R J Riches Family Restaurant

Best breakfast I have ever had. Order for you family of ten just one meal! Great to go ordering too. Pancake comes in a large pizza box that is all the way full. For $ 10 I got the RJ challenge and feed my family of four with leftovers. Tastes like a small diner or grandmas cooking (lots of butter I’m sure). This place has been around forever and there is a good reason why.

Just had breakfast there for the first time. Portions are ridiculously huge. Food was good but way way too much. Servers were very nice. They ran out of silverware so they gave us plastic silverware. The biggest complaint is that the restaurant dining area is filthy. Vents and ceiling tiles just disgusting. Big clumps of greasy dust all around ceiling area. It could be a charming, old style diner, but it is so dirty. I shudder to think what the kitchen looks like. They should close for a day and do a deep cleaning.

Well the locals in there really like this place. Large portions of food and no complaints on taste, BUT the place is filthy, old tape stuck on the walls ceiling I think is supposed to be white, sticky cracked table tops.
The servers are nice and the locals are remembered when they come in
But hard to go back after the uncleanliness of the entire restaurant.

Riches is awesome. I have been a regular for a long time and me and my family use them for our breakfast spot. The portions are amazing and the prices are good. The staff is always friendly, and the coffee is always fresh. Best breakfast place in the north metro. Keep it up guys.

Good food. Dated fixtures, however the place is always busy so they’re doing something right.

Just came back from a memorable breakfast with the extended family at RJ Riches where the portion sizes are ENORMOUS and the service is EXCELLENT. We were seated right away in a comfortable booth, looks like we just beat the morning rush! Our family ordered veggie omelets, southwest omelet, eggs benedict, hashbrowns, RJ skillet, and a kid’s pancake. The portions were enough for several meals, omelets the size of a small newborn baby! Our waitress was very attentive despite being so busy. Will be back for sure, also koodos for them bringing my little boy crayons and paper while waiting. Only small disappointment with the cleanliness of the bathrooms…

Huge portions of home cooking. Yum! The only bad thing is I went there today and it was closed for the week. Bummer.

It’s Saturday morning, we were slightly hungover from the night before, a girlfriend and I were texting about how we were really craving some brunch, so we figured, why not? Let’s do it. I live really close to RJ Riches and even though we have lived in the area for over two years, we had never been here for breakfast. It was time to make that change.
My friend and I left our boys at home and decided to try it out. We got there about 11 am on Saturday and the parking lot was packed and the waiting area was full of people waiting for tables. Since there were just two of us, we got lucky and were able to grab two open bar stools. Victory! The entire time we were there, RJ Riches had a wait.
People are not f**king with you when they say the portions are huge. I mean, seriously, I have never seen breakfast plates that full of food. We each got the RJ Riches breakfast — this includes two eggs, a huge pile of crispy hash browns, bacon (they give you like 7 slices!), and toast. It was delicious. Everything needed a little salt and pepper (and hot sauce — duh!) but that’s what I expect from diner food. I did pay the extra $ 2 to have cheese added to my hash browns. That was the first time I had seen that as a charge before, and while maybe a little expensive, it made the hash browns gooey and delicious. My eggs were definitely over easy rather than over medium, but that is a pretty common occurrence wherever I get breakfast so that didn’t upset me too much. I ended up taking well over half of it home and having it for breakfast this morning (the hash browns actually re-​heated very well).
The wait staff was friendly and efficient. Also, seriously, the waitresses have some major guns on them! They seriously have to get the best arm workout in the Cities carrying those giant trays of food. I didn’t give the lunch portion of the menu much of a glance but the guy sitting next to me ordered the prime rib and it was seriously bigger than my face. With a soda, tax and tip, breakfast was $ 16 — totally reasonable especially given the fact that it was also a second meal and I couldn’t even finish all of it this morning.
I’m looking forward to going back and trying one of the pancakes next time. Also, seriously, SO glad to have such an awesome breakfast joint so close to home!

Great food! Fast and friendly service! Love the big portions and low prices. Servers are always friendly and quick with the food. And the food always fills the plate :) Great pancakes

Great food and a great value. The place is nothing fancy but the food and service has always been great.

RJ Riches… bookmarked for the 2^nd longest on my list… and checked off. Warning to all — OVER SIZED DISHES. That said, and a welcome surprise to me, not over sized prices.
So, there is RJ’s challenge. A choice of meat, hash, eggs and one cake. Yeah, not that bad sounding right? Hahahahahahahahaha. I didn’t make mention of anything to Ashley when she said «lets go challenge for challenge.» I of course start laughing and naturally say «bring it.»
She rolls with the challenge, chocolate chip style cake, scrambled eggs and bacon. I go for gyro meat, over easy and standard cake. After we order, I then spring the news on her… these dishes will be the biggest plates of food you’ll ever see in your life (until we go to Vegas, and I know of more places like this). How big? Think a trash can lid diameter for your cakes, about 3 cakes thickness, and an entire plate of hash browns.
We wait, a solid 15 minutes for the food… and it arrives. They really should get lift jacks for the servers to bring these out. Might extend their careers as servers a bit.
Bacon is great. Very crispy (and I’m not a crispy fan usually), good flavor and even better with a little syrup. Hash browns are PERFECT. Crispy, not soggy or cold or that mushy residue like crap some places serve you — but crispy through and through without being burnt. Eggs are on point. My gyro meat is awesome. Very flavorful, tender and a welcome change of pace. Oh yeah, the tzatziki isn’t bad either. A very welcome surprise to me.
And the cakes… oh the cakes. Her chocolate chip cake was amazing. From a flavor standpoint, awesome. Buttermilk was lacking real flavor (which is why we’re not a 5 star). But, with some syrup and other things, it got the job done. Texture for a cake this thick and big, incredible. I’ve had countless other giant cakes that really suck texture wise, but, these ones are cooked thoroughly and were done perfectly.
A tip, if you’re going to give the challenge a shot, make sure to shift from cake to other foods to give your jaw a different feel so it doesn’t get so tired. It’s not a challenge for the feint of heart with how thick the cake will be. Also, syrup, peanut butter, and jelly were all used to give the taste buds a little something different.
I loved the trip here, Ashley really enjoyed it, the wait staff was amazed I finished (Ashley wasn’t, go figure), and we’ll have to hit this place up again to try the omelets which were MASSIVE as well. Recommendation if you’re not feeling the challenge alone, split it and get a side item — it’s enough for 3.

Great prices and good service with huge portions and nice food. Carla was our waiter and she was very nice.

Great diner food ! Huge portions I mean huge ! Liked the career waitresses they don’t roll there eyes at you and are hard working so tip your waitresses well here they deserve it ! So huge portions good wait staff ! If your looking for fru fru you won’t find it here ! Great American diner ! One of the true mom and pop diners ! Great hash browns !

I vacillated between three and four stars. Pluses: huge portions and a strong sense of tradition. Minuses: highly variable quality and a little dilapidated. Actually, I score «a little dilapidated» as a plus, too – this reminds me of a lot of small-​town places I’ve been over the years.
I tell people, «I’ve had better pancakes, but I’ve never had bigger pancakes.» But I’m kind of a pancake snob. Our waitress once told me the best ones were the chocolate chip, and I tried one, and you know, it was much better. Still not world-​class, but entirely edible. As for «highly variable quality,» I haven’t found that any given menu item fluctuates – just that some are really good and others not so much. I’ve never had a *bad* item, but I’ve had some I didn’t really think were done well. The menu is surprisingly large – probably everyone in the party can find SOMETHING they might like (except if you have anyone along that doesn’t like diner food-​, e.g., they complain about eating «anyplace greasy» or will suggest a vegan place).
My current favorite: the chicken-​fried steak with hash browns. One other review noted that the hash browns were too thick and were «just cooked potatoes in the middle.» I found them to have a nice crust with a good variation in texture throughout their thickness, so I guess that’s just a way of saying that tastes differ.
The coffee rates «drinkable with cream and two sugars,» which in my universe is the bottom of the acceptable-​for-​diners range. And eleven-​out-​of-​a-​dozen diners are no better.

I don’t understand the rave reviews. This place is just so-​so. We went for breakfast. If you like huge servings and don’t care about flavor or anything else I guess you’ll like it. The pancakes are enormous but just ok. The omelet is enormous. Not impressed. The hashbrowns are enormous but that makes them too thick and the middle is just cooked potatoes. I kept having to add salt to them. The restaurant itself is run down and dirty. We don’t plan on returning. There’s nothing there to bring us back.

The food portions are huge for a very reasonable price. Under 20 per person. The only complaint I have is there is no wheelchair ramp from the lot to the sidewalk.

The cleanliness of the dinning area is unacceptable. There is piles of dust everywhere you look; along the seats, on fans, vents, everywhere. The food, on the other hand, is great! The omelette was huge and the pancakes were literally cakes! Everything tasted good. If they would only take the time to dust the dinning room, it would be the perfect breakfast place. I am tempted to continue going for the food but the dust in the place really does keep me from doing so.

Today is going to be a great day, in fact, the «2^nd Great Day of the Week». The first Great Day was when I went to R J Riches for breakfast this weekend, and now that I am currently devouring my R J Riches Gyro Breakfast leftovers, my proclamation of greatness is justified.
This glorious pile of hashbrowns and gyro meat with choice of toast and 2 eggs was under 10 bucks. Yes, you read that correctly.
A friend suggested we stop here a couple weekends ago on a trip to the northern suburbs. I assumed the place would be, more or less, like many other family breakfast places I’ve eaten at before. But THEN he said «Gyro Breakfast» and my interest was peaked. I didn’t even bother to look at any other menu options (sorry I can’t attest what else they serve!) because I am a gyro fanatic.
It did not disappoint (see photo!). Sooooo much goodness.
The service was super friendly, the prices were great and the portions were even better (as I look down at my plate of leftovers, I realize a 3^rd meal is probable) the atmosphere could stand some «freshness» but overall nothing off-​putting about the place. I live near Lake Harriet, but I would never think twice about the haul to Mounds View if it means breakfast at R J Riches.

The food is traditional American fare. We came for breakfast. The portions are for giants! We had American fries with onions, crispy but a little too much grease, otherwise very tasty. My husband had eggs with hash browns and toast. Hash browns were nice and crispy. His could have also been a little lighter on the oil. He couldn’t finish his meal… neither could I… and I think it will be a good long time before either of us are hungry! The prices are great for the portions. The atmosphere is old with some German influence in the dark wood and crazy light fixtures. Booths are worn out and overall the place could use some serious rehab aesthetically. It seems clean though and without concerns related to food quality/​health.

My family and I went to this fine establishment on a Saturday morning. It was a bit crowded and they don’t take reservation so we had to wait for about 15 minutes for the other parties to be seated.
After we got out table, it took some time before someone realized we hadn’t been approached by wait staff.
Anyway, the food came out relatively quickly. My eggs Benedict: tantalizing! The cheddar cheese omelette looked like a one way ticket to clogged arteries but it was goey cheesey deliciousness! One pancake can take you out of the game for a few hours. The food definitely made up for the wait! RECOMMEND