I have eaten here a three times in the last month. Each time I ordered something different. I have to say, I enjoyed all my meals. Fish & grits with eggs, shrimp & grits, cinnamon roll waffles & chicken. The chicken was fried beautifully. I would order any of these meals again. You can't go wrong. Definitely recommend the Arnett Cafe. read more

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We continue to love this place. So glad it's continues to be a staple in the 19th Ward. Introduced more friends to it who don't live in the area and they love it as well! You can't go wrong with the cheesy grits, shrimp and grits and Chicken and waffles. The fried batter for the chicken continues to be the bomb! read more

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Strawberry waffles are amazing. The food in general is great. Location is great. The service is spectacular. The staff knows you by name. I love it there! read more

I was recently on a business trip with my boss and was in need of breakfast after a long flight and layover. We searched online and found Arnett Cafe. I tried the shrimp and grits with cheese and it was absolutely divine! After hours of airplane snacks it really brought us back to life. We went back a few days later before leaving to Rochester to try the Whole Fried Chicken wings which were fried to perfection. The ladies at the table next to us the last time we went had them and they really caught my eye. All and all would go back when we're in Rochester again on business. read more

The Arnett Cafe - Whole Fried Chicken Wings - Southern Near Me - Rochester, New York

Today isn't the first time I've enjoyed breakfast here. The service is a 20 out of 20, an extremely inviting atmosphere. I enjoyed the Belgian waffle, coffee, homefries, and 2 eggs over hard. even had enough to bring home to share. Plenty of food with reasonable prices. For 3 meals. the entire order with tip came to 40$!!!!! Service like this is almost non existent. Kudos to the young man who waited my and my daughters table and to the chef/ owner.. and the bonus is that I ran into some Sisters from Zion Hill there, also enjoying breakfast. Arnett Cafe is truly a neighborhood icon. Keep it up.. God bless read more

The Arnett Cafe - Cheese grits sausage and over easy eggs - Southern Near Me - Rochester, New York

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The café is on the corner of Arnett Blvd and Warwick Ave. I noticed it while driving by to a friend's house. I walked in, and sat myself at a table. Suddenly, a man started complaining about taking too long for his order in a very loud way. I didn't know if to leave or calling 911. Everything calmed down, he got his order and left. I found out he's a regular! The menu is posted under the glass at the tables. I ordered the Steak& Eggs Breakfast. A large sized steak, cooked to order, well seasoned, tender, delicious. Egg white scrambled and Home Fries with Onions and Peppers. Wheat Toast and Coffee rounded off the meal. Everything is cooked to order, hand cut and prepared fresh. As close to home cooking as possible. I'll return to sample other dishes. read more

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This place is so cute! It's a lot bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside. They've also got beautiful artwork on the walls. The people are friendly and attentive. We got the chicken and waffles to go because my SO and I had a lot of errands to run. The waffle was huge and topped off with 3 large pieces of chicken. The chicken was fried to perfection, and the waffle was a perfect texture of fluffy but just crisp enough. Topped with butter, syrup....mmmm. They also offer boss sauce (because what place in the city of Rochester doesn't offer boss sauce) and hot sauce for the chicken, which is what really made this meal amazing. Such a diverse mix of sweet, salty, tangy....I devoured this meal in a few short minutes. Will come back during a weekend and would love to dine in. I definitely would like to try the fish fry. read more

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First time at Arnett's with coworkers. We were the first to arrive Friday morning and service was great! I had chicken & waffles and ate the entire plate (except for what I shared). My coworkers had eggs and grits with their choice of protein. Arnett's is situated in a beautiful neighborhood surrounded by 3 story homes every where you look. It was a great start to our Friday morning. Would definitely go back. read more

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Great find! VERY clean and friendly. Delicious brunch and coffee. Creative menu. We'll be back!

Lord Lord, my Lord. Been in Rochester nearly a year and this is the best food I've had anywhere. Perfectly seasoned and moist fried chicken. Waffle crispy yet soft at the same time. Service was excellent with the staff knowing folks names and orders as they walked in the door. Great music and wonderful art on the walls. Please be patient as low staff means a longer wait right now- but absolutely worth the wait. read more

The Arnett Cafe - Chicken and Waffle - Southern Near Me - Rochester, New York

Stipped in for a quuck pick-up order. Restaurant is in the heart 19 ward. Easy access to parking. Restaurants is quaint and food was delicious. My order was ready within time specified. I ate the shrimp and grits. Great choice! read more

The Arnett Cafe - Dining - Southern Near Me - Rochester, New York

A great cafe with very courteous staff. Whenever we are in Rochester we usually have breakfast. I love the food and the atmosphere. The omelets are the best. read more

Depending on whose cooking the food is good and fresh. Service is OK and the ambiance is alright just too small in there for me. Will I go there again? Maybe read more

Chickn n waffles were very good. Just wish the wings were a lil smaller, otherwise enjoyed it.

What a great local find! As a long time resident of Los Angeles, I've eaten at Roscoe's in Inglewood more than a few times. I'm sorry to have to break the news to them - but the chicken and waffles from Arnett Cafe has them beat! To start, Arnett uses full size chicken wings and their skin is fried just right - not too much. Next, their waffle is a unique batter and a full Belgian size waffle - Roscoe's is the same type found at the Waffle House; basically a large Eggo. The warm hospitality l received at Arnett Cafe by all of the ladies was so great! Anyone near the airport needs to detour over here before boarding their flights - because you haven't had one of Rochester's best kept secrets until you've had Arnett Cafe's chicken and waffles! read more

The Arnett Cafe - Southern Near Me - Rochester, New York

Absolutely delicious food, great servers, and really fair prices. I honestly couldn't ask for more from a restaurant. Can't wait to return!!! read more

Their brunch items are still very good. I got the shrimp and grits/ chicken wing combo and added on a waffle. It was delicious. My friend ordered the American oxtail dinner special. She kept complaining that it was very tough and and hard to chew. I tried it and it was chewy because it was very undercooked. They didn't stew it long enough so those hard beef tendons didn't dissolve. There were also globs of unrendered fat on the oxtails that signaled it needed to spend at least an hour longer on the stove. We didn't care for the rice the oxtail came with, either. We had to throw her plate out and share my plate. I'll stick with the brunch. read more

It's a small restaurant with limited seating, but there is window seating that you can see outside. The service was friendly and food hot and fresh. It was good. There's enough free street parking too. I'd like to to go back and try their shrimp and grits the next time. Their coffee wasn't great, but overall it's a good spot to eat. read more

The Arnett Cafe - Chicken and waffles - Southern Near Me - Rochester, New York

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Excellent!! Every thing was delicious. The customer service was very good. They were extremely busy but managed to give us the attention and care that you would expect from a Five Star restaurant. Can't wait to go back. read more

I had chicken and waffles again (the most inexpensive in town IMO) and the consistency of quality was amazing. My friend had shrimp and grits, something I definitely have to try next time :) read more

Perfect place to find a good affordable food customer service is great , is in a good location

What's the point having opening business hours posted and you never open ON TIME. For three days straight I've gotten off work at 7AM, headed to this establishment, and it's been closed. I mean not a light on inside, 715 still darkness, 730 still darkness inside. Finally I gave up, I could understand if this happened once because life happens. But THREE times in a row basically means we get there when we want. However, let it be time to close and you try calling in an order (if they answer) or if they do they will say we're closing soon, try back tomorrow. Great food, when you do get a chance to experience it but the estimated wait time they give you over the phone is never what they give you. The chicken and waffles are amazing, the chicken is alway golden, moist, and fried to perfection. Hopefully this place can do better with timing, people do have places to go...perhaps consider changing opening hours because clearly 7am during the week is a bit hard for opening staff. read more

I love finding great breakfast places in Rochester. I thought I had found all of the really good ones when I noticed the great reviews that The Arnett was getting, and I had never even heard of it. I have been there twice now - the first time with my wife and the next with a friend. Both were very good. My wife and I went to The Arnett Cafe for Mother's Day after celebrating with our kids the night before at Good Smoke BBQ (hint: go there), and we got the early to make sure we didn't hit a rush. The place is tiny, tidy and welcoming. The art on the walls is really good, worth spending time checking out. The staff was pleasant and we were seated within a minute or so. The menus are under the glass table tops, and the specials are more like specialties. When I go to a new restaurant, I like it when there is a "first" item, so I can try what they think they are really good at. In this case, that specialty is Chicken and Waffles. I was still in a food coma from Good Smoke, and this promised to make that worse. Perfect! My wife decided on the Steak and Eggs, another of the top items. I wasn't quite sure how the chicken would be prepared, though I knew I ordered the 3-wing meal (you can get 5). I figured I knew what the waffle would be like. A short time later, out came 3 really big chicken wings, breaded and fried to a perfectly golden brown. These were carefully arranged on top of the waffle with a dollop of whipped cream (I had actually asked for that to be left off, but I am glad they made that error). The butter was melted in a cup, clearly not by mistake. It looked glorious. My wife's steak was prepared exactly as ordered and the was an ample amount of potatoes with the steak and eggs. As with the chicken and waffles, it looked delicious. I am a bit of a wimp with really hot (temperature) food - I don't like my fingers or tongue burned. I knew that the wings were likely to have just come out of a fryer, so I used my fork to strip off the ample wing meat so I could enjoy the combined flavors, though I was not entirely sure how I was expected to be consuming the meal. Turned out to be a good choice - YUM!!! What a great flavor combo! My wife was more than pleased with her entire meal, though she had more food than she could finish (remember Good Smoke?) so she got a box to take hers home. Me? I finished mine. It was just too good. On my return trip, I had a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. It was also excellent, with the hard roll nicely grilled. Do you like great breakfast places? If so, don't miss heading over to The Arnett Cafe. You will not be disappointed. read more

The Arnett Cafe - The Arnett Cafe menu under the glass tabletop. Oh, that's Chicken and Waffles. Yum! - Southern Near Me - Rochester, New York

Avid fan of chicken and waffles wherever I can get it here. Chicken is flavorful but nothing special or crazy. What really impressed me is that we got it to go and it was STILL decently crispy for the 15 minute drive home. Don't forget to ask for syrup or hot sauce because it's not included. The waffle was very soft and soggy when I got home and it honestly tastes like your basic pancake mix. I was looking for a lot more "put your foot it in" taste but it was just adequate. I also wish they included one more chicken wing with the order. I would suggest calling in and picking up since service seems to be lacking when you sit down. It wasn't crazy busy for 11AM on a Saturday but they seem to only have one waited who tried his best. However, he's clearly overworked and this makes him forgetful. I overheard 2-3 customers just leaving because he forgot to bring them parts of their orders. The woman working the counter was very sweet and efficient. In the 20-30 minutes that we waited for our food, it started to get much busier but would clear out. Seems like the regulars know to just get it to go. There's four tables or so in the entry way and a couple more in the back but the arrangement is cramped. I will probably come again but right now, Funk holds the place in my heart for upstate new york chicken and waffles. I wanted the flavors to explode in my mouth but they just didn't. read more

The Arnett Cafe - 2.50 ---side of sweet potato fries to go - Southern Near Me - Rochester, New York

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Best coffee on our trip so far, best chicken and waffles. Sorry I had to eat and then took picture. It smelled so good I couldn't wait to try it. Our waiter was very nice and we wanted for nothing. We were told it takes awhile and be polite to the waitstaff, but it came out quick enough, delicious, and you couldn't not love the staff. Definitely a return when in town place. read more

The Arnett Cafe - Chicken and waffles - Southern Near Me - Rochester, New York

The food is amazing and is on point but every time I try to place an order over the phone I have to call literally 20 times before someone picks up the phone. Today I couldn't get an answer at all but according to their answering machine they should've been open at 7a. I'm assuming they're not open yet though. I understand this is a popular place but if it's that hard to answer a phone and take an order I suggest you get more help to adiquately do so. Update: I finally got through to order the next day and it took them over 30 minutes to get my order ready and they told me 15. Not sure why it takes so long to make pancakes. read more

The food is delicious.. the staff is amazing and it's black owned! I've never had bad food from this place. I love them, the atmosphere and the food. This is one place I'm going to continue to support. I have one issue and that's on the busy days , there's usually a long wait but it's definitely worth it. read more

This place gets 5 stars for not only making amazing food, but having the most amazing staff as well! It's a small, kind of hard to find restaurant, especially for people who aren't local but inside it's bright and cozy. It's definitely the perfect place for a delicious and cozy brunch. I went with my father who came to visit. I got the chicken and waffles of course, and he ordered the cheesy grits with shrimp. We also ordered a side of eggs and homemade sausage. Everything was incredible. I have to say a special shoutout for those cheesy grits and perfectly cooked shrimp. The restaurant also makes their own hot sauce which is also incredible. It's not super spicy and has a little sweetness to it but it absolutely delicious. The food came fast and hot, and the staff were so friendly and the chef even came outside to say hi and hug everybody! One of the pictures below is of me and the chef, and he's the best! read more

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After the Yelp hype and missing a lunch get together there last year, I had to check out this place for myself. For almost 1pm on a Saturday, it was pretty busy but we only had to wait a few minutes to be seated. Our waitress was super friendly, and an excellent server. The staff seemed to interact with regulars with that spark of Southern hospitality. There is a window bench with stools that some people were eating at, but luckily we scored a table in the back, which I was pleased with because I didn't want to be near the door opening and closing in the cold. The back has booths for families too. There's a lot of gorgeous portrait artwork splashed on the walls, and some 60s music was cheerfully playing in the background. I ordered a coffee and the chicken and waffles. The coffee was excellent. Not that watered down diner crap. They also have a special lemonade, but I was good with the coffee. The fried chicken was probably the best I've ever had. It came out piping hot, with the perfect amount of crispiness. The chicken (3 big pieces) on the inside was still juicy and flavorful, not dry at all. The waffle was pretty good, and came with cinnamon whip cream, syrup and an extra side of warmed butter. ($10.95) The meat lover's omlette ($6.95) was filled with sausage, ham and bacon, and your choice of cheddar or American cheese. It comes with toast (rye, white, or wheat). The prices are good, and the food was exceptional. What a treat to have this place in Rochester. read more

The Arnett Cafe - Chicken and Waffles FTW - Southern Near Me - Rochester, New York

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I live several hours from Rochester but whenever I'm in town eating here is a must. The fried chicken is amazing!

We really enjoyed our brunch here. Welcoming server, warm atmosphere (love the paintings), and tasty, satisfying fare. Loved my shrimp and cheesy grits, and my wife was crazy about her salmon cakes. Good coffee too. read more

The Arnett Cafe - Yummy shrimp and grits. - Southern Near Me - Rochester, New York

I've only been here once and I'm a fan! The food and service are great. I had the chicken and waffles along with the salmon patties plate. Both were delectable. Truly a hidden gem in Rochester that is worth waking up early for. read more

The Arnett Cafe - Chicken and Waffles (top) and Salmon Patties with home fries (bottom). - Southern Near Me - Rochester, New York

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Shrimp n grits...it was my next order. Delicious mild flavors, the grits were a creamy comforting consistency. I wish I'd taken a pic, my dish was sauced more than the pic posted on YELP. The sauce was full of chunks of tomato, onion, celery etc. The shrimp were large and cooked perfectly tender. I'm eyeballing the chicken and waffles next. read more

I haven't been disappointed yet! The last time I was here, I was on a time crunch and they accommodated my family and I with ease. I don't remember the servers name (she had dread locks), but she was very attentive and patient with our party. We were on a time crunch and kept requesting different meals to be brought out ASAP. Also, someone from the restaurant went out to the store to get me a ginger ale. This is definitely a neighborhood/Rochester favorite of mine. I usually get the chicken and waffles (you can get cinnamon, whipped cream, powdered sugar, boss sauce, hot sauce, etc to fulfill your dreams). I hear the catfish is good too. read more

The Arnett Cafe - Southern Near Me - Rochester, New York

Arnett Cafe is a great neighborhood restaurant that serves homestyle southern cuisine such as shrimp 'n grits, fish 'n grits, chicken 'n waffles and much more. The actual dining area is fairly small, but they are able to accommodate the traffic of their customers reasonably. I recommend going during the week to avoid busy crowds or expect a wait during weekends. Also if you call to order take out, double the estimated time that is quoted over the phone for your order to be complete. For example if they say 20min then that really means 40min. This has happened to us several times and we have had to wait. Each visit, we've been for breakfast. Their breakfast is good. Their prices are reasonable and consistent. Customer service is very nice. This is certainly worth a visit if you're nearby. read more

My disabled sister, myself, and my daughter had a wonderful visit and lunch Thursday. After picking Barb up at the nursing home, we went to the Arnett Cafe and lunch was very good. For accessibility and seating I recommend it for wheelchair or walker. Food all homemade. Creole soup excellent, but was soup of the day. You can only hope to be there on the right day. I had bowl, Barb ordered cup. She also ordered home fries and a hot dog. Unfortunately, there were no hots available. Lizanne ordered short stack and cheese grits and a couple of eggs over easy. Fortunately, the egg order had been forgotten, because by the time she was asked if she still wanted the eggs, Lizanne had finished the grits (a large bowl) and most of the pancakes...with no room for eggs. The two of them had coffee and said it was very good. I had, in addition to the bowl of soup, a burger done medium well. Medium well is a tough order and seldom is it cooked right. But this was perfect, pink inside but no blood. And obviously made from fresh ground beef. I also ordered a house salad. Could have been a meal in itself: mound of semi-chopped lettuce with side piles of diced cucumber, diced tomato, diced green pepper. I had thought we were going to have to find Barb a hot dog, but after home fries, near a third of my burger, and a bit of soup plus a cup of coffee, she no longer had a desire for it. The next time I drive to Rochester to take my sister to lunch, we will definitely go to the Arnett Cafe. I don't see all the options to check so I will just add: good for breakfast and lunch, early closing; small table dining, seats maybe 20 to 24 people at a time; good for take out; accepts most plastic; quiet, NO CANNED MUSIC (a big plus for me); quiet neighborhood. Price $. read more

Chicken and waffle taste like heaven! I am in love with Arnett cafe. They're amazing. It's a cute small diner with the best homemade food. This will definitely want to make you go to sleep after having a meal here. The chicken and waffles is my favorite meal from the Arnett cafe. The wings are so big and meaty. They're so crispy and with the reds hot sauce and boss sauce it gives it the perfect taste. The homemade Belgium waffle is also amazing with the powdered sugar and syrup. Decius place to go and try! You won't regret it! read more

The Arnett Cafe - Southern Near Me - Rochester, New York

I was in town for the weekend and stopped by here due to a friend's recommendation. They did not disappoint! Amazing breakfast with some soul in it. I got the steak and eggs. It was cooked perfectly, the steak was nicely seasoned and you can tell they used a good quality cut. My friend ordered pancakes and it was by far the best fluffy pancakes we've ever had. While I was there they had a lot of take out orders for their chicken and waffles which made me think it must be really good and I wish I ordered that too lol! Hopefully I'll be back to try it next time. Reasonable prices and I love their hung artwork that was all over the wall as their decor. read more

Arrived at 7:10 am on a Thursday. They're supposed to have opened at 7. Knocked on the door and called. No answer.

I live an hour or so away, but stopped in on this lovely place when I happened to be in the area. I absolutely loved it. It's a fairly small place. The parking wasn't too bad, but it took me a while to locate it. The decor is simple enough. The owner was super friendly and helpful. I had the chicken and waffles. Some of the best I've had! The waffles were hot, fluffy, with just enough crisp. The flavor on its own was good. It was a great size. The waffle came with 3 wings! I loved this. I prefer wings to legs, and typically I'm used to being given one or two legs. The chicken was perfectly fried and seasoned well. I loved the portion, which was great especially for the reasonable pricing. I also thought the plating was pretty decent. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this place. I only tried the one dish, but I would definitely come back again to try more of what they have to offer, if I'm in the area. read more

The Arnett Cafe - Southern Near Me - Rochester, New York