Riley's Cafe — Restaurant in Cedar Rapids

Many will remember the iconic neighborhood diner that kept its doors open during storms, holidays, and pretty every other day for decades. I speak of Riley's (previously Tommy's) on First Avenue.

I hope to know more about the history of this wonderful restaurant from the Cedar Rapids foodie community.

My own patronage began in the late 80s and was really the start of my love affair with that beloved American institution, the diner.

I spent countless mornings ensconced in a cozy booth, talking of the momentous and the trivial and developing my taste for shipwrecks, omelets, Benedicts, and the chicken fried steak.

I felt a genuine sense of loss when it closed its doors, which had welcomed me for so long. The Riley's name was applied to other restaurants at other locations, but none of them resonated with me like the original.

Imagine my delight when I walked into a brand new (since Labor Day '24) iteration of the Riley's diner and felt instantly at home. Riley's Cafe on 5th echoes the vibe of the original to a T. One of the owners, Darci, took the time to chat with me for a few moments and I could really sense how much she cared about the name, the history, and the patrons of the original restaurant.

The setting is full-on cozy diner, with musical memorabilia adorning the walls, comfortable seating, a relaxed atmosphere, and plenty of light courtesy of the unique porthole windows retained from the buildings previous life as Boston Fish.

My partner and I settled into our seats and perused the menu. The menu will be completely familiar to diners at the previous location, containing many of the same dishes, such as the eponymous Cedar Rapids shipwreck. But, quite wisely, the new owners have streamlined the menu to be more manageable both for the keeping of perishable inventory and (I would imagine) the efficiency of the kitchen.

I ordered a build-your-own shipwreck (which to my regular readers will come as no surprise), consisting of two scrambled eggs, home fries (skillet fried potatoes), pepperjack cheese, onions, bell peppers, jalapeños, and an unusual breakfast meat (for me) polska kielbasa. The eggs were light and delicious, the potatoes were also delish, well-cooked, but still retaining all their flavor. The vegetables were diced to a medium-fine and fully cooked on the flattop. Also joining the party on the griddle was the kielbasa, which had been cut into thin coins, which were in turn cut in half. This rendered this particularly dense sausage into almost delicate bites, most welcome. I want to point out here that many kitchens do not spend this amount of time cutting the sausage, quite often simply cutting it into largish sections on the bias and leaving it at that. I eat a lot of shipwrecks, but this one stood out, although not for long as my plate was clean in what seemed like only a few minutes!

My partner made an excellent choice with the breakfast quesadilla, choosing ham as the meat. The tortilla was crisped just so, and the fillings were in perfect proportion. Out of proportion dishes are somewhat of a pet peeve of mine. In the case of the breakfast quesadilla, there are often too many eggs, so the flavor of the griddled tortilla is lost. Not so with this example. Every bite had just the right texture and blend of flavors, and I was hard pressed to not eat two breakfasts! It was also served with generous helpings of salsa (mild), guacamole, and sour cream. All of which complimented the dish very well.

To say that I am thrilled to have this diner back in my life would be an understatement, I will definitely be going back again... and again. Riley's is back, and thank goodness for...

We went to Riley’s for Breakfast and got an omelet and a shipwreck. The pricing was a little off for some of the items, in our opinion, they were a little too high. When my omelet came out, it was about half the size of a normal restaurant omelet. I got cheese and sausage and there was a few sprinkles of cheese on the top and nothing inside, just the sausage. The omelet was also very oily. I got fresh fruit with my meal and it was obvious that the fruit was from a can. My fiancés shipwreck was good. Our waitress had poor service. She never checked on our meal and we had to ask for extra coffee and for her to fix our drink order. My coffee was very good though. We are definitely disappointed and probably will...

I stopped into Riley’s Cafe during their soft opening and asked the staff what the most challenging breakfast dish was. They told me the Benedicts—so I ordered the Salmon Benedict, and it was absolutely spot on.

The eggs were perfectly cooked, the toppings paired really well with the salmon, and the portion was super filling. For the price, especially for a salmon dish, it was a great value.

I chose the American Fries as my side—they were fresh, lightly crisp on the outside, and soft on the inside. Exactly how they should be.

Service was excellent, and I’ve got to give the kitchen staff credit for pulling off such a well-executed meal while still training. Definitely recommend...