This place has such a cool, laid back vibe! If you're looking for a great breakfast, this is your…read morespot! The owner's pictures of them "biking" all over the country give you a sense of getting to know them without ever meeting them. Portions are large for the inexpensive price and there are so many options to choose from on the menu! If you don't want leftovers, I recommend splitting a meal. You won't be sorry either way! Our service was great and you definitely feel that local, small town friendliness with the servers. If we travel back to Clayton, we will definitely be returning!

The food at The Rusty Bike Cafe is very good and cooked to perfection by the staff. I had the…read moreRandy's Burger with crispy onion rings and pickles. The atmosphere is very trendy and has motorcycle, sports and racing decorations throughout the entire cafe. Definitely a place of my liking!

We wanted a hot breakfast while in town for a wedding and this cafe was so charming…read more We ordered a variety of breakfast dishes like the corned beef hash, omelets, and eggs. The biscuits were delicious and not too dry, but the corned beef hash was a little too salty (even for a fiend like me) and my omelet was both under and over cooked. Even if the food was ok, I have to call out the exceptional service we received. Our waiter was kind and attentive, clarifying whether we wanted sweet or unsweet tea (my California ass forgot I was in the south now), warning us the kitchen was running a little behind due to the morning rush, and in general being a gem of a human being. I'd come back for that treatment! Logistics: - limited street parking in front - indoor seating only

When traveling to Bryson City, on the occasion of what has become our annual leaf watching weekend…read morevacation in the fall, we typically route our way to avoid the interstate roads. I call this our "blue highways" route, after the book by William Least Heat Moon. The rules are to only take routes that on the old atlas maps were "blue", and to stop and read any historical markers or signs. We like U.S. 76 through Westminster and Long Creek into Clayton. The point is, however, about 5 years ago, on a similar trip, we discovered the Clayton Cafe and it has become a planned destination for us along the way. The whole little township is lovely, with several interesting shops (esp. Butler Galleries). So, we have been here 6-7 times, and never been disappointed. But today, we were running late. We looked up the hours, which were 9AM to 3PM and perfect for our 1:45PM later arrival. Surprisingly, the restaurant was crowded at this late lunch hour. We were immediately seated at the only available 4 top. It was packed. The restaurant has two outdoor two tops, 2 indoor two tops, and eleven indoor 4 tops, for a max seating of 52. By 1:55, there was a wait list! People were even being turned away, and all different age groups were present, but the overall crowd was 50+, probably due to the peak fall foliage weekend, even though it was Thursday. There were even a few take out orders picked up. After prompt service and ordering, our food arrived at 2:05, about a 15 minute wait, which was impressive for the busy kitchen. I've written other reviews in the food and they all still stand. In fact, I realize that I go heavy here on the choice because it is so good. This time, as predictable, my order was the country fried steak, mashed potatoes, white sawmill gravy, collard greens and a biscuit. Five stars. Even though the steak and gravy was a little saltier than my current palate's liking, it was exactly the way it is supposed to be... I'm watching the salt in my older age, no fault of the chef's. Our tradition of the Clayton Cafe is now 6 years running g and we may just work this into a destination day trip. The nearby Tallulah Gorge is a nice attraction to add to our main event of the Clayton Cafe lunch. P.S. If fried chicken livers are the special, then the country fried steak will have to be "next time." And they do have plenty of healthy options, salads, a full breakfast menu, sandwiches, burgers, but we are here for the Southern Classics.

We had a great experience at the drive through this morning. Friendly and quick. Easy drive-up…read moreordering. Bacon Egg & Cheese on a huge 4" soft biscuit. Fantastic! Two Biscuits & Gravy. Was a very large portion! Even for two people to share. Big chunks of southern sausage. The gravy was denser than we like (think paste) and had way too much black pepper. Pepper to the point it was gray and black pepper spicy. Black pepper was all we could taste. Probably won't get this item again unless they change their recipe. Overall we will go back to try other items

In my humble opinion the biscuits while very big are also dry and crumbly. I have tried several…read moreitems seeking one I considered good enough to try again. The only one that I'd put in that category is the hot dog.

Good service, good food, good prices. If you like a place that serves good old fashion cooked…read morefood, this is the place for you.

Great place for breakfast. Tends to be busy in the mornings on weekends. Plenty of on-sight parking…read moreand casual ambience.

Sadly, they have closed They will be missed as they made the…read morebest chicken salad Luckily The Secret Garden is right across the way

Great casual food. We got the grilled chicken sandwiches (tasty chicken breast, lettuce, tomato,…read morepickles, onion, aioli sauce), beet salad, fries, onion rings (beer battered, so good), and iced tea. All delicious. Friendly service. Free refills.

Nice place with lots of room for improvement. The setup is really cool, love the layout, the games,…read morethe bar, the views and access to the park. Service was (shy of one saving grace) meh and food was just meh. The menu had several items listed that really could bring this place up a notch. Hubby ordered the duck Cuban which was really good. I had the chicken quesadillas, nothing to write home about. My girlfriend got the Philly and said it was good. I love the brand of chips they serve and especially the jalapeño queso chips. They were out of wings. This is a miss considering how this was one of if not the last weekends of the season to see the leaves change colors, it's going to be busy and wings aren't hard to stock nor do they go to waste at a restaurant/bar. They should've been prepared. The setup is you order at the bar, take your drink and a number to your table and they bring your food. Cool. They bring our food out and my gf asks for napkins and they tell her she's gotta go back up to the deck to get them. Huh? Why didn't they just bring them with the food? We have fresh food in front of us and now have to leave that food to get napkins? Here comes saving grace because as soon as that server made it back to the deck, a different server comes out to our table with a caddy of napkins. She was really cool, and much appreciated! They have a target audience (people coming and going to and from the park) so I guess they don't have to deliver stellar food and service but to miss on both is disappointing. People are making memories with their families. And it wouldn't take much to tighten up and deliver amazing food and amazing service instead of just being convenient. I chose the place for our party of 8 and I felt bad. Thankfully I think everyone was too tired and cold to complain.

We came here after our hike at the gorge for lunch with our three kids. We moved from TX a few…read moreyears ago, where there were often restaurants with play areas outside for kids, and we loved that this setup was here too. It made our time relaxing and gave us time to bond while playing as a family--the kids also played while we enjoyed a beer. Brilliant. The wings are smoked by hand and were a highlight. We also enjoyed the nachos and the power bowl (the chickpeas seemed roasted on site as well). We left with full bellies and happy memories.

Cute place with great service. Cinnamon rolls and muffin were very good. The bacon, egg, and cheese…read morebiscuit was big enough to split. Biscuit was fluffy with crisp bacon, eggs cooked to order, and your choice of cheese. Definitely enjoyed the frozen hot chocolate. The sweet potato pancakes were a bit heavy on the spices but still good. Bacon was cooked crispy, as requested. I liked the jalapeño cheddar grits, not enough heat to make them hot but a good balance of flavors.

First time visiting- - the atmosphere is very cozy inside and they even have plenty of outdoor…read moreseating-our waitress Lexi was very friendly and happy to share her suggestions on what to order for our breakfast! I ended up having eggs Benedict with avocado and home fries- my husband had the Big Bear- the food was amazing, very flavorful and warm. My sweet tea was delicious and not too sweet and the orange juice my husband got was fresh squeezed this morning. We will definitely be coming back and asking for Lexi as our server!

This is THE spot for breakfast! Quick, friendly service. Fresh, delicious food. Great omelettes!…read moreThe biscuits were soft, fluffy and fresh!

Great service. Clean restaurant overall and bathrooms. The food was tasty albeit a little pricy…read more Kids pancake was cute. Enjoyed my Spanish breakfast dish.

Cherokee/Bryson City area has been my little vacation spot for the last decade of my life (I grew…read moreup coming to this area in the summers to tube). I've been coming to Qualla Java Cafe since probably 2016. I can honestly say after 10 years, I've never had a bad drink here. They have a bunch of drinks - all with pretty fun names. Again, I've never had a bad drink here so it's fun to just randomly pick one. The service is always really fast and I'm never really in their long. Sorry if my review isn't better - coffee shops are kind of hard for me to review because coffee doesn't really look good in picture form. Just drink it!

Stopped here after going through the Smokey Mountains. This place is super cute! They have a large…read moredrink menu from teas, coffees, to lemonades and smoothies. I've had their chai tea before and they were really good but I opted for an orange hibiscus lemonade. It wasn't too sweet and was very refreshing. They offer a variety of non-dairy milk alternatives too. There are some bakery items but I didn't see anything labeled gluten-free. They have restrooms available for customers in the back and many different seating areas. There is also a patio outside that overlooks a creek where you can sit as well.

This place blew me away. The food was absolutely tasty and the offerings were amazing. If I had…read moremore time in Clayton, GA, I probably would have had all my remaining meals here. This diner is located in a back street, next to a market and close enough to a strip mall with restaurants. It's a quiet place although lots of people come in and out. We sat down, got our coffee, ate our meals, and wondered if we could eat more. The food was so tasty that we really wanted to take more food with us. I had a chicken fried steak and my gf had an omelette. Every table around us was busy eating, we were not the only ones who appreciated this food. For a humble place with delicious food, the prices were average. The coffee could use a little help, as well as the A/C, but all in all, it was a win for us hungry bears.

Went here on a Sunday morning for breakfast. We were seated right away at the last booth available…read more Our server was quick to take our order & our food came out in no time. My husband ordered the home fried potatoes. They were cold. The server brought him a hot batch. My daughter ordered the "homemade" biscuit. It tasted like a frozen biscuit. The grits and eggs were not seasoned at all. I will definitely look elsewhere for breakfast. Very disappointed.