Letty Lou's Café & Diner — Restaurant in Wildwood

My wife and I went to Letty Lou's for lunch on a Saturday. We made this our destination after looking at their menu online. It's a twenty minute drive from our house, just a mile or two south of Route 100. It was easy to find and there was plenty of parking.

Inside, the cafe is divided into two areas: a large, open dining area and a smaller bar area. They also have a fair number of tables outside, under unbrellas. We sat inside at the bar, which has two walls of windows providing a lot of natural light. Very nice. There are some interesting bits of nostalgia decorating the bar, including a two-foot tall statue of Popeye. They play classic oldies (music from the 50's and 60'), which compliments the overall fun-feeling.

We were waited on by two people, both of whom were attentive and pleasant. The menu is copious... there are many options, and not the run of the mill stuff that is so common in restaurants (this was our reason for visiting!). They serve breakfast foods all day, which I love. Egg dishes have the option to be scrambled, in a burrito, or in an omelet.

I had the Dos Amigos (eggs, salsa, jalapenos, sausage, topped with pepperjack cheese) scrambled, with shredded hash browns. The eggs were fantastic. The hash browns were a little crispier than I care for, although my wife prefers them that way. Next time, I'll just ask them for not crispy. My wife had a customized omelet with a fruit cup and a side of grits. She loved the omelet and appreciated that the fruit was cut into fairly small pieces. But the star of her meal was the grits. "These are the best grits I've ever had" to quote her. This is quite a compliment, as my wife grew up in the South and has had grits many, many times. I tried a bite, and agree... the grits here are amazing. For beverages, my wife had a mimosa and I had a Bud Select in the bottle.

This was an excellent experience for us. The service is good, the atmosphere is happy, and the food is fantastic. Despite the relatively long drive, we'll definitely return...there are many more things on the menu I'd...

Mixed reviews (mostly ho-hum) from me... Deluxe Hashbrowns (potatoes, onions and cheese) were delicious and sausage links were good, but the Belgian waffle was pretty bad. It was overcooked making it dark brown and hard. It came out cold too, so the butter didn't even come close to melting on top. I was very disappointed with the waffle. What I thought was kinda weird is that they brought out a plastic bottle of Essentials brand syrup, right off the shelves from Schnucks. I'm sure many restaurants use cheap generic products, but come on, I'm paying extra to dine out... At least pour the cheap syrup into a glass caraff so that I have the illusion of pouring real maple syrup over my $8 Belgian waffle. LOL My iced tea was good but had only a few ice cubes, so I had to ask for more ice. My four other dining mates also had mixed reviews... Some things were wonderful, others not. The server was very attentive and nice, but when bringing out the food everything came in waves with long wait times... First I got hashbrowns... Many minutes later got the waffle... Had to ask about the sausage links and a friend's bacon, which finally came out even later. Had to remind her to bring salsa and sour cream that were supposed to come with the quesidilla. Not sure if the issue was the kitchen or the waitress, but the waitress did follow up on each missing item and appologized for the delay. We were appreciative that she offered to do separate checks. The atmosphere is nice and the dinning room clean, but the bathrooms needed a good cleaning and the paper towel holder needed to be fixed. If we come back I will definitely order the deluxe hashbrowns, but...

Letty Lou’s Cafe & Diner in Wildwood: A Convenient Stop with Room for Improvement

I found Letty Lou’s Cafe & Diner because I went to a spa in Wildwood, and Letty Lou's was the nearest place for a light meal at lunchtime. Letty Lou’s clearly has a local client base,; it's situated in a pleasant, small strip mall just off Highway 109—more of an “if you’re here…” rather than a destination eatery.

I had a Cobb salad that made for very pleasurable eating—it was super-fresh, and the greens tasted springy and crisp. It was a tiny bit light on the chicken, but I’m an avid carnivore—if there’d been an entire chicken in the salad, I wouldn’t have blinked an eye! The salad was generously sized, and when I polished it off the next day, it tasted just as good.

My serious disappointment was in the atmosphere and service. There’s not much a restaurant staff can do with a very plain layout, but in my experience, you don’t notice the decor if the food and company are good. When you’re dining alone, “the company” is the front-of-house staff. I always think that every time I eat at a restaurant, it’s just a snapshot—an hour in a server’s day—and I can take most behavior with good cheer, except when it comes across as a barely-disguised lack of interest that veers towards hostility. I didn’t feel...