One of the last of the good classic "old school diners" for breakfast and lunch. Good food, good vibes, affordable prices. They treat my dad like a king. I like the cod fish much with really good split pea soup and vegetables as well as good omelets for breakfast. read more

Been going here for years. Absolutely amazing food and staff. The owners are very nice and even come out to make small talk with the regulars. You wont go wrong with the French toast! read more

Good food, good service. Love this restaurant. Been going there for many years. Atmosphere is ideal with seeing the regulars coming in. Customers are number one there. Good menu with many choices and there are daily specials. My favorite restaurant! read more

My uncle went into this establishment recently and sparked about a conversation about Covid cases rising again and how unfortunate it is and she told him "well it's because of your people". My uncle is a Hispanic man who had been going to this place for many years. the host who was a white lady was extremely rude and should never work with the public if her attitude towards POC is that of disgust. if you want good service don't go here. read more

If you're into a home style breakfast join, Chef's Coffee Shop is the way to go. With prices that gives any chain a run for its a money, Chef's gives you a good amount of food for its price. Service - When looking at service, I look at how often they refill my drink and how often they ask me hows it going. My coffee never reached 50% and I was asked 3 times how things were doing. I dont know why other people are saying bad service, but I went in when the place was 90% capacity and I was seated and was ordering within 2 minutes. 5/5 in my book. Food - If you dont know what to order, go for the biscuit slam. Biscuits were fluffy, gravy delicious, and hashbrowns crispy outside and tender on the inside. You could also try the lumberjack breakfast. Waffles so fluffy I was on cloud 9. I have yet to try anything else, but for breakfast, im definitely coming back. 5/5 atmosphere - Definitely, it is a bit dark and the seats can be quite cramped. I would give it though that it is very homey and feels like the neighborhood place to gather at. Wish it would be a bit brighter, kinda hoped seats were roomier. 3/5 average = 4.33 = 4 stars NOTE - Can be quite loud. But, whats a family restaurant without the noise? :) read more

Chef's Coffee Shop - Lumberjack slam - Diners Near Me - Arcadia, California

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Been going to Chef's since I was a kid. The food is good, it's consistent, and everyone is friendly. There's no pretension, the coffee is good, and the atmosphere is always great. The hot chocolate comes with whipped cream WHY ARE YOU STILL READING THIS GO GET SOME BACON THERE. read more

Great hidden country Diner, excellent chili. I tried the Texas omelet, it was smothered in chili. Very filling.

Service and food here were okay. Price is cheap in this long history coffee shop. We ordered the sirloin for brunch but the steak was very dry, not tender when we asked for medium rare. Scrambled eggs is fine nothing special. And the waffles too. The pecan pies tastes interesting but it was cold. read more

Came back to try the breakfast. Got the French Slam. It comes with 2 French Toasts, 2 sausage links, 2 thick bacon slices and eggs (chose to get scrambled). The French Toast didn't have much flavor and a little dry without the maple syrup. However, once you eat it with maple syrup, the French Toast turned out to be pretty good. Sausage links were tasty and juicy. I usually get dry and tough sausage links from other restaurants so I was happy that these sausages turned out to be good. The bacon was thick, perfectly crisp and yummy...well it's a given coz it's bacon. Scrambled eggs was pretty moist but lack of salt. I don't mind because I eat my Scrambled eggs with ketchup ;). I am happy I actually ordered the right food second time around (see previous review). So thumbs up to their breakfast! read more

Chef's Coffee Shop - French Toast Slam - Diners Near Me - Arcadia, California

I've been going here since I was a kid. This place is great! There is a buy 1, Get 1 Free coupon at localcouponhub.com read more

Chef's Coffee Shop - Diners Near Me - Arcadia, California

I went there for lunch with a friend of mine we were told they closed at 2 and that they weren't paid after that so we had to eat quickly no take home box would be available because food prepared to go before/by 1:30 was acceptable we decided to eat there deciding we time to eat I ordered a grilled roast beef sandwich it was hastily prepared/sloppy came with no cheese one tomato lettuce was wilted the service was terrible telling us to hurry my French fries and so were my friends under cooked bad service never going back just plain terrible the waitresses were making us rush to eat and obnoxious overpriced. read more

This establishment is not ADA compliant at all. We were asked to leave as my wife had her service dog. We were told some that only seeing guide dog was allowed and when we told them that is not ADA compliant that they refused our service. read more

Nice cozy cafe. I have been coming here for years, breakfast is really good and cheap.

It's so nice to see classic old school diners still around. I've driven by Chef's so many times, but I had never eaten there. I finally stopped by for breakfast. It is slightly run down, but I really enjoyed the atmosphere. It reminds me of going to a diner with my parents when I was a little kid. The food was really good! I ordered a sausage patty that came with potatoes, eggs, biscuits & gravy. The gravy had a good savory flavor and tasted homemade. I will definitely stop by again when I'm craving a hearty old fashioned breakfast. read more

My daughter and I went to breakfast at this restaurant and we were surprised by the amount of food that served us, very tasty and we enjoyed very much. read more

Chef's Coffee Shop - Delicious!! - Diners Near Me - Arcadia, California

First time coming here. Food was good a little bland on the biscuits and gravy. Food portions are good for the price. Decent service, small and older style cafe. Would come back for breakfast again. I prefer this cafe over my local Denny's. read more

The manager is horrible, tried fighting me and what not, over a forgotten item on my order, very inconvenient

Good old style American dinner. I was impressed with the split pea soup, the steak wasn't as good as the australians but hey it's the states ..the dessert is quite nice... read more

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Came in and was seated right away. The hostess was very nice and told us the specials of the day the waiter gave me and my moher plenty of time to look over the menu and answered any questions i had when i finally ordered my food it was hot and came out fast our waiter was amazing and very attentive. I couldn't even finish 1 cup of coffee before the waiter filled my cup up. I love that type of service food tastwd great u had a breakfast burrito with sprcial sauce on the side and my mother had the french toast slam. She said everything was hot and tasted amazing and the most important part the price. Wow what a great place and what a great deal. This place is family owned and operated so thats a plus. I normally dont give out 5 stars but when the food price and service is excellent you gotta represent and support local businesses. Come on down ans try this place and ask for Robert read more

Chef's Coffee Shop - Old style diner/ coffee shop - Diners Near Me - Arcadia, California

Worst service ever!!! Plus I think they're racist. Each time I would ask the waitress for simple things like ketchup she would mutter something when she walks away! EFFIN RUDE!! and when i asked for the check she waited right by me watching me waiting for me to sign , and i asked her if i can have a few minutes, and she goes "ugh, what do you need time for? you just sign it! you have my pen, im not gonna just leave my pen with you" my face was like O.O did she seriosly just SAY THAT?!?! i gave her 0 tip!!! so effin rude!! never coming here ever AGAIN!!!! read more

There is something wrong in America! We don't eat right! Our food is making us all fat! So why do we do it? I don't have a clue! But here I am desiring Greasy - Cheesy, kill your heart Breakfast on a rainy Saturday morning! This place came on a reference from my dear Wifey. She mentioned how She and her friend came here one morning for breakfast. A diner slash Coffee shop this is for sure. Vinyl padded diner seats, candy machines up front. A pie refrigerator with pies to stare at while you wait for your table. Old Waitresses from every country. Mine was Asian. Omelets, pancakes, bacon, ham, hash browns, etc. etc. etc. As for the food! I have had WAY better. I ordered the Omelet special which came with ham, onions, tomato's and cheese. O'Brien potato's and biscuits and gravy. This is why our food is killing us and making us fat. Why do we do it. I already told you! I don't freaking know. The negatives are many for Chef's. 1) My wife and son's food came first and I had to wait for mine another 5 minutes. 2) The food was not seasoned at all. The Eggs and O'Brien potato's needed salt. I don't typically like to add anymore salt to any dish. This is an attempt to somehow tell myself that I am eating and doing the right thing. Anyhooooooo 3) I bit into what appeared to be a small rock or god knows what! Thank god I didn't break a tooth. My thoughts on Diner food are bring it to me quick, right, tasty and we won't have any problems. This place did none of them. I will not be back. I don't usually like to write 1 star reviews but this place was packed with people and I need to vent a little. Give them a Try if you dare! Cheers! read more

Outdoor dining with few tables. Went there for breakfast and there was a table open that seats three, but waitress said I needed to wait for a smaller tables to open up. No one else was waiting to be seated and the restaurant could have seated me and made $$. Instead they got greedy and wanted to wait for three customers to fill the open table. I left and won't ever go back even though I've been a local regular big tipping customer for many years. read more

I hear that greasy spoon, coffee shop food is considered haute cuisine in some other parts of the world. I don't know about that. Seriously, this kind of food is the last thing we need to export, but I'm not going to get on some healthy, Mr. Smarty-Pants soapbox. Truth be told, I love this artery clogging crap as much as the next over-weight, hypertensive John Q. Citizen. Chef's is your basic American-style diner. It's not fancy. It's not special. The food isn't that great, but you know what you're getting yourself into as soon as you step inside. Girlfriend and I have eaten at this place a number of times. It usually happens when we're driving around on that side of town and suddenly realize we're starving. I usually get my usual--French toast with a side of bacon and a cuppa Joe. The biscuits and gravy are a-okay. Yes, you're killing yourself slowly with every bite...but you can't live forever, right? I can't say I like Chef's. I can't say I don't like it. It is what it is. They do pass my bacon test more often than not--bacon: crispy, not limp. read more

A hole in the wall type place but good amount of food that's worth your buck. Kind of feels like a hillbilly's home. Breakfast is served all day. The bf and I always order the same thing, the Sunrise Special. It is not on the menu. Their specials are written on the board once you come in by the cash register. For the Sunrise Special you get your choice of pancakes or french toast with eggs, bacon, sausage, and your choice of juice or coffee for ~$7. There are free refills on coffee. I often see seniors that come eat here and sometimes one would eat all by themselves and I always feel a little sad when I see a person eating alone. Anyways, great old American diner other than the typical Denny's run. read more

In reference to Monica 's Review... Full of holes. My wife & I were present the day of event. ( we are regulars, not employees of this establishment) . 'Monica' went ballistic, called host an Idiot 5 times ... For the credit card mishap. Host repeatedly apologized, made every attempt to locate said credit card, but this lady got louder and louder. Parents with her even looked embarrassed ... ( coming from same Asian background- this event was 'awkward ') For Yelpers, I am a Duke here for the simple reason . Good food, friendly service , affordable prices, & atmosphere is homey. If you are more inclined to snub your nose at blue collar like atmosphere.... Drive yourself to a $$$ yelp restaurant instead. Regular patrons of chef walk their check & form of payment up to host/hostess. Hard working people do not deserve to be so ill treated.. No need to scream like a 4 yr old having a tantrum through entire establishment. That event is still talked about to this day (3weeks later). From what I here.... Her credit card is still here waiting for her 'grace'. read more

I'm not going to mark it down for its misleading name, but man that's a misleading name. I saw the sign only and ran over here expecting it to be a coffee shop. It's a diner with drip coffee. That doesn't make it a coffee shop. Every restaurant has drip coffee. Anyway, I stood at the desk for a while waiting for someone to seat me, and I had many service people look at me and smile and then not seat me. Eventually a lady that was wondering why I was standing there realized that I needed a seat (what?) and brought me to a table in the back. I perused the menu. It had foods. I ordered one of these foods. Some type of pepper based omelet that was not spicy. It was a little dry, and the top of the omelet had a kraft cheese square, which is eh. California seems to really like pseudo-cheeses. I did order coffee. It was regular coffee. I do like regular coffee but it's called a coffee shop. Come on, son. I have a feeling their desserts are really good though, because they looked tasty, but I didn't get to try any. I was considering it but no one came back to talk to give me my bill or talk to me. I ended up going up to the front to pay to get it over with. Service was nice though, at least. read more

Great little dinner! Cute and super cozy. After trying 3 other places which were packed, we ended up here. We got sat down really quickly, and the service was friendly. Had a great time would definitely come again read more

If I could give 0 stars it would be closer to the truth. My fiancé and I had a terrible brunch here. We live super close by and decided to give it a try. We walked in at around noon on a Saturday. We were sat pretty quickly at a booth. The first indication of things to come was an odd, nearly empty jar of communal salsa. Yuck, no thanks... A nice young lady was quick about getting us our beverage orders. By the way, this "coffee house" has two options for coffee, regular or decaf.. No lattes or anything like that. It took awhile for our server to take our meal order. He seemed to be inefficiently busy with whatever it was he was doing, didn't appear to actually be serving food tho. My fiancé ordered the corn beef hash with biscuits and gravy and I ordered a tuna melt with fries. It took awhile for us to get our food. I did, however, see it sitting in the window for about 10min. It was getting close to 1pm before it actually made it's way to the table. This is one instance where our patients did not pay off. My fries were horrible, soft and tasteless. My tuna melt was weird and not hot. It was really greasy and the tuna salad was strange. I had to slather it with ketchup to make it edible. And to top it off, the pickle on the side was warm and a little off... How do you manage to screw up a pickle??? My fiancé may have been worse off than me. His corned beef thing was completely charred on the bottom, they had clearly burnt it and served it that way to conceal their mistake. The hash browns and eggs were unremarkable and boring. The gravy had a weird flavor with dime sized pieces of bad, cheap sausage, the biscuits were edible but not much beyond that. What a waste of a meal. We won't even think about coming back. I'm shocked that they have such good reviews, especially in an area with so many good options for food. Yuck :\ read more

Came here with my family last week for breakfast. The food here was tasty, but service was bitter. The lower rating is due to poor service. The wait staff was pretty crotchety towards us, would blatantly ignore us while they chatted with each other. Generally unpleasant. When we went up to pay, no one was at the cashier so my father announced that we were ready to pay to get someone to help. One of the wait staff came up from behind him and rudely said, "well I need to get around you first", instead of saying excuse me. Usually from mom and pop type of place I'd expect some better manners anf service. The food is good; typical diner style. I had the pastrami omelette with hashbrowns, which tasted good. The hashbrowns had that nice bit of crisp on the outside. The toast was well buttered and crisped up well. The coffee was as expected for diner coffee. Although good diner food, it's not outstanding. I like supporting local establishments, but given the poor service, I don't see how this is much better than a Denny's. read more

I've lived blocks away from Chef's for over a decade and just discovered it over half a year ago and I've been bringing people here ever since. The portions are large, the prices are low, and the food comes out pretty quickly. The service is friendly and the diner has a great laidback atmosphere. The popeye's omelette is my go-to order. I'd also recommend their french toast and belgian waffle. The parking can get a little tricky since there is limited parking in the back, but there's always parking on the street. Overall I highly recommend this restaurant if you're looking for some good American diner food. read more

My grandparents took me here for lunch. I had never eaten here before, and I noticed that half the menu was breakfast. I wasn't in the mood for breakfast since it was past noon. I decided to risk ordering a hamburger. I'm used to thick, juicy burgers with fresh green leaf lettuce and real cheese. I figured that the burger prices looked pretty standard, so the food should stand up to competition, right? I'm not sure what I was thinking, the place is obviously an old-fashioned diner. I mean, nothing says "dive" like sipping water out of a chipped plastic cup, but I guess I was hoping against hope, because I ordered a bacon cheeseburger, added avocado, and substituted cheddar for American like I would normally do. When it arrived, my burger was a greasy thin patty on a slightly dry sesame bun with two sad strips of bacon on it, and grated cheddar that had been melted into a thick orange glob. I poked it with my fork a few times, trying to decide if I wanted to eat it. As I was contemplating it, I realized they forgot the avocado. I thought that perhaps it could save the burger, so I reminded them and they brought it. It was overripe. I put it on my burger along with the less-than-crispy iceberg lettuce and tomato slices that were on the plate, and ate it. I ate the whole thing because my grandma was watching me. She was probably wondering how I could eat something so greasy, but I didn't want to be rude. After each bite I felt a little more nauseous. I strongly suspect that liquid smoke might have been responsible for the funny taste, but I don't know for sure. As for the fries that came with the burger, they were okay. When I ordered, I asked what kind of fries they had (steak fries, wedge cut, etc.) and I was told that they had "regular fries". I definitely wasn't expecting crinkle-cut fries (I thought they were extinct). To be fair, they were mostly golden -- only slightly rubbery as crinkle-cut fries frequently are. Anyway, my grandpa's ham and eggs certainly looked okay, as did my grandma's pastrami sandwich. Next time I visit a place like this, I'll stick with breakfast or a deli sandwich. I'm honestly not sure why I ordered a burger, but I've learned my lesson and I'll never do it again. read more

This place is Americana bottled into a small, homey diner. Your coffee cup will never be empty here. Biscuits and gravy really means REAL biscuits and GENUINE GRAVY. No gravy that comes from a packet. Hash is real hash and bacon and sausage is none of that half-size stuff you would get a Denny's. This is step above Denny's, nay, a LEVEL above Denny's - hence confirmed by the geriatic customers that come here daily. Biscuits and gravy... two big, dense biscuits with one soup-cup full of creamy, rich gravy with what I think was 2-3 cubes of ham. The gravy is rich, and I even went as far as to dipping my bacon and sausage in it. I was going to start eating it in spoonfuls but I didn't want to scare my bf, who was munching on his pancakes, sausage, and bacon. I'm going to save gravy-drinking for two more years down the road in the relationship =) Breakfast was increidby affordable, around $18 with tip and tax. Great place to come on a Sunday or Saturday morning where you want to just eat and have a good conversation. read more

Triple-D!!! Dark Dirty Dingy Customer focus did not seem to be a high priority as the hostess looked pissed off at us for walking in. We waited for a good 5-7 minutes before walking out because nobody seemed interested in taking our order. -2 stars. Cups on the table were dirty, and to top it off, there was an open cup of salsa, with a spoon in, and on a dirty plate. -1 star. The interior looked like an original design from thirty years ago. The light fixtures and cottage cheese ceiling were definitely remnants from another generation. That's all well and good, but how about cleaning them once in awhile? -1 star. I did not feel welcomed at all in this cramped, dark, dingy, and smelly atmosphere. That's fine. This place doesn't want my money? I am more than happy to oblige. We honored their (lack of) hospitality by walking out. read more

Wanted to try a new place besides le roys.. Got here full parking Lot and was looking forward to it, saw the grade in the door B!! Disgusting!! I left in a heart beat. There are things they let slide for an A and is barely tolerable... Theres a site every county to read why they have a certain grade. Knowledge your self once in a while people.. read more

Great food. Terrible wait staff. One staff member lost our credit card. Another staff member tried to "pickup" my girlfriend and made a Spanish racial slur about me. All of the above happened in one visit... How could we have been so LUCKY????? Talked to owner, who was apologetic, but did not offer a meal to make up the above events. We'll never will come back again. read more

This place is a little hidden gem next to the Chevron gas station. It's a no frills diner that serves breakfast all day at a very reasonable price. It's what you'd expect for good diner food with no frills. I had the 3 X 3 breakfast (3 eggs, 3 pancakes, 3 bacon strips) with coffee and it hit the stop. Don't be turned off by all the old folks eating there or the 50's decor. While sitting there, I kept expecting Fonzee or someone else from Happy Days to come strolling out. The parking lot is a bit small and can fill up fast. You can always park at the Ralphs across the street and walk over if needed. read more

3 things you need to know: 1. I've been going here with my family since I was a kid (mainly for breakfast bc why else would you really go to a coffee shop?) so my review may be biased. Food is basic and simple (the only reason why I'm giving it 4 instead of 5 stars), but it's done extremely well. On top of that, service is quick but kind and the restaurant is quite large so it never takes too long to be seated. 2. Sunrise special: 2 eggs, 2 pieces of bacon, 2 sausage links, potatoes, 2 pancakes or slices of French toast, and coffee or orange juice aka the best standard breakfast ever, all for $6.99. 3. The breakfast gravy is so delicious you don't even need the biscuits. Not to say that the biscuits are bad by any means, it's just that the gravy is that good! Probably not the best for your waistline but I promise your stomach will be happy. read more

WE LOVE BREAKFAST FOOD!!! and this place does it well. Well the first time I went there me being the french toast lover decided to go for the french toast... well not so good. Wilson had the Breakfast sunrise or something like that thats on the morning special with the pancakes and THEN this place won me over. Went back again to this place a couple more times and I think I finally found my morning breakfast place. Service is whatevers but the pancakes MmMmMmmmMm they are done just right. The meal comes with bacon AND sausage, eggs, pancakes, hashbrowns and includes your drink (whether is its oj or coffee) The prices are just right as well, totally affordable. This place also has lunch and dinner I believe but still havent tried that. Will we go again, yup yup cause the breakfast is very yummy and totally affordable =) read more

I have gone here quite a bit just cause of their affordable breakfast deals but my recent visit here will definitely be my last. Every time I go here I always order their breakfast items. However this past Saturday I decided to order their burger special since it included the burger, drink and a pie. Ive been wanting to try to their pie especially since I saw a few people ordering a few whole pies to go as I waited for my food. We got seated and ordered. I noticed our food was taking long to arrive and by the time it did, the food was a bit cold. I was about to take a bite of my burger when I noticed a discolored marking on my bread. As I looked closer I noticed it was mold. I told the waitress and they were able to comp my meal but I just couldn't stomach to eat anything there and decided to leave. Sorry Chef's but I won't be back. read more

It's a popular mom-and-pop restaurant in the neighborhood. People are treated like family here. Everybody knows each other and that's super cool. You are going to see people that has been customers in this restaurant for generations and generations. It's an old diner but cool vibes. The food is decent and the prices very affordable. They have a special menu everyday. Most of their specials comes with a salad or soup, main entrée, drink, and dessert. All included in one price. They also provide great customer service. Thursday special is my favorite one :) steak, grilled chicken, corn, baked or matched potatoes or french fries. The tortilla soup is GOOD as well as the banana pie.....so freshly made!!! read more

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