This place could and deserves to be so much better. Sadly for such a wonderful community and destination little town such as Saybrook, this needs to be fixed. No organization upon entering as to open tables. Limited wait staff who apparently aren't equipped to deal with the traffic, let alone engage in conversation and the amount of time it takes to place an order.... please fix this Paperback Cafe. read more

The best steak and cheese wrap I've ever had. Look forward to more. Also I go here for breakfast occasionally and you will not get a better omelet anywhere else. All the food is fantastic and made to order. You read more

I love the Paperback Cafe in Old Saybrook! The food is great, the Montenegro Scramble is my favorite go to breakfast! I love sitting outside during the summer, watching all of the action on Main Street! It's an awesome community that supports its small businesses! read more

This spot was pretty busy with local and is your typical diner fare on the lower end. The service was very good but the food not great to so so. Our hash browns were cold, I guess cooked before the breakfast rush at 9am but left out of a warmer? The pancakes were over cooked and could double as frisbees. Coffee was mediocre but hot. 2 stars because the service was good. But the food deserved 1 star. read more

An excellent first impression for me. The atmosphere was relaxed, nicely decorated and clean. The staff were friendly and welcoming the entire time my friend and I spent in the restaurant. Our server was attentive and knew the menu very well answering all our questions. The coffee my friend had was just right. My spiced chai late was great! The meal I ordered (the Salvador omelet) was excellent. We both finished with seconds of our drinks as well as two fresh-still warm- lemon poppy muffins. read more

Updated review: New ownership is not an improvement. I've tried and tried this place under new management and it's just not happening. The former glory will never be recaptured, and after many returns filled with hope and ending in disappointment... I will tell the final tale of woe. A yummy unique place is now yet another uninspired breakfast joint, with none of the joyful foodie explorations of the past. I won't bore you with descriptions of banal omelette combos, the disappearance of unique breads, greasy potatoes, or the dreary feeling of the interior, once so bright, now so in need of an update. My final last experience::: I ordered an egg sandwich on a bagel. On the menu it's $5 (or so?) with cheese and coffee. I asked to hold the cheese and got the typical lackluster white bread commercial fake bagel with bland eggs. How do diners consistently make these commercially yellow eggs? Are they premixed and sold in a gigantic tub? Coffee used to be so good here... Watery, and yet bitter at the same time. I don't even feel like I'm drinking caffeine Then the bill came and I got charged separately for every item, eggs, bagel, coffee, much more than the bagel sandwich combo I ordered, without cheese. The owner (who was our waitress) didn't think she had made a mistake, she said since I said no cheese, that clearly meant I wanted everything separately, and that's what I was charged for. When I pointed out that it's a little silly to say I wanted her to charge me double, for less food, and that generally when someone orders a sandwich without cheese that usually means a sandwich without cheese. This sort of situation really really annoys me. Business owners who are sneaky because this is a wealthy area, and many people don't even check their bills. It's the last straw for me with this place. I declare the Paperback dead. read more

The service was below average. I had to walk up to the counter with my coffee cup to get refills and there were only three tables between two waitresses. Their burger was absolutely criminal...It was a sad, sad excuse for a burger. Thinner than a McDonalds patty, (They had the nerve to ask how I would like it cooked). The burger cost me $15.50 and it was all bread. Menu specials were sold out and we were not told until we decided on ordering them. The good: Their home fries where the best I ever had. read more

We weren't expecting much considering the 3+ review value, but we were pleasantly surprised. The food was Good, the waitstaff attentive, and prices reasonable. The menu covered the expected range of choices, plus it had a few more unusual but interesting choices. We went here for breakfast and we'd go again given the opportunity. read more

Stopped on beautiful sunny Sunday to eat outside and the whole thing was a big, expensive disappointment. Ordered an egg salad on Rye--simple enough. The skimpy sandwich contained mostly mayonnaise and very little egg--you could not see the white (?) filling without lifting the bread. I never had an egg salad sandwich that looked so puny and dripped liquid. My companion ordered a Philly cheese steak wrap which had overcooked steak-ums type meat that was dry and chewy. Both came with carrot sticks and he ordered the baked fries as an extra, some of which were nice and crispy; some undercooked. We had a coffee and a coke; and it sure did not feel the meal was worth over $40 plus tip. Oh, and it took forever to get our food. read more

The place was a bit tired last summer when we first visited, but the new owner has really turned things around. The food was great, service was friendly and helpful. read more

Been here countless of times over ten years. Quality of food and service has gone way down. Knowing of these prior disappointments I ordered a bagel and hummus. Hummus was an orange color and it was toasted along with the bagel. Odd, but further still, the bagel was burnt, and generally unsatisfactory. I could not finish after bite #2. Needless to say I wasn't surprised considering prior disappointments. I wish they would take note of the poor quality and step up there game. read more

Lovely breakfast good French toast real maple syrup AND alternatives Coffee ok certainly acceptable will go back when in area

The chicken salad with cranberry was very good. The Reuben was also really good. We sat at outdoor tables. Can't recommend the paleo waffles. read more

Great location for breakfast and lunch. Friendly, courteous staff. Delicious pancakes among many items offered. Chicken salad sandwich also my favorite. read more

I'll be nice with 3 stars because I love the town. Breakfast wasn't great. Hash browns were tough to eat, French toast was okay. Bacon tasted like it was made hours ago. Live music was nice. Second time here, though we try again. It will be a while. Too many great choices in town for breakfast. read more

This is a cute cafe in the heart of Saybrook. The menu has a great variety of breakfast items. The service is quick and the food was good. I would recommend this for anyone who is looking for a quick bite on a day of shopping. I did notice at night they have live jazz, which sounds great. read more

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Nice little cafe. Went for breakfast and service was a little slow but not too bad. Food was very good and it was pleasant. I'd go back again. Lot to offer for my vegetarian or health conscience friends! read more

Food is decent but service is terrible. Very disorganized, slow and unfriendly. No method for seating. Waited 10 minutes once seated just to get a menu. Longer for people next to us. read more

Sat down inside with a group of 4 yesterday. Took 15 minutes to order after getting the waitresses attention. Ordered and then waited 40 minutes to get BREAKFAST. The menu is so simple. It's eggs. It's bacon. It's fruit. And I'm not a Karen- it's just breakfast. A cafe should take 20 minutes max to bring out food. They were not even at full capacity. There is no excuse for it to take that long to bring out. Food arrives. The hash browns are defrosted potatoes, absolutely no crisp. Eggs are fully cooked so that was cool. No music playing so the atmosphere was terrible, and the waitress never checked in on us to refill drinks or ask how we were doing. read more

They don't know how to make an iced americano. I think they just poured some old carafe of coffee into a cup of ice water.

I'll start off by saying this is a cumulative review: i've been going to the Paperback for about 4 or 5 years fairly often. So it's obviously not awful, but i feel like i can make some broad statements based on that long-term experience there. The only thing I don't buy about Zoe's assertion that bad service isn't really a problem is that there's no reason the service there should be so awful. Let's see...maybe 12 tables? 2 waitstaff at any given time? That's at least enough to get people menus within...saay...12 minutes of them sitting down? Which is exactly what happened to me yesterday. What it boils down to is that the table service here is god-awful. If you're in any way used to a usual dining experience, you'll probably find yourself frustrated with their poor skills. We're talking common sense stuff, like getting a table clean /before/ seating people. That said, they are always nice. Which makes them harder to be mad at. On the whole, it's decent food at a decent price. Breakfast all day a hell of a lot better than Denny's and pretty good coffee, too. But just beware of the sit-down: my (most recent) frustrating experience was at noon on a Tuesday: sure, it's lunch but it's not exactly as busy as sunday morning breakfast when the church across the street lets out. All i'm saying is they can't really get their shit together with service even on a slow day. read more

A little breakfast, sandwich and salad place on Main Street in Old Saybrook. Came here once and had an ok meal. Not good enough that I would come back if there were other options around though. The menu is gigantic, but I actually had a hard time picking anything that I wanted. In the end I got a mesclun salad with avocado, shrimp, and tomatoes. The shrimp were nicely done and surprisingly tasty. The dressing was on the heavy side and the tomatoes were under ripe. Portion size was ok, but not heaping and I was hungry enough that I was dreaming of flan the entire walk back to my Starbucks encampment. They also left off the caramelized onions and apples (or they were so skimpy that they couldn't be found) on a second dish. Service was ok, but not particularly warm. They had a group service structure so we dealt with a whole bunch of different people, not just one waiter. In the end it is an ok place, but nothing special and not somewhere I would go back before I'd tried all the other alternatives. read more

I find Paperback Cafe to be hit or miss. It tries hard to put out unique egg dishes with exotic breads, but sometimes fails in the execution...or the service. For example, almost every time I have eaten at the Paperback, the melted cheese on my breakfast choice (whether the Costa Rican scramble or baked eggs) is congealed in a blob on my food, as if it had been sitting out for too long. With a stronger focus on warm and efficient service, Paperback would be a solid "three" in my book. read more

Ive enjoyed this place since i was a little kid growing up in old saybrook but today everything changed. i went there for a brunch with my friends who have also loved this place since childhood. we had a great meal. but that was all ruined when it was time to pay we originally we where going to have one check but we realized we didn't have the right amounts too all contribute. we decided to ask for seperate checks barbara rolls her eyes at us and says "are you serious. you guys can't just put a little money together." she sighs and continues to roll her eyes and aggressively gets our change complaining the whole time. she continues to make comments like "see how much work this is." keep in mind me and my friends are only fifteen years old and we left a good tip because we knew it was trouble. we kept our composure sweet but Barbara kept rocking the boat. we were discouraged and frightened. it such a bad experience and i'm upset that this bad interaction has changed my feelings towards this restaurant which i once loved visiting. a kind individual was sweet enough to give us support and reassure us that what we were doing was not wrong. read more

I wanted to like this place. They have a prime location near Walts, the same lot as the Farmer's Market, and really just the heart of the town. The setting inside is quaint. I feel like I'm in my old Family's house with the nautical map, and the built-ins displaying National Geographics and knick knacks. The food? Overpriced, and not great. I know we love details of whats wrong with the food, but folks, its just not memorable. Point blank? You can get a lot better in other places around town. Whats worse? Usually service is a saving grace when the food may be lacking. Nope, not here. I waited 15 minutes for someone to come and give us the check. Oh, wait. I had to ASK for the check because after the plates were dropped off by a different waiter no one came back. Our Male waiter was not friendly, and the female waitress never even made eye contact when I spoke with her. Skip this place. read more

Love - Hate relationship with this place. I really wanted to like this place more than I do. Came here for breakfast on a Saturday morning. We waited at the counter and there was not even an acknowledgment that customers have arrived. When I asked one of the people who work there if there any tables open she looked at me like I was interrupting her day. Once we got a table it was another 10 minutes before anybody came to even offer a cup of coffee. After we placed our order it was another 25 minutes before the food came out, which was not a particularly complex order by the way. Then it was another 40 minutes before someone came to offer a refill on coffee. Highlight is the food is pretty good. It's just painful to go through the process of getting it. The waitstaff seems to go back-and-forth between ambivalence and animosity towards the customers. Very disappointing. read more

Cute cafe on Main Street in Old Saybrook. Inside, there's an energetic and friendly vibe, and a comfortable atmosphere. This is no greasy spoon, although it is comfort food. For breakfast I had the berry French toast, from the "healthy" menu, served with French baguette bread, which actually made it thick and fluffy. The berries are served piping hot and in a rich fruit syrup - hit the spot for sweet breakfast. My husband had an egg sandwich and that was really nice too. Many of the dishes were served with sides of fresh fruit, chicken sausage or fluffy hash browns. Overall I was impressed with the satisfying but non-greasy options for breakfast and brunch. Family friendly too!! read more

I wish they would advertise more these guys are amazing the food is spot on every time. Wonderful location people are so sweet the food is great. A lot of old-timers come here because they know it's a good place read more

Great coffee, I love the chai latte and very reasonably priced. But the service can definitely be an area for improvement. Wait staff is generally friendly but it takes them a while to work their ways to all the table. Food is mediocre. For the Benedict, they just used a sliced cheese on top, so it was very rubbery tasting. The english muffin was very soft and chewy, which I liked. The hash browns were a little overdone, so it was very hard to chew and a lot of it was too charred to eat. Overall just the coffee you order at the front desk is good. The food was disappointing but from my experiences, the wait staff are usually very friendly, they are either understaffed or just need to better learn to manager their people more efficiently to ensure proper service at the tables. read more

We have had great success here for both breakfast and lunch, just haven't had many dinners here. The veggies they use are always fresh and the homemade soups are delicious. And breakfast offers some great omelet selections as well as the standard favorites. Sometimes service can be slow, but never rude or unfriendly from our experience. And I'll say it again - if you're that impatient about the service, pick better company with which to dine. Sit back, enjoy conversation with your dining partner(s) and realize that the good food will be worth it, even if you hit a slow service day. read more

Haha, Anthony yelped the menu comprises "unique egg dishes with exotic breads" and that is true. I ate there a few mornings ago, unsatisfied with the continental motel breakfast choices, and ordered an omelette with red pepper, broccoli, and cheddar cheese; with kielbasa hash browns; with parmesan peppercorn toast. In a word: YUM! The location is meh, tucked inside a strip plaza but it does front the main drag and is popular with regulars (where staff know your name) and tourists like me. read more

Scale: 1-5, 5 is best. Long-time customers of the ppbk.cafe., has its highs and lows. Seems to have changed hands again. Food: 4 Service: 2 Attitude: 1 News flash: you're not doing me a "favor" by taking my money. There are better options in the area. read more

Very good bacon egg and cheese on rye with side of shredded home fries. Would get again.

Stopped her for breakfast while in town for a visit. The Verde omelette was huge and delicious! Staff was wonderful. Coffee was great. Highly recommend. read more

I just had a small cup to-go of the Chocolate Cherry coffee to go. It was DIVINE!! It really wasn't that expensive either, like a dollar something for a small. It would be a cute place to get lunch and bring a good book to get lost in. The people working there were very nice. I love Old Saybrook! read more

I'm a huge Paperback Cafe fan. I love that they serve breakfast through lunch. They use fresh ingredients and their bread is quality. Their stuffed french toast is my favorite thing on the menu but it is pretty heavy. I generally go for the omelette loaded with fresh veggies. Seriously though, what is up with their service? I've gone their for over 2 years and it is always a mess. You have to be willing to ignore the service and go for the food to enjoy this one. On Sundays they usually have a band in the morning and it's a great spot to sit outside while you eat. read more

Pretty average and no disappointments here. Caesar salad w/ grilled chicken was good, and the egg white omelet w/ hash browns were also good. Looks like we just missed a jazz band that was playing on Sunday 11/17/13. Staff was friendly, and the place looked clean. No beer or wine though read more

Bad experience from the moment we walked in to the moment we left. Came in for brunch. Place was busy but there were tables. Stood at the entrance not knowing if we should seat ourselves or wait to be seated. We stood for 10 minutes. Waitresses, waiters all over the place. At least 6 different employees walked by us. No one even LOOKED at us. Finally, I flagged someone down who was working a register 5 feet from us and asked if we could sit. Immediately, upon sitting a waiter came over and took our hot sauce off of our table to give to another table. I use hot sauce on my eggs so I knew I was going to have to track down a hot sauce eventually. My wife ordered a muffin. Out of muffins. We had long already ordered but no food yet, then a single diner sits down next to us. He orders french toast. 10 minutes later he has french toast. I still don't have my eggs and my wife doesn't have her oatmeal. I ordered the mixed scrambled egg dish which comes with bell peppers, onions, etc mixed in and comes with a side of hash browns. Dish arrives, looks fine enough. Took a bite of hash browns - TOTALLY inedible. Can't put my finger on it but it tasted of some kind of chemical, perhaps a cleaning solution plus harsh preservatives. I tried to eat it, doused it in hot sauce, but it gagged me. I'm not a picky eater and griddle potatoes are hard to screw up. I can safely assume they are pre-shredded, bagged, frozen potatoes given the dryness and strange taste and were possibly cooked on a griddle that had just been cleaned but not properly. Tasted nothing of potato. Even my toast had a similar chemical taste. My eggs were totally overloaded with not raw bell peppers as the menu would allude to, but jarred, brined roasted red peppers. Almost an equal amount of them to the egg and completely overpowered the dish because of the strong manufactured flavor and large quantity. Had to flag a random waitress down to refill our coffees. This place just confounds me. 20-25 table restaurant, some empty with 6-7 waiters and all of them running around with their heads cut off frantically. It wasn't THAT busy. Considering the size of the staff, one would think there would be a bit more attentive service. And considering the size of the restaurant, it shouldn't be that challenging to prepare fresh ingredients...i.e. potatoes, peppers. Get your sous's in there an hour earlier every morning and do some food prep!!!!! Jarred and frozen ingredients are unacceptable especially given the local competition that puts out excellent, fresh food with attentive service. I don't need to go to a restaurant to eat heated up, pre-made crap I can buy in a supermarket. I explained the problems with the dish to the waitress in the hopes that they will correct it for the future. The explanation was that she hasn't heard that complaint about the potatoes before and it was probably a build up on the griddle. Wrong response and gross. Bring the dish to the kitchen, have the chef taste the potatoes and course correct. Place is not going to last long like this. The live music is the obvious draw and tourism and vacationers keep business up because there are limited eating options in town, but have to fix this. read more

Nice clean place, good food & coffee. Kid friendly with outdoor seating. Good service. NO WIFI read more

4th time and I'm done. Every time I go, I wait an hour for cold food. I don't need a band playing, I need a hot meal and the check delivered to me on time. This Doesn't happen here read more