Little Mesa Cafe — Restaurant in Mesa

Little Mesa Cafe is located at 3929 E. Main St., Mesa, AZ, and offers house-made diner food crafted from scratch. The restaurant has been newly remodeled with fresh paint and new flooring, yet some elements remain a bit dated, such as the tired booths and counter seating.

Our visit began with friendly service from our server, who approached our table with a genuine smile. However, the service pace was somewhat slow despite the restaurant not being busy. At times, our server appeared distracted, chatting with another employee while we waited on our beverages. One notable aspect was the strong scent of perfume the server wore, which felt a bit overpowering for a dining environment. Once our meals arrived, she did not return to check on us until the end of the meal when she dropped off the check. The owner made a couple of stops by our table while passing by to tend to other guests, which was appreciated.

The food quality is what truly stands out at Little Mesa Cafe. Our salads were fresh, featuring crisp lettuce, shredded carrots, and red cabbage. The blue cheese dressing was a little thick and might benefit from thinning with some buttermilk. My wife ordered the Rueben sandwich, which looked delicious and was beautifully constructed on perfectly toasted light rye bread with the ideal amount of ingredients. It was served with a pickle spear on the side. I chose the open-face roast beef sandwich, piled high with house-cooked roast beef on white bread. The beef itself was wonderful, but I found the gravy slightly lacking in flavor. Adding salt and pepper helped, but I felt the gravy could use a bit more depth. In past visits, the liver and onions and gravy have been notably good, so this may have been an off day. The mashed potatoes accompanying the meal had lumps, indicating they were made in-house rather than being instant, which is a welcome detail.

The pricing at Little Mesa Cafe offers reasonable value; our lunch for two, with just water to drink and no appetizers or desserts, came to $29. The restaurant appeared to be fairly clean, contributing to a comfortable dining experience.

One of the things that sets Little Mesa Cafe apart is its commitment to made-from-scratch food. This dedication is reflected in the freshness and quality of the dishes, even if other aspects like service can sometimes detract from the experience.

Having visited several times in the past, I have noticed a pattern where the overall impression is “it could’ve been a little better.” Service consistency remains an issue, never terrible but often not quite attentive enough. Despite this, the cafe enjoys a loyal following, likely because of the homemade food and classic diner fare.

In summary, Little Mesa Cafe is a solid choice for those craving house-made diner classics in a casual, if slightly dated, setting. It would likely appeal most to diners who prioritize food quality and authenticity over speedy service or...

Ok so after trying to eat breakfast with the extended family at Dennys this morning, and it being Dennys (poor service & over crowded) we decided to go to Little Mesa Café. This place has been here for a while, so its gonna have its regulars. Fine, to each their own. But for me and everyone in my party (5 total) have decided the meal wasn't , WAS NOT, worth any of it! 2 older children and 3 adults. The place was NOT packed even close to Dennys, so we sat down rather quickly. The waitress was there ready to take drink orders. Great. However looking over their very homemade menu, and its not adding up. Couldn't make sense of what side or "add-ons" came with what dish. Or how any of it was priced. So it made ordering difficult, which in all reality was probably more of our fault then the poor waitress. But nevertheless, when she did get the order down.. she made sure to come back to the table to confirm someone's egg order, had me thinking they (they staff) were actually trying their best to get it right. But when the plates started coming.. every single plate had either something missing , like toast or sausage. Again , not a big deal. Shes gonna grab it . Awesome. However the only thing back to the table, was for only 1 persons order. Hmm um ok. (Everyone was missing their toast) which is kinda crazy cause there was 3 separate bills. And my bill for me alone came to 32.00. I never got the toast they tried charging me for. I was never offered a refill. The $13.80 cornbeef and hash i order was the smallest portion on my plate to top it off. So when I question the bill, a totally different lady (older, probably owns or manages the place) trying to break down the bill and is just tossing any ol numbers out there. Like I wouldn't catch it. And when I did she got snappy and her exact words , verbatim were.. "oh, ok , whatever!... its right there.." ! Like wow. On top of it. The waitress is redoing our receipts and asked the older woman, is this .25 or .50... the older lady says "its actually .60 extra. Like obviously this place has oblivious customers, willing to pay undisclosed prices without question. Needless to say, I won't be returning. And I wouldn't recommend the place to my enemies! Super disappointed, because I tried being very appreciative and not some overly needy customer for her. I always clean up after myself , I wasn't having her run back n forth. And I already planned on leaving a very favorable tip. Yet the response and attitude i was experiencing when it came time to pay was incredibly rude and unprofessional. The food was mediocre at best, tables were nasty sticky. Everything very outdated. Absolutely not work any of the stars I...

My friend and I had the WORST experience at this cafe this morning! We were looking for a place to grab a bite to eat before church. We happen to come across this little cafe and decided to try it out. When we first walked into the restaurant, we were not greeted for about 5 minutes. When the waitress finally comes around to help us she seats us at the far end of the cafe near the corner. Mind you, we've waited almost 5 minutes to even be acknowledged. As we're waiting for service we see other customers arrive, be greeted and seated in a timely manner. The waitress 15 minutes later asked for our drink order. We ask for water with lemon and coffee. She comes back 10 minutes later with small water glasses and forgets the lemons. Mind you, all the other tables that have water has full big full glasses of water. But we were handed these small glasses of water. We ask for lemon 3 times but the waitress never brings them to us. We're still waiting for our orders to be placed and its about 20 minutes of us still waiting. We notice two other tables that came after be serviced in a timely manner. After 25 minutes of waiting, still haven't received our lemons, I decided to leave the restaurant. When we go to the host stand to pay for our coffee, the waitress that was suppose to be servicing us is looking down occupied with writing. Does not look up once the entire time as we pay for our coffee. After she hands me my change she says " ok thanks" and walks away! I then ask her for the cafe's business card and she states they don't have any and walks off. I am not one to pull the race card. I look at everyone equal but this entire experience was stemmed from racism. My friend and I were the only blacks and Hispanic people in the entire cafe. From the time we walked in, to the time we left was horrible. I have never in my 44 years dealt with such disrespect and horrible customer service. And the fact that a few customers that came after me were greeted, seated, and served before us was unacceptable. This restaurant is racist bottom line. They only cater to a certain type of people; white. I will advise people of color to not waste your money or service here because you will be treated like your below than. To the owners and waitress of the cafe, love is love. You should treat your customers with the same respect and hospitality no matter the skin color. I pray you guys have a change of heart and start treating ANYONE who walks in the doors with respect and exude exceptional customer service, no...