Favorite breakfast spot. Fast, friendly, and consistent food. Would recommend eggs and cinnamon French toast.

Honestly, wouldn't go back. Little place, good for those that want to be a regular somewhere, but the food was blah. I had the eggs benedict and only got one of my two poached eggs. There was a lot of hollandaise sauce, which I like, but it was extremely buttery. Hash browns were mushy and not very crispy on top. My buddy got a side of corned beef hash and it looked like cat food, like it came straight from a can. Gross. The only plus side was the service, the lady was very nice and quick. read more

Cottage Cafe - Eggs Benedict - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Went for a late brunch, but breakfast was all day. Food had large portions and delicious. Great prices! Waitress and staff were friendly!

Delicious, best omelette I've had in a long time. I ordered an omelette with nearly the whole kitchen sink. It was fresh hot. You could tell all the ingredients like the ham wasn't something processed. This a local diner full of regular, the wait staff knew nearly everyone coming through the door. My waitress was great. read more

Tasty breakfast food (get the hash browns NOT the bfast potatoes), super cute and charming inside, servers were a delight.

This is a cute little old school cafe, and the food was made well! I ordered a mushroom and cheese omelet with rye toast, and my husband ordered a waffle with three over-hard eggs. This seems like a simple order, but so many restaurants screw it up. At Cottage Cafe, the eggs were cooked perfectly, the waffle was crisp and fluffy, the toast was fresh, and the coffee was okay. They didn't have splenda, but I won't hold that against them (to be fair, I didn't ask anyone for it). The waitress was incredibly friendly and very attentive and quick with our order. As far as small little diners in the area, this is a great little place in the Cottage Grove area! read more

Wow what a lil gem, close to our hotel...it was clean and the waitress was AWESOME! The food was REALLY good, my eggs benedict was perfect! the sauce was DELICIOUS! Our son (4) had the pancake and it was light a fluffy and they used soft butter! my wife had the chicken fried steak! the gravy was yummy! If you in the area, stop in and EAT!!!! you will be happy! read more

Great, straight forward breakfast food. It's delicious and affordable. Hard to find places like that anymore!

One of our all time breakfast favorites. It's a small mom and pop shop with plenty of locals and regulars. Your greeted with with a smile and hello when entering. The decor is out dated but it's clean. Once you've picked your table or a seat at the bar the server is on it with coffee in hand. It's a greasy spoon style but never greasy. Service is quick and portions are large. Definitely recommend. read more

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Pretty good. Basic breakfast. Priced right. Neighborhood spot. Regulars all know each other and servers efficiently shuffle your eggs to your table. Nothing stands out, but I left satisfied. read more

Food is OK, not great. Prices are fair. The elderly waitress is not friendly at all, treats regulars different than the rest of the world. She decided to pour 2 ice tea's in front of me at the counter and just glared at me. Maybe she needs a different job?! A young blonde behind the counter just stared at me behind the counter as I entered and headed to the restroom. No hello, nothing. You want good tips, be cordial and learn some manners and be able to hold a conversation. Serve the customers. This place is way overrated! Blue Plate and Mickey's Dairy Bar are far better in every way! Do not waste your time here where they don't value EVERY customers patronage! read more

The food here is just simply delicious and homey in the best possible way. The cinnamon swirl French toast is fantastic, the hashbrowns, sausage links, and scrambled eggs are all prepared just right. My boyfriend got a hamburger with fries and he said that it was definitely one of the best burgers he has had in recent memory. This is the kind of easy-going breakfast diner experience that I love. I 00% recommend this place and I will be going there again. read more

Cottage Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Food was great and came out quick despite how busy it was! Service was friendly and welcoming.

Such good food and affordable prices! The waiters are very nice and the vibe is hometown/homey. I got the eggs benedict and it was amazing. My new go to breakfast place :) read more

Got a seat right away at 7:50am on a Sunday. Staff was super friendly and very responsive. Waitress stopped by our table several times for a check on us. I had a make your own omlet and hubby had biscuits and gravy. Both were wonderful. Very small town feel inside; not a lot of ambiance, but food and price were spot on. Highly recommend. read more

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Cute diner. Social distancing is being done with many of the tables marked off. There's purell & all staff is wearing masks. The fare is standard diner food. Seems like a very reliable place to get a bite & coffee early in the morning. read more

Great deal for the price. Classic strip mall cafe. We've been here several times. The first few times the food was better and the coffee good. The last time the coffee was not very good and tasted cooked. Open 6 AM - 2 PM but call to see if they're really open, after 1 PM as sometimes they are short handed and close at one. Service was friendly and prompt and the waitress checked on us frequently. read more

A nice place to go for breakfast, prices are very good for the portions you get! Sausage patties and the corned beef hash are excellent. This place will be a regular stop. read more

Cottage Cafe Great food and service always wonderful !!!!! Lori the very best waitress !!!! She's wonderful !!!! Thanks Lori read more

Classic diner located just off Cottage Grove Rd. near 51. I can only speak to the breakfast and it was very tasty. Pretty traditional old school diner style. Service was great as well. read more

Clicky staff service sucks food quality below restaurant standards. Huge staff turnover.no breaks given to staff.

I took my folks here and we loved it. Great bang for your buck. Our waitress was very nice, and the food was good. It's very cheap but it's a solid and reliable breakfast. I will definitely be taking my family again. read more

Traditional breakfast/lunch menu. They offer a single very large pancake instead of a stack of pancakes. You can also order a smaller single pancake. Service was timely and coffee was good. Fried eggs were well prepared and free of greasiness. read more

Classic diner with delicious and reasonably priced breakfasts. Been there several times and always very good but today I had a Rueben omelet and it was very very good! Good coffee and excellent service staff are fabulous. Also an impressive lunch menu. read more

10:45 am on Thursday & this place is PACKED! That should tell you something!! We've been in twice now, very tasty food each time. I go for sweet breakfast, waffles & French toast were both very good. The Husband had savory breakfast, enjoyed the corned beef hash, & the Cottage burger, also very good. The prices are very reasonable. This is a good, old fashioned diner. Nothing fancy, but you won't think about that much because the staff & fellow diners are so friendly. There are regulars who are greeted by name. There are casual conversations by random "neighbors" seated near each other. And as I said, very tasty food! I need to go back for pie next time, several options in a display case. Yup, next time for pie!! read more

I almost hesitate to review this place because it is so awesome! Cottage Cafe offers a classic diner experience: very decent food, no frills atmosphere (I think we all had subtly different plates!), great prices and super-friendly staff! There can be a bit of a wait, but it seemed to move pretty quickly when I was there (in agreement with the other reviews). I wouldn't come here with a big group (more than four) since that might make it difficult to get a table in a timely fashion. With places like this, why would you ever go to a chain like Denny's or Perkins? I'm so happy places like this still exist, I hope they're around for many years to come! read more

Cottage Cafe - Just a small sampling of the awesome breakfast items at the Cottage Cafe! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Pleasant local diner just a short drive away from the Dean Medical Center. Seems to be mostly a local crowd. More of the read the morning paper over breakfast kind of spot. The place was crowded but service was efficient and very friendly. Was really happy to see one of my growing up faves: spam and eggs on the menu. The only negative for me was the coffee (standard breakfast diner refill type) was fairly weak. read more

Cottage Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

This place is everything you'd expect from a great diner! It's always packed on Saturday and Sunday for breakfast, but they somehow can move people through without long waits. The servers are extremely attentive with keeping glasses filled and stopping by when your menus are closed indicating that you are ready to order. The food is also great! I had the country fried steak, which had a sausage gravy that had a nice amount of pepper/seasoning for flavor and the steak was also tasty. Others had the eggs benedict and chorizo scrambler both of which were given the two thumbs up. Definitly come here if you're in the area read more

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Eggs were undercooked and the onion in the omelet was raw. My potatoes were soggy and the biscuits were meh. My daughters pancake was pretty good. The service was great! read more

This spot is one of my favorites for Breakfast all the food is delicious and but especially the Malted Waffles and all of the staff is super friendly but especially Carly who was amazing I will be back many many times for food here read more

The parking lot was packed at 9:30am on a Saturday, so I had to park illegally at the bowling alley next door. I arrived at Cottage Cafe with my 3 year old, and was surprised to discover that the place is "seat yourself." As there were a couple of open seats, this was not a problem. I missed their specials board initially, and saw it only after I'd placed my order for steak & eggs (and for my kid's mickey mouse pancakes). The specials board looked great (and cheaper than my steak and eggs), but the steak and eggs were great, and of surprisingly high quality considering the low prices. My kid enjoyed his pancakes, and he also enjoyed my steak, my eggs, my toast and my cottage cheese (which I subbed in place of hash browns with no extra trouble and no extra charge). This is definitely one of my new favorite breakfast places. I can't believe it's only 2 miles from my house and it took me 5 years to find it. My son and I are very satisfied, and will be returning. read more

Classic diner food. Stopped in Madison on the way home from vacation and picked this spot for breakfast. We were not disappointed. I had the steak and eggs. The steak was cooked perfectly and tasted great. The service was excellent and we loved the ambiance of the diner. You can't go wrong here! read more

No words needed at this place I would be happy to be able to sit at this wonderful establishment. The service is quick and you can see why they are highly rated read more

Do you, like me, enjoy Waffle House without irony? Then come on down to the Cottage Cafe. The menu caught my eye on Yelp for having malted waffles, the delicious cornerstone of the WH franchise. Cottage Cafe's are a bit different (they're Belgian waffles instead of the thinner ones served by our neighbors to the south) but have a similar flavor. This morning I was also served possibly the best hash browns I've ever had. Crispy outside, creamy center, and none of that raw potato flavor you sometimes encounter in the less-cooked bits. True to Waffle House form, I ordered mine with cheese. Yes, it's a slice of American that goes on top, but that is exactly what I wanted. Does Cottage Cafe offer premium, creative, cutting-edge fare? Not by a long shot. They do, however, hit the spot as a cheap greasy spoon. read more

Cottage Cafe - The Cottage - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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Best breakfast. Best lunch. Best service. Best prices. Cottage Cafe should run for presidency. I can hear it now... "Ladies and gentleman of our beloved nation, you must eat at Cottage Cafe and live life to its fullest again!." --Trump voice. Seriously though, check it out.. always busy, but pop a squat at the counter if need be. Laid back, so don't expect a steed and white linens. Go with the flow and atmosphere and you will vote "CC" as your next president. read more

When I travel I like to go to "local" types of places---and this greasy spoon fit the bill and definitely did not disappoint. Visited on a Sunday morning, place was packed but still made it in time right before the after church rush. i LOVE places that serve breakfast all day---I can't get enough of eggs and greasy meats! My food came out prompt, hot, and tasty----just the way I like it! They're very accommodation for food substitutions if need be and have lots of tasty specials. Get the cheddarwurst--yummo! read more

The Cottage Cafe honestly surprised me. We visited the cafe after church to grab some brunch because we had heard good things about it. The outside of the building looks absolutely abysmal. It's at the level that it feels like you may get food poisoning just by walking by it. It looks like a scary dive dinner. Fortunately, Cottage Cafe is NOT a scary dive dinner, and it will NOT give you food poisoning. Think of the Cottage Cafe as a scrappy stray dog. He's dirty on the outside, but he just needs a bath because inside his heart is gold. The interior of Cottage Cafe is clean and feels like a classic country eatery. When we arrived it was absolutely packed, but it had a sort of "home" feel to it. We had about an 8 minute wait, it wasn't anything terrible considering the number of customers, which we took as a good omen. Our server ended up being the sweetest lady, and she hooked my friend up with his ridiculously custom breakfast burger order. It arrived just as he asked! The menu prices were surprisingly low and portions large that it almost felt like stealing. The "baby pancake" ended up being the size of a human head. Do not let the name fool you. I ended up ordering the "big breakfast" for $6, which has amazing value. I had 2 scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, hash browns, and 2 pieces of toast. The melted cheese on the eggs was just a slice of sandwich cheese, which was kind of strange, and I like my hash browns a little on the crispy side. Both of these are personal preference, though. Overall, the meal was incredibly considering what you pay for it. It would cost you almost this much to get a breakfast meal from McDonald's. I am recommending Cottage Cafe because of the value and the incredibly sweet servers that will help you customize your meal. I would not be recommending Cottage Cafe if the prices weren't so low. For the price, the food is great. I would just expect higher quality if the prices were to jump immensely. Go to Cottage Cafe and get a meal that will fill you up for cheap without feeling awful afterwards. read more

Cottage Cafe - The big breakfast combo, $6! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Cottage Cafe is a Classic Breakfast Joint. Yeah it's a joint... A locals joint. But as soon as you walk in, you will be greeted and treated like a regular. I had the Biscuits & Gravy special with over easy eggs and hashed Browns. I tried to order a pancake as well, but was waved off and encouraged by the waitress to go with the baby cake. Turns out that the baby cake was as big as my rather substantial head. The full size pancake ergo must be larger than a grown man's head. The biscuits and gravy were a hit - smooth and creamy. At one point I managed to get the over easy eggs and hash browns all mixed in with the biscuits and gravy and added several shakes of hot sauce... Delightful. I'd been hankering a big sloppy breakfast for a couple of weeks and the Cottage Cafe did not disappoint! read more

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This was my first time here at the Cottage Cafe and the first thing I noticed when I came in was the GREAT service for a very busy morning! It was packed, yet very well run with enough staff so you don't wait around a lot, even though somewhere else you would wait throughout your meal. Great waitress on 2/23/19! The build your own omelette had huge pieces of fresh vegetables and meat and was not runny or greasy at all. French toast was thick and light. It was so great you don't even need butter! Lastly, the Cherry Pie ala mode was really flavorful, but needs more of that incredible crust (too little of a great tasting crust)! Can't wait to try dinner soon! read more

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In a sea of restaurants serving spring mix on a breakfast plate, Cottage Cafe serves up a typical, yet well executed breakfast and Lunch menu, sans spring mix! This place takes me back to a time when I would expect to be asked if I want to dine "smoking" or "non-smoking"! The service is generally friendly, and the kitchen staff are well disciplined in the art of short-order cookery. It's a simple pleasure in life, eating an egg that is properly cooked! By no means are we regulars, but we have eaten here enough over the years, to know that if we want a no-frills, satisfying breakfast or lunch, served fairly quickly, go to Cottage Cafe. I'm not a coffee drinker, so I can't speak to its quality, but, the servers made coffee pouring rounds, several times during our most recent visit! Support your local restaurants, eat at Cottage Cafe! read more