I've been putting off this update for about 5 months, but it's time. I've come to Ema's around 200 times in the last 8 years and during The Covid years we even brought Christmas presents for all the servers. We've had many birthdays, baptism parties and even a funeral gathering here. That said, this was our go to place for a good 5 years, but with the management change (Jeremy is apparently gone as are nearly all the staff that was there for years) and us never seeing Ema, things went downhill. The last few visits had issues and when the last issue happened I ask to speak to the manager. To my surprise, and despite only a few tables of people the manager was "not able" to talk to us. We waited and after about 10 minutes left to never return. I can't recommend this restaurant any longer but there are many new options and if you watch my Top 100 you'll find at least 4 or 5 other excellent restaurants for breakfast and lunch. Sorry Ema, but you've let this place go. read more

Food was excellent and service great. Really nice for quick breakfast with outstanding food. Highly recommend if in the area

A little worried as we were the only people here (but it was 10:30 on a Monday morning)....but the quick service and delicious food were perfect! My French toast could not have been better! A thick and custard-y center with fat slices of French bread cooked perfectly! His biscuits and gravy were also great, thick sausage patties atop a split biscuit covered in gravy with side of thick cut potatoes. Make this your stop for breakfast; we are so glad we came here!! read more

Ema's Cafe - Delicious French Toast - thick French bread almost like a custard! - Cafes Near Me - Lafayette, Louisiana

Wonderful food just slow service! Went for breakfast had 4 tables and a large table in other room. Asked what we wanted to drink after 25 min finally got drinks but we had decided to leave because we could see it would be a LONG wait for the food. Even saw a patron go into kitchen to get her own coffee. Very disappointed we weren't able to eat but..... read more

Love this place one of my favorite places around. Breakfast is great and so are the other options.

Food was amazing!!! Ema's and Bailey's never disappoints. Fresh food and prepared beautifully. Delicious!!!

. Went for lunch on a slow holiday weekend Sunday. Maitre'd was very nice. CB's big, w/ good patty, nice ingredients, but fell apart; a ''knife-&-fork'' burger. Tea very weak. Plenty of parking in big shopping center lot(s), some shaded. Spotless restrooms. Charge for credit card use. Overall good experience, will go back occasionally. Rick .. read more

Ema's is a cozy little restaurant where I have eaten many times. Great food, very friendly atmosphere with great service. I love their breakfast. Nice place to bring the family! read more

Beignets were perfect. The cajun Benedict was amazing! Great atmosphere and service! I definitely recommend. read more

Ema's Cafe - Cajun Benedict soo good - Cafes Near Me - Lafayette, Louisiana

First morning in Lafayette, looking for an authentic Cajun brunch. Ema's was magnificent. Bright and attractive decor, intimate seating. (Turns out Ema's and Bailey's are the same place, Bailey's being the dinner side.) We split the seafood Benedict dishes, crab and crawfish, with grits. Delicious, prepared just the way we asked. Service was attentive, and we enjoyed the little fresh fruit amuse bouche. For the value, the tab was surprisingly economical. A wonderful start to our exploration of the town. read more

Ema's Cafe - Crab Cake Benedict - Cafes Near Me - Lafayette, Louisiana

If I had to chose one of my best restaurant finds this year it would be Ema's Cafe, hands down. Let's talk about the atmosphere first. It's so bright and cheerful in here thanks to the big windows and colorful decor. It feels upscale but it's casual. I had the seafood omelette with a biscuit and a side of bacon. I highly recommend this dish! The omelette was cooked perfectly and was full of shrimp, crawfish and crab meat. Absolutely delicious. The biscuit did a nice job of soaking up all the leftover gravy and the bacon was awesome-cooked nice and crisp with none of undercooked fat that I dislike. My next visit I had to take it to go but that didn't affect the quality of the meal whatsoever. I tried the Cajun Benedict which comes on your choice of an English muffin or their biscuit. I had the English muffin and while it was delicious I'd definitely go with the biscuit next time. It was seasoned perfectly and I didn't add a thing to it. Go give Ema's a try! And don't forget their sister restaurant Bailey's next door for Sunday brunch! read more

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So nice we had to visit two out of the 6 days we were in Lafayette. I enjoyed the artwork and overall decor of the Cafe. Felt like I was in a small little spot in France. The service was amazing both times we visited, the wait staff was attentive and friendly, they made me feel right at home. I loved the food as well, we had Eggs, sausage, french toast and the patty melt while we were there. I highly recommended Ema's if you are looking for a great spot on the southside read more

Quaint cafe. Breakfast was good (had the Eggs Benedict but potatoes were more on the cold side than hot). Stayed a long time catching up with a friend. Staff did not pressure us to leave. read more

The beinets are very good. My friend got French toast, and it looked very good. Door dashed it so I don't know about the service

The service is always excellent, the food is really good and a great price for what you get. Nice ambiance as well. You can actually have a conversation while there. I enjoy going. I consider this a gem in Lafayette. read more

Amazing food. Great service. The only issue here is choosing between breakfast and lunch because everything is good.

The milk gravy or ( white gravy ) at Breakfast was the best I have ever had. Eggs were over cooked for what was ordered and the cheese grits less than mediocre. I guess when ordering cheese grits, my expectations are high when thinking cheese would be incorporated into the grits not sprinkled shredded cheese. Considering there were many, Best Chef metals on the wall, unfortunately that sets expectations pretty high. I am Not a chef, but when I think of cheese grits I think of incorporating heavy whipping cream and cheese into the grits to make a rich and creamy grit dish. Chicken fried steak was also great. read more

Ema's Cafe - Cheese grits. - Cafes Near Me - Lafayette, Louisiana

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This low rate is based on food and service. My breakfast item of choice is a stack of pancakes. It's on the menu. I ordered and added a side of sausage patties. Sausage was perfect. The pancakes not. Close to an inch thick and a hint of fish oil taste to me. Syrup was good but overall the pancakes were less than mediocre. I had to request more syrup and had to go find someone for assistance. My glass of water was empty and never offered a refill. read more

One of the best Benedict dishes I've ever had! Ordered the Cajun Benedict and the chicken fried steak and eggs- ALL SO GOOD and cooked to perfection! I'd love to come back to taste the rest of the menu! read more

Ema's Cafe - Cajun Benedict - Cafes Near Me - Lafayette, Louisiana

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Café Scrambler is supposed to come with potatoes or grits. The server brought neither. When I asked for grits, we were charged for a side of grits. The eggs were way over cooked. If you can pick up a scrambled egg with a fork like it's an empty omelette, the eggs are over cooked. My wife's "breakfast potatoes" we just large, slice, boiled red potatoes. The weren't cooked all the way through. Her bacon was burnt. Her English muffin wasn't toasted. We've had good breakfast here before, but this morning of Aug, 27, 2023 was really bad and we won't be returning. What a shame. This place used to be good. read more

The eggs Benedict English muffin was hard and cold. The eggs and holandais were cold. Sauce was watered down. Overall pathetic! Service was decent ( only one other table) we ordered and had to send back one plate because half of the food was not what was ordered. We were there on a Tuesday and were told that the regular chef is off on Tuesday which shouldn't matter. We will never go back! read more

The first day we were in Lafayette, we stopped by this quaint little cafe for beignets. They were yummy and we enjoyed them. The waitress we had was a bit much. Enjoyable at first, but eventually wouldn't leave. I even stepped away to the restroom, but she was still there when I returned. The menu looked good, so we went back the next day for breakfast. Looks were deceiving. The biscuit was good, but the rest left something to be desired. The pancake was blah. Thank goodness for the syrup, or it would have had no taste. I definitely do not recommend the crab cake bennies. ‍ The muffin it was served on was not even toasted. It had no flavor. There was a minimal amount of Hollandaise, but that's ok bc it wasn't the best. The crab cake, I took off and didn't even eat after I tasted it. The food was mediocre, but the service was worse. We waited for over 30 minutes before our waitress realized she never turned in our order. It took another 30 minutes before we got our food. Nothing more than, I'm sorry. It looks cute and cozy, but that's the best I can say. read more

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Food and service was excellent! The potatoes were the perfect crunchy texture on the outside. The music selection was throwback 80s and we really enjoyed it. The decor was very cute and Louisiana-themed. Calm atmosphere and wasn't too busy when we went for a Sunday brunch. Will definitely be coming back! read more

Ema's Cafe - Cafe Breakfast, Cafe Scrambler, Bananas Foster French Toast, Cheese Grits, Garden Omelet - Cafes Near Me - Lafayette, Louisiana

Service is wonderful and the ambiance is welcoming and beautiful. I've been here twice. My only complaint is that the food needs to be seasoned. They have great dishes, just nothing is seasoned, not even salt. read more

We typically visit here pretty often however, on our latest visit, we walked in to a sign at the door stating seat yourself. Upon doing so, a waiter walked past our table and said he would be with us shortly. Ten minutes passed and no one visited our table, not even to drop off a menu. Two other tables then arrived and sat themselves and were immediately serviced with menus. The same waitress who delivered their menus walked near our table and clearly saw no menus on our table and proceeded to ignore our needs. At that point, we decided to leave and upon exiting we voiced our concerns with who we could only assume was the restaurant manager who simply shrugged his shoulders and said ok and turned his back on us. I will never visit this restaurant again and will be happy to bring my business to other local restaurants. read more

Fabulous! Wish I lived here! I would dine at Ema's daily! Beignets: divine! The grits: on point! The egg dishes are all so great. Best part: service is terrific. Truly the nicest wait staff. They are sweet to let us bring our two Goldens to the patio! read more

Unfortunately, we were unable to eat here. Despite the website saying they were open, we arrived and they were closed. Very frustrating.

New to Lafayette and this is my first weekend here without my family. Needed a good breakfast place. I had the seafood omelette. The crawfish etouffee was amazing. It was dark and spicy. This is a must check out for breakfast/brunch. read more

Great food and customer service! The seafood omelet was stuffed with shrimp and crawfish!! Delicious! The beignets were fantastic! We went for brunch and enjoyed eggs, grits, sausage, potatoes, etc. If you are in the mood for some good seafood, brunch, lunch,- try Emma's! You will leave full and satisfied! read more

Just tried Emma's Cafe for the first time. The service and food were great! Neat place !!! read more

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So disappointed! We walked in and there were three tables that needed to be bussed, so we were waiting before we sat down. The wait staff looked at us like we were crazy. We asked to have a table bussed, then finally sat down. We waited about 10 minutes and no one even came to get a drink order. We had to get our own menus even. No one bothered to even speak to us, even though at least four people walked past us. Another couple that came in right before us had drinks and ordered. We just got up and left. I know this place has been around for a long time, but they definitely didn't impress us. read more

Took my family there for brunch after my daughter's college graduation. LOVELY! There was a goos selection for all tastes and everything was great. I recommend a reservation for a large group but they were able to accommodate several. Thy are attached to Bailey's making the facility quite roomy. Super menu, good service, cloth napkins and real silverware make this my choice next time, too! read more

Ema's Cafe - Hot tea with a lovely brunch. - Cafes Near Me - Lafayette, Louisiana

I really enjoy Bailey's buffet brunch, and since Ema's Cafe is now part of Bailey's, I decide to give it a shot. The employees here was nice and helpful. The waitress was interactive with us, without being over attentive, which is always a plus. We had the following: - Chicken Fried Steak & Eggs - this was pretty decent, not the best, but decent enough to consume - Cajun Benedict - over cook poached eggs, major fail. One thing that is needed is a perfect poached egg.. and it did not deliver at all.. and this dish was way too salty - French Toast - nothing really special about this dish, just plain ole french toast - Cinnamon Roll with Walnuts - pretty good cinnamon roll, we wanted pecans, but they were out of pecans, so we got walnuts, which was equally delicious Being that this place is decent, I might return.. read more

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Maybe I go on a bad day; maybe the reviews are fake, but it's hard to screw up biscuits and gravy. They succeeded. Biscuit pretty good, with a whole piece of very cold and not entirely cooked piece of sausage on each half covered in about a tablespoon of packaged gravy. (Also cold). Not enough potatoes on the side to even closely fill the plate. I thought about just leaving without eating to get something elsewhere but for $8 decided to stick it out. Once and done. read more

Service was by no means fast. Food was meh. Served room temperature. Food not worth the price.

save your self some time and money, the orange juice was from concentrate, the food was cold and horrible, they didn't charge us the bill cause we complained everything was awful. The waitress told us that they are having a lot of complains, we felt sorry for her cause is not her fault read more

Had a wonderful experience at Ema's this morning. Very quaint and quiet place. Was immediately greeted by our server who had a great sense of humor and held friendly conversations with all of her tables. Very warm and welcoming. Great menu selection and generous portion sizes! Can't wait to go back again! read more

Ema's Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Lafayette, Louisiana

The food is delicious, and there are plenty of choices. Great service. We'll definitely eat here again!

Came from out of town and I knew I had to stop by! I had the fried shrimp and everything about the meal was great and the staff was very friendly. Will definitely be back!! read more

How can anyone say ANYTHING but good things about this place and the very humble and generous owner Mr Haq, that so generously provides Thanksgiving Day meals each year to hundreds of people in the area. A blessing to our community! Thank you Mr Haq for all you do! While it has been a while since I have eaten there, when I have, the food was Fantastic for brunch! I am reminded that I Must go back soon! read more