Absolutely amazing! The food and service was 10/10, I highly recommend. My server was lovely, engaging and helpful. I will definitely come back! read more

One of the best local restaurants in San Marcos, the service is wonderful and the food is even better. Would recommend for anyone in the area. read more

AMAZING!!! My dad and I discovered this cafe looking for a place that serves breakfast all day. The staff is friendly and the food is great!!! There is a wait and when they're busy it can take a while to get your food but it's totally worth it. Definitely home fries over hashbrowns and CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES! read more

Cafe On the Square - Classic Breakfast Plate I recommend bacon over the sausage patties 100%. I also subbed egg whites. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

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This place is a classic! Best blueberry pancakes on earth. Huge portions and big selection of options. A San Marcos staple for years!

Table for 2, my nephew and I, for breakfast. Came in and we could pick anywhere to sit. The restaurant is bigger on the inside than what it looks on the outside. It is unfortunately jam packed with tables and chairs, so you wiggle your way through to your table. Ester introduced herself, awesome service Ester!!! Drink order was taken while we decided what to eat. He ordered the 2 pancakes with bacon and eggs then I ordered the chicken fried steak with 2 eggs and hashbrowns. Food was brought out and my eggs were cooked over hard, PERFECT!!! I loved my food. Very delicious and a great spot to come back when visiting the nephew in college. Spot by if in the area and ask for Ester!!! read more

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This place could not have the absolute, worst service with mediocre food. The only reason I would ever and have ever come here is because all of the other places have a long wait time, but it's trust me, it's worth the wait at other restaurants. We have been waiting for well over 30 minutes for pancakes and a 1/2 French toast. I mean come on! Even then, I have no idea who our waitress it considering we have been asked by 3 separate people "what are you drinking," and we'll that hasn't changed- coffee and water, it's not that difficult. If you decide to come here, I hope it's because you are all out of options and for some reason this is the only place that is open. Otherwise, don't waste your money here. Also- how are you going to take 30 min on burnt toast! I mean come on!!!! read more

Cafe On the Square - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

Great local diner place, many regulars, easy access to many of the Square shopping and other stores. Plenty of parking on the street. The staff here looked like students who are attending the university, and they're really friendly. Sit at the counter; I feel there you get the best service versus sitting at a table. I tried the ham steak and egg breakfast with rye toast. The ham steak was pretty tasty, but I felt it was a tad over cooked. Don't worry, though; the juicy tender inside made up for that mistake with a good pepper-like taste. The hash browns were good, especially with the little ketchup packets they give you. Rye toast was a little much, but I think I may just use the bread to help serve what's left of my food. The coffee was delicious. I'm not sure what brand they were using, but it seemed to get my day going just fine. They also have mimosas, bloody Mary's, and other things to get your morning started. If you're having brunch or an early breakfast with someone, come on down and see how nice a local cafe in a college town is. read more

This place is a complete waste of time and hunger!!!!! I will never go back to this horrible place, with poor service and low quality food. Why there is a wait for this place is a wonder to me. Nasty food and screwed orders. read more

Cafe On the Square - Nasty breakfast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

Still excellent, huge Spanish omelet with potatoes black beans and rye toast, hot tea and coffee, so good! read more

Cafe On the Square - Spanish Omelette Black Beans potatoes toast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

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Favorite place for breakfast! Amazing service and staff!! Absolutely love the ambiance and homey vibe!

Very friendly staff who welcomed and acknowledged every person who walked in the door. Excellent breakfast- we will be back read more

Cafe On the Square - Blueberry pancake , eggs and bacon - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

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Had a grilled Turkey sandwich. It had Kraft singles. The fried pickles were pretty good but a lot of them stuck together so they didn't cook fully. Great location to have something special, but it's definitely not there. read more

The food is subpar and prices are OK. The breakfast burrito was pretty solid. I would not casually eat here. read more

I got the patty melt, my wife got quesadillas. The patty melt on rye was good and cheesy. My fries were hot but not seasoned. My wife said her quesadilla was good and stuffed with cheese and chicken. We also got a appetizer called three amigos. Chips,salsa,queso and guacamole. Queso was excellent, salsa was good but guacamole was not for us. The only reason I say this is because they must use heavy lime juice so it won't brown. The service was great. Nice staff. Regulars come in and the place turns into "Cheers" Norm! (Showing my age). Pies looked good but to full to budge. By the way this place has everything on the menu plus good prices. read more

So Yelpers, the coffee is great if you want to ease on into your day. But, if you want to say Bam! With a kick, get you a Mimosa. Beer, Champagne, and your normal drinks are here. The menue has breakfast through dinner items. From grits the chicken fried steak. A plus to stop by. read more

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I give it a 2 star because food was decent, I just got home from eating here, like I said, food was decent, my "server" took my order, brought out the food and that was the end of it, she never smiled, she was acting like I was bothering her, never once came back to check on me to ask how my food was or if I needed a refill on my drink. After she walked past me more than 10 times, I asked for a refill on my tea, she proceed to tell me she'll be right with me, while again, acting like I was bothering her, at that point I said, never mind, just bring me my check, I paid and left. I don't get if servers these days just don't care or if they aren't trained properly, if you're going to be sour and have a bad attitude, you can at least give good service, or if you aren't that good as a server, at least have a good attitude and "act" like you want to be there. I get it's hard to find workers these day, but at least train them a little better, I will not come back, to many other options. read more

Solid breakfast joint. Great service and good product. Not top notch, but an easy choice and definitely repeatable. ...There's really not much more to say. Everyone liked their food and service was great. Food came out fairly quickly. Prices were reasonable. Ambiance was kind of country kitchen. But not overly greasy spoon type of place. Location on the square is cool. Recommended! read more

Food was cold! Eggs were not cooked right! Service was okay!! Avoid this place! Better options available!

I'm going right in the middle. The food is pretty good, there are some real hits on the menu and some misses. However, do NOT expect good service and do not expect to receive your food in less than 30 minutes. We have been here when they aren't even busy and waited 30+ minutes for our food. It's currently about half full and it's been a good 40 minutes since we ordered breakfast. I've love their bacon Swiss omelette, split it with a friend because it's huge! And their queso and salsa are both yummy. The chicken tacos are so wet and sloppy, skip those! read more

Service horrible. I've literally seen several servers touch and handle food with their fingers. Staff rude. Food GARBAGE !!!!!! Don't eat here save your time and money. read more

I was reluctant to try Cafe on the Square due to the ratings here on Yelp. However, our original breakfast meetup spot closed unannounced, and we had to make a quick decision on where to go. I'm so glad we went here. Three out of four of us ate the Classic Breakfast, two with bacon and I had the sausage. My husband had the Migas taco and a bacon, potato and cheese taco. My stepson had pancakes and sausage. The biscuit we got was a little burned on top, but not a big deal. Everything was delicious and fresh. The staff was super friendly. We got in and out in no time. Would definitely go there again. read more

Great food, friendly wait staff and a pretty cool retro environment. My husband had the breakfast quesadilla mixed bacon and sausage and I had the two egg breakfast food was really good! read more

Classic Breakfast Plate is the way to go! Subbed potatoes for rice and got the eggs cooked over easy. Put the rice, beans, bacon, and eggs all on the taco with a bit of salsa and wow it was good. The plate was $8 and i was stuffed, however i couldn't stop there... I also got a chicken fajitas tacos with lettuce and salsa on top (it comes with onions and sautéed peppers, you have to ask for lettuce). Also got a large fresh squeezed OJ and the lady got a breakfast taco and another chicken fajitas taco, both of which were great! Breakfast is served all day and the menu also includes a large variety of American and Mexican favorites. Something for everyone here, not to mention the pies and ice cream. Our waitress Ashley was very helpful and made sure we had everything we needed. The interior of the place was quiet enough and clean (optional seating outside). Definitely will be returning in the near future. read more

Cafe On the Square - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

Yet again here we have another establishment where we were greeted at the door, NOT with a hello, welcome to our café but rather more of the rudeness and demeaning attitude we've come to love this past year. I'll never go here again and should've left after receiving our politically-motivated greeting. read more

My husband and I took a weekend to San Marcos to avoid all the ACL traffic and got a recommendation to try this place for breakfast. Our recommender did right by us because guys, this place is a treasure! We ordered Mango Mimosas, and they came in a stimless wine glass. Very flavorful and much needed during a weekend breakfast outing. My husband ordered the Ham and American Cheese Omelet and I got the Ham Steak with Eggs. We ordered coffee with our meals. The omelets were the size of giant egg rolls (my husbands exact description) and incredibly fluffy. My hamsteak was thick and cooked well. Love diner ham steak! We both got refried beans and crispy hash browns with our meals. I was a little confused but ran with it. The food looked too good! Our waitress brought us salsa and the heavens parted. Literally. I don't know if you have a certain food that just makes your mouth water at the thought of it- but I'm that way for with two things- 1) pickles and 2) fresh, chunky, salsa. I WAS SHOOK TO MY CORE. I was ready to ask for a to-group of this salsa, it was that good! It paired so well with the beans and the eggs. I came in starving and left completely satisfied. The two of us eating, with a Mimosa and coffee came out to about $34. I was impressed by everything. This location is a MUST stop when you come to town. Very very very highly recommend. read more

Came here for breakfast on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. The food was good and the service was incredible. Erin went out of her way to make this a fantastic dining experience for me and my dad. read more

I've always said people either write reviews because they're easily agitated, or easily pleased. I'm here to give an honest review about a good place to eat in town. I love this place. It's typical cafe food with a blend of home cooked options and a great Mexican section. My favorite plates are the chicken delgado with grilled mixed veggies and mashed potatoes, the grilled salmon (better than what's expected from a little cafe far from the coast), the Huevos Rancheros with with jack cheese and bacon (the ranchero is the best I've ever had), the breakfast tacos, and of course their selection of homemade pies (gotta love that pie). The service is ALWAYS extremely friendly/accommodating. I've gone to many restaurants where it feels like I'm talking to a robot, but this place is pretty laid back. The people working here seem to be there everyday day of the week wearing smiles and working hard. I once got my eggs cooked differently than what I ordered and my server was more than happy to get me some new ones. Not a problem. Also, some are Spanish/English bilingual so that's appreciated. The restaurant is relatively small and seats about 60 people max. With that being said it gets packed pretty quickly on the weekends being on the square and all. All of the food is made to order. I love this and am willing to wait for food that hasn't been sitting in warmers all day. I'm reading some of these other reviews and it seems like they meant to go to Whataburger instead. Food can take a while on the weekends but I've never been disappointed when I get my plate. I feel it's common sense to not eat out on a weekend morning if you're in a rush/hangry. Again, a fast food restaurant is more appropriate for those occasions. I truly dislike when people try to give really good local business bad reviews when they are either simply hard to please, just like giving bad reviews, or had one bad experience. I've been coming here for years and have nothing but good things to say throughout. Support local business and good food! read more

I hate to give less than five stars. The staff was great. Cheerful, working together as a team. Busy with serving guests. Only downfall was the food was a little flat. My biscuits and gravy was just eh. Not wow. And they sprinkled sausage on top of the gravy which was also eh. But will try them again another day. read more

The 4 of us came for breakfast on a Saturday morning since the Root Cellar had a 45 min wait and we were too hungry to wait. As it turned out after our experience at this Cafe, we should have just waited at the Root Cellar. It was pretty busy but the wait for our food was very long, close to 30 mins. When it came, everything was barely lukewarm. I ordered the chicken fried steak with hash browns and eggs over medium. The eggs came over hard and the hash browns were tasteless. The chicken fried steak and gravy was actually tasty but since it was served at room temp, it wasn't as good as if it had been served hot. We also ordered a couple of other dishes (migas and a omelette and pancakes) and they were all barely warm. We also ordered a BLT (requested extra bacon) and the piece of lettuce was so wilted and nasty, we had to ask our waitress for fresh lettuce. The reason for the 2-star instead of one-star is because our waitress was polite and offered a 20% discount off our bill due to the slow service and the dirty silverware and rotten lettuce. We will not be back to this place. I was hoping that the bad Yelp reviews were wrong. Nope...not this time! read more

Cafe On the Square - Chicken fried steak breakfast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

My partner and I just visited San Marcos for a few days and has brunch here. The food was fantastic, but the food poisoning we both got afterwards was not worth it. read more

This is a good place for lunch. There are usually daily specials. You can go in and get a quick sandwich or take a group. It's seat yourself and down home comfort food. read more

This place was very very good, we went in for breakfast I had the Huevos Rancheros (excellent), the full order of pancakes was plentiful and the breakfast burrito was out of this world. I will come again. read more

We stopped by here for Mother's day brunch, really lunch at this point. The Root Cellar had an hour wait so we just moseyed on down to the Cafe. We were seated right away. This place is old. From what I hear, it's been here a while. I think everything is just average. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't great either. Simple and quick. I got the chicken delgado(?), it was chicken with some stir fried vegetables. The chicken was a bit bland. Mashed potatoes were good. With the food options in San Marcos, I see myself coming back here every once in a while. It's not a place that I would drive to San Marcos specifically for it. It's more of a convenient spot when one needs to be fed. read more

We came in for breakfast and had excellent service from Jane. The food was high quality home style cooking. They have all the standard breakfast foods including eggs, pancakes and Tex-mex. I had my breakfast tacos made to order perfectly. There is a wonderful coffee bar two doors down and the cafe welcomes visitors bringing in coffee from there. read more

Between semesters, when all the students are home for the holidays, lunch time at the restaurants around campus is a little slow. I walked up to Cafe on the Square thinking I would be one of five or ten people there, but I was shocked to see a packed house. This is one of the places that locals love. It's also one of the only places on the square to grab an early breakfast. They open at 7:00 AM, and breakfast is served all day. The menu has a lot of Mexican dishes like migas, huevos rancheros, and breakfast tacos in addition to traditional American food. I especially love their breakfast quesadilla (bacon, egg, cheese and pico), because it's exactly like a breakfast taco except the ingredients don't fall out! I have never been disappointed with their breakfast, but I thought I should sample some lunch and dinner options this time around. I wanted something warm, and they were already out of tortilla soup at one o'clock, so I decided to branch out and try something new: caldo. Caldo is the spanish word for soup, and it's made with vegetables, chicken or beef, and rice. They used dark meat chicken and served it with a lime wedge. It was warm and flavorful and perfect on a chilly day. Then came my taco salad. Really, it was a tortilla shell with lots of fajita chicken, a little cheese and guacamole, and about three shreds of iceberg lettuce. Come on y'all, this is basically nachos. Not that I'm complaining. The chicken was hot and crispy and delicious. The shell was glistening like it had just emerged from the fryer. And it was served with some mildly spicy hot sauce that I loved. Cafe on the Square is what it sounds like: a simple, home-cooked, pie-serving establishment complete with old school milkshake mixers. This one has quite an array of Mexican dishes. The healthy selections are few and far between, but I can definitely recommend it for a hearty breakfast at any time of the day! read more

Cafe On the Square - Chicken fajita taco salad - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

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We went about 10 am. It was not real busy. Lots of tables and the atmosphere was nice. We could tell that they are the regulars. Group of older men sitting around visiting and drinking coffee. I had the short stack of pancakes. I asked to have blueberries with. The waitress wanted to know if I wanted them beside or in my pancakes. She put them in and it was delicious. We do plan on going back. read more

I would have been better off just getting a hot dog from the gas station. Location is about the only thing this restaurant has going for it. My boyfriend and I were not acknowledged by anyone when we came in so we seated ourselves at a table near the counter. Although there were only a few other couples/small groups in the diner the hostesses were too busy chatting behind the counter to notice we needed menus and take our drink orders. It took over 45 minutes to get our simple order of grilled tilapia and a patty melt and we were not checked on even once during that time. The tilapia had no seasoning on it and the rest of the meal was mediocre. Don't waste your time or money on this place. read more

I go into Cafe on the Square all the time and I love to have Athen as my server! She gives the best service and is always so kind! The food at Cafe is great, perfect for breakfast at anytime of the day. Would recommend to close friends and family and to also be served by Athen! read more

The breakfast was really good! It's not too expensive imo & you definitely get more than enough food. Everything was rlly good, I think my favorite was the pancakes (sad i didn't take a picture). Also the service is great and the food came out fast despite it being really busy! I'm picky about breakfast but I'll definitely be coming here again! read more

Cafe On the Square - Huevos Rancheros - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

I was surprised to see this place only got three stars. Its the ideal Sunday place complete with the Sunday newspaper on the counter. My only regret is not having brunch. So I gave it another star. read more