WHATADAY Cafe — Restaurant in Maryland

The quality of the coffee at WhatADay Cafe is eclipsed only by the service. Top-notch atmosphere, too: clean, bright, airy, and comfortable indoors and plenty of outdoor seating (with umbrellas).

I grew up working coffee shops in San Diego in the late 90s and was part of the local coffee shop culture (think Jewel and Jason Mraz, both of whom got their start in San Diego coffee shops); it is something I really miss and was SO thrilled to see here in the 'burbs, where we are surrounded by chains (DD and Sbux).

I was taken aback by the friendliness of the staff: not only happy and smiley, but the owner himself brought us our coffees and breakfast sandwiches (with napkins!). Service was FAST: we weren't seated more than a minute when our breakfast sandwiches came out. Coffee followed shortly after, also brought to us table-side.

They serve quality espresso. As mentioned, I grew up slinging lattes and cappuccinos, so I like to think I'm a decent judge of coffee--this is definitely quality. My husband had an iced caramel macchiato and I had a hazelnut latte. I was impressed by both.

The ham is locally sourced and prepared daily. This is not your deli ham from a package. It is smoked, fresh, and DELICIOUS. I got the bacon and egg sandwich and immediately wished I'd gotten my husband's egg and ham.

This place is brand new and there are always opportunities. One recommendation is: reduce the amount of cheese, at least with respect to provolone. It was double the size of my breakfast sandwich and still cold--recommend either reducing the size (effectually reducing food waste and increasing profit margin) and/or grilling 30 seconds longer to melt the cheese.

I would LOVE to see live acoustic music here in the evenings. Not everyone wants to hang at a bar to see live music and this is a great opportunity for the under 21 crowd to experience live music.

Well done! This place was started by a couple local guys who have established roots and families in CC, so it feels even better supporting a small local business. Highly recommend checking...

Edit: I'm going to leave the previous review here as a testament to how much improvement there has been. I decided to swing by this morning to give the breakfast bowl another shot. I get the feeling Tony had been waiting for this moment, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't waiting as well. I knew I would come back and give it another shot at some point. What Tony didn't know is that my partner had gotten some breakfast bowls numerous times before this and delivered them to me on her way into town. At this point, after 4-5 bowls, I can safely say that WhatADay has drastically improved the breakfast bowl that I so vehemently spoke about in my previous review. It has been absolutely delicious every time we've gotten them. Everything about it is delectable. THIS is the kind of place that deserves your business. One that takes customer criticism seriously and simply does better in every way. I hope that the consistency remains the same going forward. Bravo, WhatADay. Bravo, Tony. See you guys again soon!

Original Review: This place is very hit or miss. I've been coming here since they opened, and in the beginning, the food was phenomenal. Absolutely 10 out of 10. I kept coming back for more because of that. Nowadays, I avoid it for the most part, and today is a prime example of why. I order the same thing every time. Breakfast bowl, traditional hash, sausage, biscuit gravy. Today, I'm not sure what passes as gravy at that place, but this completely watered down mess is just a soggy soup. Other times, the potatoes are very raw. I'm not sure why I keep trying to give them a chance, but I'm done now....

Opening day is tough for any business. The drive through line isn’t moving as efficiently as Im sure it will in the future. The staff is still in training as its a new system for everyone. I do like the placement of the drive thru lane as it will never impede traffic from the main road like so many locations seem to induce. My one suggestion to make the opening blow peoples minds would be to reduce the menu size a bit for the first week to get rapid service and guarantee quality control.

Although trivial, my drink was served without a straw and no napkins were offered. I ordered a Monte Cristo sandwich which was phenomenal! The thick cut of meat and egg were cooked perfectly, so Kudos there!

The tip culture at a drive thru is probably the most irritating thing to me personally. Some of the big chains are doing this as well. Leaving a tip cup at the window is way less intimidating to a customer than being handed a tablet and feeling pressured to give additional money for an already $15 quick bite.

The staff was very polite and friendly and the owner has done a great job curating the location to be very welcoming.

I think it will be a very successful business and I hope that recommendations are taken into account.

Edit 6/13 - Drive thru is moving better than before. Food quality was excellent. I do agree with the other reviewers with regards to food pricing being a bit high. I really wish that we weren’t being asked to tip at every juncture. Are the staff being under...