of 3 or more... but great service. The owner came to the table twice, great experience. I tried the food in all of my pictures.. Pancakes, French Toast, Pork Chops, Bacon, Sausage, Grits, English Muffins, and Potatoes... Everything was your average breakfast item, so I will speak on what did not work. The Potatoes and the English Muffin.... they were both horrible. The Potatoes were fried hard on the outside and almost raw on the inside... just awful! For the English Muffins, the brand they use is Bays which are hard refrigerated and processed, it is a bad selection. Do your establishment a favor and switch to Thomas' English Muffins and open them with a fork, this small change will do wonders to your menu! In summary, go to Shelley's it's an overall nice location for the area! Just take notes of the items you should skip! Enjoy! read more

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Amazing food and service! We got the Shelly's French Toast and it was delicious! Food came out very fast despite the busy Sunday morning rush. read more

We were looking for a place for both breakfast & lunch. This popped up on yelp. It was wonderful. Server was great! Checking if we needed anything else or any refills. Great customer service skills. Our food was delicious. Serving sizes were big. We enjoyed the pictures read more

Great local business! We found this place by accident, and I'm glad we did. The staff is really welcoming and friendly, the place is clean, and the food was served HOT. The fruit was super fresh, the fries were seasoned really well, the pancakes and French toast were delicious. Beignets, too!! Even my super picky kids loved it. read more

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This is literally a Mom and Pop restaurant. Mom and Pop opened a restaurant for their daughter Shelly. It is a family affair. It was our first time in the restaurant. The friendly waitress suggested the beignets... Holy Moly these are so Good we actually got a take home bag before leaving. Melt in your mouth Bite size Heaven. Shelly's Cafe serves breakfast and lunch... we decided on a very late breakfast. I opted for 2 eggs over medium that were perfectly cooked no runny white. Secondly I am allergic to pork so I was pleasently surprised they had turkey bacon as well as turkey sausage. I opted for the turkey Bacon... it was delish! I also had grits this was a different texture they were creamy and buttery not your normal grits. My husband had the pancakes ,eggs, home fries and sausage. He loved the homefries. They were crunchy on the outside like French fries but the inside had the home fries goodness. The eggs again perfectly cooked. The sausage was great! The waitress kept the coffee coming. The place was Packed with people. You could tell who the regulars were because the waitress and waiter would cheerfully say hello and call them by name. When slow moving elderly customers came in ...the waiters and waitress were very attentive with getting them comfortable and seated quickly. The place was packed with people of all ages. All tables were full including two outside tables. As soon as a party would leave they wiped the table down and new people walked in. At the end of our meal an sweet older gentleman came over to see if we enjoyed our meal.. we told him it was wonderful! He seemed pleased and bowed his head and said Thank you so much. The place was clean... it is in a small strip mall so there was plenty of parking. Also they were decked out with buc's shirts for game day with Christmas hats. So cute! I will admit one thing... because they were packed it was loud... so loud that my husband moved over to my side of the table so we could hear eachother. ( but for a restaurant being packed is a good thing) I believe we will be back. I brought our take home bag of beignets to my daughter who's eyes lit up at first bite! She exclaimed!!!!...Next time I go too! read more

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Absolutely love this hole-in-the-wall restaurant! My family and I stumbled upon it back in 2017 and it's still just as good now. The owners are such sweet people and the environment their restaurant creates is comforting to be in. I love bringing my friends here because there's something for everyone when it comes to a great breakfast/lunch restaurant. Definitely worth coming back to. I highly recommend getting their Crispy Chicken sandwich. I get it almost every time and it never fails to hit the spot. Be sure to try their Beignet Bites because nothing beats biting into a warm, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside pastry covered in powdered sugar. Also, I think they only do this on the weekends, but I cannot find cheese grits as good as theirs. read more

A good, solid breakfast. This is what you hope a breakfast place will be when you go out to eat. Friendly servers, clean atmosphere, and delicious food. We started with the beignets bites, and these were my absolute favorites. The bowl was chock full of very crispy yet fluffy mini beignets that were loaded with powered sugar - perfect. For my meal I had Shelly's Pancakes combo. I'm not usually a pancake person, but the pictures I saw of the pancakes topped with fresh strawberries, blueberries and banana slices looked so delicious, I knew I had to have them. I had them as a combo, so they came with bacon and home fries. The pancakes were great, the bacon was okay, and the potatoes were a bit greasy, but overall the food was really good. Service was okay - our waitress was very nice, and she was efficient at the beginning, but seemed to slack off near the bill-paying time, in her efforts to clean tables, etc. I love that the Owner came over mid-meal to inquire how everything was. All in all, I look forward to returning and working my way through their menu. read more

Shelly's Cafe - Light, fluffy and delicious Shelly's Pancakes. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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Nice little breakfast spot. We came for breakfast around 11am with a party of four. Wait was about 10 minutes. Good thing we came when we did because three more parties showed up right behind us. We sat and they took our drink order. Waited 10 mins for waiter to take our food order. Busy place. There is only about 20 tables and the tables are a bit crammed in. Not much room for waiting inside. There are two benches out side to wait once etiquette get a number. We had the omelette with shrimp (nice sized portion of medium sized shrimp and came with two sides), banana pancakes (fluffy pancakes with fresh bananas), the four egg combo (large portion, eggs your way, choice of sides) and the crispy chicken & pancakes (juicy chicken breast with crispy buttermilk breading, fluffy pancakes). Tasty selections, but very crowded. Service is a bit slow but the wait is worth the wait. read more

Shelly's Cafe - Crispy chicken and pancakes with side bacon. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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