Miss Shirley's Cafe, Roland Park — Restaurant in Baltimore

Staff is engaging and friendly as you come in the door. We were seated right away for 10AM sunday morning. I ordered the Cajun Skillett a side of grits. My son ordered an omlette with shredded hash browns and short stack of blueberry white chocolate pancakes. The food took over 30mins to come. To my surprise the skillet was hot....the food in it was not. The description of this entreè states "andouille sausage, blackened shrimp, bell peppers, onions, jalapenos with white chedder cheese aoili drizzle and dusted with cajun spice over shredded hash browns, sunny side up egg. I asked for egg over easy....Very accomadating. I tried it and my food was luke warm. I informed waiter who had the order remade. Apologies accepted! Now my freshly made cajun skillet arrives and the food was the hot tempurature that I need to eat a hot meal. As i tried each forkful of the mixture I see tiny shrimp tails(not blackened) just tail pieces. The andouille sausage is also sliced thinly into quarters. What happened to the whole blackened shrimp and the whole sliced sausage? I had large slices of onions, yellow/red bell peppers and whole sliced jalepenos around the perimeter. The aioli was just a drizzle as described. We didnt want to complain or send anything back. We did come to the conclusion that the ingredient portions were so so tiny that it was ridiculous. We would come to Ms Shirley's in the 2000's every Sunday after church and enjoyed everything they served. I remember the owner Mr Dopkins would sit across the St in the bagel shop and observe the foot traffic. He often would come in and stop by each table to ask "how is everything?" He wanted to know from the customer how long did you wait for food? Was the food prepared to order, the right temperature, was the server attentive to request? Sadly my son and I realized that the business has grown with 2 other locations and even as Coldspring has expanded to accomodate guests. Somehow they must have to share the shrimp and sausage with the Harbor & Annapolis locations as well. The food was tasty....but Ms Shirley's has changed so drastically and it no longer will be the place we choose to dine and have fond memories. Several times we had to ask for things we ordered. When all of your food doesnt come at the same time...it diminishes your dining experience. I never used to have to ask for my coffee to be refilled. Back in the 2000's your coffee cup never got cold or empty. I realize its 24 yrs later. They've been a staple for us Baltimorians for decades. I would think the food & service would be the same if not BETTER as we experienced as regulars over the yrs. Please do better!!! Please update the menu to say "shrimp tails" and "diced andouille sausage" Please dont deceive customers with descriptions that entice your pallette...but in reality leave you dazed and confused about what you thought you ordered! We will have to find a new spot to have our Sunday brunch meals. I'm really going to miss coming to dine at Ms Shirley's....we had so many amazing dining experiences at the Roland Park location. The owner made sure you enjoyed the food and dining experience....You could tell quality was important to...

We make occasional trips to Baltimore and always like to try out new places to eat while visiting the Charm City. This time, we made a beeline to Miss Shirley's Cafe, Roland Park location. We had heard about the wait times so planned an early lunch. We arrived at 11:20 on Tuesday and parked in the reserved lot behind the restaurant. We were very pleased to find no wait at all! There was good (but orderly) crowd when we arrived. We were shown to our table in a quiet corner of one of a couple of expansions to this popular place. They survived COVID and have started to bring back some items that were dropped from the menu during the dropoff in business. We were pleased to find that their take on Eggs Benedict. Based on the restaurant's three pillars, as explained by a friendly host, Southern, Brunch, and Baltimore, take the basic poached egg and hollandaise dish (Brunch, check) amped up with a well made and spiced crab cake (Baltimore, check) all set atop a fried green tomato (Southern, check)!!! Two of these beauties on the large platter with a southwest succotash (definitely NOT your Mom's!) Black beans corn, cherry tomatoes and green onions in a savory, vinegary, dressing. A super blend of flavors in a serving large enough to take some home. The Crab Cake Eggs Benedict is a holiday special so if you want to enjoy that excellent blend of flavor, hurry in! The other dish we ordered again combined their signature elements. In-house produced pulled pork, not drowned in a sticky sweet sauce with pimento cheese and grilled Vidalia onion on grilled sourdough. Tender and moist pork, piled high on the melty pimento spread. No matter if you are a devotee of Hellmann's or Duke's this pimento is done right! (I did not ask to see the labeling on their mayo.) The sandwich was dusted with a tasty Cajun spice. The sandwich had a selection of available sides. We opted for the stone ground grits. Theses creamy and cheesey grits with bits of bacon obviously had a lot of time attention paid to them. Certainly some of the best we've had and comparable to the "Georgia Ice Cream" that one can find in many fine Southern restaurants. Two meals, without alcohol came to $60. Both dishes were wonderful and we would easily have a second go but with many other major menu adventures right here at Miss Shirley's, we'll spend some time checking out the other offerings. Our service was outstanding fitting of the Southern hospitality they bring to Baltimore. Our server was attentive, accurate, and pleasant. Get there early. The lunch crowd stated growing about Noon as tables started to fill. Neither parking option is abundant. There is free reserved parking behind the restaurant but required climbing a number of stairs. Street parking is at a meter. Street parking might be best for those of limited mobility - one may inquire before a visit if that is a concern. The interior is barrier free, ramps but no stairs. Restrooms are gender neutral. Hours are 8 AM to 3 PM. Reservations are not accepted and there is no early seating list. The entire Miss Shirley's experience was wonderful we will be...

Short version: Miss Shirley's is a fantastic breakfast/brunch spot, and I don't have to tell you that -- their accolades speak for themselves. I'd strongly recommend.

Long version. My fiance and I dined here on a busy summer Sunday morning around 10:30AM. It was our first time there. I started off with the Spicy Shirley (their take on a bloody mary) which was delicious. We then got the fried green tomatoes, which were excellent and served with an impressive flair. The tomatoes were battered in what tasted like a cornmeal batter and fried super crispy and then topped with a tasty aioli. I would have preferred the tomatoes to be sliced a little thinner, rendering them a bit more tender, but they were still excellent nonetheless. I then ordered the Kentucky Lemonade, which was another fantastic morning cocktail. For our main dishes, I ordered the chicken and waffles signature dish, and my fiance ordered the fried chicken and biscuit gravy omelette. Both dishes were excellent. In my dish, the chicken was tenderloin pieces deliciously breaded and fried, though lacking slightly in sesame seeds for a dish that's described as being sesame-seed fried chicken. Either way, they were delicious, as were the waffles and all the toppings on the waffles. My fiance thought that the biscuit was delicious -- it had bits of cream cheese in it. But she perhaps would have liked more of the gravy, which was super tasty. She also really enjoyed the omelette. She said it all went together really well. She ordered the grits as a side dish, and we both felt that they were a bit too firm and lacking in salt -- a little bit more chicken stock would have gone a long way. In any case, those are minor nitpicks and we both thoroughly enjoyed our meals and Miss Shirley's and we will surely be back. I should also mention that the portion sizes were very generous and we both had food to take home with us. Our server was also very sweet and the service was great. I would strongly recommend...