Engine House Cafe — Restaurant in Lincoln

23 year fold vet here. Culinary degree 140k a week revenue establishments. And 1st time visit failure

As I came to the cafe for the first time there was no host.There were five open tables , and all of them were four top squares

I made my way towards the front breakfast.Bar area did not want to sit at the counter because of my back issues.So I decided to pick one of two open four top tables

Before I even sat down , I was approached by a lady with gray hair that asked me , can I help you

I said , well , this is a restaurant correct

And then she procided to decide that I couldn't sit at a foretop table.She wanted to sit me at a six top table next to another set of two guys who are already enjoying their meals

I explained to her that I saw no host at the stand I made my way to an open table since there was no direction, no sign of what to do and in the Midwest, especially when you walk into a small cafe.Type breakfast , place , you normally just seat yourself

I explained to her that I didn't want to sit next to those 2 other guys and share the 6 top table with her.She said , well , that's a two person table , I said , no , there's three chairs there and the gentleman are taking up the other two

There were 5 open tables, 4 top available.And she made the first experience uncomfortable.She was rude and needs to remind herself that she doesn't sell food

She is in the hospitality industry , and she needs to learn to be more hospitable

I grew up on cornhusker highway , I grew up in havlock, i've seen businesses come and go in five decades , and I promise you this , somebody like me who knows who I know I will never step foot into the engine house cafe again , and I hope you guys understand that you can't be rude to first time visitors

God bless to better service and...

Revising my review after visit on 9/24/22, around 11 am. Initial visit: "Good home made breakfast food with friendly staff. Cute atmosphere. Would definitely eat here again!" And have done so.

This time did not even sit. The hostess offered the 4 of us counter seating which is all that was available. Sure. But a guy was at seat #4/5. She asked him if he'd move over, he refused. I said we could sit anyway as 4 spots were available and once he was done, we'd scootch together. She said, and I quote, "I can't seat you because he (the guy at the counter) doesn't like people around him. He's almost done." Um, what??? I don't mind waiting but I've NEVER in my life heard of such a thing. She said "He comes in every weekend." Curious, how often is she making people wait and not using the minimal space the restaurant has available? I used to manage and waitress at a restaurant and could tell no one else was even close to being done, about 1/3 were looking at menus. Plus a party of 2 was ahead of us. So we walked out, at which point the hostess followed us out and did then offer to seat us Only after I said (once outside) I'm leaving a review. I thought the entire encounter quite rude! Too bad as we've eaten here a few times when in town and enjoyed the food. 😥 I would never want her to lose her job over a single encounter, but retraining is 100% necessary, and maybe making a separate spot for the guy since he supposedly is a loyal customer (he was just cranky rude old and was NOT autistic or anything). Better to save 1 spot somewhere than not seat 4! Fortunately we found a new restaurant that...

I know about this restaurant because a friend told me about it and had breakfast with me there. Thanks, Sharene! I have been here 3 times. The first 2 times, I had breakfast in the morning in their dining area. This morning, I ordered breakfast to go. I decided to treat myself to their steak and eggs breakfast. It was great.

Every meal I had was good, and I didn't have to wait long for the food. The service was friendly. I also like the look of the restaurant. Unlike chain restaurants, this one has a unique look that only comes with locally owned businesses. Instead of calling Engine House Cafe "Divey", I prefer to refer to it as a hidden treasure of Lincoln. It's worth a visit.

However, I am deducting 1 star because I noticed later in the day that they added gratuity for takeout. I was thinking the total I paid seemed more than it should have been, so I checked the receipt they gave me. One of the reasons I prefer to order my food to go from restaurants like these is to avoid tipping. I really don't appreciate them sneaking that on my ticket. The wait staff doesn't deserve to be tipped for simply handing me my food from the kitchen and...