It was a nice cute space for an evening meal. My mom loved the place and food. We had an appetizer and two entrees. The berry and dark chocolate hummus my mom took to go. We had sauvignon blanc and watermelon martini as our drinks which were refreshing for the hot day. As for the server, she was nice nothing over the top and waiting time was good in my opinion for everything food, drinks, etc. I would definitely return and look into the murder mystery they have coming up! read more

See all

Food, service , ambiance wonderful. If you are gluten free they have many selections. Vegan a few selections. read more

Elizabeth Esther Cafe - Gluten free chicken sandwich with salad. - Cafes Near Me - Smyrna, Delaware

I would never return to this restaurant. The server had an attitude from the very beginning and was not helpful or friendly. The menu is not very exciting and it took 45 minutes to get our meal....the restaurant was not even full. The food was very average ....not bad but not exceptionally good either. We then ordered dessert and told the server we needed to be leave for a show in about 45 minutes. She said no problem. Then all of a sudden she brings both bills and as she is walking away tells us they don't have time to get us dessert so we are able to leave in 45 minutes. Unreal. The bathrooms had no paper towels to dry your hands after washing them a both bathrooms had urinals in them......very uncomfortable in a woman's restroom. The whole experience was unpleasant and our entire party will never return. I do not recommend this place.n read more

10 minutes before we were offered something to drink at brunch. (We were the only people in the room). Another 35 minutes for our food. There were maybe 10 other patrons. They were turning people away because they "were backed up". Sausage was tough and over cooked. Eggs were cold. Home fries were hard and not cooked thru. We were never offered coffee refills. Terrible service. read more

Elizabeth Esther Cafe - Brunch. Stuffed French toast, over easy eggs and crepes with home fries. Fresh fruit and cheese. Sausage arrived later. - Cafes Near Me - Smyrna, Delaware

We used to come here all the time and it was wonderful. We decided to come for brunch and made a reservation. When we arrived there were only two other tables with patrons. The waitress sat us and then it took her probably 10 minutes to even bring water. Another 5-10 minutes before she took our drink order. Never asked us about if we wanted starters or food. We then overheard her tell another table that she was waiting for the cook to come so he could make her espresso martini bc the waitress could not do it due to her disability. After waiting another 20 minutes with no inquiry about if we wanted food, i asked the other patrons if we heard the waitress right that she was waiting for the cook. They explained the espresso machine issue and then said that they also ordered bagels an hour prior and were still waiting so the cook must not be there at all. The waitress never said anything to us about food, the cook, etc. We decided to leave cash for our drinks and leave and went to a different restaurant. The host/waitress was sweet and seemed to be by herself, doing the best she could. I'm sad bc this restaurant used to be amazing, we probably will never be back. read more

The waitress was not warm. She was not pleasant. The food is ok. Nothing special. The decor of the restaurant is nice but you can tell it's really old the furnitures that they have. It was just ok. read more

Wonderful atmosphere with a romantic colonial ambiance. Classy and comfortable. Excellent friendly service. The menu offered many meal options. The food quality/preparation was sadly mixed. The soups were outstanding, both the chicken vegetable & onion. The entrees we had: meatloaf, chicken Parmesan, and chicken Margarita. The meatloaf was very uneventful. The chicken Margarita was flavorful but the chicken was tough and chewy. The chicken Parmesan was excellent. We didn't have dessert. The wine was priced fairly and the ice tea was good. We would go back again but would amend our food choices. read more

Very atmospheric spot in Smyrna, great for brunch and lunch. Happy hour and daily event listing in photos below. Our food was fine and cooked properly. I got crepes with cherries and cream. There were just two preserved cherries on top, with cherry flavored whipped cream inside. I would have preferred more fruit but that's just my personal preference. Husband got the French toast combo which was also cooked well. Decaf coffees. No espresso or cappuccino drinks as machine was down. No oat milk, but almond milk available. No celery for bloody marys. Overall I'd come for the atmosphere, with the food of secondary importance. read more

See all

Great food! Great service! Amazing ambiance! We'll be back! We had a great date night. Happy hour all day on Thursday. Love that!

Great restaurant in Smyrna Delaware. It's in an old house that is decorated and has furniture from the period when the house was built which is early 20th century. It's a bit tight for an elderly person to get in and navigate but, the staff was accommodating and the food and cocktails were delicious. Definitely check them out if you happen to be in Smyrna. read more

See all

A charming restaurant rich with old world ambiance and great food. This nicely preserved Victorian building is abundantly filled with antique decor and furnishings which immediately transform diners into a time period of elegance and class. The atmosphere is relaxed yet confident as the host welcomes you upon entry. Our table was set next to the fireplace, but it still felt private enough (at least for lunch). The menu allows for dietary restrictions and our server was attentive to my wife's food allergy. As an appetizer, my wife had the French onion soup which she thoroughly enjoyed. For main entry she had the Avocado toast. I opted for the seared Mahi Tuna tacos for my lunch. The portions were modest, but filling. We'll definitely return. It's refreshing to find restaurants like this (especially in this area) that properly blend an upscale dining setting with modern menu selections. read more

Elizabeth Esther Cafe - Front porch entry - Cafes Near Me - Smyrna, Delaware

See all

The New York Strip Bleu Cheese Crostini was unbelievable. Best thing I've eaten in months. And we really loved the layout and atmosphere; it felt like being invited to a dinner party at a friend's home. read more

Elizabeth Esther Cafe - New York strip bleu cheese crostini - Cafes Near Me - Smyrna, Delaware

The absolute worst experience. We came from NJ to Smyrna to visit our mother and had reservations to take her for a belated mothers day hoping this would be really special. It's important to know that there were only 2 other tables being served when we arrived. Server Allie was not attentive and was quick to say she was working by herself. We were there 2 hours and maybe saw her twice. The food was awful. We ordered the appetizer sampler which came with all broken blue tortilla chips that literally looked like someone dumped the bottom of a bag on the plate. Our mother ordered the salmon and mashed sweet potato and the salmon was not seasoned, did not have a crispy skin and was overcooked. We ordered the crab cakes and a NY Strip steak Neither were seasoned. A little salt and pepper would go a long way. No flavor to the wet and mushy crab cakes and we had to SAW, yes SAW through an undercooked, unseasoned NY Strip that looked like it had the grill marks spray painted on it. We took one bite each and gave it all back. When the server asked what was wrong, and we told her she acted shocked and offended and then had the absolute worst attitude for a server. She wouldn't even look my husband in the eye. Truly embarrassing. My husband and I felt so badly that we brought our mother here. Thank God we were not charged for the food because it was the worst. My husband left hungry and stopped at the Hardees next door and to be honest, it was better than this over priced, over hyped up place. I'm truly embarrassed for you.. read more

We tried this restaurant and for some reason we were seated in the bar area. Meal was good but wasn't a pleasant experience because of the noisy bar crowd. Maybe we'll try it again soon. read more

I've left multiple positive reviews of this establishment in the past but last night's experience can't be ignored. I went there with my partner to celebrate new year and our anniversary. They had a special menu with a fixed price and 2 seating times. We arrived on time for the first seating and as soon as we were seated our server made it a point to stress that they were fully booked and that we needed to adhere to a 1.5 hour seating. She repeated this directive multiple times throughout the evening. We had the prime rib and the Chesapeake chicken dinners. A half hour into our seating time our meals were delivered to the table...we noted at this time that there were 2 tables seated in the bar area and 2 tables seated in the parlor. The chicken was dry on the edges and everything on the plate was cold. The prime rib was brown (we had ordered medium) and this plate was also cold. We sent them back to the kitchen and I assumed that at least the steak would be replaced with a fresh piece. Not so. The meals came out even more well done and slightly warmer. Salad, dessert, and drinks were all good however the complimentary champagne was really pretty bad. When we left, there were still only 2 tables seated in the bar area (including us) and 3 tables in the parlor area. As I said, we used to come here often and may be back again but it won't be soon and it won't be on a night when there is a special menu. read more

Lovely setting in Victorian house with period decor. Nice menu, although the server and chef had to work at finding a GF, DF lunch. Server could not have been nicer. Honored the Yelp check- in discount even though she never saw it before. Have some alcoholic beverages and coffee drinks. read more

The place looks very nice, but seating is uncomfortable. Service is extremely slow (waited over 1 hour for our meals), but friendly. It's the food that's a real problem. The kitchen can't seem to decide if it's "fine dining", or "middle-of-the-road Mexican". Although the quality of what was served was OK, it was nothing to write home about, and really not anything that couldn't be easily made in my own kitchen without much effort. The menu simply lacked imagination, and was rather simplistic. Their obsession with "only organic and local" ingredients means that much of what's on the menu is not available. Accessibility and safety is another problem. If you have difficulty walking, and use a cane or walker, you should avoid visiting this restaurant. Because it's an old house, there are a lot of odd sloping floors, and little step-ups, NONE of which are marked - two of our party tripped and one fell (and it bears mentioning that those who did so, were NOT mobility impaired). Although nobody was at all hurt, it's worth mentioning. All in all, I wouldn't bother returning. read more

My husband ordered a BLT and was told, they ran out of bacon and it was only 1:40pm. He ordered a rib sandwich that was a little spicy. His vegetable soup didn't have any vegetables in it. It was more like a broth. The chicken salad sandwich I had was okay. It would have been nice if I had more grapes and celery in it. The ambiance wasn't as good as usual because my tablecloth was soiled. read more

This had a high rating so I'm not sure what happened, but this place did not live up to the reputation from the minute we walked in. The interior is beautiful. But the service was lacking. We walked in around 12:30pm, there was absolutely no one else inside. We asked the hostess if there was outside seating, she originally said no, but then asked someone and said yes. However, they did not have any umbrellas at the outdoor tables so we decided to sit inside. The menus provided were not the same as what is listed online. There were primarily breakfast options, very few lunch items, and no listed flatbreads as advertised online. Both my mother and I ordered a chicken salad sandwich, which is listed on the menu as being on ciabatta. She asked for hers to be on a croissant, I said the ciabatta was fine for me. After our waitress walked away I heard someone from the kitchen yell at her that they have not served ciabatta bread in months. The waitress did not return to advise me that this is an issue. She returned with our food, lo and behold they did have ciabatta bread. The chicken salad was edible and the flavors were good, however it was a very soupy consistency that did not want to stay in the bread. It was served with home fries, they tasted stale. I had finished half my sandwich before the waitress returned to check if everything was tasting okay. We said things were fine, and she left us again until we were finished. Maybe Saturday isn't a popular day to come here. I'm not sure if this place went under new management. But frankly I would not even think about returning, and only gave more than 1 star because nothing was truly horrible. Just not organized, professional, or up to the expectations of its current rating. read more

Was walking by from our place and poked our head inside, was a little worried we weren't dressed fancy enough but they let us sit down. I wish they would've told us to keep on walking because the service was terrible. I've seen better at an Applebees in the hood. Food was alright. Watch out for the hidden extras. The pasta is one price and the protein is another and know where on the menu is that specified. Wish I would've had Wendy's instead. When the Lady brought us a to go box it was asked for a one more water as I was pretty parched. Sat there for 20 mins waiting on that water and our check. Got the check but I'm still waiting on that water read more

The only thing I'm disappointed about is that I didn't take pictures to share with you all! This place is such a gem. The ambiance was pleasant and the service was perfect! We were so happy with our brunch experience. The food and the drinks both hit the spot! read more

Located in a historical house, love the atmosphere and service. Stuffed avocado looks good but it was too simple. Maybe some light background music since the voices somehow echo in the mansion? :) read more

Elizabeth Esther Cafe - They serve wine and has a full bar - Cafes Near Me - Smyrna, Delaware

See all

Had a horrible meal here. My husband had steak which was over cooked, fatty, and almost inedible. My son had the rib sandwich which was soo tough he had to try to cut it up and deconstruct it to consume. My other son had fettuccine Alfredo which was completely bland. The creamy tomato soup was good, my crabcake sandwich was ok. The only reason we ate our meals was because we were all starving and had to leave for a ballgame right after otherwise I would have demanded for the bill for the decent food and left. Even after giving an honest review nothing was done on behalf of the restaurant to correct our horrible experience. read more

When we pulled up, I noticed the cool building and a waitress smoking outside with a very sour look on her face. Hoping she wouldn't end up being ours, we entered. The decor is a bit shabbily done but very interesting to look at. There aren't many tables, and there were only 3 people there. Still, it took 45 minutes to get our food. I understand it's all from scratch, but everyone else had their food. Unfortunately we had the waitress from outside - she had zero personality and seemed to not want to be there at all. I soon realized she was also the chef. The food was good. The coleslaw was very odd and made of the hard ribs of cabbage. Too tough to chew. The rib eye sandwich was ok. The portobello mushroom sandwich was mainly all bread but did taste good. Prices were reasonable. Although we did want dessert, we were afraid it would take forever to arrive. We settled the check and by the time we went back to our car, the waitress was outside smoking again. Really not a good look. I have no idea if this was the owner or not - I hope not or there's not much chance of this restaurant succeeding. If she's not the owner, the owner should be aware we would have had a much more enjoyable lunch if the waitress wouldn't have acted like it was a burden to wait on us. Hard to say if we'll be back. read more

Ate there this past Sunday at around 11 and it was not as good as it has been in the previous visit. I had the crepes home fries and fruit. My crepes had no whip cream in or on top the home fries were cold they had onion and red peppers that had not been cooked done. The fruit cup was ok but they left the rine on the cantaloupe which I was unable to cut off due to and hand injury so had to have help from my dinning partner The service was very slow The waitress definitely wanted to be somewhere besides there working. We had enjoy our previous visit and will give it another try. Maybe the staff was not on point yesterday. read more

This place is a true hidden gem in the Smyrna/Dover Kent county area. The ambience is elegant, the food is of the highest quality and the service is on point. Great group of servers and bartenders. Jay Gatsby himself would have felt right at home in this establishment. read more

Perfect little night to celebrate a birthday for friends! When we walked in, there was live music in the front room, a pleasant bluegrass style band with harmonica and a bass. The interior is all too intriguing with beautiful moulding and charming details to be found all around. The dining room was small and cozy, perfect for our group of 7. The menu was pretty good. Well rounded with a variety of choices. I would have liked it if they offered Coke/Pepsi products too, but they only had coffee/tea/Italian sodas. That's fine I suppose, just a little odd to not even have a bottled version available. Charcuterie board was a bit on the slim side, but nonetheless very good with a sun dried tomato cheese, Brie, Swiss cheese, blackberries, strawberries, prosciutto, and salami. My crab cake dinner was very good! As a crab cake snob I was hesitant, but I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor. Very meaty and not too bready. Would have appreciated more lumps instead of shredded crab but overall great. The slaw was lack luster, and the asparagus was a bit skimpy. Dessert was absolutely great! The French Bread Pudding with ice cream was exactly what I needed to end my evening. What an absolute treat! Topped with a berry compote and whipped cream, still warm from the oven...ah, man. It was epic! I would have appreciated my server being a bit more personable, but my order was correct and I was attended to without issue. I would have appreciated some sort of music in the room, even if it was being broadcasted from the live music because we could hear the dryer from the bathroom and the clanking of dishes in the kitchen. Overall, great experience and I would like to come back to try more! All my friends dishes looked great too. read more

See all

Truly a hidden gem for the Town of Smyrna. There are several,reasons to try this restaurant. First, it's an absolutely beautiful building, classical decor with colors out of a vibrant past. Second ... revisit the popular libations of the past from Old Fashions, to a legit whiskey sour. Last to mention but definitely not in sequence, the food is fantastic. Don't go if you're pressed for time. All entrees are made to order so it takes a while trust me it's worth the wait. I've had the mini meatloaf (not sure why they call it "mini", it's great ... Vicki has had the veggie lasagna and loves it. Last night I had the chicken parmigiana --- there are some "Italian specialty" restaurants that need to see the way it's done here. Treat yourself ... try this hidden gem, you won't be disappointed read more

I first visited on Saturday at brunch with my best friend. This place is super cute! My server was awesome and apologetic about the wait... we requested our English muffin early, so we were good to go waiting on the rest of our food. No issues. The food was good, so good I told my daughter I was going to bring her there. We came in on Friday at 11... we were sat by someone who seemed agitated that we were there. As we waited we tried to figure out why. They were prepping for a party in the back. I let her know I had an amazing time the week before but she remained very curt and short. We finally decided to leave. Service is important and this time, you fell way short. It's a shame because it is soooooo cute. It's a meh maybe read more

There is an amazing backstory to this charming and lovingly created restaurant. The building was beautifully constructed in 1868 by a local businessman. There were various owners over the years until Lindsay's ( the current owner and chef) parents bought it in the 1980's. Lindsay grew up in this house. In the early 2000's her family sold it and moved elsewhere. The next owner let it become derelict and it was slated to be torn down. Lindsay decided she wanted to buy it back and learned one day - quite by serendipity - that it was going to be auctioned off. She bid and lost. She was devastated. A few months later she found out the city of Smyrna had bought it. She negotiated a purchase with them and for three years she and her husband poured everything they had into its restoration. It has been done so thoughtfully. She is an excellent chef too! Our food was delicious and as vegetarians who are gluten free, the conscious and creative menu supported our diet beautifully. She even spent time with us relating the story. Excellent service. Excellent food. Excellent ambiance. A love like this deserves support!!! This is a destination restaurant with charm, romance, elegance and delightful flavors!! You won't regret the drive. read more

See all

Oh my gosh. I have been trying to go here. Finally got a friends schedule to link up and we had a great lunch yesterday. Loved the maple seared salmon. Friend had the crab cake sandwich, said it was very tasty. We both loved the crab dip. Plus loved that they had blood orange soda. I felt very fancy. Loved the different rooms. And took a walk outside. Waiting for it to be warmer to have an outdoor girls who lunch get together. read more

See all

Service is a joke , food cooked by however is working the kitchen , with reservations and they still lack service and human decency. The one restaurant that dislikes their customers. read more

What a lovely place! It was exactly what I was looking for, a quiet cafe with light lunch options. We enjoyed a small salad and French onion soup. Everything was fresh and delicious. We followed that with the roasted vegetable flatbread. It was also delicious. The cafe is quaint. The service was excellent. It was nice to meet for lunch in a non chain establishment. read more

Elizabeth Esther Cafe - Roasted vegetable and goat cheese flatbread - Cafes Near Me - Smyrna, Delaware

Great food and great service. A hidden Gem in Smyrna. The ambiance is also wonderful. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a relaxing dinner locally. read more

It is a charming cafe.. very nice setting... quaint with great food, drinks and wonderful service

Love this place. Wonderful atmosphere! Super cozy and unique. I will definitely return here.

What a lovely place! We had excellent service, food, wine. It was just a fluke that we arrived here, but it's definitely now on my list. The menu was much more extensive than I expected. read more

Lindsay greeted us at the door and made us feel welcome. They menu was extensive, priced appropriately and delicious. I highly recommend this fine restaurant. Jim S New Jersey read more

My husband and I absolutely love Cobalt Manor, and Elizabeth Esther Cafe. The food is second to none, as is the staff. We have made EEC our go-to date night location for a few years now. it's intimate, quaint, historic, serene, and delicious. We love it so much we bring our friends here on occasion as a "we miss you" dinner treat. They also make my food to order as I am a Celiac. They work with any dietary restriction, and that is so hard to come by. You will NOT get a better upscale meal in our area than here. Absolutely my favorite. read more

See all

The ambiance is very quaint (great historical flare). The service is good, Karen took care of us, she suggested lots of choices that were very good. Karen was friendly and it was quiet so she had time to chat with us and make us comfortable. The food is delicious, lots of options and very reasonable prices, the food portions are huge for the price. read more

See all