Your regular diner experience. Nice comfy food. Warm coffee, slightly watery but they give you the whole pot. Large pancakes. Nice details on the walls. Good prices. Great service. read more

Poor Richards Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Kalamazoo, Michigan

We loved this place. Went every Saturday for breakfast for at least 20 years. We haven't been there in a few years until this morning. What a disappointment. 2 adults and 1 child. Breakfast cost 46 dollars. The something we've ordered for years. What the hell happened. My wife's biscuits and gravy was cold. The toast was cold and the sausage was burnt. Richard would be pissed off to see what's going on. We won't be going back. read more

Normally we like breakfast here, our last visit was ok at best. Biscuits and gravy was ok, hash browns with peppers and onions was bad. Breakfast sandwich was nothing special. Seemed rushed out but place was pretty dead. read more

The restaurant stinks, it's smells like dirty basement. In need of a deep clean/renovation.

This homegrown local breakfast/ brunch spot is exactly where you'd want to eat at on a Sunday with your family. GREAT service, DELICIOUS food, VERY affordable and just an overall great environment! 20/10 will be back again. read more

Great service and food was awesome! Food came out fresh and the portions were perfect. Thanks guys! read more

Great food, great service, very reasonably priced. We will return, they have been located here for ever, we need to support our community. read more

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Excellent food, excellent service, and one of my favorite things about diners: the server brought a whole pot of coffee and left it on my table. Yaaas!!! I'm so glad I came here this morning. It's been well over a month since any restaurant was good enough "to write home about." The food, btw, was perfectly cooked. Eggs Benedict aren't super easy to make, so I was very surprised that I could get them with crispy, golden hash browns for under eight dollars! Poor Richard's has provided me with a very auspicious start to my day! Also, Pokémon. read more

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This diner has been around a long time but we have never really managed to check out its food. It's in a part of town through which we never drive, and it's close to no one we know. But we decided to have an early breakfast there this morning. Our first impressions were that it was spacious, it was clean, and the service was quite good. And there was a large, well kept aquarium. We sat in the dining room closest to the parking lot that lies to the east of the building. We noticed that someone has a fascination for lighthouses. We were the third and fourth customers in the building, and the other two were talking to the server close to the kitchen entrance. My girl ordered a water and Poor Scramble; I had a coffee and the Hungry Man. The Poor Scramble is described as "three eggs scrambled with sausage, bacon, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, and hash browns smothered with cheese served with toast." All we tasted were unseasoned hash browns. My Hungry Man is described as "three eggs, two sausage links, one sausage patty, two bacon strips, one ham slice, hash browns and toast." My eggs were over hard. The eggs and the sausage links were fine, the bacon and sausage patty were zeros, and the ham slice tasted like ham but was chewy. The hash browns looked as if they had waved at the flat top on the way to our table. When I have potatoes, whether it comes as hash browns or home fries (cubed or sliced), I like to see a crispy exterior. I'll even tolerate a whole lot of char on my potatoes. There was zero browning on my hash browns. The raisin toast we both had and my coffee were fine. I suppose I can't complain about inaccurate advertising since the restaurant does call it a poor scramble. I chalk the scramble up to unimaginative execution by the kitchen. The flavor profile for the scramble should have been more than just unseasoned potatoes. Following my often stated theory that professional cooks should be able to put out food better than I could prepare, I find that didn't happen this morning. And cooks that treat salt as if it's an exotic ingredient are not cooks that can make food even barely palatable. I was going to be less negative about my dish. I was going to...if I hadn't spent better part of my subsequent morning feeling nauseous and dry heaving. read more

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This place is pretty average nothing spectacular but not very bad food. The cinnamon rolls are great though. The staff was down to earth though. read more

Poor Richards Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Kalamazoo, Michigan

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Food is fantastic and the service is wonderful. We had a good sized group and the servers were excellent.

Food was good, cheap, and fast. Coffee was the best I've had at a diner, service was wonderful. Perfect breakfast spot.

When Nate Bandit of Louisville's Bourbon Bandits described this diner as a place "that gives you the meat sweats," I knew I had to try it. Poor Richard's offers indoor smoking, bottomless cups of coffee and meat-intensive platters of greasy goodness. On day one, I had the chicken fried steak, three eggs, hashbrowns and toats. The steak arrived smothered in gravy. The hashbrowns were perfectly crispy, and the toast was two FULL slices of toast. It was enough food to two. I ate the whole thing for less than $6. On day two, I had the biscuits and gravy (again with toast and hashrowns). It was delicious and hugely filling. Forgot your smokes? You can buy some at the counter. This place is hangover slayer, and every morning is a low-key party. The tables are big and can be joined together for maximum mob action. Warning: If you dislike smoke or trashy folk, avoid this place. read more

Poor Richards Cafe - The Hungry Man Breakfast - Cafes Near Me - Kalamazoo, Michigan

Poor Richards is Kalamazoo's most legendary greasy spoon. This is definitely THE spot for a dirt-cheap 5:00 A.M. hangover cure. I ordered the Hungry Man breakfast this morning, and I'm still pretty full seven hours later. Hash browns, two slices of toast, three eggs, ham, sausage patty, two sausage links, and two slices of bacon ... all for around $7? Come ON. Service is always friendly and fast. Decor is a kitschy nautical theme. They seem oddly proud to offer a smoking section, and they seem to have it ventilated well, as I've never smelled a whiff of smoke while there. Where do local guys eat breakfast before a day at the plant? Here. read more

Great! Just great! Friendly staff, perfect atmosphere, terrific food, terrific prices. The menu is so good that I find it hard not to back a truck up to the door and order it all! Really! Just outstanding!The breakfasts are on point. Can't do better! Will definitely go back again and again! In fact, I'm gassin' up the truck as we speak! read more

Cooks had no masks on at all while cooking and placing food out to be served. Several wait staff personnel had masks under nose or off completely while walking past tables and removing plates while guests are still seated. One unmasked individual was seen removing food items from refrigerator. This establishment was very compliant in the past, and it was a real disappointment to witness this today. read more

Very poor service to regular customer. Called to order, was put on hold, as I heard the person name me as she put me on hold and never answered back. Called back 65 times to hear a busy signal. If you don't need my business, no problem!! read more

Saturday morning breakfast spot after visiting Farmers Market downtown. Ham and cheese omelette, using Swiss cheese instead. Made the omelette much creamier. In my opinion, the key to a great breakfast is toast and potatoes. I do not like the potatoes here, but I take them home and my dogs tear them up! Another great choice is the breakfast sandwich on Texas toast .... solid choice. read more

As classic as a classic diner can get. The usuals -- eggs, toast, hashbrowns and great columbian coffee. The atmosphere is fun -- large fish tanks with eels and boat pictures galore. Being in Michigan, be prepared for cigarette smoke along with your omelette - but this is a place where you'd expect the waitress to take your order with a smoke hanging out the side of her mouth... haha. Cheap. Perfect. read more

Quaint and friendly place with excellent customer service; obvious that many of the patrons were regulars. The patrons exchanged pleasantries and the servers the same. The food was tasty and fresh from kitchen: substitutions and requests were honored with smiles. Awesome readiness of beverages. Highly recommended!!! read more

Best bang for your buck. My family has been coming here for years. The food is pretty simple, nothing fancy. I would recommend the country fried steak or cinnamon roll warmed up. Service is always quick, waitstaff is always friendly. Don't expect to be blown away by looks, it's a hole in the wall type of restaurant. read more

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One of the only things I miss about Michigan. Oh Richard, we were so young. We were just kids you and I, but we made love like a couple of seasoned Jiggalos. Well seasoned. Not unlike your frozen meats. XO. -T. read more

I would place Poor Richards Cafe near the top of 10 things I miss about Michigan. For me, they define everything that an American breakfast and diner should be. Do they still give out 50 cent coins for change? It's been about 6 years since I've had a meal here and I still miss it so. read more

Not a good experience. Sunday morning at 8am and had about 7 wait staff milling about and socializing, while we waited for our order to be taken. (And there was maybe one other table of customers). Food didn't taste very good, the bacon was sad and the Alaskan French toast was a poor choice. Won't be going back. Two stars because price was cheap at least. read more

Best burgers ever plus the owner is super nice you won't see him in his office he's out there working just like the other employees.

Walking through the door, I was greeted with so many smiles. It's a walk in, take a seat, and we come to you type of restaurant, which is really cool, as there is no waiting in line to be seated. And yes, the tables were cleaned promptly, so the seating choices pretty good. Menus were already at the table, which was a huge plus. A server came to take our drink order immediately. Then it was time to order food. The sever gave us time to look at the menu, once, twice, and a third time. Ok, we were really mesmerized by the really cute theme inside - so many lighthouses, ships, and shells. Finally, we ordered. (The cheap prices surprised me, because the food comes in a hearty amount. I felt like they were testing my mettle.) We ordered the biscuits and gravy, omelette, pancake, and not one, but two sides of bacon, because I love bacon. They were a bit salty but still good. The people working were really funny, happy, and made us feel so welcomed. I can't wait for my next visit back! read more

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I work nights and needed to kill some time after work while waiting for the transmission clinic to open in the morning, so I decided to try the breakfast at Poor Richard's. Had never been before. The sausage and cheese omelet was thin, the two sausage patties inside were barely warm. The waitress never stopped back -- offered no refill on the drink. I paid at the register, my waitress took the receipt and my cash. As she was handing me the change I stopped her and handed back three dollars for her tip. She took the money and put it in her pocket. Never looked up. Never said "Thank you". I won't be back. read more

Pancakes are huge and fluffy. Hashbrowns are undercooked by default, but they'll do them "extra crispy" and they're just right. Sandwiches are very basic, they are exactly what they say they are. However, the wait staff is happy to tweak your food however you like, add extras, etc. Employees are all super friendly, except for the dude at the counter who's a bit gruff. Great value for your money, always plenty of seating. Good for big groups, there's never a wait, even on Sunday at 12:30pm They're quick to take your order, even faster to deliver your food, and they leave the coffee pot on the table. As a result, sometimes the coffee is tepid, but I prefer not to have to flag down a waitress for a refill. tl;dr: food is good (not great), low prices, friendly people, very fast. read more

Came here because it was close to where we were and they open early. I would not go back to Poor Richard's ever again. Food was nasty, had the Eggs Benedict. Took only about 5 min to bring it out to us so it felt like they didn't take their time or need to. Tasted like canned food. Forced myself to eat most of it because I was paying for it. All but one staff never smiled once. Didn't get sick but still, would rather go get a breakfast biscuit from McDs. read more

I have had better. I am not really sure why people think it is the best place for breakfast. It was my first time there & I had high hopes. I ordered the omelet with sausage gravy. I had to add hot sauce & pepper to make it good & I was disappointed with how thin it was. Also, the sourdough toast was only okay. Not sure if I will go back. read more

Restaurant was clean, staff were happy to serve you and that about sums up the positives. The food (I had the chipped beef on toast, hash browns and an egg over easy) was bland and the portions were quite small. Maybe being from the country has led me to expect an unreasonably hearty portion from a breakfast restaurant, but the amount would have been disappointing even if it were for a light lunch. It should be noted that I'm an average size guy with a smaller than average appetite for my 6' 175lb frame. I received one piece of Texas toast lightly covered with a white sauce that I assume contained flakes of meat, but I didn't see any from my angle. There was a ribbon of hash brown down the center, with the aforementioned egg all alone on the other side of the platter. My friend had the ham and cheese omelet, which she had no complaints about, but to me resembled a larger than normal 99 cent Taco Bell soft taco (read "flat and unappetizing). If Richard really is poor, it's not because he spends too much on ingredients. read more

I have lived in Kalamazoo County my whole life and today was my first visit. Nothing fancy, but the food was delicious. Very friendly staff and the prices were dirt cheap! Be sure to try their house made chips! read more

My husband and I usually order carryout and the food is always exceptional. Today, we decided to dine-in, which was a mistake. Although there weren't very many people dining in, at the time of our visit; it still took over 10-15 minutes for our order to be taken. I ordered Country Fried Steak and received a Philly Cheese Steak omelette. Luckily a different waitress brought our food out and was very nice about getting the order corrected. Also, the waitress at the register, took off a couple dollars, without me even asking. However, after today's experience, I don't think I would dine-in but rather order carry out. Their food is always exceptional; even if it's the wrong order! It's reasonably priced too! read more

Great food, fast service and a great price. What else is there to say. Great neighborhood cafe.

Horrible service. Our server never checked on us and never came around with refills. Coffee was cold. Food was mediocre.

Good food fast, friendly staff however based on the way they run the place you may not see your waitstaff much after you receive you food. I'm typically there hungover so I require a lot of water so that was a downfall. Staff is however very friendly. I'm not crazy about the decor but that doesn't deter me from a hangover brunch here and there. read more

Usually good service but I ordered breakfast for pick-up today and didn't verify that the waitress heard/understood my order. Specifically asked for peppers and onions in my hashbrowns with cheese sauce as well. Didn't get any of it. I ordered the philly cheese steak omelette and there was no peppers or onions in that either (to me it's not a "philly" cheese steak without them!) also my toast was laid across the top of the omelette so there was cheese from the omelette all over half the toast. I have ordered pick-up several times with no problems so this is an isolated incident for me but from now on I'll make sure they repeat my order back to me. read more

I often have breakfast at Poor Richards. The servers are always friendly. The service is prompt. The food is well prepared. No complaints. read more

Love this place! A diner at it's best with the cost for a meal that keeps bringing me back. It's a must see if you're in Kalamazoo!

I had posted a review on Poor Richard's Cafe's Facebook page about my very bad experience. I recently checked it to see if they had perhaps commented back and I missed it because I believe as a company, you should try to resolve things with the customer. I would have been happy to take it down if they had taken the time to try and contact me and tried to correct the situation in some way. Instead, I could not find my post and believe that they must have deleted it. So I will post my review here. I went into Poor Richard's Café recently and I can't complain about the waitresses or the food. It was good and prompt, and the waitresses were friendly. However, I was absolutely appalled at the way I was treated by the man who took my money at the counter. I had ordered hot water and put my own tea bag in it. I do this mostly because predominately restaurants use Lipton tea, which contains corn starch and I am very allergic to corn starch. So when we received our bill, we were charged for tea and I assumed the waitress made a mistake and forgot that she hadn't given me tea. It was Sunday and decently busy, and mistakes are definitely made. At the counter, I pointed it out to the older gentleman at the counter, and kind of laughed saying I sound so cheap but I used my own tea bag, I didn't order any tea. Instead of just saying "I'm sorry, but that is our policy", I received an extremely rude attitude saying that if I bring my own tea I still have to pay for it. Disagreement with the policy aside, it was only a question and I absolutely did not deserve the rudeness. A simple explanation would have sufficed and I would have known for future visits. I also felt that he seemed surprised when I still tipped my waitress more than 20%, which also seemed like a completely unnecessary way for him to behave. I wasn't being cheap, I was looking out for my very severe allergies, and I absolutely will never be back to Poor Richard's. I absolutely do not deserve to be spoken to in such a manner. read more