Biscuits & Gravy were different!!! Biscuits were very good, sausage gravy different from normal!!! Ham & Cheese also different, but very good!!! Service was excellent!!! Kept up & always attentive!!! Decor from the old days !!! Very interesting!!! If you're kids or grandkids never seen a rotary phone or dial radio, this is the place!!! Highly Recommend give it a try!!! Very nice small place!! read more

See all

Met a friend there. It was a cold wet day so we both ordered hot tea and soup. The server was quick and polite and accomodating when we asked for more tea and honey. The cafe is one of only a few places in the county seat that survived the 1960's urban renewal project and has several vintage and antique items. read more

We were in town nearby visiting Headlands Beach State Park and decided to stop by for brunch. Charming place with friendly wait staff and very affordable prices. The French toast was some of the best I've ever had, perfect thickness, eggy and delicious. We also ordered sausage gravy and biscuits (not pictured) and split it. They griddle the biscuits so they're nice and crispy, very delicious. Highly recommend this local business if you're in the area. read more

Good breakfast..cheese in 2 egg since they do not make omelets, despite veggie omelet written on the cafe window. Grits were hot and tasty. I appreciated cook realizing he sent out eggs with wrong cheese in it and sent out correct order, but I hated to waste good. Pretty quiet morning when I was there. Good service. read more

Sidewalk Cafe - Rye toast, Special - Eggs & No Meat, grits - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Painesville, Ohio

I love the old school vibe all this place. The servers are friendly. The food is very good. If you like more intimate places to eat this is a great place to have breakfast. read more

Sidewalk Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Painesville, Ohio

See all

The food was great. Great selection a true home cooked meal. The service not so much. Two woman behind the counter and one couple seated enjoying there breakfast. I waited 10 minutes plus for service the one woman was on her phone with ear buds on. I thought she addressed two times but realized she was on the. The she proceed to tell her co worker she needed to step up her game. I felt that whole thing was rude. The restrooms needed attention. The ambiance was cozy but messy. read more

The service was amazing!! Food was 5 star worthy the Big Breakfast Sandwich was Awsome! Would come again!

I order every morning after work. The food is made is perfection every time ! Never disappoints ! Grub hub is iffy but pick up is fast ! The lady in the morning is rude ( I reached for my bag clear as day and she sits it on the table next to my hand wtf ) Customer service skills 0 ! Other than that the chef is awesome if it wasn't for him I'll never come back read more

Great lunch last week. We walked in and were able to seat ourselves. There was not much of a crowd. The service was good. They do have some cool decor which I will have to get pictures of next time. I had the bacon and swiss burger, fries, and q cup of chili. The chili was absolutely fantastic. It was hot and had just enough spiciness that it wasn't overbearing. The burger was delicious. It came with bacon and swiss cheese, go figure given the name. It also had lettuce tomato, onion, and pickle on it. The burger came out hot. The patty was a nice size. The lettuce and tomato tasted very fresh. In all it was a very good burger. The fries were fresh cut. I would have liked them a little crispier but they were very good. In all it was a great lunch and I would highly recommend. read more

See all

I walked in to be greeted by a woman on her phone. I asked about the soup that is advertised on the window. She simply said no soup without even looking up from her phone. I asked if that meant no soup today or no soup at all. She replied again no soup! Very rude! Not very inviting! read more

Sidewalk Cafe - The soup is advertised on the window! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Painesville, Ohio

Quality ingredients paired with poor preparation leads to a disappointing experience. Won't cook poached eggs is a major let down, amazing quality toast served with no butter, seemed as though all the breakfast meat takes a trip through the fryer to the well done state. I can see why they have a $6.00 breakfast special, it just isn't that popular for good reason. There are much better choices in downtown Painesville. read more

Most esthetically pleasing diner in Painesville. My favorite is the people and the food. You want over priced good service? Go to some sensitive hipster cafe. Sidewalk cafe is for those tough Ohioans that want a classic diner experience. read more

Had the breakfast special for lunch. Food was very good and Bria served me. Brian was very pleasant, greeted me as I came through the door and provided excellent service. Along with her supporting staff, everyone was friendly and inviting. Getting ready to leave and Bria upsold the hell out of a milkshake!! Highly recommend for a pleasant and inexpensive meal!! read more

Another great lunch at Sidewalk. Service was fast, friendly, and on target with orders. The grilled chicken gyro is a perfect light lunch with very good flavor. Everything tasted fresh. The bacon cheeseburger with two patties was a huge portion. Again, great flavor and prepared well. Everyone knows the fries are the best. read more

Sidewalk Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Painesville, Ohio

See all

Wow, probably the worst breakfast I've ever had, home fries burned and only little pieces of potatoes no slices?, omelet came deconstructed?? , 2 slices of plastic cheese ontop of omelet, was so over cooked omelet was rubbery, then sprinkled all over with oregano?? , absolutely horrible, not the same as it was pre-covid when was here last read more

Early breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. Best breakfast I have had in this area. Friendly staff. read more

I had never been here (or most places in Painesville) but a recent meeting found me in the area. I totally overestimated how long it would take me to get there (morning traffic usually sucks) and wound up an hour early. Thanks to Yelp I found this cafe near by. It's totally an older looking diner - several booths and a breakfast bar with stools. When I came in, I was greeted right away and the breakfast Rush was over (there were 2 dudes sitting at the bar, and people in 3 or 4 booths). I read the previous reviews and it seemed the biggest complaint was the service. I'm happy to report that I had great service. My waitress was training a new girl, and they both were nice. My waitress seemed to know pretty much everyone who walked in, greeting them by name. Regulars make me more comfortable with a place. I wasn't starving so just went for eggs and toast. My coffee cup and water were never empty, and the coffee was good enough (I never expect the best cup of my life or even great from a restaurant) - it had caffeine and hit the spot so I was happy. My table seemed clean and I appreciated that the waitress checked in on me without hovering or being annoying. Was it a fantastic breakfast? Nope but it was good and I ended up taking some toast home. Plus it was very reasonably priced. I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here but if I was nearby I would certainly go back. Their lunch menu looked promising. read more

Sidewalk Cafe - Very cute diner feel! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Painesville, Ohio

See all

I think this is the only the second negative rating I have ever written. I've enjoyed this place a few different times. Meh. I like the location... I love independents, but there is a clear lack of care from the management/ownership here and today was OVER the top unacceptable. 8/9/20 - here's to the waitress standing behind the serving bar, at the coffee station putting on her makeup (no mask, which I'm not entirely pro anyway)... but touching your face, openly spending the entire hour putting on your face - is by far the most unsanitary thing I've seen in a restaurant. And believe me when I say that going to pick up food in between your makeup session- I'm glad I didn't have to eat off that plate. All that being said - overall the food is quite good other than the frozen beef patties for the hamburgers (which otherwise were seasoned well). Come on people- that's just gross! read more

Delicious, good service, clean, prices are very affordable, I would highly recommend coming here for their breakfast options.

First time dining inside during this pandemic and I've seen pictures of the place but it's exactly how I pictured it. All the waitresses were very kind and making sure all customers got everything we needed. My only problem was customers walking into the place without mask and being rude to workers while they were talking to them. Manager should say something if a customer walks in without one. read more

I've never written a bad review, but this is the worst place I've ever been too. Horrible customer service. The server was having a bad day and obviously did not want to be there anymore. We came in an hour before they closed and she made us feel very uncomfortable to the point that we had to box up our food and leave. read more

Neat breakfast spot in downtown P'ville. Old building that maintains the character and ambiance of days past. Food is classic diner/Cafe style. Affordable and tasty. Check out the hardware store next to it for some more P'ville historic building/architecture. read more

My sister and I stopped in on a Sunday for breakfast and ate at the counter. We both had eggs, hash browns, and bacon. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was fantastically historic feeling. The service gets the place two stars, though. First, the wait staff seemed to be one male and a bunch of women who made a very public habit of scolding him and being annoyed with him. On top of that, our waitress showed very little interest in us. Most of her time was spent just beyond the end of the counter in a doorway where she was eating a plate of food. Not sure if her dining interfered with delivery, but the food took more than 20 minutes to arrive at the counter. After the food got there, I asked the waitress for a refill on my coffee, and she said, "Sure" but promptly when back to her plate and continued eating. When I asked her about it again a few minutes later she said, "Ugh, I thought she was going to do it" and pointed to another waitress with the coffee pot. She shouted across the place and asked the other to refill my coffee. Left a small tip. I won't be returning, though I really wish the staff weren't ruining the experience. read more

Sidewalk Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Painesville, Ohio

Love that I can order and pay online now. My food was ready to pick up and delicious. Portion size large. Plus the little things make it clear they're paying attention. Seasoning, garnish, extra napkins, extra sauce on the side; so many places just can't seem to get this right. I was greeted right away, very friendly. Take-out for lunch couldn't be easier, and when you only have an hour, that's important. I love sitting down at the counter for breakfast too. read more

While making my way back to New York, my travels took me through the Cleveland metropolitan area, as they sometimes do. By the time I got to Painesville, it was lunch time, and after putzing around the downtown section of Painesville, I decided to go to the Sidewalk Cafe. Conveniently located near a number of government offices (probably a healthy portion of their business), Sidewalk Cafe offers a number of breakfast and lunch menu options at very reasonable and affordable prices. The decor of the restaurant was a throwback to the days of yore, plus the service was really fast. Most of the seating is inside the restaurant, but they did have a couple of tables set up outside as well. I decided to order a tuna melt on Texas toast. This was one of the better tuna melt sandwiches that I've had. I'll have to keep this place in mind for any future trips around Cleveland. read more

Very old cafe. Quaint and nostalgic. Floors look like a dirty garage which is unappealing. Also the containers of brown garlic cloves in an unknown liquid on the table is unappealing. But the hot chocolate was good. read more

I got there a little after 11, so missed the breakfast special for $2.99. Ordered 2 eggs, toast, and bacon. Expected to pay a little more than $2.99. Well got the bill and it was $11.00. What did I get, the golden goose eggs? Dont think I will return. read more

Very disappointed, from the outside the restaurant looked very inviting, great location for downtown Painesville. Once we entered the restaurant we noticed it was dark and wasn't as clean as you would expect for a restaurant. As for our meals we ordered grilled ham and cheese, a bowl cheddar potatoes soup which was said to be homemade along with a cheese steak sub. The soup was less then desirable, made with fake Cheddar. As for the steak and cheese sub we haven't seen restaurants use steakums which we're grey, in a very long time and we eat out a lot. The prices were high for the quality of food they serve. The positives were the French fries. We feel this could be a great little restaurant if they would take a little more interest in the quality of the food they are serving. read more

This is a really cute and inexpensive place to grab breakfast, lunch, or a really early dinner. It's in the old Thayer's Pharmacy building, and the restaurant still has that old timey vibe that I love. It's not very big and it's usually pretty busy, but I've never had to wait for a table. I love their sandwiches and their veggie omelets. read more

This is a terrific spot for a nice hearty breakfast or lunch. They don't do dinner, but they are plenty busy from early morning till early afternoon. They also have al fresco dining on the sidewalk, complete with umbrella tables! ( weather permitting) service has always been above average and the portions are very generous. read more

Cute place, good location. Food is mediocre and slightly over priced. $1.29 for cheese on an already $8 omelet is excessive. Even then it's a slice of American cheese layer on top. Gets the job done but nothing impressive. read more

The only reason this got two stars is because the eggs and bacon was good. Other than that, my experience sucked. It was the most awkward experience I've ever had at breakfast. For one, the place stunk! It's old, and smelled of dust. All the 'decorative' shelves were dusty, too. Then, we had to ask for a refill of coffee, after watching the gossipy high school girls heads down texting for 5 minutes. I glanced over later noticed two girls whispering who then started laughing and looked directly at my table...noticed I saw them, and looked away. One of those girls was our waitress. Awkward! And the music was extremely loud. So, while the food was good, thanks to the cook, our service was poor and the place was dirty. I stiffed her on her tip, too...and I never do that! Being an ex server, my husband and I usually leave 25% tip averages. Try Jimmy's one block up if you want breakfast! read more

I hadn't been to the sidewalk cafe in a while due to cold food/poor service, but I thought I would give them a try again. Server was quick to take my order & brought out the coffee right away. I ordered the corned beef hash with OE eggs & rye toast. Well, the toast & eggs were fine, as was the coffee, but the hash browns were the worst I ever had. It really wasn't hash browns, but really dry, over cooked corned beef deli slices cut into strips over hash browns with well over a cup of nearly raw onions. My waitress didn't stop back to check on me, or I would have sent it back, so I picked out about 1/2 the onions and ate what was left. After I was done eating the waitress stopped back to see if I wanted coffee & gave me my bill. At no point did anyone ask how my meal was, or question the huge pile of onions on my plate. I considered bringing it up to someone on the wait staff, but they were too busy watching the movie "big mama" on the TV, which is about the last thing I want to see while eating breakfast ( giant brown cellulite in a bathing suit). Needless to say I don't think I'll be back, it's a shame, I'm not sure why customer service is so hard to find in Downtown Painesville. read more

I went there recently for breakfast and even though the food was good the staff is horrible. They were gossiping very loudly and were very rude when I had to ask three times for a coffee refill. I will not be visiting again. read more

Service was good, there was three of us, we had 2 gyros a Patty melt and a basket of fry's. Gyros were on the dry side. Fry's were the best !! All in all don't think it was worth $30.00 read more

they let me order and when my driver got there then decided to tell me what I wanted wasn't available and when I called then hung up on me. not reliable read more

All grits, little omelette. I ordered a cheese omelette and grits. I got about 3x's the amount of grits than omelette. The portion of grits was impressive but the omelette was small. Good coffee and service though. read more

This place surprised me. I was expecting a lame salad but it was delish! Service was extremely friendly, and prices are cheap. The Greek salad with chicken is great and my colleague said the burger was juicy and topnotch. If I could add one thing it would be more sandwich options like basic turkey and tuna. read more

My buddy and I stopped in here for a quick lunch after running some errands in downtown Painesville. It's a really cool looking old soda fountain type corner store that's probably been around since 1100 BC or something like that. What if I'm curious was that there were 7 waitresses working if it's time we went in there and there was about 7 people eating in them Restaurant at the time as well. There is an old adage that says if you have time to lean you have time to clean. In this case you have time to goof off and fart around on your phone. There seem to be a couple employees in the back of the house as well I'm don't know much about the finances of restaurants but I do know that you probably can't survive long selling BLT sandwiches and employing 12 people in any given time. The food was okay I had a BLT sandwich and a cup of chili. The chili was really good except for the large chunks of green pepper which I did not really care for. The BLT it was lots of bacon lettuce is crispy tomatoes refresh but what I found was that the Texas toast was very soggy with butter. I don't think they grilled the bread long enough for toasted it long enough for whatever they do to make it not soggy. I mean it was dripping wet with butter. Now I like butter as much as the next guy but I also don't want my bread to fall apart because is saturated with oleo. Overall if you want a quick bite it's kind of a neat place you get in and out fast articular server I believe she was training as she seemed pretty green but she didn't awesome job. It happened to be a restaurant of convenience for us versus a restaurant of destinations read more

Great food, Great service and very affordable. Their weekday breakfast specials are perfect for those of us on a budget.