11th Street Cafe

The former 11^th Street Café is gone for good and has now been replaced with Ruggles. I look forward to having another edible dining option that is close to home.

I have come here twice for breakfast, and while the food is solid (and by solid I mean, respectable or decent, not a homerun by any means). the service just is not. Having been a waitress for a summer at the Landry’s in the French Quarter in New Orleans and having been a terrible waitress at that, typically, my heart goes out to servers. And, in this case, it does here too, so let it be clear that I do not think its the servers fault that service here sucks it is the managements fault… unless the server is actually a part of management, but I digress my review.
The first time we came for breakfast, about a month or so ago, 11^th Street only had one waiter working on the weekend. He seemed very flustered, very harried and very brusque because of it. His demeanor was very clear: «I am working and I do not want to be your friendly waiter, I want to do my job, I will do it quickly and well, but I will not do it kindly or with any sort of additional flair.» And the second time we came back, it was even worse. We walked in and he said «pick anywhere guys, I’m on my own today»… he seemed so frantic and frenetic (for about 6 or so tables) that its almost off putting. He didn’t screw anything up, but it was clear that asking for anything special (like when the table next to us asked for jam, butter and ketchup) is an extra chore for him that he would prefer not to have to handle. We left at about 9 am, so I’m presuming for a breakfast place in the Heights that Café 11 was only about to get more crowded and that maybe considering having more than one wait person might be a good idea.
Now about the food… both times I have gotten 2 scrambled eggs, hash browns and toast. Nothing too exciting or special, but its all decently done. Breakfast companion gets 2 eggs sunnyside up with chilli and a biscuit, hash browns. Second time he said that the chilli seemed more like it came from a can which was not the impression he had the 1^st time.
All in all, the food is decent, but I don’t know if we’ll come back due to the weird atmosphere of the waitstaff.

Dang, guess I should have read the reviews here before we came. Disappointing to say the least. My bf was craving some eggs, breakfast food… so we stopped here after I said reviews for Natachee sucked. Maybe we should have gone over there instead.
I ordered a regular toast with eggs, hash, and bacon while my bf ordered the porkchop and eggs. Seriously you can never go wrong with breakfast but man, everything just tasted so bland. Just tasted like I was eating carbs for nothing! No satisfaction at all. I mean it looked like something you would order from IHOP or Denny’s…but I don’t know… it just sucked. I’m sorry. You’re a cute little joint, but I don’t know how you survive if you can’t even serve a decent breakfast plate. Bf’s porkchop looked bland and he had to cut off a big chunk of fat, so there went ¹⁄₃ of his porkchop. Never again… never again…

Went here with my roommate for brunch and was terribly disappointed. It took much too long to get a menu (especially considering how empty it was), our waiter was forgetful, the food was blah.
It’s a very cute location but it needs work. A lot of work.

I think this is only the second time I’ve given a 1 star review, and this place really deserves it.
I came here with a friend for brunch. There was only one other patron there. the waitress was friendly and attentive, but that’s about where the good part of this review ends. My friend and I both got french toast. I ordered a fruit cup, too. The french toast was… fine. There was a bottle of Kroger «syrup» on the table with a portion of a post-​it note taped over part of the front label. By reading the back of the bottle, I realized that they were covering the part of the label that read «Sugar-​Free». I have nothing against sugar-​free syrup, but the fact that it was covered up was a little weird.
My fruit cup was NASTY. NASTY. NASTY. BLECH! The fruit was half-​rotten.
They also had a radio station on rather loud, and the reception was really bad so we had this staticy-​noisy 90s rock blaring in our ears the whole time.
Skip the 11^st Street Café.

Location, location, location. This place has it. When I moved to The Heights and was criss-​crossing all around to look at houses, I passed by this every day. «Cool!» I thought, «A grungy local restaurant! I bet they run a mean grill!»
Well, not exactly. I got the grungy part right.
Dive bars = cool
Dive restaurants = meh
Bars have the advantage, because alcoholic drinks are self-​sterilizing.
The food is rather unremarkable, bland and greasy. The pork chop was ok. None of the sides really impressed me, so I took a big pass on them. The prices were reasonably cheap, but then again there’s a lot of cheap, decent food to be had in Houston.
I keep passing by it, almost every day. I haven’t had any interest in stopping back.

Driving around craving brunch, we decided to stop by 11^th street café.
I felt like I was just eating at a late night diner. I ordered the Belgian waffle with fruit. I was expecting strawberries, but it was apples, cantelope, grapes, pears, and pineapple. Maybe it’s just me, but waffles are better with strawberries. I was hoping they would have a fruit syrup to give the Belgian waffle a sweet taste, but denied. Honestly, I think I would’ve been happier at IHOP.
My husband had crab cakes with his breakfast that werent bad at all. I was disappointed in his French toast, though. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by going to places that served French toast made of croissant or cinnamon bread, but it was not appetizing. It was just… toast.
And the grits. Yuck! No flavor. The butter and cheddar didnt help at all.
The only good thing going was that the service was friendly.
But no, I don’t anticipate coming back anytime soon.

The food isn’t anything too exciting, but the location is cute. They have an amazing patio great for people watching (or really, watching the cars that drive by in the Heights).
Parking is a pain. They have about 10 spots right on Studewood before the restaurant. If it’s full, drive past 11^th St. and you’ll see additional parking. Too bad I completely missed this lot and walked over from two blocks away.
Service was nice, but a bit slow. We also ordered two glasses of orange juice and they didn’t offer us the orange juice carafe. (BUY THE CARAFE, AND YOU GET A FREE BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE!) Then, when we found out about the offer, we asked if we could do the carafe and get the champagne. They said they were out, but it’s BYOB and there’s a liquor store across the street. That’s great and all, but I’m not really the type to hit up a liquor store at 10am. And how can you not have champagne for Saturday brunch? No big deal though, just kind of bizarre.
I got the belgian waffle ($ 6.95), which was okay but tasted like coconut flour. Overall, food probably deserved one and a half stars, but the patio pushed it up to three.

Hmmm maybe 11^th Street Café has gone down the hill, because I used to go every saturday for about 10 years or so and never had any problems. I use to always get the ham and cheese omelet which was nice and fat and delicious and the potatoes obrien. The waitstaff was always nice and friendly. Yes they would be a bit slow at times, but the place was always packed so its hard to hold that against them. One of my dads friends who use to go with us went there 3 days a week for breakfast and they knew him by name and never took his order because they knew exactly what he wanted and just brought it to him lol.
Like I said, maybe they have gone down hill a bit because I havn’t been there in about 5 or 6 years.

Cheap eats! The bill for lunch was $ 15 for two with iced tea, Philly chicken with corn on the side (canned) and I had the BLT with onion rings.
The Philly looked good and my fellow luncher scarfed it down, but does not often say much about the food. The BLT was tiny but tasty and it was dwarfed by the mess of lightly battered 1016 onion rings. Whomever is making the rings needs to teach me the secret.
The service was swift and pleasant and water and tea never ran out.
The place was suspiciously empty at 12:30 on a Monday, but it might be that the parking is a little cramped. I forgot to ask about their coffee and where it was from, but I will have another go and try their pizza too some night soon.
It comes down to the price to quality ratio and it was inexpensive food with a fair quality overall.

My friend and I came here, hooked in by the homey snazzy café feel, and we were bamboozled with food fare barely rivaling Dairy Queen in tastiness. Don’t get me wrong, I love me a Dairy Queen every so often but this place… let me explain.
My gal pal ordered a turkey melt which came with a slice of turkey that had that yucky rubbery texture meaning it came ‘fresh’ from the freezer and zapped in the microwave. Her fries were beyond ketchup redeemable, droopy and oily little fellows. And her coke! Too sweet and not even carbonated.
Oh yeah, I had some sort of chicken fried chicken breast? The fried breading was so tough I felt like it was scraping the roof of my mouth. The green beans, clearly frozen and tasteless. And the mashed potatoes… come on, they can’t even mash potatoes? Clearly it was a box brand.
Anyways, the service was actually impressive.
The waitstaff was very nice and attentive. I sorta feel bad for giving the place such a scathing review but the food! horrors… We kept staring at the burger joint across the street that had a line and also we kept goggling at all the patrons coming in and out of Dacapo’s bakery with food envy. (in fact, we actually ‘saved’ our lunch by having a tea and slice of cake laterl)
The food was enough to scare me from ever coming back.
Maybe it was a bad day? I am writing this review a couple months late. It was probably March-​April I attended… but jeez.
Too bad, the building looked cute and it had a nice atmosphere to it

I ordered a standard breakfast dish of eggs, toast and sausage that came on a flimsy Styrofoam plate, which was not good on a windy morning, as I had to hold my plate the whole time I ate. The food was cold and flavorless. I could have easily made better if I stayed home! I will never go back here.

Pros:
Great location in the Heights. Cute little building & patio.
And now for the negative points:
I came here expecting to see fried food. *check*
I didn’t expect to get fried fried bits (not a typo) & canned veggies as a side dish. The prices are reasonable, but the food just isn’t good at all.
To be fair, I hear they have good pizza. I only tried their burger & chicken fried steak.

I have a new favorite patio, lunch spot in The Heights!!!
While driving down 11^st street looking for a flower/​garden nursery we just drover by the café and realized we were starving and decided to stop.
The atmosphere is small, quaint, friendly and Southern. I didnt pay much attention to the inside of the restaurant because we were outside the whole time but the patio is awesome! Perfect place to sit when the weather is nice like it was this past weekend.
The food was good but not great… just typical sandwiches, breakfast foods, salads and sides.
I got the grilled chicken sandwich with fries. And my boyfriend got the turkey melt with onion rings. The onion rings were yummy!
The staff was very friendly and attentive…
No complaints here! Perfect place when the weather is perfect and you want a cheap yummy meal on a patio in the heart of The Heights :)

I have to report on my experience, but after reading Chris T.‘s roach story and Larry K.‘s rotten meat story. I don’t think Ill be back.
I had the eggs «benedict» ($ 10) which is in quotes because instead of hollandaise they serve it with a red pepper cream sauce. It was really excellent, cravable. There were 2 crab cakes near, but not on it which were fresh and delicious.
My kids ordered regular breakfast stuff which was really well done – over medium eggs, bacon, fresh almost healthy pancakes, potatoes o’brian home fries – all really good.
I saw a huge, colorful fruit bowl go by that almost made me regret eating so luxuriously.
Coffee had a lot of grounds in it, though. or were those roach eggs?=)

I enjoy taking my kids to 11^th street café for breakfast. The atmosphere is reminds me of a small town.
Food is great, wait staff is excellent.

This place embodies what The Heights still has for «small town feel.» The food here is good. It is nothing to write home about, but it is good olé comfort food… grilled sandwiches, pizzas, a few salad choices, blue plates and appetizers…
My Mom and I had some sandwiches… Patty Melt and Turkey Melt to be exact. Bread was soggy on one side, but hey, it was still good… and the onion rings were homemade, not frozen nasty pressed together freeze dried crap. I give this place 4 stars because the food is good, prices very reasonable and the staff very warm and friendly and the vibe in this place is welcoming and positive. Everyone needs to go once and see for themselves.

I go to 11^th Street Café primarily for breakfast. Except perhaps once or twice when I’ve managed to arrive too late. It’s a traditional, diner-​style café with old booths, vintage signage hanging on the walls, and classic breakfast dishes consisting of eggs, bacon, hash browns, pancakes, and endless cups of coffee. They also have a breakfast sandwich which is good, perhaps with a dash of Tabasco. When it’s crowded on the weekends and the staff is especially harried, service can suffer. But when I’m sitting out on the patio, sipping coffee, reading the paper on Sunday morning, I’m usually not in a hurry. Mom always said breakfast was the most important meal of the day, so be patient, and tuck into a hearty start to your day.

I live in walking distance from this place and have dined here several times and am continually disappointed. The food is americana diner style and is bland/​uninteresting. Breakfast is completely average and the burgers are just too greasy.
If I had to eat there again, I would order the pizza, as it isn’t disgusting.
On the plus side, the service is very friendly and the atmosphere is almost charming, even if it is lazily decorated with junk from garden ridge.

My mom, aunt and I chose this bustling diner over others because it looked packed and because of the multiple «additional parking» signs. We figured with that many people and that many parking places, it must be good. We were horribly mistaken. This was the worst meal I have had in a very long time.
We all ordered breakfast. I got two scrambled eggs, hash browns and what they claimed was a homemade biscuit. What I got was powdery eggs, instant hash browns and a rock that I couldn’t cut… that was my biscuit. In addition, the ketchup ran straight out of the bottle because I think it was water with red food coloring. They also don’t serve coke products– only pepsi.
The café is cutesy and most of it would be fun to sit in– especially the outdoor patio. We were seated in the back, which was very dimly lit. Our booth was next to a chalk picture of a unicorn with a speech bubble that read «Ouch, who stole my kidney?» It was appetizing. Both sides of our booth had holes in them, one of which my aunt sat in.
The meal was bad, and I left with a taste in my mouth that I couldn’t get out until my next meal.