Chelan Cafe

I adore this place, it’s a perfect ma & pa type diner. We love to grab a slice of their delicious pies to go at the end of our meals since we are always stuffed. They lose a star because their weekend hours suck. They close by the time I’m just waking up so we only get to go when we have a random weekday day off.

What a terrible brunch. This was the second time I’d given this restaurant a chance and definitely will be the last. My boyfriend and I showed up for brunch on Saturday around 11am to a full parking lot– which I guess is to be expected, but still inconvenient nonetheless. We parked about a block and a half away beneath the bridge /​overpass and walked down to the café. No biggie.
Upon entering, there was no host, and about 12 people in line. I know what you’re thinking– there must’ve been a wait for tables– but nope. The host was just MIA. After waiting about 10 minutes the host finally came and addressed the 2 groups in front of us, then disappeared for another 5 minutes and came back to seat us at one of the other open tables that we were eyeballing as we just stood there waiting for the 15 minutes.
At this point, we’re starving and have already invested too much time in this restaurant to leave, so we had to power through. Once seated, the host asked us what we would like to drink and promptly brought out the 2 coffees and waters… ok, now we’re talking! At least we have coffee.
After seeing multiple waitresses buzz around for about 10 (more) minutes the waitress came to our table to take our order and boy, we were ready! My boyfriend orders the Irish Omelet, and I order the Chef Salad. The waitress looks at me like I’m growing 3 heads and says very matter-​of-​factly «We don’t serve salads on the weekends.»
«Uhm… I’m sorry?» I say.
«We don’t serve salads on the weekends.» She says again. «What else will you have?»
«OK… Well I guess I’ll need just another minute.» I say.
The waitress walks away, and within 25 seconds I make up my mind and place the menu at the edge of the table. The waitress walks by about 10x– taking the order of the table behind me… casually makes some drinks… looks around blankly as I’m eyeballing her (now starving of course), she then delivers a couple meals and finally comes back to our table.
«What’ll you have?» She says.
«OK, I’ll have the Western Omelet, with no ham– with turkey please.»
«Yeah, I don’t see that happening,» She says.
«You can’t just make the omelet with turkey instead of ham? Or just no ham at all?»
«I’ll ask, but I don’t think we can do that. Is there a backup option you had in mind if we can’t do that?»
UHM– Hello?!! The freaking omelet WAS the backup option, now I need another one? I mean personally I don’t like cubed ham– it has nothing to do with religious affiliations, but do they not accommodate kosher eating Jewish persons, Muslims, or vegetarians? It is the HOSPITALITY industry right?!
«If I can’t have the omelet, I’ll have the Eggs Benedict,» I say. At this point i’m hoping they use the thinly sliced lunchmeat ham and not super thick cut ham– but I’m too afraid to ask any questions so I just shut up and wait for the meal.
About 5 minutes pass when the waitress stops back at the table and curtly says «You’ll be having the Eggs Benedict.»
Whatever. At this point we’re already stuck– guess we should make the most of it. While waiting for the meal, we run out of coffee… and water. Great. Nothing to drink and no food. After about 20 minutes the food comes out– Holy YESSS!!! I’m so hungry!!! (At this point we’ve been at this restaurant almost an hour)
Our expectations are already pretty low at this point, but holy carp, the food was gross. My boyfriend’s Irish omelet had so much sour cream in it, it was 80% sour cream, 10% egg and 10% bacon… it looked like a white and yellow blob of mush on his plate.
The Eggs Benedict was even worse. The poached eggs were poached hard eggs– with the yolks completely cooked throughout– no golden runny yolk– basically 2 hard boiled eggs. I slide the egg over to see the biggest thick cut of ham– at least a half inch thick on top of the soggy English muffins– and not the good kind of soggy from yolk or the teaspoon portion of hollandaise they clearly were very stingy with.
Grudgingly I ate several bites– it was bad. So bad, that even though I was starving I couldn’t eat it. My boyfriend asked if i’d like to send it back– but why? So I could come up with my 4^th back-​up option and wait another 20 minutes for something I didn’t want? To add insult to injury, while trying to stomach this terrible meal here are a group of 4 college aged guy patrons behind us talking loudly about «getting laid,» then about «blowing chunks,» and how nasty the puke tastes when they drink rum at parties. Incredible.
Yeah. won’t be coming here again. I think I’ll stick with Luna Park from now on.

I have gone here a couple times over the last two years and it gets worse every time. Today I went in during a busy sunday brunch, but they looked like they couldn’t handle a full house. Service was very slow, messed up my order, food was cold, undercooked… Why have a 6 oz coffee cup if you never come around to refill? I’m done with this place for good.

Your typical diner style food. Service is get you in, get you out and we try to get you your food warm.
Usually its not.
Also, KFC has better gravy. True story.

Don’t get me wrong; the food was good. I thoroughly enjoyed the Yum Yum: a patty melt with au jus for dipping. The tots that came with my meal were hot and crisp. My dad had a chili cheese omelette and devoured it happily.
My complaint is about the service. It took a long time to be seated and it was not very busy. The waitress was inconvenienced when I asked for a lunch menu (it was11:30). I also did not get refills on my diet pop. I had to flag down several people to get a refill and there was an attitude when I asked for one. I felt like I must have missed the «We prefer not to refill drinks sign.»
The real kicker is at the end of the meal after we left the restaurant, we discovered my 3-​year old left her stuffed animal on the table. I had been distracted trying to get my daughter’s shoes back on. When we returned 7 minutes later, her jaguar was in the trash. Not going back.

If you’re looking for an old school diner experience with traditional american food this is the place. I had their Country Fried Steak and had no complaints. My expectations were met for this type of dining experience.
However, if you are there for their breakfast or are just looking forward for a cup of coffee, PLEASE AVOID ORDERING IT. Their coffee has been one of the worst cup of coffees I’ve had in my life. I couldn’t even finish my first cup. I know for a fact, because of the quality, they are re-​filtering their ground coffee and perhaps are watering it down. There was no amount of sugar or creamer that could mask the taste.
Other than that, the staff was friendly. I would go back, but avoid their coffee.

The service here is really quick and friendly. I went with a group of seven and the food came out within 15 minutes. In all honesty the food here is okay. Three of us tried the chicken fried steak and it wasnt anything beyond something you’d find at a typical diner. The breakfast food is far better than the dinner food. The ambience is also just okay; it has that typical diner feel to it as well. If you’re craving breakfast food for dinner I’d recommend this place, but I can’t help but feel like there are better places around for «brinner.»

Great first experience at Chelan Café today — good food, good service, nice clean diner atmosphere. Think we have found our go to West Seattle breakfast spot.

Average place for breakfast. Staff was not prepared for the place being half full. I asked the hostess to fill my coffee and got nothing. I had to find a busser to fill my coffee. Only got a portion of my order. I won’t be back Thats for sure.

This place is happening!
My boyfriend and I decided, 30 minutes before the Seahawks game, to watch the game here! SO MUCH FUN. The Seahawks crowd is incredible. They cheered, yelled, booed, cried, it was amazing.
They offered all the patrons free slow cooked chicken tacos! So much yums.
They have a normal selection of nationwide beers as well as a few local beers on tap. Only cider option is Angry Orchard. Full bar. Rainier TALL boys :)
We enjoyed a delicious brunch at this place, very much greasy spoon and delicious. The eggs benny were so delicious. The hollandaise sauce was very flavorful! The Chelan breakfast sandwich was also delicious. The sausage patty on it was just so flavorful! Mmm!
The prices are typical west seattle pricing (moderate 11−20/person).
Stop by and enjoy some local eatery that has been around for over 40 years!!!

A local breakfast spot that pulls in big crowds on weekends but is often fairly light on weekdays. Lots of regulars who know they can get a cup of coffee, eggs, meat, and toast for a fair price.
Chelan frowns on substitutions, but has a large enough menu that you’ll probably be able to find whatever you’re looking for.
Will return when in the area.

Great food for reasonable prices, large portions„ better bring an appetite!
They have a large selection on their menu!
You won’t be disappointed here.

This place is goooood. I come here for the huge breakfasts and for the old fashioned diner style lunch. Parking can be tight here. The atmosphere is nice with a nautical theme. Be careful of the soups, can be salty though.

Lil family & I came here for breakfast one Sunday morning as Luna Café was insanely packed (I’ll admit it wasn’t my first choice). We drive past the Chelan Café each morning for work and had wondered if it was any good.
The parking lot was a bit crazy as people just double parked because they couldn’t find parking. I’m not a fan of that as it made it impossible to even get your car into their parking lot. I’m talking double parking on both sides of the entrance so it left one way in and out. Why is no one enforcing this?
Anyway, we got a spot and went inside. The menu was pretty straight forward (I uploaded some photos for those who like to see what’s offered). I got the breakfast of eggs, bacon & toast. It was fine. Nothing to write home about. My hashbrowns came out reminding me of junior high and it was ‘cooked’ but almost raw. It wasn’t browned (like it should be) but instead just barely yellow. The texture always creeps me out as it makes me feel it’s still raw and so mushy. I passed on those and just ate the rest of my plate.
My hubby wasn’t blown away and when asked how his meal was «Eh. it was pancakes. Hard to mess those up.»
So not sure this will be our ‘go to place’ for breakfast even though service was relatively quick. I think we’d love to have a breakfast spot for when our lil girl is bigger but for now, the hunt is still on.

The best word I would use to describe this place is «uninspired.» The menu is your standard café fare, which can be awesome if you actually do it well. Unfortunately the Chelan Café falls short.
On the positive side, the restaurant is clean, the food came out promptly, and the service staff was professional-​to-​friendly.
On the negative side the hashbrowns were soggy, my toast was cold and my over easy eggs were overcooked.
Were this establishement located out in the sticks somewhere they might rate higher, but if you are going to serve food in a decidedly foodie town, at least try and put your heart into it.

Standard diner fare. Breakfast seems to be a specialty here, for good reason. There is an extensive menu of very appealing items. We arrived here around 1 pm on a Saturday. Interestingly, the server offered us only breakfast menus, though both breakfast and lunch specials were listed on the chalkboard. Not a problem, as we were interested in the breakfast menu.
Our food arrived in a reasonable time, and everything was great. The hash browns are especially noteworthy — light and crispy, and flavorful.
The restaurant is located near the low bridge from West Seattle to Harbor Island, and is in an area that is decidedly industrial. Most of the customers were male. I suspect that they were eating lunch on a workday.
The building appears to have housed two separate businesses, before the wall was partially removed. The second area is spacious, allowing for tables to accommodate a fairly large group. Because of the building’s apparent history, there are two separate areas of restrooms, which can be a bit confusing.
Finding your desired route after leaving the parking lot can be a bit challenging, as the array of bridges and intersections can be disorienting. Pay attention to your departure route before entering the parking lot.
Overall, a great place to eat diner food. Service and food were both great.
We did not explore the Ebb Tide bar, which is part of the facility.

Great hearty breakfast with the right price! Love this place!

The Chelan Café is a great spot for weekend brunch. The food is standard diner fare and they make a mighty fine Chicken Fried Steak.
My favorite though is the Ebb Tide Room, which is their attached bar. This place is like a movie set complete with the wildest cast of characters you could imagine. This is where the dock workers come to let off steam. Everyone is super friendly and they pour a pretty good drink.
The staff in both places are very friendly, and even though I visit on rare occasions they always seem to remember me.
It probably deserves more then 3 stars… but the «A-​OK» description for 3 stars seemed appropriate.
The Chelan is close to my office, so we have affectionally dubbed it the other office.

It’s been 4 years since my last horrible experience so it was time to try again. The servers were at least nice and on top of things. The food, however, still tastes like they transfer it over from the food service at the Washington DOC. My liver and onions was cooked until the liver jumped out of the pan on it’s own screaming. The onions were barely cooked. The carrots had a scary, freezery look to them.
Really quite awful. I don’t know how they’ve been around forever and how they have such a loyal customer base.

This is a great old school diner that is located under the West Seattle bridge. I drive by here alot and first time I came here was sometime last year. I don’t why I waited so many years. Great traditional breakfast selection and prices. Service is good and friendly. It does get really busy during breakfast so service can be a little slow. There is the Ebb Tide Room next door if you are wanting something stiff to drink, although I haven’t been there. Plenty of parking but can get full quick during the weekends.