Cottage Cafe — Restaurant in Spokane Valley

I only give it one star to emphasize how awful my experience was. I would choose 0 stars if that was possible. If you want to be yelled by wait staff and humiliated in front of the entire restaurant, this is the place for you!

Here's my story: I was so excited to take a group of 6 friends and family to this restaurant because we've always been so impressed by the food and the service. We showed up with 4 people -- still waiting on two. Our wait was about 30 minutes, which is typical for this restaurant, but that was totally fine with us. When they had table for six ready, the hostess asked us how big our party was. We replied 6, but very clearly told the hostess that two people weren't there yet. The hostess seated us anyway, which was kinda surprising and great. She came back a few minutes later to take our drink orders and was noticeably rude. We thought that was somewhat strange given how nice the staff usually is. A couple minutes later, a waiter (tall, red-head guy – owner or manager maybe?) came to our table and was VERY obviously pissed. He said very loudly, "Next time, don't lie to us so that you can get seated sooner. We are obviously VERY busy and have a lot of people waiting!" We were absolute shock. I said, "Excuse me? Lie about what?" He replied that the hostess who seated us asked us if our entire party was present and that we said yes. I explained that there must have been some mistake -- that we told the hostess that our party was NOT all present and that she seated us anyway. He told us that was BS because the staff ALWAYS checks twice whether the entire party is present. As I was trying to (politely) explain that we were very sorry and that we simply did NOT say that we were all present – that there must have been some misunderstanding – he stormed away without even letting me finish explaining or apologizing. I've never been treated with such disrespect in my life.

We sat there in absolute shock for about two minutes, trying to figure out whether we could still eat there or whether we should leave. We all felt sick to our stomachs at being screamed at and called liars by management and we felt extremely uncomfortable. The male waiter came back a few minutes later and said very huffily, taking out his order pad, “Are we ready to get this party started now or WHAT!?” (clearly pissed that our remaining two people still had not shown up but that he wasn’t going to wait any longer). I calmly tried again to explain, “Listen, man, I promise you, we are NOT lying. There must have been some miscommunication, but we clearly told the hostess that two people weren’t here yet.” This pissed him off even more and he replied that their staff ALWAYS checks that and that we were lying. I then said that we were just going to go. He stepped back and gestured angrily toward the door, as if to say “Get the hell out of my restaurant!” I again tried to apologize and he gestured again toward the door like he didn’t want to hear it and that we just needed to leave.

We were absolutely appalled and it ruined our entire weekend. I have been to this restaurant several times (with this very same waiter/owner/manager/whatever he is) and it has always been wonderful. But this past weekend ruined it forever and I will never go back. They’re busy and popular, so I know it won’t matter to them that me and all of my friend and family won’t go there again, but it was such an unjust and horrible experience that I felt like I had to share my experience on Yelp – something I’ve never done before.

Yelling at your guests and calling them liars is NEVER ok – especially when the guests did NOTHING wrong. He wouldn't even give us the benefit of the doubt. Wouldn't even listen to us. We've never been treated worse by wait staff in our entire lives. Our theory is that the hostess got yelled at by the red-head guy and that she threw us under the bus, telling him that we told her that we were all present in order to save her own skin. Whatever the reason for the tantrum, we'll...

Stopped here by the recommendation of Andrew at Fingerswagger. Don't take only my word but his too and the rest of the five star reviews on this restaurant!

First things first, I needed a fat breakfast after a two hour drive, a few cups of coffee and definetely a chicken fried steak. Well, due to recommendation I didn't search for anything else, I came straight here no questions asked. I'm from Pasco so this is not a drill.

We had 3-4 families ahead of us and we were seated within 10 minutes despite how busy they were on a Tuesday morning, it was insane! I saw plates with amazing portions of food being served. I saw the waitresses going fast which was a very good sign. They were so nice, so sweet and very talkative with the customers! I was so happy to see this.

Upon being seated, Christy became our server. She is a beautiful sweet lady who was very courteous and patient with my mother and I. My mom is older so she's a lot more picky than I am on service. She only understands Spanish but my mom understands good service in any language, and Christy did what not a lot of people can ever do.

I ordered the chicken fried steak with hash browns and over easy eggs. I got my mom the B.L.A. Omelet which looked absolutely insane. It looked sooo beautiful but don't even get me started...

The housemade gravy on the chicken fried steak was so impeccably savory and full of flavor. Made so perfectly that the Tabasco and Fletcher Sauce couldn't penetrate the incredible flavor! Now that's a bulletproof gravy you got. 🤗

Second, going right below the surface of the gravy is the chicken fried steak itself. Wow, that thing is absolutely ridiculous. The sheer size, the girth, the heat, the gravy... yea, this is the reason why this exists. It's gravy, it's chicken. We get it. What else can I say? Just get it!

Third, the hash browns. Wow, were they hot and delicious! I don't know where they get these but I swear, they were so fluffy like mashed potatoes on the inside and crispy on the outside! This is a consistency of hash brown is the kind that can only be spoken and discussed exclusively with potato enthusiasts. Now, I might be exaggerating a bit on the mashed potato part but they felt like so with me because of how hungry I was.

Fourth, the eggs were made perfectly. Nothing much to say about a perfectly well cooked pair of sunny side up yolks. Salt, pepper, and Fletcher Sauce.

Fifth, the coffee. It's the perfect balance of strength! Fairly weak for my tastes but it still tasted amazing with the french vanilla creamer.

Sixth, Christy! Thank you for being awesome, attentive and talkative! You are a wonderful soul and I hope I get to see you again when I come back. I forgot the other ladies name who sat me but she was fantastic as well!

Seventh and last, the vibe. I didn't have anyone looking at me funny. I didn't hear yelling, babies crying, people laughing outrageously loud and any whining, which you will be charged $5 for if you do so. The environment of this restaurant alone is worth the visit. Everybody smiled. Not only that, but watching people eat makes me happy too. Enjoying big plates with family is what counts with the good service, the food, and the gravy. Please! The gravy!

I will be back soon with my entire family because I have to have them have it....

My family decided to try this restaurant for a Sunday brunch. Upon arrival there was a bit of a line, possible sign that the food was good, and there were waiting customers outdoors waiting as well. It took about 10 minutes to get our names on the waiting list, it was a full house and the staff was busy waiting on seated customers. The wait was about 25 minutes, which was a bit of a bummer especially with three hungry kiddos (ages 12, 5, 15 mos). When we finally were seated the waiter was very kind, helpful, and fun spirited. My husband and daughter ordered the chicken fried steak, my 5 yo ordered pancakes, I order oatmeal with toast for my 15-month-old (he ate from my plate as well), and for myself I decided to order French toast.

Pros: The food is really tasty and has a traditional Sunday home cooked brunch feel. There is plenty of food to share a plate with a younger child. My family enjoyed the homemade cinnamon and also the pecan rolls. They are big in size and can be shared with at least 2-3 people. The staff was friendly. The location isn’t bad and on the main road not far from I-90 freeway.

Also the prices are reasonable for the vast amount of food served.

Cons: The wait time was a little longer than expected. I believe Sunday’s are their busiest days for brunch, so be prepared for a wait unless you’re willing to get there when they open.

There are chairs outdoors, however at that time the chairs were linked and locked together. So for customers that waited outdoors until a seating area was available found it a bit difficult to sit (at the time of our visit, it was a few older individuals that wanted/needed to sit).

My husband and I were not too thrilled about the homemade fries/hash which were cut up round potatoes. It is great for the kiddos, but I would order traditional hash browns the next time we visit for brunch.

Overall Experience: It is a quaint little restaurant that does what they do well. Other than the wait time, I know what to expect and plan to arrive a bit earlier with my kiddos in tow. We were pleasantly happy with our meals and took the rest home for a...