Updating my old review because it's LONG overdue! My original review was pretty poor, but it was never really about the food--the food was always good. At the time, the atmosphere and overall setup just felt very chaotic. Several years ago they remodeled and reorganized the space, and it completely changed the experience. Since then, this has become one of our absolute favorite breakfast spots. The menu is fresh and creative, everything we've tried has been delicious, and I honestly can't think of a single bad meal we've had here. We love this place and it's definitely one of our go-to breakfast spots now. Yes, I know the remodel was ages ago and this update is LONG overdue--but better late than never! read more

Years ago I used to be a regulater at this business and and only come occasionally now. When I do come though, I am always impressed with how consistent this restaurant is where the food is always well prepared and tasty. On my most recent trip here I ended up getting their two egg breakfast with meat, potatoes and toast. The over medium eggs were cooked just right, i.e. not runny, with nice homestyle potatoes, thick cut bacon and their own homemade bread for toast. All at a very reasonable cost of $10, especially when considering the quality of the food. The coffee is also quite good where I believe it is a full bodied medium roast with a nice balance and no harsh notes. Relative to staff, this continues to be a strength of this business as they are quite friendly, with great follow up, where many of them have been here for years which I personally like which also speaks volumes on how well the ownership treats their employee's. Happy workers make for very good and nice wait staff! Overall a solid choice for Breakfast or lunch, especially if you are looking for a more upscale menu with daily specials. read more

Ellen's Bakery & Cafe - Two egg breakfast with optional O'Brien homestyle potatoes - Bakeries Near Me - Sylvan Lake, Michigan

This is a great bakery in Sylvan lake. If I was just rating the bakery I would give it four and a half stars. Today we came for breakfast and it was not impressive. It was a beautiful day outside but their patio was closed. The wait to dine was thirty minutes. We asked if we can carry out and eat at the tables on the patio ..to which she said no. Very odd and a missed opportunity to service more clients. We ended up waiting thirty minutes to dine indoors. My omelet was ok, not well seasoned. The strawberries in the fruit cup were very close to their expiration and did not taste fresh. read more

Ellen's Bakery & Cafe - Super Healthy Choice Omelet - Bakeries Near Me - Sylvan Lake, Michigan

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I heard a lot about Ellen's bakery & cafe so decided to check them out for breakfast. There was a 30 min wait which gave me sufficient time to study and salivate over the menu. Selection is pretty big and sounds delicious. At the end my friends ended up trying a healthy breakfast omelet which was sufficient , a chorizo hash - was ok - met the expectations. And I ordered a salami scramble. It came with caramelized onions which added a good flavor but I didn't like the chunks of cream cheese mixed in with the scramble. I thought it was going to be blended in but as such I ended up picking out the chunks. Overall service was good, portion size was generous, side of the sour bread was excellent. But I don't think it a place I would go to twice, at least the cafe side of it (bakery looked great). read more

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I've always passed by this charming little spot but never stepped inside--until this morning. After tasting some desserts from their bakery (which were outstanding), we decided to give breakfast a go. The place has a lovely patio, though unfortunately, it wasn't open today, so we waited about half an hour for a table inside. The restaurant was bustling and crowded, so it was a bit of a wait. Once seated, we asked for some recommendations, and the staff offered some suggestions. However, a couple of us asked for specific substitutes, and while the waitress seemed to get it, the dishes that arrived were completely different from what we asked. The food itself was just average--not bad, but nothing worth a long wait. Honestly, I'd only return on a day when I can sit on the patio and just relax--otherwise, the experience didn't quite live up to the hype. read more

Love their sour cream coffee cake and croissants! The facility is spotless and the staff is knowledgeable and helpful. read more

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I FINALLY made it out to Ellen's after living down the street for the last four years. I arrived at 9:15 AM on a Saturday and there was a 15-20 minute wait. Upon arrival, there is a bakery with homemade treats, breads, and coffee. To the right of the bakery is the bar and kitchen with dining area. There are mostly tables and I believe three or four half booth tables. To begin, a mimosa and Bloody Mary were ordered. Both were strong. The Bloody Mary came with a pickle but no other toppings. The grits and omelet were amazing. The grits came with five large shrimp and this dish is considered a fan favorite. The spanakopita omelet was perfectly savory. The muffin was large and I believe only around $3. Cannot wait to return and try some more dishes! read more

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This is my second time here. The first time was for brunch and I got eggs - and to my recollection they were good. This time I ordered lunch. The item was on a specials list: a chicken sandwich on focaccia with a spinach artichoke layer. It was tasty (though not very big) and doesn't come with a side and was $14. Things are getting so expensive but that's everywhere. Not just here. My husband got a walleye sandwich and loved the seeded bread it was on. Again no side beyond a pickle slice. If you add a coleslaw or fries it becomes a $25 lunch entree The server was friendly and attentive and this was an overall enjoyable meal. read more

Ellen's Bakery & Cafe - Bakeries Near Me - Sylvan Lake, Michigan

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The hostess Saturday is always grumpy. She doesn't welcome you pleasantly she started out with we are short handed. Just truly unpleasant person. Aldo just said a long wait for a table. We just went down the street to Leo's. If it was my restaurant she would not be the public face of it. read more

Annie was our server. She was lovely and so efficient. The food was very good. The ambiance is always great here aw well. It's a great place to meet up with friends! read more

Great service! Lots of goodies come with your Belly empty and sweet tooth. Got the tuna and a ton of desserts.

My family enjoyed lunch from Ellen's Bakery and Café yesterday. I really liked the turkey and Brie sandwich, my little niece had a BLT. My mother had barbecue, so delish. They were easy to find and made life so much better. Let me just say we had a tough situation in our family and Ellen's staff, especially Red, helped save the day. read more

Ellen's Bakery & Cafe - This is me, the next day after the lovely meal. - Bakeries Near Me - Sylvan Lake, Michigan

Came in with a friend for the Sunday Brunch rush. This place is split into two spaces: the first is the original bakery where you can pop in, grab a latte and pastry, and be off on your way. However, it also doubles as an awkward waiting area for anyone who wants to sit in the restaurants. The second area is a traditional dining restaurant area. There are a few tables, but if the patio's not open, it's a bit of a tight squeeze. There was a decent wait for 2 adults and 2 kids, but the staff were friendly and communicative as to where we all were in the line up. When we were finally seated, our host was very friendly and eager to make sure we got our food. The food itself was solid. There were sooo many things on the menu that I wanted to try, but sadly, I can only eat so much in 1 setting. So I went with my classic corned beef hash breakfast order. It was a solid choice, nothing exceptional, but still a quality experience. Overall, I'd be curious to come back here to try some of their other menu options, though I'm not convinced it'd be worth coming back here on a Sunday morning at peak hour though. If you live nearby, this is a great local haunt, otherwise, I'm not convinced it'd be worth going out of the way for. read more

Ellen's Bakery & Cafe - Corned Beef Hash - Bakeries Near Me - Sylvan Lake, Michigan

Excellent baked goods, coffee, and sandwiches. We were visiting the area and stumbled onto Ellen's. We have been back 2 more times when we were back in the area. The people were so friendly and helpful. Next time we want to try the cafe as we have only had a chance to do takeout so far. read more

It pains me to leave this review. This place, that I still love for a muffin and coffee or a pastry or birthday cake, is no longer my place for breakfast with friends. $5.95 for coffee, per person, $42 for two breakfasts (two eggs with mushrooms/toast/Sw omelet; and that was before I added the TIP, plus a surcharge was added for the eggs (not for an extra egg, just for the eggs)..,are you kidding me? I wish I was. I won't be back for breakfast any time soon. This is just plain wrong on so many levels. No wonder the place was empty. It used to be packed in the mornings for breakfast. By the way, the price of eggs has dropped by 61%. Yet, they hit you with an "egg surcharge"? Not good. read more

If you're planning on dining solo, be prepared to be treated as a burden and only offered seating at the crowded counter.

Stopped in for a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll. I like that I got the coffee in a mug. The cinnamon roll was good. It was cakey on the outside layers, but cinamony on the inside. The cafe area is nice with a mix of tables. read more

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After all of these years, I still love this place. The food is good and the service is always good. Portion sizes are large because everything is a la carte. I ate half of my salmon burger and my son only could finish one taco. The sweet potato fries are really good. They have great flavor and a really nice crunchiness to them. read more

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They have some extraordinarily pleasant employees in the bakery section. They are extremely helpful and considerate even when I forget to pick up my order, they will hunt me down and remind me that it is waiting for me. read more

Another delicious item from Ellens! Simply delicious! The bakery/restaurant is welcoming and clean the ambiance is wonderful and staff is super friendly and helpful. read more

Ellen's Bakery & Cafe - German Chocolate cake - Bakeries Near Me - Sylvan Lake, Michigan

Good food, nice ambience. I am not a fan of the hostess. Really not a pleasant person.

Food is great! Service is always friendly. Make sure to check out the bakery too. It is not your typical brunch place. The food is way gourmet and the prices are very reasonable. The space is clean and well decorated. I love that they have always have funny animals on the TV by the bar. read more

My favorite breakfast spot when I'm in town. Cute and cozy and clean. Food is always fresh & good. Service is average. Hostess who is older can be a bit micro aggressive, but if you just check her once she stops :) The kitchen is on the slow side, so I don't recommend stopping if you are in a rush. Bakery items that are gluten free are good. read more

Love this place. Fantastic service and the food is fresh, hot and flavorful! The bakery is amazing as well!

We love the food at Ellen's but the waiter couldn't have been more rude and we walked out. It only takes one bad experience to lose a customer. Be nice or stay home. read more

Stopped in on St Paddy's Day hoping for a miracle and found it! The corned beef dinner, complete with very lean and thick pieces, plus cabbage and potatoes and carrots was only $14.99, 5 star quality and enough for two people! (My husband had dinner and lunch the next day!) And the corned beef egg rolls were his favorite! ($9 and worth it!I also brought home a bag of English muffins and a bag of large dinner rolls, PLUS the most adorable and fantastically rich Easter Bunny cake! (See the pic!!!!)! His body's a rich chocolate cake with ganache and his head is a wonderful sugar cookie! I know it's not Easter yet but it completed our special meal. I ordered in the bakery area and a very nice woman brought it out to my car. Perfect. read more

Ellen's Bakery & Cafe - He tastes even better than he looks! - Bakeries Near Me - Sylvan Lake, Michigan

One of the best brunch spots around!! Classic cafe vibes with a very good bakery attached as well. The service is incredible and also on point. Ask for Red to be your server! The duck hash here is my favorite around. I also always get the hot vanilla latte and a soup. The last soup I had was lamb barley which was incredible. They do such a good job on everything! read more

Very nice place for breakfast. Mrs enjoys oatmeal with the "works". I enjoy the banana pecan pancakes. Workers are attentive, prompt & keep your coffee cup filled. It is our early morning special breakfast place. read more

Came here for a late breakfast on a Friday. Nice, comfortable interior. We had a great waitress, friendly and attentive. We ordered 2 different omelettes - The California omelette with added goat cheese and the Spinach and Asiago omelette. Both were served with potatoes and we upgraded the toast for the cranberry walnut bread. Both omelettes were delicious and big portions. But hold on ... hands down the best pancakes ever were the Cranberry-Walnut Pancakes served with orange marmalade butter. Scrumptious! We ordered a half order to share and that was plenty to go with the omelette, something a little sweet to go with the savory. Yes I would recommend! read more

Ellen's Bakery & Cafe - Cranberry-Walnut Pancakes with orange marmalade butter, 1/2 order - Delicious! - Bakeries Near Me - Sylvan Lake, Michigan

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4 stars for the host, Annie and the expeditors, but my experience at the bakery tarnished it. The woman working the counter with glasses was quite off-putting. Despite there being no one else in line, there wasn't a pleasant welcome feeling and felt like she was rushing me. Another woman near the tables seemed to have a special order, as she was standing around looking out the window, when I arrived. As I browsed the selection, I chose one item and was asked if I wanted anything else. Before I could answer, a tall guy interrupted the employee helping me. I had to wait till he finished to talking to her. I gave her another choice and walked over to look at the cookies. While I was still browsing, I heard her yelling, "Anything else?" When I glanced over, she gave a snarky look to the lady by the tables, as if I was being difficult or taking too long. This made me very uncomfortable. At checkout, the tall guy came around and reprimanded the staff loudly, which made things awkward for me and the employees...is this how they conduct themselves here? I asked the woman helping me if she was the head baker, and she said, "No, I'm in sales." I hope she gets some more training on that customer service. The baked items I got were okay so considering that and the service. I don't think I'd come back. read more

This is another restaurant that I have had on my list for quite a while. We had an appointment nearby and decided to have lunch here. After my usual method of reading some of the reviews, photos, and studying the menus, we arrived at 11:30am on Sunday and were told there was about a 20 minute wait. We waited in the bakery area where we found only high-top chairs, no low chairs for an injured person (my wife has a fractured foot and cannot safely get up on these chairs) to sit so we mostly stood while waiting. We did use the time to peruse the bakery items on display until we were called to be seated after 25 minutes. Our choice was to order the Lobster Roll as there were seemingly more photos of it than anything else. Jessica brought us a menu and took our drink order. When we expressed our interest in trying the Lobster Roll, she gave us the bad news: Sundays they offer breakfast only all day, no Lobster Rolls or Soup or lunch menu items. But she was pleasant with how she deflated our expectations and we went back to studying the Breakfast Menu. After a short time for decision making, my wife ordered the Super Healthy Choice Omelette with Cinnamon Walnut Raisin Toast (79 cents extra) and I decided to go with the Jumbo Breakfast with Wheat Toast. My wife really liked her Omelette and the Cinnamon Walnut Raisin Toast (this is sold by the loaf in the bakery) and my "normal" breakfast was done perfectly and everything was delicious. What we learned was that wait times can be longer than we experienced; no Lobster Rolls or lunch items on Sundays; restrooms were clean but no seat covers; staff were all polite and friendly; Jessica kept our Coffee full and answered all of my curiosity questions about the menu, WiFi, busy times, and ability to accommodate a small group. Everyone we saw was wearing masks and seating provided good distances between parties. read more

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It's a deceptively big place. Bakery, lots of counter seating, lots of booths and tables too, more space to the right of bakery. They are making some efforts to seat table groups 6 feet apart or so. They do use paper straws here, have plastic wares as an option too, though they aren't wrapped. The straw I had didn't last. It's disintegrating as I try to finish my OJ, half way through and it's stopped working now. Had to get another straw. Probably would be best to keep the condiments off the table or wipe them down, which I hoped they did before we sat down. I think it would be a great idea if they had a big sanitizer pump or spray with when you walk into the door, much like the cruise ships make every guest clean up before entering an eatery. Danielle waited on us, she's patient, attentive and pleasant. Ordered the Duck confit hash, eggs over hard, cinnamon walnut raisin toast ($0.78 upgrade), huevos rancheros, eggs over hard, 1 blueberry pancake and 2 brioche French toast (minumum). Their fresh squeezed OJ is good. The duck confit hash is tasty, better with some sriracha sauce. They have sriracha, Frank's or Tabasco sauce for some added heat. The huevos rancheros was just okay, not super flavorful, most of the taste from the salsa. It comprised of potatoes, cheddar cheese, eggs, guacamole, scallions, salsa and sour cream. We like the ones with a real homemade ranchero sauce, black beans and optional jalapeños too. The blueberry pancake was quite delicious and slightly crispy, could have easily eaten a full order of them. 1 was a perfect accompaniment though. They supposedly put my brioche French toast in the oven to crisp it up some after pan frying, however, it wasn't crispy and rather too soft for my liking. Their brioche bread tasted good otherwise. read more

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This is my neighborhood favorite! It's so refreshing to have good company daily. The staff is very friendly and are always welcoming. The food is breakfast cafe style. All ingredients are fresh and all dishes are made with love here. The inside atmosphere isn't what you would expect. It is nicely dimmed and quaint. In addition, the restraint teachers wonderful cafe with some of the most decadent, as well as classic pastries! Come check them out!! read more

Ellen's Bakery & Cafe - Bakeries Near Me - Sylvan Lake, Michigan

Delicious food vegan available and very unique. Addictive baked goods. Great coffee and pleasant staff. Very helpful and considerate.

I like Ellen's. Really nice bakery selection. Super cute decorate sugar cookies. They aren't fantastic taste-wise, but their cuteness makes up for that. Like really...where else are you going to find a poop emoji cookie? Their mini pastries are nice for a treat when you don't want to splurge on a full dessert. I have eaten at the restaurant once and the mushroom pasta was to die for. Also, they sell pints of ice cream in the bakery - really interesting flavors! read more

Ellen's is our go-to for a variety of fresh baked bread and bagels. Get there early on weekends for the Asiago bagels! Sooo fluffy and delicious! 4-stars due to the pastry quality & lackluster service. The cupcakes we've tried have been tough with grocery-store-tasting whipped frosting on top. Unpleasant interactions with staff every time, but worth it for the yummy bread/bagels. I make excuses that they're busy but they're truly rude. We've also purchased cookies for family events and had negative feedback. The frosted cookies had hard frosting and were tough as nails, seemingly more for show than for eating. Overall I recommend Ellen's for fresh bread items, not their pastries. Don't expect happy people greeting you! read more

Ellen's Bakery & Cafe - Homemade Challah Kaiser Rolls. Absolutely delicious! - Bakeries Near Me - Sylvan Lake, Michigan

Do you enjoy supporting a local Resturant and bakery? It's hard to beat a place where you can get baked goods (my favorite), breakfast, lunch or dinner! I haven't tried all the baked goods - but those I have are delicious! Lunch and dinner options are vast and delicious! The Tuscan chicken sandwich and fettuccine are a fsv read more

The food is always top notch at Ellen's. Their tuna melt on gluten free bread is a treat! First time for ordering take out - food was ready on time and staff was welcoming and helpful. read more

A co-worker brought this in and recommended the Tuscan sandwich. It did not disappoint and was tasty with generous amounts of chicken. Also got some fries on the side which were also excellent. A very enjoyable lunch! read more

So many delicious creations to choose from! Absolutely loved their creamy individual cheesecakes: smooth as silk! Individual chocolate covered truffle mousse has depth of flavor, melt in your mouth texture! Individually bagged cookies are yummy: white chocolate were my grandsons favorite! Salty Chocolate Chip was choke full of flavor! We did have a couple of the cookies which were definitely past their freshness date: very disappointing!! We are looking forward to dining in the cafe! This is a Local Gem to experience! read more