Kaisers Grateful Bean Cafe — Restaurant in Oklahoma City

I went here for lunch with my kids on a Saturday. My kids are teens and we all like the vintage vibe (think 60's and before). First, the person at the register was friendly. She wasn't overly outgoing, but she was definitely polite and friendly. They gave us time to look over the menus (there is one menu for food and one for drinks/ice cream) without any added pressure, which was nice because we were looking for a laid back, stress free afternoon. We ordered what we wanted from the food menu and they were still happy to patiently wait on any potential orders from the other menu. My kids got the Buffalo burger plate to share and I got the Chicken Avocado sandwich with white bread. We all got oven fries as a side. First of all, the food was GOOD! I partly expected my sandwich to be dry and, when I saw the bread came toasted, hard. It wasn't! The chicken was moist, SEASONED, and delicious. And the bread had the right amount on toast on it, to make it crispy without making it hard. My kids' Buffalo burger was tender, SEASONED, and delicious. And don't get me started in the oven fries! Crisp outsides, tender insides. SEASONING! I'm so tired of places thinking salt & pepper = seasoning. Those are flavor enhancers and food can be seasoned WITHOUT them, but will never be seasoned with ONLY them. The chef got it. In fact, we happened to see him outside on his break when we were leaving and had to compliment him on the food. Again, Diego, the food was DELICIOUS! Not too mention, the portions were enough to keep us satisfied. Not full to bursting, but content with our meal, just the way we like it! Now, on to the drinks/dessert. This place boasts "Homemade ice cream" and has an old fashioned soda fountain. I got the "Brown Cow" which is like a chocolate root beer float (my personal favorite way to enjoy a float). It came in a cup with vanilla ice cream and a decanter with ice. It was a little sweet, until you mix in the ice cream, then it was just right. There was enough between the cup and decanter for myself and my teenagers to all share. And that ice cream was some of the best I've ever had! We also ordered a banana split. It came with the classic toppings and a "Kaiser's Twist." Each flavor was so good! Creamy, not icy. Flavorful, but not overly sweet. Paired well with each topping. And PLENTY enough for 3 people to share! The atmosphere was really nice. There were some families with small children and a large group of adults. Everything was casual and relaxing. We had staff check on us, occasionally. Enough so that we knew they remembered we were there, but not so much that it felt like they were rushing us to get out. We had an enjoyable lunch and liked the experience so much that we wanted to come back the next day, but they were closed the next two days. We will...

I have always loved Kaiser's atmosphere and ice cream. We tried them for the first time since the place changed ownership and we were very disappointed. I assume the ice cream is still the same, though we didn't try it because we left in disgust. First of all, they have different menus for lunch and dinner, so if you go there for dinner hoping to have a salad entree (like I was), you're out of luck. Second, the food is overpriced for what it actually is: the same frozen and quick-cooked standard issue stuff you can get in most of the restaurants anywhere. We ordered fried pickles, I ordered the "hand-breaded" chicken tender basket with side salad (which had an upcharge) and "homemade" macaroni and cheese. My husband got a burger and fries, and my child had a kid's burger and mac and cheese. The fried pickles are the same ones you can get anywhere: frozen, pre-battered pickle spears. My "hand-breaded" chicken tenders were also the same chewy boring ones you can get anywhere. My upcharged side salad was OK except for the fact that several pieces of lettuce (roughly 1/3 of the salad) were wilted and brown. The mac and cheese was fine, but it probably wasn't "homemade." My husband and my child enjoyed their burgers; my husband said his burger wasn't greasy at all. Third, when the check arrived, we were surprised at how expensive some of the items were. My boring chicken tender entree cost more than the one at Irma's, and Irma's chicken tenders are actually hand-breaded fresh. For some reason, my child's side of mac and cheese was upcharged. I think it's because they put in the kids meal sized mac and cheese instead of a normal side serving. We weren't told in advance that this would happen. And last, the service was decent. Our waitress was very nice and took good care of us.

I'm planning on going back for ice cream some time because I've heard that it's still good. However, I'm going to avoid their regular menu aside from the burgers from now on. I hope they change it to better food! I love the place and I hate to see...

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to eat lunch at a place that feels like a front for… something… welcome to Kaiser’s Grateful (Hateful) Bean Café.

Our group of six arrived at 11:15 a.m. to an almost-empty café. It still somehow took nearly an hour for everyone’s food to come out — and we’re talking simple orders here. My burger and fries (bland despite their seasoned appearance) arrived quickly, but others sat empty-handed for so long I had finished eating before they were served.

One coworker ordered a $12 loaded baked potato that magically became an $22 potato due to mysterious upcharges the menu never mentioned. Even after she removed most toppings, it came out wrong and missing butter. Asking for a partial refund got her attitude and a “come back later” because only the general manager can press the magic refund button.

The real showstopper was the ice cream. I ordered “one scoop of chocolate on a cone” and was given a cup instead. When I said “cone,” the employee literally scoffed — a full-on, audible “ugh” — then scraped the same scoop into not one but two cones and handed it over like she was punishing me for making her fix her own mistake.

To cap it off, when my boss quietly grabbed a to-go box from the back counter behind our table, the same employee shouted across the café, “MA’AM! YOU COULD’VE ASKED.” This is a counter-service place, by the way, where customers get their own drinks. The employee was the only one on the floor and was busy ringing up a group of 6-7. With how slow the service already was, we didn’t want to wait 20 minutes for a to-go container since we all had to get back to work.

Between the glacial service, unexplained charges, flavorless food, and the bizarre hostility toward paying customers, I’m left wondering if the food is even the point of this place. Whatever’s going on here, I’ll take my business somewhere that...