Tim’s American Cafe

Awesome… best dive food in Altoona, be prepared to wait, but it is worth the wait!!!

I was not a fan of the restaurant at all. It was a dirty place. The lady bar tender is not friendly at all. No welcome at all. The lady bar tender is very snotty. The cup that my drink came in was spotty and gritty.

Large portions, good prices, good food. The place is really small though, and gets crowded really quickly. It’s also kind of dingy and badly lit inside. It’s a dive that’s more than worth it though if you’re looking for big portions of good food at pretty good prices.

Such good food and such large portions! We were feeling fat and happy when we were done with our food. Definitely worth a little side trip to eat here. The boneless buffalo chicken was the best I have eaten anywhere.

A hidden gem! Small place nestled in a primarily residential area in Altoona. Great food, huge portions, good prices. If you leave hungry, you didn’t order food! Awesome place!

Tim’s is a pretty interesting little place. Good food and good service. Nothing exceptional, but definitely not bad. The portions are huge! The price seems high until you see the amount of food you get. It is definitely a hometown locals spot.

Ate at Tims for the first time. Very hard to find for an out of towner and very small. Portions are huge. Had the steak salad. It was ok. Steak lacked flavor and it was just iceburg lettuce and steak. Wings were excellent. Ribs were good too. A bit pricey for the area. Service was ok.

Very rude staff. My coworker called to place an order for my office (order of 6 or so items). She called around 10:00 and asked to pick it up at noon. They told her that she either comes to pick up the immediately or it might be ready anytime between 11:00 and 1:00, and they’d call us 10 min before it was ready for us to come get it. Maybe this place doesn’t want business, because last time I checked, you don’t make customers jump through hoops and inconvenience them with a THREE HOUR window of time. We all have schedules and appointments too. Sadly, this is the second time this similar situation has come up. The salads, though huge, have become pricey, and dealing with their staff is not worth it. We tossed their menu. I’ll take our business to a restaurant that isn’t put out by their patrons.

The food was great. The service was attentive, and fast. The Ruben was my favorite. Every time I’m in the Altoona area I must stop by now.

go hungry to tims. the food is really great. whoever is cooking really knows how to make a good home cooked stick to your ribs, Pennsylvania style meal. I can see why the locals love it here, and I can see why they do such a great takeout business. The only reason for not giving 5 stars is because I think they should offer us non-​locals a smaller portion. I’ve noticed that around these parts, a restaraunt is only as good as how much food you get. I’m from the west coast, and while i do love the type of food at a place like Tims, i just can’t eat all that food (must be a cold weather portion). I hate to waste food, and I could really only eat ¼th of my meal. I’d be willing to pay almost as much as full price for ½ the size just to not have the guilt of wasting so much food. I’m sure I’m the only review complaining about the portion size haha.

We were out leaf peeping for the weekend when we pulled into Altoona for dinner and came across this little gem. The staff were friendly, helpful, and professional. The portions were abundant, my wife and I got two meals from our selections. The food was spot on. Hot, tasty, properly seasoned and prepared.

Interesting place. First and foremost please keep in mind that this isn’t a fine dining spot. This is an «I’m really hungry and want something reminiscent of homemade.»
The building is an old converted home with a small bar and limited seating. Call ahead and make reservations if you plan to dine in. Service was ok (not great).
The food? Steamed shrimp was the highlight for me. As well as the beef gravy. Pepperoncini cheese balls were lackluster. The mashed potatoes taste of the dehydrated type. The green beans were flavorless. The fries were screaming for salt, though there were salt and pepper shakers on the table (but order the beef gravy instead to dip your fries). Crab cakes have plenty of crab but lack a much needed bite of old bay or some blend of seasoning.
Plating is disappointing. Think hospital cafeteria in terms of the style of plates (mine had a large chip on it).
The beer selection on tap is comprised of Bud, Miller, Yuengling and Reds Apple. The portion sizes are amazing but I guess I just made the wrong menu choices and should have stuck to something simpler.
Would I go back? Yes. I want to try their sandwiches and western fries to be honest.

Don’t let the run down exterior fool you. Food is simple but fresh and portions are huge!

Brought the family with my uncle, decent prices and large portions. I love to support small businesses also.

Thank you, Unilocal!Never would have found this place without you. Service was fast and friendly, portions were big and food was good. I was there with two other adults and three kids for lunch.
We had the basics — club sandwich, grilled cheese, hot ham and cheese, meatball sub and the Buffalo chicken salad. Everything was good but the salad was the standout. Huge portion, possibly because it had fries in it as well as the usual buffalo chicken salad stuff.
For out-​of-​towners like me, don’t be thrown by the residential setting. We thought our GPS misled us but it was right. Definitely a solid local stop!

Took the recommendation of a hotel concierge in town and ate here. A great gem in Altoona! Fresh food made from scratch and huge portions. Had the crab cake and it was burger sized and filled with lump crab. Big burgers with lots of flavor. FrIendly staff and worth the hunt off the beaten path.

I never order anything but their salads. Amazing food for a great price. Recommended ordering for pick up.

Don’t judge a restaurant by its entrance! We were spending one night in Altoona and wanted a non-​chain restaurant for dinner. Tim’s American Café was well rated by other Unilocalers so I made a reservation and boy am I glad we did! One member of our party didn’t even close the car door when he got out — assuming we would be going somewhere else after seeing the outside of the place. But we convinced him to come in and we were all surprised to find the place packed on Wednesday night! Good was typical café/​diner American food, but all freshly made and HUGE portions. Good service and friendly staff made the whole experience great!

Their house made ranch was excellent. Huge portion. We spent about $ 24 for 3 dishes and had left over so good deal.

The meatballs are amazing. No idea about the rest of the menu — it all looked good — but the meatball subs were to die for. Get some fries (a SINGLE small plate — huge portions) to share with the table to go with, and it’s the best.
(seriously, get the fries — they’re fresh cut, and fantastic)