The restaurant has a smoking and non-smoking section still reeking of cigarette smoke. Our meals were ok - eggs decent, potatoes good, biscuits were awful (dense and devoid of flavor or moisture), coffee was dismal. Free WiFi if you go to the register for a code. Overall - recommend to smokers only. read more

Super sweet and responsive waitron. Strip mall diner. My chicken fried steak was good and too much food, but my lunchmate's crawfish pie was *really* good. They call it a crawfish pot pie, but it's not... It's two dough-covered pockets. Nothing "pot pie" about it. But really tasty. Okra is great, turnips are too salty and greasy. My lunch was 3 stars, but service and the crawfish pie bump it up to 4. My lunch partner said the coffee was good too. read more

Came for lunch and was not disappointed. Three of us had the fried green tomatoes, roast beef sandwich, French dip, and veggie plate and three pieces of pie. Everything was delicious, prices were great, portions were huge. Everyone was friendly, but our server Alison was fantastic! read more

Love Yelp!!! This place was amazing! Great staff great food! Tomato gravy is my husbands new favorite! A hidden gem in Theodore

So this restaurant pops up every time I search for practically anything. It sits back in the corner of a shopping center so it's not eye grabbing or anything. It's not one of the last mom and pop restaurants but that's the vibe. Rooms covered with clocks (ties to the Time to EAt). and they even still have a smoking section so if smoke smell offends don't even bother. It was noticeable at the door, but not in the separate eating area. I loved the catfish. Hubby got a burger. All was good but the paradise pie BLEW me away. So go for pie ! Takeout available. read more

Never again. I came here after lunch rush, with about 1/2 the restaurant full. It took about 20 minutes for us to get a drink, another hour to get our food, and about 2/3 of that time trying to find our waiter to get stuff we needed. We weren't greeted when we came in and the whole time we were there not one staff member wore a mask. And to add on, how are you a southern inspired restaurant and don't know how to make grits. It tasted like hot, grit filled water. I also wasn't too keen on seeing my waitresses hand in my bowl of baked beans with no gloves on. For 40$ I could've got a lot better quality food from Waffle House, that says a lot. read more

Nice service. Good just ok. Ordered the crawfish pot pie. It wasn't pot pie at all. It was two meat pieces. Like literally. I love meat pies, snd these were ground meat pies. I even could tell the brand. There wasn't a single crawfish in the entire dish. I even looked at pics on their yelp page that clearly showed crawfish pies compared to my meat pies. I pointed the error out to the waitress. She talked to the kitchen. They insisted it was ground crawfish. I'm from New Orleans, I know the difference between ground meat and crawfish. I'm glad I don't have allergies and im not a vegetarian. read more

Great food. I would've given the place a 5 star, but the only reason is because service was really slow (our waitress forgot about our table after we received our food) and it wasn't that busy. Besides that, the food was really good. read more

Time To Eat Café - Roast beef, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy. - Southern Near Me - Theodore, Alabama

If you're looking for a mediocre breakfast that will fill you up but leave you unsatisfied, this is the place. However, somehow, they can offer smoking or nonsmoking. My biscuits with tomato gravy came out ice cold and had to be sent back. What they did was reheat it in the microwave. With my husband's dish, the best thing on it was scrambled eggs. Just disappointing. read more

Very nice clean and great staff. Good food and unique design. Always a delight should try the deserts as well!

Well, once here but never again! All the clocks in the place but it wasn't Time to Eat. Not for over 1.5 hours after we got there. First time, almost an hour and the food was cold when it came. Finally half hour later we had fresh hot food. Burger was very good, but it's questionable whether it was worth the wait. This was pre-dinner rush too. read more

On our way to Fl, the ladies in the car got HANGRY! We were tired of driving in the horrible traffic from the HORRIFIC weather we have been getting. So the driver said: "let's take the next exit and just pick a place." Little did we know, it wasn't just a quick exit. We turned down a road...which lead to a another road and a few more turns. If this was at night, I would have been scared to prices! Lol Time to Eat is located in a shopping center with Rouses Market. Another Yelper reviewed the places as "whimsical." I felt like I was taken to that scene in Alice in Wonderland...walls of clocks and more clocks. The food was mediocre. It is the typical southern style restaurant with a large menu! They had everything from burgers to salads, Alfredo pastas to steaks and eggs. I'm not sure if they serve breakfast all day, but the breakfast menu had a "build your own omelette" option. I order their "1 o'clock burger" (mushroom and cheese on top of a beef patty; mayo, lettuce, onions and tomatoes) with a side of fries. I checked in a got a free 1/2 order of their popular fried green tomatoes. This is my 5th time having fried green tomatoes in my current lifetime; it was too soggy and not enough flavor. One of my friend ordered their grilled cheese with a side of sweet potato fries; another order their "vegetable plate"--choosing of 3 or 4 sides. What really brought down their rating was the lack of service. Even though our server, Sara, was extremely nice...she wasn't as attentive to us as she was to the other patrons. Even when we tried to grab the attention of the other server, we felt a bit unwelcome. Maybe it was because of a small town mentality, but definitely not a typical southern hospitality. However, this is just my view. They have a wall dedicated to all the appreciation from their local patrons. read more

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We literally sat down at 10:31 am after waiting a couple of minutes to be seated. The snappy waitress came over and took our drink order (terrible coffee) and told us it was too late to order breakfast. Are you serious? We walked out. read more

Really like this place great tasting home cooked food that I'm not cooking at home and no clean up after for me!! I love the retro look of the dining area. However I do wish they would upgrade the tables and chairs time for some new ones that don't wobble. read more

We craved comfort food and found it at "Time To Eat." The food is fabulous! I had excellent fried catfish (a tricky dish to make right) and it was light and flakey, the best I've ever had. The turnip greens are also the best I've had, a little spicy and with a lot of bacon. Dad had red beans, rice and locally made Conecuh sausage. He said it was "rich, hearty and very satisfying." The pecan pie was perfect, plenty of nuts and not overly sweet. The prices are reasonable. We definately got lot of food for a good value. The staff, including waitress Becky and co-owner Alfredo Fernandez are friendly and attentive. We received excellent service and stayed just to talk to them after our meal because it was so much fun. The decor is really cute, there are at least a hundred clocks on the walls all stopped at different times letting us all know it's always "Time To Eat"! read more

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The sausage gravy was delicious! Great atmosphere and the service was amazing! A must try for aure

I stopped in here instead of going to Rouse's to get some food off the hot bar, and am I glad I did. Comfort food to the max. Served by staff that feels like family / friends. Kind of quirky. Definitely Charming. Great value. Rice & gravey, turnip greens, field peas, creamed spinach. Clearly a local favorite. Everyone's right at home here. read more

Time To Eat Café - Three sides. - Southern Near Me - Theodore, Alabama

A friend of mine who is a disabled elderly widow living on social security ordered fresh dinners to be made within about 5 days and frozen. She is unable to cook for herself. The food sent was old and some had been frozen for 5 months containing ice particles inside the containers. The food cost $200 and she even gave them a $20 tip because she is kind and considerate. The food was disgusting. It could not be eaten. She tried two of the meals but could not eat them so her daughter returned the food and asked for a refund of the $200. The owner flatly refused to refund her money or make it right even though he was presented with the food and could see for himself the condition. I find it deplorable that someone would take advantage of a disabled elderly widow living on a fixed income. In my opinion, that's elder abuse and the owner should be ashamed. You can find a review with pictures of the food on Google reviews under the name Kenny Smith. By the way, the person they sent the food to had been a customer for many years. The food she had always purchased from their establishment was fresh for consumption that day. This shows just how much they value their long-time loyal customers. I hope the owner will reconsider and do the right thing. If he does, I will amend my review to add that information. read more

Do you love country style cooking? Then you might really enjoy this place! I have enjoyed everything that I've gotten at this restaurant. Their burgers are really great, salads are good, and I love their ranch dressing. The BLT is awesome. They usually have a case of delicious looking desserts, although I have never tried one. I wish they didn't have a smoking section because I can definitely smell the smoke when I walk into the restaurant. The staff is very nice and friendly. read more

I liked the food and it's good to support our local businesses. The service was pretty good. I will go back one day.

Definition of greasy spoon. Kind of a hole in the wall joint. Best thing here is the breakfast. It is reasonably priced and has a good variety. Other than that there are way too many better options in the area to go here for any other reason. They have a smoking section!??!??? Really!?!?!? In 2019!?!?!? So that kind of does it for me. No offense to smokers but not my jam at all and don't like being near anyone smoking. This place is relatively small so you smell it no matter where you are in the place. I'm sure they stay in business due to a small number of local regulars the come and smoke and drink coffee every day but not this guy. I'll pass. read more

This is a hole-in-the-wall type restaurant but their roast beef was amazing! They were really busy and everyone in the family liked their food. read more

I supported them frequently from Last Nov till Jan 2021, despite observing one Caucasian owner being mean towards the employees. I almost cancelled the thanksgiving catering for that. I would often try to visit during non peak hours to enjoy a quiet meal. On the afternoon in January there was only one other customer on the non-smoking side. I was completely opposite from him as possible, just the way it turned out that day. After I ordered my food the other owner came in and start YELLING IN A FLAMING VOICE while conversing with the other fellow. I could no longer hear the TV program, or myself think. I finally found the opportunity to say "Excuse me, would you please lower your conversation just a wee bit?" He said "HOW RUDE!" and began to berate me, then walked over to my table wagging his finger at me and turning red in the face yelling and cursing and spitting his words "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE MOTHERF*CKER?! THIS IS MY PLACE! YOU DON'T TELL ME! YOU AREN'T SH*T! . . . F*** F**! . . . yada yada yada F*** Y** MOTHERF*CKER!! HE'S HARD OF HEARING" (of course once they had a normal volume conversation the man could hear him just fine) I said "I'm a paying customer, and it was a polite and reasonable request, you were clearly yelling too loudly, it didn't require all your drama." He went on another 1 minute of ranting and wagging his finger at me with more yelling and F-bombs and eventually made it back to the table of his friend and continued to berate me to him. His husband or partner the Caucasian came in and asked him to lower his voice since the whole restaurant had heard his tirade. I stayed calm and seated during all this, I thought that if I were to stand up he would hit me. I finished my meal, payed and left. I'm not going to tolerate being treated like that and no one else should either, thus this review. This isn't embellished a single bit, if anything it's a watered down account. I attest this is a 100% true and factual statement and I will never return to that location. Also I feel sorry for their employees. read more

What a wonderful little.local place. Found you on the Trucker Path app. Walked down here from the Pilot truck stop. Had the Crawfish Pot Pie and it was DELICIOUS! Very nice employees too. read more

Just ordered a hamburger to go from this place ordered it medium brought it home and cut it in half it was Raw! wasn't even warm in the middle so I called the restaurant to let them know they put the owner on the phone and he argued with me that a medium burger is supposed to be red in the middle (NOT) we argue back-and-forth said some words I hung up on him.. I will never give this man another dime! I used to be a regular customer. Not anymore!! Bye Bye read more

It's okay. Really overpriced for the simple dishes they serve. I paid $10.99 for a plate of spaghetti.

Traveling from Texas to Florida I wanted to stop in Alabama for a good Southern breakfast. This place was phenomenal. My son got the pancakes which were huge and that dark brown that good pancakes have to be. Wife got the chicken fried steak and eggs, but being from Texas, the chicken fried steak was good but didn't measure up to our standards. I went with Everybody's Favorite Breakfast with two eggs, biscuits with a side of sausage gravy, home fries and I upgraded for fifty cents to the Conecuh link sausage, best decision I've ever made. The biscuits and gravy were borderline perfect. The home fries were the best I've ever had. But the Conecuh sausage, wow. It's a local Alabama sausage and it was great for breakfast. The place doesn't look like much, located in a shopping center next to a grocery store but it's fantastic. Ambiance is great too with the decor of Clocks all over the wall. Definitely check this gem out. read more

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My wife and I went and had dinner. Service was fast. Food came out quickly. I had the seafood platter which the fish and shrimp tasted fresh . My wife had the hamburger steak and said it was cooked to perfection. We will be returning. read more

Nothing special. Food is...edible. It's about what you'd expect from a place in Theodore...

This restaurant was exactly what we were looking for as far as finding a unique local place that was easily accessible and not fussy. On our Friday morning, it was quiet but steady. We struck up some nice conversation with our neighbors. Our server, Sara, was professional, courteous, and patient (I was there with my three little ones). We loved the clocks all over the dining room and my kids really enjoyed it. I wish I'd taken some pictures! Food portions were big and everything was exactly as I'd hoped: good, home cooked, and delicious. We'll be back next time we're in the area for sure! read more

Everything and I mean Everything here is good . I've tried many different things and I've never been unhappy ! Love Time To Eat

I really wanted to like this place - but I had a HORRIBLE experience. Service was abysmal. Our drink orders were taken quickly....but then it all went to HELL IN A HAND-BASKET! We watched several people come in - place an order - and get served before they ever came to take our food order. I finally had to get up from the table and go find someone to place our order. And when the food came out - just AWFUL. My mother is quite elderly - she ordered them hamburger steak so she could chew it easily. It was so overcooked - it was hard as a rock and she couldn't begin to try to eat it. I had the beef tips...no flavor. I could go on - but I won't. We paid the bill - left - and went to get a hamburger. I will say - the cashier noticed that the hamburger steak was left on the plate - basically untouched and offered a credit for it. read more

My wife and I eat here often. Our favorite is Chicken Alfredo and it is delicious. The wait staff are good and treat you with kindness. If you are looking for a good meal from a locally owned restaurant this is the one. read more

Food was good. But two days in a row while on vacation I ordered something and the waitress had to come back to let me know they were out of it. I think the waitresses need to know what they are out of before hand instead of waiting to find out after it's ordered. Second issue is the smell. Even in the non smoking section it stinks of stale cigarettes. When you go to pay your bill it's even stinkier! read more

Well this is a tough one for me. We like this restaurant, and we typically come here fairly often. However, let me review the reason we won't be back (at least for quite some time). So, My wife ordered Hamburger steak cooked medium and "Please Please BURN the onions". Which the waitress writes down on the ticket. I ordered a hamburger that was supposed to have chili on it, cooked medium well. After approx 45 minutes the food arrived; both meals were cooked very WELL DONE, and the onions my wife asked for were barely translucent. I saw the owner in the back and I asked to speak with him. I got a (assuming) lead waitress. So I asked again to speak with him. I get ANOTHER lead waitress, Dolly, whom we like very well. So we explain the situation. She offers to comp the meal and I declined. (Dolly did wind up taking one of the meals off anyway). What I wanted, was to let him know his "help" was NOT helping his business very well. You can't police your people if you don't know they are messing up right? So evidently our issues were not that important for him to talk to us. I kinda thought that was "Customer Service 101". So we made our last visit to Time to Eat. Bottom line is the food is good most of the time. The service is great most of the time, but the owner could give two sh*ts about the customers evidently. read more

Edited cause the owner made a good point ! The food was basic and the service was really bad the 3 times me and my father went here! All 3 times we were put by people who smelt like cigarettes! The only thing I can say is I really enjoyed the clocks! read more

I really used to like the place but over the years, it has really sagged in a number of areas. First, they raised the prices without raising the quality of the food. Then they cut out how many sides you get. but didn't lower the prices. We have it delivered sometimes and that's a hit or miss. Half the time it's missing something or it's cold but they will replace it and do their best. I'm just unhappy about the prices. It's no longer a less than $10 price for a full meal, outside of breakfast. The staff though is wonderful and always accommodating, but I just don't like the recent policy changes made by owners because it feels a bit disrespectful to the customers. We can do the math and we see what we're getting for the price. All that said, I resent the "small town mentality" mentioned elsewhere since Mobile, Alabama (180.1 sq. mi); yes, it's in Theodore but we're the burbs for Mobile which is obvious on any map) is much larger than Baton Rouge (a tiny 87.9 sq. miles; dare I say twice its size?) and there are no dark windy roads with a lot of turns to get there from the freeway. You turn once off the freeway, then turn again right into the parking lot. That's it. It's 0.6 mi. north from the westbound exit. Some of their food is pretty good. I don't much care for the country fried steak. It's more like a floured salisbury steak and fried. It's not traditional cubed steak. Another problem are side sizes. Some sides they give you a lot of, others very little. Most restaurant have bowls for each side and so all portions are the same. Try getting a side of fried okra and a side of creamed spinach. There is an enormous difference in size. You only get a couple of bites of creamed spinach. All in all, it's a locally owned mom and pop restaurant that is a decent meal. It's not spectacular but the folks are nice and sometimes that simply makes all the difference. read more

My husband and I are always looking for good breakfast spots. So far in Mobile we have not been so lucky. After coming across Time to Eat on yelp, we said "what the heck!" Turns out looks can be deceiving. Just because it's located in a strip mall doesn't mean it can't serve up some delish food. My feelings on breakfast here vs. Cracker Barrel is all based on attention. You know your food is getting better care when only 10 tables are being served rather than 30. The women were friendly and the food was good. Think country breakfast. I had the pancakes and a great chorizo breakfast burrito. All for 5 bucks (plus tax & tip)! Nice! The rest of the menu looked like classic southern dishes. The special sign said something about all you can eat catfish and their pies were very tempting. According to the waitress, if you bring in a wall clock you get a free piece of pie. :) read more

Went on a date night on a Friday, it was a first time visit. My husband's wheelchair fit through the front door and through the entrance to the non-smoking area. Yep, this place still offers smoking and non-smoking sections. The first visit we were sat and someone brought us drinks quickly, had to wait on a server though. We ordered and was brought our food, husband and the 16 oz TBONE and I had the chicken fried steak. The steak that night was wonderful. Saw according to their specials menu that Monday was Steak special night. Thought that since we enjoyed our dining experience we would bring them back that night to enjoy it, the second visit did not go as well as the first. We were seated, but it took a server longer to get to us. Didn't know it at the time but we sat in the same section as the waitress who helped us Friday night. She took awhile to get our drink orders, and by the time she did get them, we were ready to order our meal. We placed both orders and waited for our drinks to come. It still took time for drinks to arrive and also refills to be made the duration of our meal. We all had the steak special for the day. The steaks were not as good on the second visit as they were on our first. We enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant and looking at all the clocks they have, a huge collection of all sorts of different clocks: shapes, sizes and colors. Have to see the collection to believe it. The folks are friendlyand we enjoy that as well. The most unique thing I saw is where the restrooms are located. They have a book nook over in that area with a book swap policy. I thought it neat. Will most likely go back and enjoy the atmosphere again, but it may be a little bit before I do. read more

Time To Eat Café - Southern Near Me - Theodore, Alabama

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It's my local breakfast spot and rather it's breakfast, lunch , or dinner the food is the real deal I love the staff they welcome you like your family and treat you with great service read more