Canela Cafe — Restaurant in Milwaukee

Cute place that wasn't super busy on a Sunday brunch, but still with constant stream of people coming in and out. First impressions is that the staff looked pretty gloomy overall. No one smiled or greeted us, but were pretty much matter of factly standing there, and overall not happy looking about having a big group (of 12) to set up for outside (we asked for outside, since the weather was so nice).

The outside set up was ok. The tables were smallish and lightweight, and the umbrellas were bumping on each other so we couldn't keep them up without them touching each other and somehow making the table lopsided when we tried. Not a big deal, and we just ended up folding up all the umbrellas and pulling out sunglasses.

Our server came and took our orders, and was quick and efficient about it, but again, no smiles or welcoming, but rather brusque and a tad annoyed like. So up to here, not too pleased, and a little miffed because I felt like we weren't really welcome. But after our server took our orders, things turned positive.

Our server totally changed pace and came back often to look in on us and keep our coffee mugs filled, and to make sure we had everything. She also was right on it when we requested things like ketchup, and even though we were outside, she made sure to bring everything out very timely. I guess it just takes a while for things to warm up. Overall, I thought she did a wonderful job despite my first impressions.

The food - was good.

Steak Breakfast Bowl Hany and I shared cuz we had actually already had breakfast (long story). I asked for the potatoes on the side (keto), and they brought both potatoes and eggs on the side, plus an extra plate (thoughtful!!). The mix was very tasty. Hany said the potatoes were meh, and I agreed, but I think it was because it was put on the side rather than mixed in with the rest of the dish. Totally on me. I would absolutely get this dish again.

And our friends shared their thoughts:

Shakshuka A friend did this dish because she has egg allergies. She said it was good, but a little less spiced than she has had before, but would order again.

BTW, eggs over easy were right on the money

Canela Supreme Pancakes (GF) Looked delicious and tasted delicious. He said the peanut butter, honey, cinnamon sauce was scrumptious.

Pancakes Personally, I thought the 4 layers of this regular pancakes simply dusted with powdered sugar looked better than the supreme version, but it could be because they were more fluffy, not being gluten free. It was apparently just as tasty, too, cuz friend ate half of it, after finishing his bowl of steak bowl!

Steak & Eggs It was cooked well, but friend actually liked it more medium-rare. The server forgot to ask how he likes his steak. (Like I said, she didn't turn out to be stellar until after the orders were in for some reason)

Blueberry waffle The single waffle was missing the powdered sugar and looked pretty underwhelming compared to the delicious looking pancakes, especially with the fresh blueberries forming a single layer, and kind of disappearing into the waffle holes. Definitely not camera friendly and not something I would get again for $15.

Omelet Forgot to ask what kind of omelet she got, but friend's omelet looked great, fluffy and filled. The side of fruits also looked very fresh.

Smoothie Friend says it had the taste! But it was watery, more like juice than a smoothie. Bummer.

Overall, I'm giving the place 4 stars without considering the initial impressions because I feel that how I leave a place is important and I definitely left feeling well taken care of and like I would return. But next time, I will sit inside despite the gorgeous weather cuz I like a solid table and chairs. And I would get the steak bowl again. But I would definitely...

Sadly, this was once my favorite breakfast spot, and now I will never be back. My husband and I ate here all the time, we hadn't been here in probably a year so we were excited come eat some breakfast! Unfortunately the food quality and the service was really bad. The cooks clearly don't taste the food before it is served. Here's how it went: My husband and I came here on August 15th, around 1pm. As soon as we sat down the waitress was kind of aggressive and not the best at pacing. We felt rushed/pressured to order our drinks immediately as she was handing us the menus. I asked what kind of drinks were offered and she just pointed to the menu that she just handed to me, feeling pressured I ordered the cold brew. If I had more time to look I would have ordered a smoothie if I had known about it. After that she asked us 3 times in the span of 5 minutes if we were ready to order, and we were like no, we just got here. We both ordered the Americana. The potatoes looked extremely old, if I was the server I would not have brought those plates to the table, they looked really bad. I hate having to complain but we told her the potatoes were old and stale, so I asked if I could just get some toast instead. This question made the waitress completely freeze she didn't know that to do. She said she could take my plate and ask the manager but that would mean my husband would have food while I have to wait longer, so I just gave up and asked for a side of toast. Toast is so easy and yet it took forever. When the toast arrived my eggs were cold. The manager came out to talk to us. She acknowledged that the potatoes looked bad, but insisted the potatoes were always cooked fresh to order. Just looking at the potatoes they were obviously precooked early this morning and then they throw it on the grill for 30 seconds. The manager and the server clearly have no idea how the food is prepared in their kitchen. Towards the end of the meal the manager brought out brand new potatoes, that we didn't ask for, and they were severely undercooked and raw in the middle. The cook AND the manager didn't even taste them to make sure they were perfect before serving them. Quality checks are a simple yet crucial step especially if it's a remake. At the end when we got the bill, they charged me $3 for my toast! I didn't even say anything I just paid and left knowing I will never come back to this place, it's so sad. Going out to breakfast is supposed to be a relaxing experience, and this was stressful for us. I could have made a much better breakfast at home.

This was my review 2 years ago: "It's my favorite spot to get breakfast or lunch! Amazing service and the variety on the menu is beautiful. I...

We might've just gotten unlucky today, but I went with two of my friends and all of our orders had something wrong. Friend 1 ordered the South of the border Benedict and the poached eggs were WAY overcooked. It was like a hard boiled poached egg. Not the worst thing, but a little sad. Friend 2 ordered the Sante fe bowl and it took us a while to figure out what they were given. They were excited for the corn and chorizo, but received neither in their order. We figured out they were given the meat lovers bowl with jalapeño (figured this out too late to send it back). They also ordered it with fried eggs and got scrambled (not the end of the world, but again, a little sad). I ordered the corned beef and hash. I will post a photo of the menu we received and what I saw when we ordered. The menu did not mention cheese, onion, or peppers in the corned beef hash. I received all three of those in my order. Our server (who was LOVELY) explained its a different corned beef hash, which I totally get. I had to send mine back though because I can't eat peppers. But none of those key ingredients were listed on the menu. All 3 of us are just concerned that if someone with a severe allergy or food restriction orders something, they could be at risk of consuming something because it's not listed in the item description on the menu. Also, we saw the menu has a little key for gluten free items, but nothing is actually labeled as gluten free on the menu.

So, if you go to Canela right now, be specific and ask what is included in the dish you are interested in. I'm sure you'll have a fine experience then. Hopefully they'll fix the menus soon.

We brought up all these concerns to our server who was lovely and super nice. The drinks were great, we are just concerned about the food menu. They seem to have lots of yummy items and I want to come back, but I will wait a few months until they figure out their menu and kitchen system. I have confidence they'll figure it out, but I feel obligated to leave an honest...