Maltby Cafe

I love breakfast and was really looking forward to this. The food was good, but not great. The red potatoes (their version of hash), were undercooked. The service was great except the waitress messed up my sons order but she was quick to correct it. We left home very full (portions are huge) with one of their highly spoke of cinnamon rolls. A HUGE disappointment. It was by far the worst cinnamon roll I've ever had. It was extremely dry. My sons who love cinnamon rolls too did not like it at all either. Would go back to try again, but would not get the cinnamon roll and red potatoes. more

located in the old Maltby School house has a great atmosphere with the best food I've had in years!! you won't go away hungry and the staff is the best it's old time good service with good food hard to find anymore...this is the place to go. homemade food like grandma used to make. treat yourself to a good time...go early before 9. they serve breakfast all day on weekends... weekdays they only serve some of the breakfast all day...so check the menu on their website or go early on week days!! if you miss breakfast lunch is even better!! more

We just love going to the Maltby Cafe, not only do they have the best service and food, but the fun atmospher is all worth the drive! The long lines and great reviews speak for the cafe it self! This is the best breakfast spot in the NW! It is a must try! more

I'm no stranger to great breakfast food, but this place rises above anywhere I have ever been. Been there twice now. The biscuits and gravy, bacon, giant eggs, potatoes - can't find the words to describe how great the food is! If you are anywhere at all near the area do whatever you have to do to go. Better breakfast food would be hard to imagine. If I was wealthy I'd buy the place and move it, along with the cooks, back to Ohio. A+ Pros: Food, service more

I was not impressed with the food, however, I will go again and try another dish and really hope that it is good. The Breakdown: *Sweet roll- Do not, I repeat do not eat the sweet roll before you eat your breakfast. My wife and I ordered a roll and cut it into quarters and we each ate 1/4. We were already full before the main breakfast came out. As for the roll itself, it was huge, but I was not impressed. It was a bit hard or maybe dry from sitting out all night and then covered in icing and microwaved. Also it was overpriced. Just skip it, your heart will thank you. *Breakfast- We ordered the Country Eggs Benedict and the Fruit Waffle. We shared the Eggs Benedict and each ate about 1/3 of the plate. I didn't care for the biscuit under the eggs as it was a bit sweet tasting for the dish. I really didn't like the hollandaise sauce. It was to vinegar-ey and had a tartness that overpowered the taste of the ham and eggs. The eggs were poached perfectly and the red potato home fries and ham rasher were really good. The fruit waffle was no good. We only ate about 3 bites a piece. The waffle was not crispy, but it was not chewy either. One or the other is fine, but this one was just rubbery and very hard. You shouldn't need a knife to cut a waffle, but I just couldn't get through it with a fork. The fruit compote was nice and the cream fraiche was yummy, but really sweet. It was like butter cream. With sweetened fruit, very sweet cream fraiche and then a tiny little drizzle of maple syrup, it was just too sweet to eat. We took home the whole waffle and just thew it out. $13.00 down the drain. *Service- Mediocre I guess. About a 10 min wait to get our order placed and another 5 waiting for coffee. About 20 min for the food to arrive. Server was pleasant. *Suggestions- Severe portion distortion. I suggest that they cut the serving size in half and cut the price in half too. (I am 6'1"" and 235 and I couldn't eat 1/3 of my meal.) You can safely order one meal and split it. If you are still hungry get another! Pros: 1 meal can feed 2 people Cons: Aweful spendy for breakfast. ($40. for 2- before tip) more

This used to be a wonderful place, crisp fries that were worth going out of your way for, tasty sandwiches (bread is still good) and good service. Now, the fries are consistently soggy with grease, the food is so-so, service slow. It may be that breakfast is still good, but lunch is now a must-miss. I'm sorry to say that - we used to eat here 4x a year after our Flower World trips. Pros: Large Cinnamon Rolls Cons: Fries, Most Food, Some Service more

Really good breakfasts. Big portions and really tasty! Really busy place though. Be prepared to wait... but... more

Really good breakfasts. Big portions and really tasty! Really busy place though. Be prepared to wait... but it's worth it! more

Really good breakfasts. Big portions and really tasty! Really busy place though. Be prepared to wait... but it's worth it! more

The Maltby Cafe is a busy place. It is below a old school great atmosphere. Go early on a early weekend... more

The Maltby Cafe is a busy place. It is below a old school great atmosphere. Go early on a early weekend morning (7am). Outstanding food with LARGE... more

The Maltby Cafe is a busy place. It is below a old school great atmosphere. Go early on a early weekend morning (7am). Outstanding food with LARGE... more

The Malby Cafe is a decent little drive (about 20 min) from north Seattle that I made on a recommendation from a friend. Clearly many many people enjoy this establishment on a Sunday afternoon. Our wait to be seated was nearly an hour (my wife doesn't forget when it takes an hour to be seated!). If you drove from Seattle, you're not going anywhere else... The restaurant is pretty big; numerous 4-6 person tables with a diner-style sit down bar. Seated at a table, I ordered the special, an egg and sausage something or another, and my wife had the California eggs benedict (or somethign to that effect). The portions were pretty large, the food above average. Coffee was served quickly and refilled in a similar manner. We had seen another table working on a cinnamin roll and decided to give it a try. Colossal. The size was the most memorable attribute; the thing was huge. Tasty too (6/10), but not as delicious as it was large. Still, if you made the drive, you might as well take the roll. (Clearly such a strategy has not escaped the owners of the restaurant.) Anyway, the place is good. No, better than good, but not super-snazzletastic. (I would also argue that the place should be $$ as opposed to $) If you have family visiting from out of town, I'd take them to Maltby Cafe. They'll like the drive, breakfast will be good, and you can all chat about the enormous roll on the way home. (or the book you all read while waiting to be served....) Pros: Good service, decent food. Cons: A little pricey, long waits. more

OK I read all the reviews, I heard about this place. I am an expert BREAKFAST earter. If this place is anything close to Carol's Corner in Vancouver, WA I will write back and let you all know. Carol's Corner is the best, seconded only by Sassy's in Shelton WA... I can't wait.... more

Whenever i have guests visiting from out of town, i have to take them to Maltby's for breakfast. The wait is usually about 30-45 minutes in a crowded waiting area, but it's worth it. You can also run across to the shops for a little while, because you can hear if your name gets called. The food comes in large portions, so come with a healthy appetite. The cinnamon roll is to die for, but you might want to ask for the icing on the side, cuz with everything else, they're a little heavy handed with it. I always order the two egg breakfast with a side of bacon. The bacon is the thickest i've ever had, the portion of potatoes is huge, and the jam is so yummy you'll want to use all of it. more

Great omelets, homemade toast, giant cinnamon rolls, ...the entire menu is fantastic! Breakfast or lunch is well worth the wait! Nice variety to choose from. more

This place has the BEST breakfast I have ever had. It's a busy place because everybody knows it's good, but it's definitely worth the wait. I would go there more often, but it is a bit of a drive from Seattle. Pros: food is excellent! Cons: the wait is loooong... more

I'm not sure why this place gets so many accolades--I made the trip out to Snohomish and it was totally like any other diner in Seattle, only a little more greasy (and not in that delicious greasy spoon way). The portions were HUGE and I was quite excited about my cinnamon roll but it was a little stale and not all that interesting. Definitely won't be coming back here--don't make a special trip just to check it out. Pros: Lots of parking Cons: Bland food, very greasy, dark inside more

Ok... I read the last couple of negative reviews and just had to put my review on our visit to the Maltby Cafe.------------ Pros: Food, Prices, Quick Service Cons: Crowded, long waits more

The review is misleading, that's for sure. I expected this place to be yummy and chummy - it was neither. The food was VERY plentiful but greasy and tasteless. I agree that plentiful is not the same as ""good"". If you have no taste buds and a huge stomach, then go to Maltby Cafe. Otherwise, even Applebee's has better tasting food. And the ambience is non existant - as is the service. As is the though put into the waiting area (no chairs, packed with people that have not read these reviews yet, line for paying is the same line as that for waiting and you wait to do BOTH. I'll never go back. more