The Toasted Owl Cafe — Restaurant in Flagstaff

Consider this a 2.5 stars rounded up. This is for a breakfast as we arrived at 9am. This is a very kitchy place, with beautiful owl decor and cute owl items for purchase, with owl shaped menus. There was a wait to be seated despite what looked like while sections of open tables, but it was only 10-15 minutes so we were happy to wait, and the real wait ended up being around 5 minutes. Once seated we received waters and decided to order the biscuits and gravy. I asked if there was anything the place was known for and our lovely waitress said a staff favorite was the tamales, so I got that despite eyeing the avocado smash toast. I requested a cute owl glass, which she ruefully informed they were sold out, so my boyfriend asked for the etched glass instead, to which she told us they were also sold out of (while disappointing, we understand this isn't her fault). The wait for the food was nearly a half hour, and out waitress didn't come back until she had the food. While they were busy, her absence was compiled by the long wait. I noticed other tables who left tons of food behind, which was slightly worrisome. Once we finally got our food, my boyfriend was rather disappointed in crumbling, seemingly store bought biscuits and the gravy was a little subpar. The potatoes were lacking in seasoning, however they were perfectly crispy. My tamales were moist, beef was tender, the beans were fine, and the eggs were cooked as ordered (Sunnyside up)and she got me a side of ketchup as she asked if we needed anything with our food (I prefer my eggs with ketchup). Boyfriend's coffee was never topped off despite being "endless" and also put in the most random mug ever (something about being a dog mom) which honestly was just funny. After paying (meal was 36$ plus $5 tip) we agreed this was a one and done deal. We were drawn in by the decor but have no desire to return. The food was just ok, the service was friendly but lackluster. The 2 stars is for the food, .5 star for the decor, and Google doesn't let you put half stars, so 3 is fine. Some here once for the decor grab a massive pancake if you want (they were huge looking at other tables and how many people left them behind), but don't rush over. I'm impressed with the large swatch of people that never died down waiting for tables. The rotation of seating people was quick enough but if I'm going to wait a half hour for breakfast food I'd...

On December 10, 2023 my boyfriend and I arrived at the downtown location of The Toasted Owl around 10:30 AM. A hostess, with a long blonde ponytail, checked us in and stated " There is about a 30 minute wait, but you'll be receiving a text when your table is ready. When you receive that text please wait out front and we'll call you inside, as we don't want to reach capacity inside." About 25 minutes later, we waited out front as instructed, and then received the text that the table was ready. Simultaneously, the other host, a tall male with long hair, came outside and called," Dara, party of 8". A few minutes later, he repeated calling that party. I then received another text, after waiting out front for about 10 minutes, saying we were no longer on the wait list. It was concerning so me and my boyfriend proceeded inside and asked the male host if our table was ready. He responded angrily," We text you multiple times that the table was ready and you didn't come inside." I let him know that the hostess told us specifically not to come inside and that they would come outside and call my name, despite what the text said. He argued with me saying," We don't come outside and call tables." I responded, "Thats not true because you did it multiple times for Dara party of 8" and he again responded with an attitude and back towards me," Thats what the texts are for". The blonde hostess never apologized for the misinformation. After being seated I looked around and couldn't help but notice we were the only people of color in the restaurant. I'm not sure if the misinformation was intentional, but some kind of accountability would have been nice. Paige, the waitress was AMAZING. However, we will not be returning to this place of business because this was our first time coming there and the host and hostess were far from...

At 4.4 stars and with nearly 3K reviews, I was expecting something more than what I got.

First off, the good stuff. I loved the atmosphere! They really go all-in on the owl theme, and the quirky mismatching of everything from the plates to the seating to the light fixtures works very well. The fact that they'll sell you practically anything you point your finger at is hilarious. If you want to pick up the table and take it home with you, they can make that happen.

The servers and staff were also very nice! Perhaps slightly less prompt than I would hope, but considering we were there at 9AM on a Saturday, not that surprising. Good overall!

I was also pleasantly surprised by the extensiveness of their vegan menu. This would definitely be a good locale if you abide by that dietary restriction.

Now, unfortunately, for the bad. I was expecting a lot more from what amounts to nearly $20/plate. I ordered the chicken and waffles, and what I ended up getting was: a massive pile of fries with very little actual chicken or waffle said chicken was equivalent to the factory-breaded "warmed from frozen" kind of chicken tenders you get at a baseball stadium or the like; the tenders were about 75% breading a sad, soft waffle corn syrup (you can get actual maple syrup, but that's a nearly $4 surcharge)

My wife ordered the French toast, and again, I was expecting a lot more for nearly $20. It was the quintessential "an french toast". Not bad, but not worth the money.

In terms of food, I think you can definitely do better quality for the same price, somewhere else. You can probably even get better quality for an even lower price somewhere else, if you look for less-touristy place. Going once just to enjoy the atmosphere may be worth it, though. Just temper your expectations...