Alina’s Cafe — Restaurant in Des Moines

Ok, first I'd like to say I'm new to the Washington food scene, but I love a good plate of food, and breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, That said, this was my first visit to Alina's Cafe, and it won't be my last.

I had the baked eggs dish. At first, it looked a little undercooked, as I thought it would be broiled to have a baked look, but when I had my first bite, I had to take a second to confirm my thoughts, it was DELICIOUS...

My husband was with me but had only coffee. After he took me up on the offer to try my eggs, he too was very impressed. It reminded me of a breakfast I had once at some small French bistro on my travels overseas.

The only minus worth a mention is that the atmosphere was not...umphh. I thought the place could use some relaxing background tunes, jazz, or some classics. The dining area was clean, coffee was good, and the kitchen, what I could see, was also tidy. I loved the miss-matched knives. Nice touch for a homely feel. Oh, and the freshly-made preserves were really, really, really good, I can't wait to try it on their French toast, (or maybe crepes someday, wink..wink...)

Thank you for a great breakfast option. Greatful...

Formerly Anchor Cafe, which was formerly Marine View Espresso; I think it’s now Alina’s since Feb 2024 maybe? Ordered Avocado Toast, added two eggs over easy and bacon, with side of their hot sauce. My toast bread choice was wheat and seemed homemade/rustic? Lovdd that. Eggs were cooked perfectly. Always nice for taste and texture balance when a bitter green thing like sprouts or arugula is added to avocado toast. Bacon was quality and freshly fried up. Overall great avo toast experience. Oh and most importantly the espresso was good, too! My triple short soy capp was nice and I could tell the shots were pulled correctly. Foam could have been a little thicker but not bad. And I should add that the staff was friendly and attentive but not too attentive. I thought it was a coffee and pastry place but it seems to be a legit cafe with a bfast and lunch menu and tableside waitstaff. But it’s chill like a coffeeshop; I lingered for awhile on my laptop after I ate. HAPPY to have this place in the neighborhood, especially since this location has floundered with a couple other owners since the pandemic. Please try it so...

I ordered a cup of coffee and was asked if I wanted an Americano or latte and I reiterated I wanted a cup of coffee. It was lukewarm. I also ordered a raspberry scone. The raspberry scone for $5.20 was not worth even $3.00. Scones should not be greasy. It was greasy as if they were using a biscuit batter. It had been warmed and then sliced and then cold jam spread in the center. it was very disappointing. I had half of it and nobody ever questioned to see if I liked it.

The way the booster set up you have to slide the cushion from one to the next so that you can sit on the cushion, which means not everyone gets to the tables are so far from the booth wall that they had to put very big pillows there so you could be close to your food They really should whether to use big pillows or just a smaller pillow that is.

I felt bad for the employee because she had to continue to eat her food that everyone was seeing her do this while she was working obviously they were not able to give her a break break even though the place was not busy.

I...