My husband a I really enjoy the food, the quaint, hometown feel of the Silverado Cafe. We've gone for breakfasts and taco Tuesday. one of our favorite things is the beautiful drive out to the Canyon area. The restaurant is located in the Cleveland National Forest, hard to believe you are still in Orange County. read more

The service was great, constant refills and didn't wait long for anything. The food was amazing! I had chili verde omelette.... it was amazing with a lot of meat! My friend had pork chops and eggs, and also amazing. Not salty, which is the usual issue with breakfast. Cooked well, chops weren't dry. Omelette wasn't dry. Meat was tender, tasty. We were visiting, but if I am in the area again, I will make a point of going here. read more

We love this place. The food and coffee is just okay, very much like a diner, but the atmosphere is why we come. We like to get away and feel like were on vacation and that's what this place does. It's cheap and friendly and usually not too busy and you're out in the county yet your 10 minutes from home. We love it and visit often. read more

Really enjoyed visiting this cute spot. Came on a Sunday evening, so it was pretty quiet. The waitress was delightful! She was very sweet to everyone that came in & provided great service. The food was tasty. Typical diner fare. Burgers, sandwiches, tacos, etc. I recommend the Ortega burger & the plentiful chocolate shake. Will definitely have to come back & try the Al Pastor burrito as well as breakfast some time! read more

This is my 1st time here...Great Food, Great Service, Friendly Watress... Love this place! This will be my breakfast place from today on!

OK, not fancy, cash only BUT good food, good prices and good service. We stopped there for lunch, small crowd inside, small inside period! Good menu, oh they have shakes(not small either) and the day we were there a $6 steak sandwich special !! Well gotta try a $6 steak sandwich special AND very good, really ! Plus I got a shake (did I tell you they had shakes?). Fun place, like to try a breakfast there--on a weekday, weekends on that road can't be fun-- So if you're in the area, want to try something "different" this is a must stop! read more

It's actually been several years since I ate her but the food was great! Good ol home cooking. Location also made me feel I was on mountain, small town vacation!!! read more

Just moved here and Tuesday was my first time coming in. I love this place! Will be coming here more often and for sure every Tuesday. They have taco Tuesday (1$ hard tacos & 2 for 5$ street tacos) the tacos were so good! The atmosphere and people make it all that better. Loved this place read more

Been here three times, twice on a Friday and once on a Sunday for brunch. Friday's Italian dishes are amazingly good. It's my favorite day there. I have to try Taco Tuesday's. Prices are very reasonable. Very friendly staff--it's a place where I can definitely enjoy a meal and relax. I definitely recommend this restaurant and will be back. I love the location too--hidden and peaceful--far enough from the city and close enough so I don't have to drive for a long time. I just take the 91 fwy to the 241 toll road and get out the first exit. It's also very close to the Irvine lake. read more

Had a wonderful time at the cafe. The cinnamon french toast is so yummy!

THIS PLACE IS AMAZING! The food is really good. The staff is super nice! And it is impossible to hate this place! The setting is also great!

everyone wears masks and the food is amazing!! all the workers are super super sweet and the prices aren't entirely unfair either!!

We ate here with the kids and loved it. We miss the feel of true small town diners that are not part of a chain and this fits the bill! The kids devoured the pancakes and my wife loved her omelette. The waitress was super friendly and helped us find our way to our next destination. Fun spot too bring a young family and then head up the road for a hike. read more

My boyfriend brought me here for my first time on Sunday for a late breakfast. It had a small town/ local feel to it. Very friendly and fun! I ordered the biscuits and gravy, and a mimosa. The breakfast was delicious and I love that our waitress had a heavy hand when it came to pouring the champagne! I would definitely come back! Keep up the good work! read more

The food was good and the staff was a friendly. A nice place to stop and refuel after a hike in Black Star Canyon.

The nice waitress brought my son her jacket because he was cold! (Not the red head) Food and service better than expected!! Love this place! Had great Mother's Day breakfast. Hopefully they get the Cinnamon Rolls and credit card machine back soon. read more

Came here after a morning hike in black star Canyon. The waitress was unpleasant and not very friendly, and the food was mediocre but still pricey. I had fish and chips. The batter was thick and hard, and the fish seemed slightly undercooked inside. The fries were completely hard and bland. Both of my friends were also disappointed in their food as well. I definitely don't recommend this place. read more

Played hookie from work with my boyfriend and came here for breakfast on a random Monday. Wow. ..it's small, rustic and quaint. Serves mimosas which is key! The service was great and the food was amazing. I had the chicken fried steak topped with gravy (bacon gravy that is!), side of sunny side up eggs, a biscuit (aka, fluffy pillow of love) and the most perfectly golden brown home fries. Yep, just like random days off, this place is a keeper! read more

I have been here twice and can only speak for the breakfast. Both times were great. I love the environment, the staff had warm hospitality and the food was good. I will be back read more

Awesome hidden gem for a breakfast place. The portions are very large. The building is run down and it seems the bathrooms probably haven't been updated since the 20's. However don't let that stop you. The breakfast food is excellent. read more

They don't make them like this anymore. Family run, old fashioned service and never had a meal here I did not enjoy. The Silverado Cafe is more than a great little treasure, it's and escape back in time...I hope this canyon never changes. read more

Hands down one of my favorite breakfast places to go in OC. I often find excuses to go to Silverado Canyon just to eat at this Cafe. Never been disappointed by the food or service - one of the few places I completely finish everything on my plate (delicious!). If Newport wasn't so far from Silverado, I would totally be a regular - They have a wonderful menu with something for everyone. What I like the most is how non pretentious it is and how it reminds me of a small cafe in Cave Creek or another western style town. read more

The Silverado Cafe is a quaint cafe tucked away in the Silverado Canyon. They have great food with a friendly staff. It's nice to go into this friendly atmosphere where the servers often remember what you drink. The place has the best taco's on Tuesday night...$1 each..seriously probably the best tacos I've ever had. It's under new ownership and I can't say enough good things about the new owner. Take a trip to this cafe and you wont be disappointed. read more

Went on a Saturday for an afternoon lunch with My Fiancee, and our kids. Ordered the Chili Burger, my Fiancee ordered the French Dip, my son ordered the "Garbage Burrito" and the others ordered burgers. I love the atmosphere of the 'old days' of cowboys and miners. The staff was excellent, and the new owners were just awesome making us feel right at home. The food was great!! Tasty, and filling!! Highly recommended!! Yes according to other reviews that the establishment is out of the way, but worth it and if you find yourself around the area in historic Silverado, The Silverado Cafe is a great place to fill you up with homestyle cooking. read more

Come on, if you are the select few in this world that know of this tiny place, we both know you arent going there for the excellent food. Sure the food is good, but we dont go for the food. This tiny place is located in the middle of nowhere in a small canyon. There is only one street in and one street out. Cell phones dont work, and i wouldnt recommend you stay here after dark. The cafe is tiny with even smaller restrooms, the food is fair as well are the prices. read more

Have now been here several times when going to or coming from the Maple Springs trail. Every time I have been here it has been the same thing, borderline quality food and terrible service. Unless you are a local, it takes awhile to be recognized as wanting service. There are usually two women working for the whole place which has never been more than half full every time I have gone. Might seat 40 people, never seen more than 15 any time I went in so never too busy to explain the type of service I have received. One waitress is kind of Hawaiin Pacific looking with dark hair and the other is a light skinned slightly reddish hair woman. If you can choose, try to get service from the dark haired one, you might actually get service. The first few times I was there I made it a point to tip 20-25% of the check, hoping that it will get me good service the next time. After several tries, I am done with that. The red haired woman this last time doesn't even say hello or good morning just drops a menu after me sitting there for 5 minutes and says I'll be back in a minute. When she comes back she seems to be put out of place by having to take my order. Now, she has plenty of time to talk to a local up at the counter, but no time to wait on me. It takes me another 5 minutes to get coffee and water which I should have had before ever having to order. After I get my breakfast, there is no asking if I need ketchup/hot sauce/jelly/anything else, she drops the plate and bee-lines it back to the counter. I finish my breakfast (Chicken fried steak and eggs) and she never comes back to offer me a refill of coffee or water (I put both on the outside edge of the table so she could see they were empty from the counter where she was standing) or to ask if everything was OK. Drops off the check without a word and a look like sour milk on her face. When I go and stand at the cash register to pay, it is the dark haired woman who helped me and she at least was nice. For my $10.25 check I gave the dark haired woman a dollar. That was for her ringing me up, not for the "waitress" who "helped" me. Again, food is mediocre at best. You are much better served going past the Silverado Cafe, out to Santiago Road, turn right, continue on to Chapman and go to Johnny Rebs for breakfast instead. The quality of the food and the service is more than worth it in drive time. Actually, maybe the Silverado Cafe staff should go there so they could see what real customer service is. They have become too complacent and bored with their jobs to even pretend to care. Won't be back either by myself or my family of 5. It's too bad, the place could have potential if it was run right or had a manager on site that could fix these problems. read more

I have been here several times but will not go back. The food has never been good and restaurant has never been close to clean, but that's not why we went. We went for the cool atmosphere in the town and cafe. Today the red headed waitress helped us and she is a miserable lady. She sat us down without saying a word and came back and dropped the menus at the table-again a mute. You don't dare ask for anything because it irritates her to no end. She had a scowl on her face at every table, when she made It there, and everyone was talking about how rude she was. On the other hand she was friendly and helpful to the locals at the bar. She kept telling us we had to wait if we asked for something because she was sooo busy. There were 2 tables sat besides us and 3 locals at the bar-ya real busy lady. Food was gross and burned except the French toast, it was actually really good. We will not be back. They obviously want locals only. read more

I love the the food here it's the best even though all I've had is their breakfast burrito and pancakes.

We've been going to the Silverado Cafe occasionally for 20 years. We have never expected it to be something it is not--just a fun place to drive to on a pleasant Sunday, for a reasonably good breakfast. The food was ok, although I ordered my omelet without cheese, and of course it came with cheese. The service has become quite poor, with not enough wait staff to cover the number of tables. Today, the waitress picked up food chunks off our table, and didn't wipe it off, AFTER we sat down, and my son found a beer cap in his orange juice. Jam containers were left on the floor on the pathway to the bathroom, and a number of people stepped in it. We were told to hurry up and order as a "huge" party was coming in after us, and if we didn't order quickly, we would end up waiting "forever" for our food--that party never materialized, and although there were numerous empty tables by that point, the waitress still couldn't keep up. She also knocked over the cream pitcher near my son which wouldn't be a big deal if all of the other events hadn't occurred. I doubt that I'll feel the desire to come here again for breakfast. read more

I wrote the following review last year on 5/26/14. Just went to check and saw it had not been counted toward the rating of the restaurant, and it was pushed to the section of reviews that are not recommended. I put a lot of time and thought into this review. This is an honest account of my experience. It should be where people can see it. Please do not hide it again. There were so many things wrong with our breakfast experience at Silverado Cafe today that I felt compelled to warn others. They were pouring only half-cups of coffee, because they were short coffee the entire time we were there. They kept running out, and kept explaining that they were brewing more. No one ever offered us coffee refills; we had to get up to ask. When we finally got our waitress to come with our refills, what she poured into our coffee mugs was black tea, not coffee! My husband asked for Tabasco sauce, and they brought a bottle that was basically empty except for some drops on the bottom. They ran out of clean forks and gave us cheap, small, plastic forks. My husband asked fruit to be substituted for his bread, and they noted it on the check, but never brought him fruit. The restaurant was very noisy. The syrup for my pancakes was cheap imitation syrup. The omelet lacked cheese. We couldn't wait to get out of there, and will not be going back! read more

This place is a gem. Undoubtedly a locals spot as everyone indicates but I think it important to give a shout out to their food, because they do a good job for such a small place. I have been there a dozen times now and feel that the Ortega Chile burger is a favorite menu item adding a Mexican twist to something as common as the burger. Also, they have a taco Tuesday that is really impressive. $1.00 tacos, and great carnitas. I have had their carnitas plate several times and never found their carnitas to be dry or tasteless, a common blunder. Be careful on Tuesdays though, they get swamped, and no one likes waiting. They have Bayhawk on tap for cheap and I was truly convinced until I went to their Friday Italian night. I knew they could cook Mexican food, and I am not typically into a "theme cuisine," but I had the "Shrimp Fra Diablo," and I thought that it was spectacular. Quality enough to give a local Italian shop a run for the money. Admittedly, I have also been to the cafe when a second string cook was working the line and my Ortega burger was just mediocre, but I'm not going to hold it against them because cumulatively, they come out on top. read more

I really wanted this to be better, because I love these small mom and pop type places. But it was just okay. My turkey club was deli turkey and at the end of it's shelf life. Roast Beef melt was better. Fries were good and coleslaw was good too. Not sure I'd make a special trip, but would go again after hiking at Blackstar. The servers were excellent and i think the breakfast foods would have made a better choice. read more

Great food! I had their Eggs Benedict with mimosas and it was soooo yummy! The wait time and seating are a bit complicated but it's definitely worth it. Try the pancakes and French toast combo! read more

food not amazing, service a bit slowish, environment very cool

Went here today with the wife, New Years day. I am a server so I definitely judge a place by its greeting. Stood around for a minute or 2 waiting to be greeted or told to take a seat. Nothing. So we sit at the bar top. No greeting or hello or anything for a good 2 to 3 min. This is a one room restaurant. Continually walking by with no greeting. I watch a local walk in and get a nice warm greeting and Happy New Year. We live right up Santiago near cooks corner so this is our first time to this place and might have become a regular thing. Nope. Service was not real plesent. Food was decent and prices reasonable, but that doesn't make the restaurant. A first impression is a lasting impression. And my first impression was that they only like the people who live in a 1 mile radius. Also a couple behind us that asked us how the tamales were, they were also sitting for a good 10 minutes and then finally got up to leave without ordering because of the service. They weren't upset or anything, but figured why waste my time as he put it. read more

This is a perfect place to get away from the over Botoxed monsters found in South Orange County. This gem is perfect for getting a home cooked meal. Very simple interior, cash only payment, and old world charm. read more

We've been coming here for years and always love the ambiance at this cafe. The food, which is prepared in good time, taste like a meal at moms :) very hometown cooking and fast good service. Omelets and pancakes are our fave. Great for dates and family alike. read more

Silverado Cafe was tasty and cozy. The food was great. I came in with a large group of people, 13 total. We were lucky to get seated right away. The food was great too. I had the french toast combo which I highly recommend. We had 5 kids under 10 with us and as you know kids that age tend to be picky eaters. Everyone in my group enjoyed their food. My 8yr old son even asked if I could make his eggs like the restaurant did. We plan to be back. I didn't give them a 5 star because the female waitress was a little under-welcoming and only came by our table to take our orders. She accidentally added another meal on my tab, but that is to be understood when you are part of a large group. The waiter that took care of us later was extremely friendly and efficient. Overall, great place! read more

Best Country Scramble ever!!! Yeah I waited for about 20 mins to get my food. What do I expect? Its made to order! 5 star for the food, 5 star for service and 5 star for that Filipino server. I was craving for cottage cheese and unfortunately they don't have one, but this server went to the store and get one. Talk about doing an extra mile for a customer.... read more

Great for breakfast ..and you get your money's worth ..had the sausage and avocado and cheese omelette ..definitely going back