Essentials Cafe — Restaurant in Bethlehem

Essentials will hopefully grow into a the institution it's meant to be . It's 90% volunteer staff so a little patience goes a long way . The food is good , above par for what they are doing , and if you don't know what they are doing allow me to elucidate. Essentials Cafe is a ' pay what you can ' establishment, if you have no means to pay you don't have to , although if you do that's good and if you have more than you need you are welcome to purchase a meal for someone who doesn't , they have a ' wooden nickel ' wherein you can donate to purchase a meal . Also you can easily overpay for you meal as a donation. They're doing a good thing over there and I know it's not...

Absolutely wonderful service, the people working here really care about our community and making sure no one goes hungry even if you can’t pay. The pulled pork sandwich I had was absolutely delicious and so was the Mac and cheese. I loved the soothing atmosphere and the friendliness of all of the staff. They made me feel at home. You can tell the chef cares about the food provided and that every meal is served with love. Highly recommend!!! The idea that it’s donate what you can makes me so happy...

Happy to support this great local project. I can always look forward to consistent comfort food over my lunch break, an welcome and clean setting with polite staff, and an opportunity to engage with their volunteer community. Have brought others me and will continue to do so. I am glad Essential café is here and thriving - what a great idea! Pay what you choose and even donate more, towards a free meal with the purchase of a wooden nickel to help...