The Sidewalk Cafe — Restaurant in Painesville

I have been a longtime fan of the Sidewalk cafe. So much so that when someone comes out to visit and stays it is the go to for breakfast. I have friend who said this morning who suggested Flavor around the square. I was against it and went to thee sidewalk cafe. I was not only disappointed, I was embarrassed as well. I ordered scrambled eggs , sausage, grits and toast. The very first issue was I was given a final price of $6.99. When i arrived to pick it up the price was 8.28. I questioned it and I as told that American cheese on an egg was $1.29 on a .99 egg I couldn't believe that. Then I got my food and I specified that I wanted the cheese scrambled in my eggs, NOPE it was o small puddle in the corner of box missing most of the egg. After SPECIFIC instruction to put grits in a separate CLOSED container because on a previous visit it spilled and was all over everything else in the box (seems that would make sense to the cook especially) NOPE it spilled all over EVERYTHING. THEN AN ORDER OF TOAST IS ONE PIECE OF TOAST. It was a disappointing meal to say the least. with grits all over everything. My family who went to F,A,T.S (Flavor around the square located in the same block next to Dollar Bank) was a totally different and satisfying experience price for the breakfast was the same. However, they made sure the grits were separate, there was two pieces of toast , the cheese was scrambled in the eggs and not placed on top. Service was friendly (same as sidewalk kinda) . They have become complacent because they were the only ones on the block. Time to share the spotlight or step...

This could have easily been a 5 star but some slight... And I mean slight..issues caused the lower rating. One, the sidewalk chairs are far away from the door and it feels as though they may not know you are there even after letting them know. The other deals with cheese. I will get to that later. Our server, Jami, was perfect. Even when a sudden gust blew the straws out of her hand she handed us new ones without pause saying "that was a fail." She brought our tea and must not have heard the request for lemon but came right back with it. I must say the sidewalk seating was reminiscent of a Paris cafe, except of course that it is in Painesville. We ordered the burger special and a veggies omelet with "swiss" cheese, hashbrowns, the best..just like Denny's used to do but cooked more (to perfection in fact)..and grits. The burger and fries were just as they should be as was the omelet, though the swiss was definitely not real swiss cheese. Possibly that swiss-american blend or a swiss spread, but not swiss. It didn't taste bad just not right. Grits were..well..grits. They gave me quite a bit. Next time I will ask for cheddar or something because they are..well...grits but cheese may be an issue as above. Jami did well and deserves kudos. This is a worthy stop for typical American diner fare and the prices...

It's an old drug store, which could be cool but nothing really cool or interesting about the decor.

We went for a late lunch, and I realized after the fact that everyone else was ordering breakfast, so... Perhaps they do a better job with that.

I had a double cheeseburger, fry and soda.

The quality of the burger was paper thin but good. It was like you would get at a county fair or a small roadside fast food restaurant (non chain, mom and pop place).

Where I really have the problem is with the cost. The burger was $6 or $7. Fries were another $3 and soda was like $2.75 and I couldn't tell if it was just horribly flat or if it was generic but it wasn't good.

Lastly my table and this may be petty, seemed to have a slant and a wobble. But coupled with how expensive it was and lack of all other things like history, atmosphere etc, this isn't a place I could recommend.

I love small town Cafe and diners and I don't expect them to be clean or in great repair, what I do expect is a good tasting meal at a good price. This wasn't it.

I will say however that my server and her peers were adequate. They were clearly close to one another with some playful banter, but they made sure I was never for want or need of anything. So really the stars, of this review...