Eddie Papa’s American Hangout

Ahh, Eddie Papa’s. The atmosphere outside is appealing… first visit, made me wanna go right in and try something new!
I will admit your menu is creative & scored high points with a meat-​eating friend of mine. Not to mention the complimentary cotton candy scoring points with me.
However.. .
Chefs/​Managers (Livermore):
Create a more vegetarian friendly menu! You’re limiting yourselves.
It’s not appetizing for me if I have to take one of the entrees & customize the flavors out of it, or worse– settle for a salad. You can do better!

It is my sad duty to report that Eddies Livermore location will be closing soon. I guess the Ale House was just to much competition for him.
If only ownership had listened to some constructive criticism and did some remodeling in the interior (i.e. painted over that gawd awful color scheme left over from Movida), added a few more TV’s, and reduced their menu to about half of what they offered, Eddies would have worked just fine in the new downtown. Unfortunately they didn’t.
Looks like we are getting another Indian place. Like we need that…

I wanted to check this place out because it looked neat. Unfortunately we couldn’t find any easy parking other than the parking garage, which is quite far when you are injured. They have a very tiny parking lot that holds about ten cars.
Once we made it inside, we were seated to a table pretty quick. That was a plus.
The food selection was disappointing. I thought there would have been a lot more to it for the price. Our server was average as well. He didn’t offer any specials, and he didn’t check on us at all.
We brought our seven year old son with us and he got some of the cotton candy for dessert. That would have been fantastic for him if we didn’t happen to be sitting right next to the cotton candy machine. If I only hadn’t seen the guy that was making my sons cone lick his fingers as he molded the cotton candy onto the cone. YUCK!
As we left the restaurant, my son was pissed, and us parents were disappointed and disgusted. Not going back.

Maybe 1.5… the food is definitely nothing to write home about. average at best. The service was just mediocre. There isn’t much in Livermore but I’ll definitely pass on this place.

I can’t believe I never put my review in for this place!
(2÷2010)
My husband and myself tried this place out soon after opening. I read their extensive menu online and decided we must go try our new downtown restaurant!
I ordered a ½ of a crab sandwich with a ½ order of lobster bisque– ALL was yummy!!! The hubby and I even ordered the Ahi appetizer, which was quite small, but tasted very good!
We had two drinks– both were pretty watered down, but I still can’t find a good margarita other than at the Blue Agave in Pleasanton.
Best part by FAR is the cotton candy with your check– awesome idea! We are definitely going to come back for the dessert menu next time!
lately we’ve been by and the wait is just TOO long. I’m not a rookie to Livermore, so I know downtown gets crowded in the summer –so this isn’t a surprise. I’ve always been partial to the Ale house anyways, and with the new extension– the wait isn’t too long so we usually try there first. However, we will definitely come here again. I’m thinking it would be cute to bring my daughter and her friends here for her 7^th B-​day and order a crapload of S’mores…heehee.

Walked in expecting the décor of a diner, and was a bit shocked by the red velvet walls and tin plated ceiling. The table décor doesn’t really fit with the room décor, but it gives the place a bit of a funky feel. The pixie stick dispenser at the front desk was a cute touch, but the cotton candy machine in the dining room makes you wonder if you’re going a bit crazy hearing things.
It seemed a bit hectic in there and took a while to be seated, but we were in no rush, and were asked if we were being helped by 3 different people, so the staff was nice and noticed us. Service wasn’t bad once we were seated, though they forgot to bring out water along with our drinks. The place seemed clean and family oriented, though the staff seemed hectic and disordered. We got the right food and it didn’t take too long, so we didn’t mind.
I ordered the half crab and artichoke sandwich and the lobster crab bisque and it was delicious! I wasn’t expecting much and was greatly surprised. The portions seemed on the small side, but the food was so rich and delicious that I was stuffed by the end of the meal. At the end they brought out cotton candy with the bill and asked us if we wanted anymore. Over all, the food was pretty good. I’ll definitely return.

Really a 2.75 star rating here.
Service was excellent! Jarrod was very attentive. Talked about the theme (Mardi Gras) and how the food/​specials/​decorations reflect that. He refilled out drinks, checked up on us and the food was delivered hot. I am not gonna diss the fact that before we even ordered — with menu’s in hand a waitress or hostess tried to give us our bill, or the fact that right when Jarrod left frmo taking our order another waiter/​runner brought us food meant for another table.
Hubby ordered the Chicken Club sandwich with coleslaw. He really liked his food. Said it was better than he thought it would be. Nice size piece of meat and the coleslaw was better than The Riata’s.
I ordered the Crab & Artichoke w/​melted cheese open face sandwich w/​sweet potato fries. I was totally dissappointed! First it didn’t really have a crab flavor — more like tuna and the whole thing just really tasted like Artichoke dip you get from Costco mixed with Crab (ish) stuff. Sweet potato fries were alright. Kinda skimpy and not really into the skinny fries — at least not overly fries where they are like straw.
Didn’t like how they dimmed the lights in the restaurant as Dinner rush came in. The lush velvet benches were ok. Its smaller than I had though and can get very loud! Especially if you give a 5 year old boy a horn/​whistle to blow and their parents don’t rip it out of his hand after blowing it VERY loudly three times since the kid himself couldn’t even hear how loud he was blowing it because he had EARBUDS in and watching his mini-​tv!!! Yeah!
We will come by again and give it another shot.
Banana Cotton Candy was cute, didn’t know they made that flavor. ha

Well, let me start off by saying it’s in a prime location… as far as Downtown Livermore goes. The food looked more promising on the menu than it did on the plate but all in all, not a bad place to eat. See, Livermore isn’t necessarily the culinary capitol of the East Bay… let alone the Tri-​Valley. So, Eddie Papas should make it through the ‘Lazy Susan’ of restaurants that have came & went in Livermore…
Ok, now to the food. I ordered Eddie Papas take on the «Primanti Pastrami Sandwich», which I had just been familiarized with via «Diners, Drive-​ins & Dives». To say the least, The Primanti Bros. would have been highly offended… and so would their lifelong faithful patrons. Now, it didn’t taste bad but it was nowhere near the size I expected. I thought I took a picture of it but I didn’t. But I challenge you to order the EP Primanti and then google image «Primanti bros. sandwich». You’ll see what I mean. Then show it to the waiter. :) My son’s French Dip was decent but seriously, how can you mess up a French Dip? My wife wasn’t too impressed with her Fried Chicken either… And my wife LOVES Fried Chicken. Put it this way, the only thing she loves more than Fried Chicken is me. Well, I guess that’s not saying much but you get the point.
Dessert was a different story. The kids ordered the Indoor s’mores, which were slightly gimmicky, yet awesome! I opted for the «New Orleans Pear Bread Pudding»…need I really say more? If I just went here for dessert, I would’ve easily given them 5 stars…
Overall, like I said, the food isn’t bad. Just not OMG. Dessert overshadows the entrees and the décor… well, who cares? I came here to eat, not get ideas for new wallpaper…

Service was very good, food not so much. I ordered the Monte Cristo, having fond memories of my first and only one 35 years ago at Disneyland — as a side note, their menu indicates that the Monte Cristo originated at Disneyland, but I don’t think so, still it was funny to read that since that is where I ate my first one! Anyway, that first one was a lovely ham and cheese sandwich lightly egg washed and pan fried to a golden brown, turning a simple item into a very special dish. This one was overly coated with a thick, doughy coating, so much that it doubled the size of the actual sandwich underneath. I think it was fried at the wrong temperature, because when I lightly pressed the sandwich with a fork, tons of grease oozed out. Gross. And by the time it came to the table, it was cold. Really gross.
Hubby had buffalo wings, and since he always has buffalo wings everywhere he goes, he liked them, though they weren’t anything to rave about.
On a positive note, service was great, from the moment we walked in and were seated, to the promptness of our order being taken, and the constant checking by our waiter (who was also the bartender on this quiet afternoon) to see if we needed anything else.
I’ll probably go back one more time to give them another chance, but I’m not holding out too much hope, I’ve seen how the Pleasanton location can be hit or miss, I’m afraid this one might do the same.

Great food and service. Very child friendly. Ordered the Eddie Papa’s Melt, which is a burger with pastrami grilled on swirl rye bread with homemade cheese sauce and grilled onions. I asked for the grilled onions on the side, but never got them. My fries were a bit old and barely warm, but they brought me fresh ones immediately (which were perfect). The pastrami was nothing to write home about, but the burger itself was perhaps the best I have ever tasted. Next time I go back I will get a plain burger with nothing on it. Truly the best quality burger meat I have encountered to date. In fact, that alone is what earned it an additional star.
I love the cotton candy at the end of the meal (and so did my children). A special touch that sets it apart from other places and is sure to bring those with children back in for more.

Everything about Eddie Papa’s screams quality. All the ingredients were very fresh and minimally processed. Coupled with a very friendly waitstaff, and the opportunity to interact with the proprietor. This makes a great place to eat in Downtown Livermore!
Buffalo wings: Good size, could use a bit more spice or at least the option of a spicier sauce, served with high quality bleu cheese dressing. These definitely deserve another go.
Each menu entry has a brief history or trivia fact along with the descripion. How cool is that? And by cool I mean in the geeky, triva-​mongering kind of way…
I opted for the reuben sandwich with sweet potato fries. While I have had better reubens, the freshness of everything definitely improved the experience.
Bottom Line: Freshness and quality without all the hoity-​toityness you might expect to find. Eddie Papa’s is an accessable and affordable alternative to the staleness of chains like Chili’s or Applebee’s.

Stopped in to Eddie Papa’s this afternoon for lunch and was pretty impressed with this location. I have not been to the one in Pleasanton yet but this particular Eddie Papa was pretty modern and has a «loungy» vibe to it. We were seated near the bar just to the right of the main dining room and our party of three was greeted by a friendly server.
I ordered the Eddie Melt which came with a half lb patty with hot pastrami, grilled onions, their home made cheese sauce and their burger sauce. It was supposed to be served on rye but I substituted it with grilled sour dough. My sandwich was very delicious. The beef patty was fresh and seasoned well. The grilled onions were still firm and not soggy and the cheese sauce was really good.
The one cool thing about Eddie Papa’s is that they serve you a small bowl of grape flavored cotton candy when they bring you the check!
Over all good food, good service and I wouldn’t mind coming back here if I’m in the neighborhood!

Yeah. .. I didn’t care so much for it the first time… and yeah I went back.. But like I said before, Livermore really needs another eatery and the company I was with had yet to try it.
Sat at the exact same table by the curtain and had the pleasure of listening to the madness of clanking dishes behind it. It was kinda like wizard of the oz — crazyness behind the curtain but nothing but a lollipop kid running the show.
Service again was great. Food was a little slow but we I had great company to chat the time away. If your going out with boring people — don’t go here! You’ll spend too much time staring at the ceilings, walls, and avoiding eye contact.
Food — not so much. I did get a portobello mushroom burger this time and it was pretty good. Everybody else at the table seemed to be disappointed though.

I want to love Eddie Papa’s, I really do. But I don’t. I just kinda like them in a friendship way. I want it to evolve into a steamy, hot love affair. So hot, in fact, that we annoy the neighbors with all of our lengthy love-​making sessions.
Twice I’ve been here and both times service was slow. Very slow. Molasses slow.
The food is good, but not great. They have made some improvements (new sweet potato fries are much crispier), but I never quite get what I want here. My medium burger was well-​done (I hate that!) and the crab melt sandwich I had was rubbery, for lack of a better term. The black and white shake I ordered was lumpy. It’s not that the food is bad; it’s just that they could do better.
And I hope that they do get it together. They are in a great spot and the concept is perfect. I love the layout and the décor. Get the kitchen staff to sharpen their skills, the wait staff to get the lead out and they might get more stars.

Just went there last night for the first time — our server was AWESOME: both friendly and knowledgeable. He made recommendations that helped us get better food and save money too.
BONUS: If you have an allergy to wheat or gluten, our server really knew his stuff. The kitchen also had on hand gluten-​free frying conditions (no cross contamination!) and gluten-​free bread! I had the philly cheese steak sandwich on gluten-​free bread and garlic fries.
(The Philly is GREAT by the way but if you’re expecting an authentic philly cheese steak, this isn’t for you).
PS: This place looked like it would be great for large parties, private events, and groups — can definitely accomodate them space-​wise and is laid out in a way that could potentially give a large group their own space… just an idea.

SOOOOO terrible salty!
I had the french dip and had to send it back because it was overwhelmingly salty! for me to say this, it was way way to salty! They replaced the french dip with a burger. The burger was just a lot of meat on from the bag bread. Nothing special, and imo John’s Char is much better and so much cheaper
The sweet potato fries are nothing to rave about.
However, our server was awesome and was on top of refills and stuff.
The cotton candy at the end was a nice touch too!
Now I’ve been to 2 locations of Eddie Papa’s and have not been impressed by either. Next time I think I will stick to their appetizers and salads.
They do have a good variety of sodas to choose from (for an extra fee)

I think downtown Livermore has another winner!
I ate at Eddie Papa’s last night with my husband, kids and in-​laws. My hubby had wanted to eat at Eddie Papa’s for a while, partly because his name is Eddie but mostly because he just loves comfort food.
Let me start off with the décor as this is quite a hot topic: Although it is strange that they did not completely re-​do the interior, if you look at the red booths and all the white and silver as a 21^st century diner, it actually works.
As far as service goes, our server was very kind and attentive. Putting up with our group is no small task and he did so with a smile on his face the whole time. Food came out in a timely fashion and I have no complaints. Well, one little quibble was that a young female expediter did not know what sandwich she was trying to pass to us. Anyone with a basic knowledge of food could see that it was crab, so I helped her out. I thought it was more amusing that anything though.
Onto the food: I can personally vouch for the Pulled Pork Sliders, Crab & Artichoke Sandwich (be forewarned that it is on the small side), Monte Cristo and Sweet Potato Fries (although I wish they were a little crispier).
My two-​year old thoroughly enjoyed his mini corn dogs which usually come with fries, but the server granted my request of a bowl of fruit. Love that!
The only food item that disappointed me was the Cole Slaw, but I should have remembered from my visit to the Pleasanton location that I thought it was bland. Still is.
And although I knew that the Livermore location did not have its liquor license yet, I was hoping for a miracle. No such luck.
Minor annoyance: There is only one bathroom/​toilet per gender. Having to wait in line made me feel like I was at a fast food restaurant.
To sum it all up, if the entire restaurant and patio being full at 7pm on a Wednesday night is any indication, Eddie Papa’s is here to stay!

Always have to be cautious of the first few reviews of a new restaurant. Lots of friends and employees eager to post.
Because this was an established business - (Pleasanton) — decided to visit after Back-​To-​School night.
Very average food & service. Prices seem a bit high for a «neighborhood family restaurant». No liquor license yet — with ambiance leftover from Modiva.
The server we had needs a lot more training as to customer service & attentiveness. Was nice & polite but couldn’t be found for the first ten minutes after we were seated — & for the ten minutes after our food wad delivered– (arrived after 8PM so the restaurant was only ¼ filled).
Will try EP again after the bugs are worked out — but in this economy:
Strike one — still in the game
Strike two — get your head in the game
Strike three — YOU’RE OUT!

Service today took over an hour to get a COLD French Dip.
Took anotehr ½ hour to get another?
No apologies, no dessert discounts and Eddy was there too?
Averaging my 1^st experience 5 star with the second today was a 1 star. Average is 3 stars now.
Big bad Scotty D., thanks for blocking me during our conflict of interest
conversation too. WAP!!!
Scotty D. and Joey Y. know the owner so accordinging to thier reviews below, they should not count or should be deleted according to the conflict of interest clause on Unilocal!

BIG CONGRATS to Ed and this great new location! the food is better than expected and the staff is wonderful. everything is comfort at it’s best and everything is worth trying on the menu. I’m all about the chicken n
waffles, pork sliders, crab n artichoke sandwich and all of those cute servers. my only problem now is choosing between livermore or pleasanton to get my e papas on.
brunch, lunch and dinner you will see me at eddie papa’s this fall and winter for sure. OH AND LOOK FOR ME AT THE BAR!