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    Willalby's Cafe

    4.0 (148 reviews)
    InexpensiveBreakfast & Brunch
    Closed 6:00 am - 2:00 pm

    Willalby's Cafe Photos

    Business Info

    WILLALBY'S CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Dogs allowed
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Willalby's Cafe

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    Leon M.

    Bomb, bomb, bomb!!! The more that I come here, the more I'm impressed. Today was a bacon omelet with wheat toast and hash browns. Everything was excellent! If you're in the Madison area on the east side, come here!! (The drizzle on the omelette was by me and not the restaurant)

    Omelette!
    Khair L.

    If you're looking for a tasty meal at a very reasonable cost, look no further! We were able to be seated immediately at 930 on a Saturday but by the time we left, most tables were filled up. The service was routine and gave us coffee and water refills continuously, which was awesome. The place itself has some age but it has a very old school diner vibe, which we really appreciated. The omelette I got was absolutely loaded with veggies and the hash browns and butter toast were nice and crispy. Great experience overall, highly recommended!

    french toast
    Akshita P.

    A very tiny spot where every single seat was taken when I went in on a Friday around noon. Simple menu with cheap offerings. I got a banana waffle and we got hash browns to share. Waffle itself was kinda meh to me but great potatoes! All the savory options people were getting around me looked delicious so regretted not getting one of those. The salty melty butter was a yummy contrasting addition to the waffle but my friends who got french toast mentioned it was almost too salty. Great quick service!

    Ellena K.

    Somewhat hidden jem for breakfast off campus. Classic dinner. Not a lot of seating so get there early! Staff is always so kind and friendly.

    Tommy in his adult Onesie
    Cat K.

    This was a fun place to visit on our travels. Located on a street with lots of foot traffic, a fantastic Ace Hardware store, lots of little antiques stores, and interesting restaurants, Willalby's fit right in. There were lots of eclectic things on the walls. No two coffee cups were the same. People were happily jammed into close quarters. Tommy, with his flowing hair and brightly colored onesie, brought us great coffee and took our order. He also apologized when he realized he didn't turn our order in right away. We had plenty of time to fellowship with our coffee and to visit with the people at the next table and to watch people parade in and out of Ace Hardware. The omelettes we ordered were wonderful and huge! Mine was the Hart' Content, and it was packed with perfectly chopped/grilled veggies and lots of bacon. My companions ate most of their Willalby's and Ham/Cheese Omelettes too. Each omelette came with perfectly prepared wheat toast and has browns. The hash browns were yummy soft on the inside and deliciously crispy on the outside. Our local host told us we had to have one of the pancakes. It was bigger than the plate. We put that in the center and dug into it from all sides. Suffice it to say that we took away enough leftovers to fully satisfy three more people. What a great breakfast in Madison!

    bacon, eggs, hash browns and toast
    Nicole K.

    I wanted to try a new place for breakfast, and I came across Willalby's cafe. Great atmosphere, the breakfast was amazing. I am very picky when it comes to my bacon, and it was crispy which I love. It is a cash only restaurant but there is a ATM in the back of the restaurant. Aaron was great, he was funny and just had a great personality. The only small very small issue was the music was a like loud. It did not bother me but I could see where some people might have a problem with it

    Grits eggs toast
    Hector C.

    Love the environment definitely great breakfast food and mostly the friendly lovely staff

    Main counter and specials board
    Patti T.

    Sometimes places like Willalby's can be intimidating. If you've never been you might feel out of place because of all the regulars. Or you might read the reviews and think it isn't worth the "hassle" of paying cash, or waiting for a table. Let me stop you right now. GO INTO WILLALBY'S! This gem is incredible and soared above and beyond the reviews here on Yelp. Now, we read the reviews and planned accordingly. We stopped and grabbed cash on our way. We also chose to go early in the morning on a weekday based on reviews noting a wait for a table, or slower food service when busy. We rolled into Willalby's at 730am. Behind the counter a server greeted us and said we could sit anywhere. We picked a booth in the middle and reviewed the menus that were already at the table. Being up to date on the Yelp reviews, we knew they had good, giant pancakes so that was definitely being ordered. The server came over with coffee and got my wife her drink. We ordered and then took to admiring the art. Our food was out quickly - so I'm not sure why others have had issues. There were at least two cooks in the kitchen when we arrived and two more joined before we had left. Plus the two servers behind the counter. Everyone was incredibly nice and the food was great. The pancake is in fact huge so plan on sharing, bringing a big appetite, or taking some to go. Don't sleep on the sausage patties either. Delicious! And our eggs were cooked to perfection. We're already making plans to go back.

    My friends.
    Corbin B.

    Best greasy spoon on the isthmus. MSN staple. Love the vibe on the inside. Super memorable service.

    pancake
    Mag L.

    One of my favorite breakfast restaurants in Madison. I think it's very underrated! Huge portions for such an affordable price. I always get one of their pancakes and I've never been disappointed. My favorite is getting it with banana and walnuts. I love their vegan/vegetarian options as well. My whole family loves this cozy spot on the east side. The place is small, so you may have a wait on the weekends.

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    1 year ago

    This place is so cool! Great vibes, friendly staff, and old timey atmosphere. The food was great and came out quickly.

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    Marigold Kitchen - Bacon & Eggs With Potatoes & Very Tasty Sourdough Bread.

    Marigold Kitchen

    (905 reviews)

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    Capitol

    Discovered this spot while my little sister was in town visiting and now have already been back…read morewith plans to keep returning. I've ordered the same thing both times because I loved it so much- the Three Grain & Tempeh Bowl. It's so fresh and delicious, filling without making you feel over-full and gross. She had the Mushroom & Gouda Omelette and also very much enjoyed. The seating space is small so you can definitely run into a wait during busy times, but service moves fast! You'll order at the counter and be handed a number to take to your table, where the food will be delivered. During busy times I've seen them try to help coordinate seating arrangements but it is otherwise largely a seat yourself sort of place. Next on my list are the lemon ricotta pancakes which are reportedly famous and a turmeric cookie I spotted in the bakery section :)

    I may have thought bad things about Madison prematurely. I mean, here for an event but who really…read moretravels to Madison? But here we were in downtown in a beautiful day with a gorgeous lake-side path and finding ourselves enjoying it. Stopped here for breakfast, shocked in our research how many vegetarian options were available for my wife. Here you could get tofu eggs and tempeh added to your dishes. I got their chilaquiles and gluten free lemon poppyseed pancakes (they had GF toast but their only savory option was this or a coconut thing). The entree was delicious, not too spicy unless you bite into too many jalapeños, and the shredded chicken was great. Could have used a second egg but I'm a big boy so maybe it's just me. I was also surprised by how much I liked the pancakes. It was a gamble as I don't like things too lemony and while you could definitely taste the lemon, it was still very good. And the pancakes, for being gluten free, were fluffy and soft and great. Had a regular coffee and while it was strong, it was just coffee. It gets very busy at peak meal times to plan accordingly. We'll probably be back before this trip is done.

    Bradbury's - Ham

    Bradbury's

    (420 reviews)

    $$

    Capitol

    Very small but usually quiet on a weekday. Weekends are crazy busy! Great natural lighting. Great…read morefor catching up with a friend or getting some work done. Workers are very nice and hardworking! The coffee is some of the BEST you can get in Madison. I have never been disappointed with an order. Same with the food! My favorite is their ham, Gruyère, mustard crepe but I recently tried their ramp pesto, egg, and balsamic reduction crepe and it was also DELICIOUS! Their sweet crepes are amazing, as well. I recommend the lemon curd one as it is not overly sweet.

    First time here. We were visiting Madison and walking around the downtown area. It's a small space…read more(almost tiny) that sits at a narrow intersection, so it's literally a pie-shaped space. The upside is that there are lots of windows with natural light. The inside seating consists of long tables or counters along the windows. This is not a place where you are likely to hunker down for a quiet or private conversation. You can tell that storage space is at a premium, with boxes stashed in overhead areas or equipment in the bathrooms. The staff there were very pleasant and helpful. Ended up getting a Chai Latte (extra foam) in a mug. It didn't take long to make, and they delivered it out to the table. It was an excellent drink -- hot, flavorful, extra foam, and not too sweet. A joy to drink. The atmosphere is a bit manic. With the tight seating, you can feel a bit claustrophobic, or on the other hand, like you are at a concert and getting energy from the crowd. For me, it's a place to grab a drink and find a quiet space elsewhere. So not likely a place that I would return to.

    Graze - Heirloom tomatoes with local burrata cheese.  Fresh and yum

    Graze

    (1.4k reviews)

    $$

    Capitol

    We came for regular brunch menu on Easter Sunday. The ambience is open, airy, and inviting. Service…read morewas prompt and accurate. However, our server wasn't super familiar with the menu and didn't know what was in certain dishes. We ordered a variety of dishes. Overall, everyone liked their meals. The flavors were great. Love the Korean fusion. However... despite that we were the first ones in the door, they did not have the chicken that was on the menu. That seemed strange to all of us that they didn't plan ahead for a holiday weekend. A solid restaurant would usually have their menu items well stocked prior to a holiday weekend. Overall, still a good expertise if you're willing to be flexible.

    I know most people like it here, but everytime I've been here over the years something has gone…read moreastray. This time we went to Sunday brunch with a group, including some kids. We had reservations, so we were seated right away which was a plus. Also, I will say I don't think any of the issues we had were because of our waitress. She was super friendly and quick enough to take our orders on a day when there restaurant seemed full enough, but manageable. We got our drink orders in and our food at the same time to speed up the process for getting little kids food, and the waitress even took note of that. We also ordered an appetizer to help during the wait. It took a while for the drinks to come out, but they were all rather tasty. I think my apple cider mocktail was the best and refreshing since it was getting hot in the restaurant with the sun beating in. Our food however took forever and the kids meals did not come out any earlier than everyone else. One person in our group also initially didn't get his meal, which the waitress apologized and said there was a mixup in the kitchen. That's fine, it happens, but then the staff running meals tried to bring him the wrong order 3 times. The rest of us were all finished eating by the time he finally got his food. Overall, the food was fine. I got the eggs benedict which was a little underdone on the eggs for me as the whites were too runny for me. The kids chicken nuggets were pretty tasty with a flaky breading. I heard decent reviews of the breakfast burger, but the thing that was the best to us was the breakfast sandwich. It was quite messy, but the messiness of the sauce was worth it. We also got an appetizer of the cinnamon roll. I feel like it's a little mislabeled though, as it was more like a morning bun with some frosting/glaze over the top. Tasted pretty good and helped keep kids entertained for a while. Overall, the food was fine, but the experience wasn't great. With the multiple mixups in orders and getting a little green house effect going with the sun shining in, there wsnt a great feeling when leaving. Again, I don't think it was our waitresses fault, so not sure what was going on in the kitchen.

    Willalby's Cafe - breakfast_brunch - Updated May 2026

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