Ellenton Cafe

Good home cooking and home town people. you have to try the biscuits and gravy mmmm good. Clean restrooms too.

Good size portions for sure. My husband had a bowl of chili which was full of meat and beans. Definitely homemade and definitely delicious. We both had omelettes, mine was a Western and full of fresh vegetables and lots of fresh ham, his was the Spanish with fresh salsa. Service left a little to be desired. Two waitresses to the the whole place but we will go back.

I’m being overly generous with 3 stars when they really are 2 ½. I’m thinking all the glowing reviews are due to the lack of decent places in the area. Or could be mostly breakfast reviews.
Came for lunch and they had several specials. Decided to go for the crab cake special. Pricing was fine, but the crab cake was small and mostly filler, more like the size of a tiny smashed potato pancake. The server told me it comes with 2 sides and every side I asked for was an upcharge. I finally looked at her and said, ok, can you tell me which ones are included? Sheesh. Not all that friendly or helpful. I get it that you probably just got done with the breakfast crowd, but a little common sense would be for you to tell me as I’m not a mind reader.
Old diner vibe, didn’t find it all that clean, dirty sticky highchair, bathroom wasn’t the best.

Went for breakfast on a Sunday morning. I ordered the basics: scrambled eggs, French toast, bacon and a side of biscuits and gravy. Everything had great flavor! I will definitely go back. The only drawback is the wait staff. No one seemed to be in a hurry to serve us or check on us. We almost walked out after waiting 15 minutes for a server. They were waiting on the locals that kept coming in after us. We stayed based on the food reviews. It was worth it

Excellent food, very friendly staff, family atmosphere and very clean. Highly recommend coming here for breakfast. Brought my son here when he was 5 days old!

A typical example of a rural down home southern diner is what you get here at D’s. Good homestyle food with big portions. The all you can eat fish dinner on Friday night is delish. Homemade desserts finish it off perfectly. The staff is friendly. The first time we walked in, we didn’t see the «hours» sign and we walked thru the doors at 6:50 or so. «No problem“the waitress said. They served us as friendly and as patiently as every other customer, which I really give them kudos for.
Dont go in expecting a fancy place because you’re not going to get it here. But, if good down home cooking us what you crave, come over to D’s

Great local eatery. Good food, good service and good prices. I would recommend this book place to anyone looking for a good inexpensive meal.

Definitely a local eatery. The portions a very large. I ordered a side of bacon and was expecting the usual 2 small pieces. But what came from the kitchen to the table was very different, I received 6 huge pieces of tasty but not greasy bacon. My aunt and grandma ordered hash browns, perfectly grilled and not burned eggs. Quick and friendly service which got us on the road. My only complaint is the cheesy decorations, but I came for the food. So defiantly coming back!

Deliciousness I tell ya! Chicken fried steak was really good. Biscuits and gravy tasted like it was made from scratch. Definitely a gem.

My review follows inline of previous individuals. The food is decent and much cheaper than Denny’s or IHOP. The servers are all elderly women who are very uninterested in anything except your order.

The new owners have done amazing things so far, and are planning more improvements from what I understand. The last time I ate there I had the fried chicken with mashed potatoes and applesauce. The chicken was moist and delicious but the potatoes and gravy could have used a bit more flavor. I understand they mostly serve an older clientele with certain dietary needs so I added salt and pepper and it was fine. The desserts are homemade and absolutely wonderful. My biggest suggestion to the menu is to change the sloppy joe recipe… WORST sloppy joes ever, tasted like they add sugar And lots of it. I was told by th server they always taste that way. They were so disgusting my friend couldn’t even eat them… they were that bad. PLEASE change the sloppy joes.
Also, a side note for other customers. If your server does a good job tip him or her accordingly, 15−20% is what is expected in this country for good service and 25−30% for great service. Servers only make $ 4.91 per hour and rely on the tips to pay their bills. If your check total is $ 25 a $ 2 tip is disgraceful (not even 10%). If there is a bus person, host, and or bar in the restaurant the servers are expected to tip those people out of what they have made based on food sales not tips made… and they are taxed on all of their tips.

Just had lunch here for the first time. It was good; nothing spectacular but good local food. The food came out fast, the waitress was super nice (we all apparently where her honey’s). We’re looking forward to going back to try out their breakfast. Probably wouldn’t go there for dinner, unless it was one of those weird nights when you’re out and just don’t wanna put any effort out for dinner.

Went back to visit and ended up here again for breakfast one day. MUCH better experience. I don’t know her name but we had the waitress who, in my last review, I mentioned was yelled at by a coworker in front of the entire restaurant. She is so nice and took great care of us. Glad to see she’s still there. And as I said last time, the food was really good, once again. Thanks for a better experience.

What a great dinner chicken Caesar salad. New owner /​fresh new look /​don’t miss out. Give it a try if you haven’t stopped in!

Great hidden place lol … Great price big menu and nice environment. Good service good friendly service.

Had breakfast this morning here. Place is old and dirty. Needs a good cleaning and benches needed to be replaced since the one we were on had more duct tape then seat. Besides that the food was decent and the price wasn’t bad at all. Would I eat here again? If I had to yes but not something I would recommend.

Tough to get a seat in any restaurant around the Ellenton outlet mall during lunch so we were relieved to get a seat straight away. The food was good. The waitresses are older than the furniture and super slow. I got the meat lovers omelette and my son had the pancakes. Their omelettes are diner style like a crêpe but it was stuffed to the max with meat. Would I go back? Not on my list of restaurants to do but it’d be a good stand by if I couldn’t find anything better.

Love this place! We have been treated like family the first time and every time we come– which is usually every Saturday and sometimes more! Great staff, awesome food, outstanding service!

Similar experience as the previous poster. Food was ok, typical breakfast joint. Service was slow and disinterested. Very easy to get a seat for a table of four on a weekday morning.

Um, I don’t know how to say this… so I’ll just get it out there.
My grandma, aunt, and I came here for Sunday breakfast, we were worried that we would get stuck with the ‘church’ crowd, but upon arrival, determined that there wasn’t going to be a wait… that should have told us a little something.
The only wait we had was to clear some dirty tables… as it seemed… slightly… disorganized. There were three waitresses and about 12 tables, and we waited for just about ever thing. Waiting to get our order taken, waited to get coffee (i was actually ignored when I said ‘excuse’ me to a passing server). waiting for a LONG time in line to pay the bill… waiting so long for a box to take the breakfast home that we never got and left without…
The food was breakfast food, so it was ok. The hashbrowns were a little undercooked, but that may be just how they cook them here, not crunchy…
The highlight was the hostess… she surely was a hostess for the most-​est. smiley, happy, and VERY friendly…
Would suggest to the owner that if they can get the employees more organized and attentive, they may win back some of their «church’ customers…
Hours are short… as you would expect from a small family diner, I would say to 8pm? I can’t recall…