Keke's Breakfast Cafe — Restaurant in Kennesaw

First time trying this new local spot today, and honestly I’m not so sure it’s all it’s hyped up to be. Since they are mainly marketing themselves as a breakfast café, next time I will try the breakfast food instead of the brunch/lunch. Today my son enjoyed a BLT sandwich, and I had a tuna melt. My son said the BLT was delicious, and it looked good. My tuna melt was not bad, unfortunately halfway through the first half of the sandwich, I pulled an inedible piece of paper out of my mouth the size of a half dollar that obviously was used to separate the cheddar cheese slices before they were put on the melt. The manager apologized and remade the sandwich and comped us for the Tuna melt which I appreciated.

The atmosphere is very bright, like a hybrid between IHOP and First Watch. The wait is typically between 30 to 45 minutes during opening hours…at least it was for us today and a similar wait on two prior occasions when I called in advance to see how long of a wait to expect.

The service was okay, they’ve only been open for a couple of weeks so they are still going through some growing pains. Our server was very friendly but never came back to check on us so I had to flag down a manager to show them the paper in my tuna melt. She never offered to refill our drinks and they went empty through our visit and departure.

The prices here are a bit steep, something you would expect to pay in downtown Atlanta or Buckhead versus a suburb like Kennesaw. Had I not had the tuna melt comped, we would have spent $40 for two sandwiches and two drinks without the tip. The breakfast being served around us looked fabulous so we may give this place another try for breakfast in the near future and see how it goes. There’s a reason they don’t advertise prices on their website, I think it would turn a lot of people off initially. They are counting on people coming in and being impressed with the food and service and then hoping they will make a decision to return based on that. There is definitely potential for that, but for us right now it’s iffy.

Overall, if you’re looking for a new breakfast/brunch/lunch spot, this place is an acceptable choice if your budget allows. From a service standpoint, based on our experience today, I would give it a few more weeks to allow them to get into...

We arrived at 10:00am at Keke's on a Sunday morning. The team was able to seat us in a booth right away. The dining area had ample sunlight, was also very well lit, and all the surfaces were clean. It's a bit utilitarian compared to other chains and locally owned eateries in the area that focus on breakfast, but it serves the purpose.

Marie, our server, arrived quickly and took our drink order of water and a small orange juice. Marie returned quickly with our drinks to take our orders of eggs Benedict (we added extra hollandaise for an upcharge) with potatoes (we added onions for an upcharge, we added cheese for an upcharge), and a Keke's combo of two pancakes (we added blue berries for an upcharge, we added real maple syrup for an upcharge) with scrambled eggs, and bacon.

The dining area wasn't completely full, but most tables were occupied. The food delivery took a bit longer than we expected, but on arrival was as ordered, at an okay temperature, and well plated.

The eggs Benedict was a bit saltier than it should have been, but the consistency of the eggs were nice, and the hollandaise tasty. The potatoes were tender, the onions nicely sautéed, but the cheese had congealed a bit. Overall the dish was just okay.

The Keke's combo. The pancakes were large with plenty of blueberries (the blueberries were flavorless), and the real maple syrup (an upcharge) was so small that it was completely inadequate for use for the pancakes. The scrambled eggs were completely flat (no fluff at all) and a bit scorched on the bottom making them inedible. Finally there was bacon; the bacon had just the right crispness. Overall this dish was disappointing.

The two meals with tax were just under $42.00. We tipped a generous $12.60 bringing our breakfast total to $54.60.

The experience was just okay ... really mediocre. There are lots of options for breakfast in Kennesaw, and many of those restaurants are providing tastier and better prepared food at an equal or lower price. We'll continue to eat at those...

Stopped in today on a whim while waiting for some prescriptions at Publix to be filled.

Overall rating 2.5/5, rounded down.

Biggest gripe: lack of attention from the staff.

Restaurant is very clean and fresh, having undergone a renovation from a bank. The vibes are corporate chic trying to be cool (there's one grass wall with a neon sign on it for the Instagram girlies) mixed with doctor's office waiting room.

Experience: when I first walked in it took the hostess easily over a minute (possibly two) to notice me waiting at the front and greet me. There was a 10 minute wait which I was fine with and sat outside in the sun until my table was ready.

Once I was sat, it was easily another 10 minutes before my server stopped by. There were no introductions or pleasantries, just straight to business.

Order: half & half tea, eggs Benedict with home fries and a side of bacon.

Food looked good but was just barely on par. Home fries were unseasoned and a wild mix of over cooked and cooked just right. Bacon was perfectly crispy but also weirdly extra salty?? The eggs were also odd: one was overcooked while the other was slightly undercooked which meant no extra goodness for the home fries (I refused to put ketchup on them). Tea was fine.

Overall my experience fell far below expectations. I felt ignored and like I was intruding on their space. The patron in the booth (I assumed he worked there given that he brazenly walked back towards the kitchen area with no one stopping him) in front of mine seemed to be getting extra attention from both staff and management, yet everyone else walked right on by me with zero acknowledgement until my server showed up.

I'm willing to forgive a lot as the restaurant is brand new, but I currently have no desire to come back given the combination of service and food I...