CJ'S Kitchen & Grille — Restaurant in Pensacola

I'd eaten here with friends a few times before and was excited to take my elderly Mom here. It was a spectacular failure! We went midweek and midday to avoid the crush of a crowd, as it isn't even remotely ADA or Handicap accessible and she's visually impaired. After being seated at an unbussed table, I cleared the dirty dishes onto what seemed to be the current customer catchall table. This was curious but not yet a deal breaker because trashy "country charm" esthetic can be a thing. The syrup covered menu and having to go up to the cashier area to place our order should've been the final red flags. But no, I'd been bragging about this place to her for ages! The beignets that we started with were good. Not brag worthy, but hot and fresh, at least. The breakfasts that followed were nothing short of disgusting - consisting of a vegetarian omelet that 'accidentally' contained meat, biscuits so cold and hard that we couldn't even break them open (but we were told that they'd just come fresh out of the oven 15 minutes prior) accompanied by gelatinous blobs of cold gravy and cold rubbery pancakes. It would have been lovely if the disgustingly warm milk had been nearly as cold as the gravy was. I had so many questions at this point, as I'm sure you're able to imagine. But my Mom didn't want to "be a bother" and said she'd surely eaten worse before. This breakfast from hell would've placed on the list of top 3 food failures simply on the lack of quality itself, but wait, there's more. As previously mentioned, my Mom is visually impaired/blind. This necessitates her familiarizing herself with the food's orientation on her plate in order for her to actually eat it. She does this through verbal input from me in conjunction with fingertip tap confirmation as she goes around the clock face of her plate. As she was trying to (unsuccessfully) cut a cold rubber pancake, she encountered difficulties. She strives to be as independent as possible, so she will always give it her utmost best, but this rubber pancake bested her. As I turned in my chair to try to catch the attention of any one of the several non-working employees who were lounging behind the service counter, I noticed that THEY WERE MOCKING HER by pretending to 'look' on plates with their fingertips and laughing. This is when we finally realized that there was no saving grace to be had here and got up to leave our uneaten food. As I paid the bill at the counter, there were magically appearing servers who were suddenly pleasant and attentive as they sought a tip that I wasn't about to offer. In summary, this is the perfect place to take someone you dislike but must still feed. But DO NOT take your beloved friends or family here, especially if there's anyone with special needs or dietary...

Left HANGRY! I've been wanting to try their food for 2mo. Finally got the time & drove 30min determined to have their famous "specialty" biscuits & gravy. My kid is neurodivergent & was overwhelmed, so i ordered him a biscuit when she took our drink order. Honestly, i was ready to order myself, but she told us it would be a while since she had several tables ahead of us. I listened to her ask other tables if they needed refills b4 ever taking our order. We got there @ 9:55am. I don't know if she was trying to wait us out for breakfast to end or what. We waited 20min before I'd had enough. I went to the counter to place our order to-go. I was then informed they were out of biscuits. The biscuits we drove 30min for. There's absolutely NO REASON it should take 20+ minutes to take an order in a restaurant THAT TINY. Insert Gordon Ramsay quote here. So we left & went to Cracker Barrel, where our order was taken in 5min & our food was served in 12min from then... even though they were slammed w/ only 2 waitresses as well. Service is severely lacking. The only reason they received 2 stars is because the 1 biscuit we did get, our kid said was absolutely delicious. But I'll never know how the food is. We won't be back & i don't recommend unless u feel like wasting your time. Edit: i also wanna add that menu prices are for cash patrons only. They add over 3% charge to any kind of card transactions. As far as the reply, I'd rather have a choice to wait outside KNOWING there's a 20+ minute wait instead of unknowingly waiting without any knowledge of a wait time OR that y'all would be sold out of stuff b4 breakfast even ends. I'm glad people who are retired have the time & enjoy your vibe. Those of us who have a schedule would like to know about wait times as soon as we sit down if this the issue. I never downed the kitchen or cooks. I could see how small the kitchen was. I'd rather have my order in & wait on them. At least then i would have been in line for the biscuits BEFORE they ran out. There are MULTIPLE reviews complaining about this issue. Maybe resolve it instead of trying to negate the issue. I have no respect for an owner that doesn't respect...

I've eaten here a few times and liked it. Prices are sane and the home-cooked quality of the food has always been very good. I suggest you try it for yourself. I give it four stars but here are a few reason I haven't given it more: the breakfast sausage patty is bland, the bacon is about as thin as I've witnessed. The country and 'sweet' ham are very good and are sliced to about 1/8 thin - don't expect a ham steak. Portions are fairly hearty. Hash browns and grits get an 'A' grade. At times when there are tables and the counter filled with plates from previous customers, glasses and cups of half finished coffee, utensils and napkins on the floor and it appears the Army has just eaten there and it makes me worry about sanitation. However, it is also a reflection of the affirming popularity of the place. The interior decor is casual and attractive full of hand painted portraits of people who must be customers. Service quality varies if they are busy - ordered eggs with yokes over medium with the yoke not hard cooked as to mop-up with the toast - got eggs nearly cooked solid (they did comp the meal - thank you C.J.s). If they are busy they will miss small things such as butter, extra utensils and such. The men's restroom area is very unattractive and visually does not look good. The door and handle are in bad shape and must be ten years old - long ready to be retired. It is easier to lock yourself in, than to unlock the handle and let yourself out. The building is old, but has good character reminiscent of when that intersection was in its hey-day. However the outside area needs attention, particularly the weeds and grass growing out of the cracks in the side walk and along the front steps to the front door. I like the place, the people and the food. Try it...