Roman's Cafe — Restaurant in Columbia Heights

Peterson's is only open until 2:00PM and although it has sandwiches and burgers on the menu it is unabashedly a breakfast joint. It is quite small with less than a dozen tables and booths, and modest counter seating. The menu is limited but so far everything we've had has been very good.

Their hash browns are crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. Over medium eggs were actually served over medium, with the yolk slightly set but still enough goo to mop up with the toast. I had to laugh when I ordered creamed chipped beef on toast and the waitress actually wrote down SOS on the ticket. When I ingenuously asked what that stood for she checked for children in the vicinity then told me (for those who don't know it stands for 'stuff on a shingle' with another word instead of 'stuff'). The buttermilk pancakes were light, fluffy and flavorful. The coffee was hot and fresh and brewed strong, and they had generic black tea for the women in my party. Oh, and they provide spoons with the silverware. It seems that a lot of places now provide a knife and fork alone, and will only bring a spoon with your coffee or tea (and sometimes not even then).

The decor is definitely eclectic, with chickens of various kinds (ceramic, pottery, wire and stuffed) covering most of the non-working flat surfaces.

Overall a very good place to stop for breakfast. It has no pretensions of being anything other than what it is: a good family run neighborhood...

Save yourself the trouble and do not go here. My husband and I wanted a simple local breakfast, but the experience was far from that. We went in and there were several open tables. We sat down, ordered, and waited, waited, and waited some more. I got my food after what felt like 40 minutes. My husband said, "I’m waiting 10 more minutes and we’re leaving." I got my food a minute later, but his food never showed up. The server never said anything, and I sat there with my food for a few minutes, waiting to see if my husband's food would arrive because I didn’t want to eat in front of him without him having his food. After waiting, the server came back and said his food would be right up. I started eating so my food wouldn’t get cold. I eat pretty slowly, but in a short time, I finished my food because I ordered a small meal. My husband's food still never showed up. We threw money on the table and left. Watching the rest of the cafe, there were many tables that had been there longer and still hadn’t received any food. In fact, the whole time we were there, we only saw one order come out of the kitchen. After the experience we had, I would not recommend or return...

I've been going to Johnsons cafe for a couple of years now. It has recently been under new ownership and is called Roman's cafe. Very good food, never a bad meal. I nearly always get the "Big Johnson" breakfast and it is wonderful. A polish sausage for breakfast? Perfect.

They make the best pancakes in the area. If I'm not starving, I'll just get a stack of pancakes. Good hollandaise with the eggs Benedict. Fast service. Really good biscuits and gravy also.

It's a smaller venue, so it can fill up quickly. Anytime after church starts letting out is impossible on Sunday mornings. Saturday mornings are busy also. During the week it isn't nearly as crowded. Reasonably priced for the amount of food you get.

The only con I have found is I wish the hash browns were cooked crispier. They are really good hashbrows. I eat them all the time, I just prefer crispier.

In October of 2016 this place has a new owner and will be going by "Roman's Cafe" in the future. Roman was a long time cook here and bought the place when the Johnson's were ready to retire. So the menu and quality of food should continue as-is, which...