Oh wow, this place is like walking into a portal where you're instantly placed into a world filled only with elders. This isn't a terrible thing, but I did find it amusing when I decided to take my boyfriend to this spot and saw nothing but senior citizens. It took a little while to be seated but I didn't mind that. I ordered a garden omelette and asked for country potatoes and hotcakes. The omelette and potatoes were pretty good, though I thought that there was too much onions in the potatoes. My boyfriend ordered the bacon omelette and hashbrowns and thought it was good as well. My boyfriend also ordered hotcakes like I did and this is the only negative thing I have to say about the food. The hotcakes were not the best, they were grainy and dry. My boyfriend had to drown them in syrup to get any moisture. Overall, it wasn't a terrible experience, but I would definitely not order the hotcakes if I came again. read more

Delicious food. Very friendly staff. Outdated decor. The coffee is quite tasty and you must try their, I believe, homemade boysenberry jam! Yum. read more

I give it a 5 stars, we waited about 10 min to be seated, but they were busy. The food and service both deserve 5 stars. Will definitely be back for our morning "date breakfast" read more

My husband and I had always wanted to try this place mainly due to it's name. We figured a place with the words "garden" and "cafe" would be more health friendly or at the very least up to date. We were pretty disappointed immediately upon stepping foot in the restaurant. It's just really uninviting inside and my initial instinct was to turn around and walk out but we decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. The service was bad. It was a long time before anyone took our drink order and even longer before anyone took our food order. Then when the food came out it was practically thrown at us with nothing else said or asked. At this point I just wanted to eat and get out of there as soon as possible. None of the servers or staff were friendly. It was almost like it bothered them to have to serve us. We felt uncomfortable and before the food was even out we started discussing what kind of tip to leave for such rudeness. That wasn't the worst of it once we paid, which was an unnecessarily long process in itself, my husband and I began to feel sick to our stomachs. As we were walking to our car we both commented on how sick we felt from the food, mind you I had a salad and he had a burger. The very next day I ended up with a horrible intestinal virus that left me out of commission for 5 days. One of those days I spent 6 hours at the Urgent Care with an IV in my arm due to the illness. I have no hard evidence or proof that this place made me sick but all I can say is that upon leaving the restaurant I did not feel well and it only got worse from there. My salad had chicken in it and my husband had a bite. He said he felt sick the rest of the day and even woke up the following day feeling a little ill. I, however, ate the entire salad and was sick for 5 days! Maybe it was the food maybe it wasn't, all I know is that this place isn't worth taking the risk again. We will not be returning. read more

My husband and I went for breakfast this past Sunday morning and were seated in the back of the restaurant - which was fine with us, at first. However, after the party at the table next to us left they were seating a very group there. But the large party did not all fit in the table. This apparently was a regular group and they were told that as soon as we were finished they would seat the rest of their party at our table. So we were then literally surrounded by 5 or 6 of these folks standing directly behind us while we were eating! It was the most uncomfortable situation and so we didn't even finish our breakfast and left - essentially we were ran off by these rude people (a group of senior citizens coming after church). In fact the waitress even came by and told them it would just be a few minutes even though we had just received our food. We paid our bill, left a minimal tip and will never return! When we got in our car we just looked at each and had to laugh - we were just surrounded by a group of senior citizens and pressured to give up our seats! If I had not been raised to respect my elders I would have had a very different response to their rude behavior! So......... If you don't want to be a victim of senior citizen bullying do not eat here!!!! read more

I'm still giving this place 5 stars. This was my third time there and they have always been smiling, helpful. The food was great as usual. Now let me tell you why the 5 stars. They aren't for the food which was great but for the service. I walked in on Friday morning the 26th and was met by a wall of people. It was standing room only. In booths where there were only 2 people the waitresses were asking if it would be ok to seat other people with them. No one refused. I was by myself and volunteered to have 3 other people who were by themselves to join me. Have never seen the place so crowded for breakfast. People were coming in and people going out so fast there should have been a revolving door. Now did this influx of people slow down the arrival of food? No Way! I had my food within 20 min. or less. They had one girl at the checkout station just checking people out going as fast as she could and never lost her smile. The other girls would take turns seating people just to keep the flow going. Like I said 5 stars for the service, it was over the top. Hell the food speaks for itself. I forgot to mention that on top of being very busy they were in the process of taking down all their X-mas decor. read more

Went in for breakfast. The waitress was walking around talking on the phone. She handed me coffee which I did not order, did not want, and did not drink. She never said a word. A minute later she dropped a menu on the table and walked off, still talking on the phone. She remained on the phone for over 5 minutes. She did not give any service while on the phone. The service went down hill from there. I did get an nice meal, plus a bill that included the coffee I did not order. When i challenged the charge, she laughed and said she always just included the charge. I don''t need to be given 'royalty' treatment. But she never said 'Hello' 'Welcome' 'Hi' 'Thank You' or even 'Kiss My Grits' Obvioulsy, this restureant will not survive the Modesto scene. At least, i will not return. And I would suggest others do not waste their time or money at thsi place. read more

Garden cafe? Where's the garden, the tacky mural on the wall? Anyway....the food is basic. Location is good. Interior decoration is crazy-bad. Service is ALWAYS a disaster. I'm a server myself and can't believe how bad these chicks are. My mother and I actually complained and the owner(?)- a hugely condescending woman at the register, argued with us and defended the incident. Do yourself a favor and avoid this nasty hole in the wall. read more

I tried to give the benefit of the doubt, but My Garden cafe is as bad as the reviews imply. If you can get past the tacky decor, the restaurant feels dingy. The menus were greasy and the floor was sticky. I ordered French toast to go. Table syrup not maple, butter was liquid and separated. There were pieces of hash brown on top of my toast. The toast itself was dry inside and tasted overwhelmingly of onion. All of the food must be cooked on the same dirty grill with the same dirty utensils. Gross. I'd love to support a locally owned restaurant but at least I don't have to worry about food poisoning at IHOP read more

WORST SERVICE! In Modesto. Hey Blondies! Get to work! Seriously, standing around or hiding is not being a waitress... No refill on coffee, order wrong...Terrible service and attitude. Used to be my favorite, never going back. Maybe Racist? White seniors get all the attention. Don't expect much customer service or chit chat if you are Asian, Mexican etc... Waitress, middle aged blonde thinks she's all that..You're Not! Maybe 20 years ago. Very disappointing. Food ok, but better off at a Perkos or Salida cafe etc... read more

It's success has more to do with a lack of competition in the area, it's unique name, clean fast food and this is the problem. Everything is geared around them making money. The omelette I ordered seemed hastily put together and not quite cooked all the way through.mi felt rushed. It was noisy because they are packed. Herd mentality. Nothing special. Good name for marketing purposes but you are just a part of a herd to them to put money in their pockets. They really don't care. When I complained, "oh, I'm sorry, you should have said something." Isn't that what I just did? I would rather starve than eat there again. read more

French toast was the only good thing. And that's because I dipped it in the chocolate from the biscuit w/chocolate gravy. Potatoes had no flavor. I asked for strawberry jam for my English muffin. Got NO muffin. Ask for hot sauce. Got no hot sauce. Hate when I TIP out on to-go orders and don't check it cause I'm assuming they listen to my order and bag it up correctly. Place looks really old inside. Not saying I wouldn't go back but I don't recommend it. There are plenty of other good breakfast spots in Modesto to go too. read more

Eh I am saddened by the downfall of My Garden Cafe. Not sure if they got too big for their britches, they do have a few now. Maybe they're just too busy and the quality has gone down? The service is still great, but the food is lacking big time. I've gone twice in the last few weeks hoping to recreate that delish magic, nope. The portions are tiny now, and this girl can eat! The food just didn't taste the same either, their breakfast potatoes used to be so good. read more

I LOVE this place!! The girls in my family always go to Nails By David, in the same parking lot, and it is our tradition to go to Garden Cafe right after. I love the food here so much!!!! If you go there you have to try the biscuits and chocolate gravy! Its delicious! The waiters and waitresses are always so friendly ! Hands down my favorite place to go for breakfast! read more

I really like the food here - they (used to, it appears....) have a good variety, give huge portions, and it is delicious. Prices are decent although the waffles are good deals. But the customer service is where it falls flat. Last time we went, we waited around 20 minutes to have our orders taken. And forget about refills. Meanwhile, there's 5-6 waitresses standing around in front of the kitchen conversating with each other. It sounds as if its changed ownership from what others say. read more

You can get better food at Denny's. The food is not that great at all. I wish they had better breakfast! I was so hoping for a good place to eat. :( read more

We've been here muliply times by a reluctant choice! Its all touch and go service and food quality! Its never the same! EVER!

Always GREAT food and delicious! Big portions and one of the best home cooked meals! Absolutely fav breakfast place in Modesto!

Long time customer of the Ceres location, but I think not anymore. Tried to go there for breakfast with my wife this morning, and did not have a pleasant experience. My wife is disabled, and there is only one section of the restaurant that is not booth seating, but has actual tables and chairs where she can be comfortably seated. We went to try and sit at the tables and were told that we cannot sit there, that some group or another is going to have a meeting there later. That pretty much left us with NO handicapped seating available. We left and took our trade elsewhere. It must be nice to have a business that is so successful that you feel OK letting people leave your establishment rather that be bothered with trying to accommodate a disabled customer. I wonder if this is their idea of complying with the Americans With Disabilities Act? We felt unwelcome, and there was zero effort made to assist us at all. read more

If you want bad service and poor food quality then come here......... Sad I gave this place 5 stars a few years ago...... But the food quality had gone down and the same rude waitress that would rather talk and eat her own breakfast while the customers are waiting and PAYING for their food wait on her smh..... Came her for 15+ years only server I would keep is trista or maybe you should have her train your staff because she is the only one who actually does a great job..... But don't worry I won't be coming back or recommending this place to anyone read more

Tried this place out Sunday afternoon from a recommendation and it's a nice spot I must say. Crowded from after church crowd but sat at counter and were immediately taken care of. Lots if options at decent prices. Gonna go back for breakfast as we ended up doin lunch. Very clean and staff is friendly. read more

The service was good, but the food really upset my stomach. I had the breakfast burrito with sausage. It was alright, but the sour cream tasted a bit expired. I'm guessing that's what caused the stomach ache and everything else that came along. Probably won't be coming back here. read more

Well, strike 3. We will NEVER be back. Went for my son's graduation brunch. I ordered eggs benedict and my son ordered a turkey club with NO tomato My plate was mediocre at best and my son's sandwich HAD tomato and NO TURKEY!!!!!!!! By the time, a waitress could be hailed to our table... (not our waitress by the way - she was nowhere to be found), I was 2 bites away from being finished. Five minutes later my son's sandwich arrived to our table. NOT WORTH THE $28.95 FOR A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE, not acceptable customer service and mediocre food. Much better restaurants in the area to choose from. read more

I had lunch here a few days ago...Always wanted to try it...Wonderful sandwiches and huge glasses of Pepsi...I will always give a thumbs up to a restaurant that serves Pepsi over Coke...I had the grilled chicken breast with ortega chilis...Very very good...Only complaint I have is the fries...They are the crinkly ones and not very good...I look forward to having breakfast here sometime, if I can get up that early!! read more

One of my favorite breakfast places ever, located in a very convenient place (right off of standiford and tully), its a great family breakfast/lunch place, don't think they are open for dinner. If you come during rush hours on weekends service will be somewhat slow because they are so busy, but the meal will definitely make up for it. My favorite is their garden omelet, it has tasty fresh veggies and most meals are served with hashbrowns/breakfast potatoes and pancakes/toast/biscuits. They also bring out a homemade jam for toast and pancakes, its absolutely amazing! read more

Great breakfast. Omelets are are great! Gets a bit busy sometimes. But, worth waiting a little. I used to go to the one in Ripon quite often. I recommend. read more

Normally don't write reviews but feel obligated to try and save this restaurant from going out of business. Took myself out to breakfast here on Monday. Hostess Adrienne sat me and brought me coffee and water after 5min. She was busy bussing tables, hostessing, cashiering and bringing out drinks and food for servers. Hardest worker I saw at this restaurant. Server finally came after 10 more min. I watched a single and party of 4 leave after waiting over 10min. I ordered 1egg scrambled with bacon and a waffle. Coffee cup now empty. Refilled 10min later. Foisting was 15min. Egg came flat (cooked on grill), bacon lifeless, flat and hard. Must have been cooked 4hrs earlier. Waffle was only part that was good. Asked for check 2X. Gave Adrienne hostess a $5tip and server 15% tip. Saw manager or owner (woman)come out from the back once and went behind cash register to get something and ignored people waiting and took off again for the back? How can people in this area put up with poor service and inexcusable food. Breakfast cooked properly and fresh is not difficult. Hope they wake up or sell to an owner operator. My background is 30years in restaurants as a trainer for General Managers of Chili's and TGIFridays. read more

The service is terrible. Like unforgivable terrible. I gave them three tries, but when the servers can't break away from their personal conversations to take orders or to refill a beverage, that is a management fail. I had my coffee cup and my water empty at the edge of the table for 20 minutes and had to listen to the staffs personal conversation and cackling laugh. Get it together ladies. read more

Employees were helpful but it was a very busy day so service was slow(er). GREAT food though and very reasonably priced!

Was there this past Saturday around 7:00 a.m. and the staff was very friendly and took our order right away. I was impressed with the quality of the food. My daughter's pecan waffle had pecans pieces in the batter as well as sprinkled on top and it was cooked the way a waffle should be, crisp on the outside, tender inside. My avocado bacon omelette was huge. I asked for a to go box and it came right away so I could put a third of it away to take home along with the huge biscuit. Impressed with the quality of the omelette, lots of bacon and no skimping on the avocado either. The hash browns tasted like honest hash browns, didn't taste like the freezer. I'm from Oakland and I'm picky. Next time I'm in Modesto, this will be my 'go to' place for breakfast. read more

Always a great place to get some good food. No matter what location food is still consistent. Family favorite!

This is our favorite place, we have eaten here for years. The food is really good. This place is usually pretty packed which says more than most of the reviews on here that are bizzarre!! This is not a health food place, yes it's called My Garden but don't read into that, the owner just likes plants. read more

The food is good, but comparably speaking, not exceptional. Your prices are way too high. I went there with two of my grand children and the bill (before the tip) was over $41....too much. I will not patronize there again. Disappointed. Give us a break. Done. read more

Was visiting family in the area and they wanted to go here. It's fairly diner-y and the menu is what you'd expect. I'm a huge chicken fried steak fan so of course opted for that. It was GOOD. The gravy was GOOD. So why 2 stars? The hash browns were INEDIBLE. They were beyond overcooked. How the cook for one thought they were okay to serve is beyond me and and how the waitress/server felt it okay to serve them is strike #2. Everyone else at the table was mostly satisfied with their meal. If in area again, I "might" go back. read more

We decided to try a new place for breakfast. This was a great experience. The staff was extremely friendly and the service for excellent. I can't believe we just found this place. Kathy was especially nice. She had a smile on her face and made us laugh. We will be back! read more

I like the atmosphere. We tried this place because we had a buy one get one free. I likes the homey feel. I feel like the workers could be a little more friendly and attentive. The food was good nothing special. Prices decent. I would give it another try. read more

My best friend and I ventured over to this little place yesterday morning. We were promptly seated (almost all the tables were full when we arrived) and served coffee and ice water. The menu had good variety, but the service was slow. We both enjoyed our food and our waitress was pleasant. Let me tell you, though, the decor was BEYOND cheesy. Yikes! read more

We were looking for a place for breakfast this Sunday. Went to Yelp and My Garden Cafe popped up so we checked it out. The food was exactly what I was expecting. We both had omelets and they were pretty good. The diet coke was great. read more

I've been there twice on the first occasion I had the breakfast special ham and eggs 5.99 it came with your choice of pancakes toast or biscuits and gravy I went with the pancakes all was really good.On the second trip yesterday 2/21/10 we had lunch I had cheeseburger with fruit 6.99 and it was VERY good the fruit was fresh and with a nice presentation when I got the bill I noticed they charged me 7.99 for the 6.99 cheeseburger and my wife's was8.25 the menu says 7.99 how does a waitress make the same mistake twice on one bill ??? The food is good and the service is adequate read more

You get what you order/pay for. No flair, generic food. It was alright, however nothing to brag about.