Restaurant Review: Real Food Café

It’s no secret that Sean and I love breakfast. It’s obviously the best meal of the day, and it’s even better when someone else makes it for you.

In every city we’ve lived (Mount Pleasant, Saginaw, and Grand Rapids), we’ve been on a hunt to find the best breakfast place.

We’ve got a few on our favorites list for Grand Rapids (including Anna’s House), but one takes the pancake: Real Food Café.

There are two locations: one on Eastern Avenue in Alger Heights and another on Northland Drive in Plainfield. We’ve been to both, but you’re more likely to find us in Alger Heights because it’s closer to our apartment.

They’ve both got great environments, but it gets quite crowded on weekends. And a word of warning: they won’t seat you until everyone in your group is there. It’s a little frustrating, especially if you’re just waiting for someone to park the car, but I actually really like the rule. It gives priority to the people who have actually been waiting.

Another word of warning: they only accept cash and local checks. There are ATMs at both locations, so be prepared to pay some fees if you forget your cash.

Now that we have the warnings out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff: the food.

Sean and I play that game at the beginning of the meal where we pretend we don’t know what we want, so we spend a few minutes browsing the menu while sipping our coffee. And then we get the same thing we always get.

Sean gets two eggs (over medium), meat (bacon), and home fries with a side of (white) toast.

And I get the Tuesday Morning: two eggs (over medium), bacon, and a slice of French toast. This time I decided to add a side of home fries, because they’re that good.

I wouldn’t change anything about the food at Real Food Café. The french toast isn’t soggy, the over-medium eggs are always done perfectly, and the bacon is the right amount of crispy. And the home fries. Holy cow. They’re absolutely delicious, with just the right amount of burnt potato.

I definitely recommend getting to Real Food early, or you’re going to be waiting a while. Luckily, they’re great at customer service and have a pot of coffee available to anyone waiting.

It’s honestly our favorite breakfast place in all of Grand Rapids. It’s set the bar pretty high for everywhere else. Everything available is top-notch, including the cinnamon rolls and pies available at the register. It’s so hard to resist buying one every time.

What’s your favorite place to eat breakfast?