City Cafe Diner — Restaurant in Chattanooga

The last two visits have been off-putting, and it may be a while before another second chance is given.

We've been dining here approximately 1 time every 1-2 months for the past two years and it has been a less frequent choice for us and the last two visits have given us pause and we're going to take a break and try again at a later date (bc everyone and every place has bad days and deserves another chance).

The first bad experience involved a live cockroach that crawled out of the butter dish brought to our table and made its way to our salad bowl. We killed it and set everything on a nearby table & waited over 10 minutes for the server to check on us so we could quietly tell her what had happened. She apologized and brought another salad. That was not exactly the response we were looking for. It was a little too unconcerned & eww...no way did we want another salad or butter. We paid our dinner bill and left. We waited about a week and tried going back for breakfast. The first glass of orange juice brought out to our table had two sets of purple lipstick on the rim. I pointed it out and asked for a new glass of oj. What I got was another glass with the same oj poured I to it (gross). We also received the wrong potatoes & burnt bacon (even though it was ordered soft). We try not to waste food, so we usually just eat whatever is brought out, but it wouldn't have mattered because the server didn't check on us for over 15 minutes.

The restaurant is attached to a seedy motel/hotel and you have to use the same parking lot as the people using the rooms. We've witnessed some shenanigans in that parking lot and it doesn't feel super safe over there.

I think we will give this place a lengthy break and try again when a few months have passed. If the quality hasn't changed, we'll have to cross it off the list.

Hoping for improvement though because the portions are generous and it...

I heard from the hotel clerk at Best Western that the restaurant inside the hotel was great (Jimmy). He was right.

I got the Taste of Milan. Chicken parmecian, alfredo pasta, lasagna, and garlic bread. Quantity is huge. Everything was delicious. The soup that came with the meal was incredible. Chunks of delicious seafood in every bite. I couldn't finish the Milan dish so i took the rest to go.

Service was excellent. The young man that served me had a presence in him that put me at ease. Very bright future ahead of him.

Overall, a great dining experience. As a trucker, it's hard to find a decent meal. I truly appreciated the great food and the service. Would love to come back if i'm ever in the area again.

Update:

Ordered a pickup today. Ordered an additional eclair and a small cylindrical pastry when i got up to the register to pay. When the girl realized i didn't tip her with my card, she hastily sort of flicked my receipt on the counter without a word and helped someone else without giving me my pastries because i didn't tip her for handing me the food i ordered. Truth is, i was going to tip her $5 in cash anyways until she indirectly showed attitude and didn't give me my pastries.

Anyone can be nice when they are happy. You can truly tell what a person is truly like when they get stressed. Throwing a hissy fit to customers doesn't benefit anyone.

The cylindrical pastry was decent, but the eclair was a bit repulsive. It was big, but the cream inside tasted plain and smelled of eggs.

5 star service for the young man that served me yesterday. 0 stars for the short girl that handed me...

Went there for the second time at night. First time we got there at 11:30 on a Sunday. They turned us away. Okay, I kinda understood at 30 min before closing. 2nd time (tonight) we get there at 10:58 (keep in mind we frequent on Sundays with the family and we drive almost an hour to get there), we get turned away a second time and there was a couple waiting to be seated sitting in the waiting area. They said they could only take to go orders. Last time they told us they stopped dine in at 11:30! 10:58pm is NOT 11:30! I guess the mangers do whatever the heck they want to it just depends on who’s there. We love the food there and have tried not to pay attention to some of the other horrer stories we hear about the place. Just don’t go there even an hour before closing if you don’t want turned away! They need to go ahead and turn off their open signs. That’s false advertisement and put a question mark at the end of open till and write “determined based on availability”! I’m so frustrated with the Lee highway location especially as much money as we tend to spend there. Our family spends on average $100 each time we go there (pretty much weekly and I go sometimes twice a week) I’m so disappointed In the customer service and being turned away after driving an hour to get there! They need to get their crap together and determine an actual open and...