Toast Cafe — Restaurant in Philadelphia

I hope the owner or manager sees this. My intention is to help not hurt.

1. When we got there the restaurant was about 30% full (it's a small space so about 3 tables (ea is a 2 top) and 2 people at the counter). We were seated quickly but it took roughly 20 minutes to get a server to come to our table (there were 2 servers on duty).
2. After placing our order it took roughly 40 minutes for the food to come out. When it did it was room temp. I ordered the Lemon blueberry Jawn and my friend had the Chicken and waffles.
3. From what I could see there were 2 cooks in the kitchen and a bus person.
4. The cooks and the servers were laughing and talking and dancing - having a great time. Meanwhile, the food is going into the microwave because the dishes weren't being time properly and the servers were standing chatting with the cooks.
5. The esthetic is starting to look rundown. It's in need of a good cleaning and spot painting.
6. Just a few suggestions - when offering OJ it should be fresh squeezed or at least not served in a small bottle. Instead of the busser pushing the full garbage can from the counter to the kitchen, passing several tables, maybe close the bag and pull it from the can then carry it to the kitchen. When breaking a new bag of ice on the floor and dumping it into the ice holder behind the counter, maybe rinse it off beforehand so nothing dirty from the floor gets in the ice receptacle. Instead of scrapping plates while at an empty table, maybe just stack the dishes and carry them to the kitchen. They do have live flowers at each table (beautiful idea) but they were very close to dead and attracting gnats and flies. So, we were at war with the flying bugs for our food.

All in all, my experience wasn't great this time - not even good but I'm hoping they will get back to where they were when they...

I made a reservation at Toast Cafe, and I’m really glad I did because the seating is limited, and the place fills up fast. If you’re coming with a large party, be prepared to be seated near the back of the restaurant, which is directly across from the bathroom. Pro tip: This seating area is not ideal. You’ll hear, see, and smell everything happening in the bathroom—definitely not the most pleasant dining experience, even though the bathroom itself is clean and features an automatic paper towel dispenser, which is a nice touch.

Now, onto the food! I ordered a couple of dishes just in case one didn’t hit the mark. The Catfish and Grits was amazing. By far the best catfish I’ve had—crispy, and a generous portion of both fish and grits. Unfortunately, the French Toast didn’t do it for me. The portion size was small, and it was more like French toast sticks than the classic slices I was expecting. Not very satisfying, and the taste didn’t wow me either.

A little odd, but they gave me plastic utensils because they mentioned all the silverware was being washed. I didn’t mind for the grits, but it made cutting the French toast a bit tricky. Another thing to note is that there are no pork options on the menu—only turkey bacon or beef bacon if that’s something you’re particular about.

The hot chocolate was great though, with a flavor that reminded me of graham crackers. The service was friendly and attentive. There was a bit of a wait for the food, but the staff was very apologetic and kept us updated.

All in all, I’d definitely return to Toast Cafe, but probably not with a large group unless I can avoid being seated by the bathroom. If you do go, the catfish and grits is a must-try! Just be mindful of the seating arrangements if you’re sensitive to smells and sounds from the...

Wanted to write our review before we got too busy with our day. My partner and I just had breakfast and it was very pleasant. We had reservations but were not asked about them when we got there but it wasn’t a big deal because the seating was quickly rearranged and we were seated fairly easily when we got there. Our waiter was Drew (I hope this is spelled correctly) and he is so personable and tended to us well, we’re a needy pair when we eat out so we were mindful of how busy it was and all that he had to juggle. He kept us updated with the wait for our food because it was on the longer side but we expected it to be, so again, no big deal. We were seated close to the kitchen so we could hear and it seemed that they enjoyed working with each other and I think it showed in the food. I had catfish and grits with a side of eggs, plain french toast and a hot chocolate, my partner had French toast, a side of bourbon chicken, and a watermelon mint lemonade. I originally wanted a coffee but their machine wasn’t working but the hot chocolate was a good substitute. The catfish portion was so much that me and my partner tried to finish it but couldn’t 😂 I think they forgot the compote for the order, but so did I lol (it only had the peppers). The ambiance was a cozy vibe, well decorated and had a clean bathrooms that smelled nice (important to us because we were seated in front of it). Drew recommended for us to come back on a Sunday and we definitely will. My partner was planning for our next visit and calling dibs on the grits lol. I hope they are blessed with a bigger location because they could definitely do their even...