lucky's cafe

good food but look elsewhere. i tried to make reservations there for mothers day and can't believe a business would operate this way. i called and was told to leave my name and phone number for a call back for a reservation 'request'. i never received a call back. i tried to call again and was told by amber that she was too busy and would only take 'requests' or answer questions from 3-5. i tried to call again today, (because i wasn't sitting by my phone waiting to calllucky'sduring their free period,) and now get a recording saying 'the person you are calling, can't take your call'.

to top it off i was told by a friend that her reservation request is just a request.lucky'swill call the day before mothers day and let her know if they will honor her request , or not.

try the inn on coventry if you want a great breakfast. i thoughtlucky'swas a good second choice but not with the way they run their business.

i

such a gem!!. i had the pleasure of dining atlucky'scafe this past weekend for brunch and found the food divine!!lucky'sis a charming little spot in tremont that promotes local sources of food. the freshness of their ingredients is obvious within the first bite of one of their delectable dishes. i ordered the weekend special- a brie and asparagus omelet served with duck egg hollandaise, house made bread and hash browns. it was spectacular-comforting and rich, but not overwhelmingly so. a few dashes of their house made hot sauce helped the hash browns to disappear quickly. and their fresh berry jam was such a treat- especially considering my usual indifference toward jams, jellies and the like. i can't wait to return!!!

how much?. i love the tremont area and all it has to offer. however,lucky'sis the exception. the only lucky one is the owner who gets people to pay those crazy prices. ok food, crazy high prices. you can certainly find better for much less.

one of the best rubans i have had. cooked perfectly, not dry and homemade thousand island that was absolutely delicious.


-----01 apr, 2013-----

where do i begin. i started with the apple chai, absolutely delicious. this was followed by the ruben sandwich which was also delicious. the service was attentive and very professional. i can't commendlucky'senough, highly recommend.

avoided the weekend rush and triedlucky'sfor breakfast on a weekday. i ordered the shipwreck on recommendation of the really loud, obnoxious waitress/hostess with the short hair, and was told i could not have it without bacon because 'it's already mixed in' to this egg and veggie breakfast dish. seriously? ok.

my breakfast date and i were discussing how very limited the breakfast menu seemed (two egg dishes, one very specific flavored waffle, and no substitutions), when i overheard another staff member telling the table behind us that they do have egg breakfast sandwiches, off menu, but they weren't allowed to order off menu until the lunch hour (this was at 10:45 am). it just seemed so confusing!

our check came out near the $50 dollar mark after two lattes and two overpriced shipwrecks at $13.50 each. do they call it a shipwreck because of the havoc in my stomach an hour later? either way, cute restaurant with too many flaws. sadly, i hadn't read reviews before trying lucky's, i just considered it a local staple worth giving a try. consider it my first and last trip.

while the food was very good, it was priced too high for what we got. we waited almost an hour and a half before we were seated, andlucky'sis tiny...there is nowhere to wait comfortably because the restaurant is so crowded. after waiting all that time, and paying what we did for breakfast, we won't be back.

overpriced, underwhelming customer service. i appreciate the local flair.

i do not appreciate the terrible system for waiting;
being told "no substitutions can be made because the chefs don't want to affect their flavor profile" when i ask for gravy on the side instead of on the biscuits;
or when the server tells me "sometimes the chefs will make exceptions, but not today because they're in a bad mood."

despite trying to contactlucky'sin multiple ways to voice my displeasure, i never received any return correspondence.

after three visits, i've decided to give up on figuring out why people seem to like lucky's. there are too many other fantastic places in tremont that seem to actually want my money to keep wasting my time here.

lucky's is an example of poor customer service at best, and unnecessarily obnoxious overpriced hubris at worst.


-----17 jun, 2010-----

nothing special. had heard great things about lucky's. the story behind it is impressive--local, farm-fresh ingredients and the outdoor seating and garden had me excited.
unfortunately, i think my expectations were a bit high. we went on an early saturday afternoon, and while the place was not overwhelmingly busy, it was relatively steady. the service wasn't great--though i did notice other tables' waiters/waitresses seemed a bit better, so this may have been more isolated--and my omelette was nothing to write home about. the zucchini was too soggy and the spinach was far too wet before it was cooked (which made the omelette sit in a bath of spinach water).
the food was not terrible, but it also wasn't worth the price.

...we quickly learned that everything atlucky'sis crazy, huge and out of control! three thick slices of naturally cured bacon topped with pecans and brown sugar. cuz yeah - bacon isn't good enough on it's own - it's needs pecans and brown friggin sugar. holy cow - this was amazing! it was really thick thick bacon and then you load it with this salty sweet decadence. yeah - cincinnati - you've been served...pecan bacon. (seriously - somebody needs to do this here - virgils ?!) next up oatmeal. seriously - when my blogging friend ordered oatmeal

the positively cleveland followers directed us to cleveland's quaint tremont neighborhood to start our day.lucky'scafe tremont top:lucky'sgarden / bottom:lucky'spastries and baked goods left: blueberry fizzy / top right: bruleed steel cut oatmeal / bottom right: pecan bacon i liked everything aboutlucky'scafe. its thriving garden, bustling atmosphere and interesting menu are the right combination. upon recommendation of the positively cleveland gals, we got several orders of the pecan bacon (cured bacon, crushed pecans, and brown sugar) for the table, and in the end there wasn't a piece left. because it blew our minds. for my breakfast, i selected the bruleed steel cut oatmeal (winter fruit compote, eggs en croute, house-made multi grain toast), which was superb.

lucky's is a friendly, consistent and quality cafe in the heart of a city not known for a plethora of culinary genius (well, except for michael simon who made an appearance during the taping oflucky'son ddd). it's a can't miss spot for me with every visit to cleveland. the food is amazing, it's clean and the service is friendly.

what a gem!. my friend and i were visiting from out of town to see a friend here in cleveland, boy did she make the right choice in restaurants! steel cut oatmeal, quite creamy with fruit and so yummy, plus and baked egg with spinacha and parmesan cheese, and homemade multi grain toast. my friends' meals were equally as good. if i ever come back to tremont,lucky'swill be my first stop!!

great food. we choselucky'sto celebrate our son's birthday.
food - hubby had the reuben omelet with goat cheese. the corned beef hash was homemade, and the potatoes were very tasty. my son had the shipwreck which he was very pleased with. i had the hash with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce and i was pleasantly surprised to find my eggs weren't runny! we all shared an order of biscuits and gravy, and that meal once again was incredible. of course we had to try a dessert. my son had a chocolate mousse bomb, hubby had the s'more, and i had the coconut orange cake topped with the most decadent buttercream frosting i have ever tasted. all i can say is that the desserts were better than i have probably ever had. i would stop by just to grab some baked goods. i am impressed with the "farm to table" restaurants and this is no exception.
atmosphere - i was glad our family dined while it wasn't very busy so we were able to get a table and not sit atop anyone. it was clean and we were comfortable. i didn't like that the restroom is shared by men and women and while pottying you stare at a urinal, but it was clean.
staff - the staff work as a team which is a really neat concept. although our waitress was very knowledgeable and entertaining she was very slow in getting water and coffee to the table. two tables of two had sat down after us and had drinks before we did. the other staff women we interacted with were just as friendly and helpful as our initial waitress.
all in all it was a great experience (i am sure the company had a little something to do with it) and my family will be back (there are a few more things on the menu i need to try).

ready to drive back to cleveland on weekends for breakfast there. we went to cleveland on sunday sept. 23 and had to stop at luckys. saw it on dd&d a couple years back and knew if i ever went to cleveland we had to eat there. we got there around 10:00am and had a 20 minute wait that was pleasantly spent talking to other customers, the owners mother, and some cleveland brown's fans. we are from pittsburgh and steeler fans and they were still nice to us :)! the 2 girls ahead of us on the wait list said they had no problem allowing someone else sit at their 4 top so we did. i must say the people of cleveland are sooooo friendly. patrick waited on us and he was great, so helpful and attentive. when he asked what, i wanted i said i've know for the last two year, the biscuits and sausage gravy, of course. the food was wonderful. on the way out we talked to the owner's mother again, such a friendly woman. it was my boyfriends birthday so she gave him one of their wonderful red velvet cupcakes. we ate it on the way into cleveland, even though we were already stuffed.lucky'swas a little pricy for breakfast but well worth it. i'm ready to drive back some weekend just to have breakfast there. i read anther review on here from a diane that liked it and praised patrick. that review isn't me. name and day is a coincidence.

dissapointment. on a family trip through the midwest we spent a day in cleveland. during the trip we decided to seek out places featured on triple d. so while in cleveland we stopped atlucky'sfor lunch on sunday. we arrived around 11am and the placed was packed! it must be good, we were excited! we waited 1hour 40minutes. the signs in the restarant say that guy f. had the mac and chees as well as the reuben. the service was greta, everyone including the manager were very polite. well, after our 1 hour 40 minute wait and the anticipation of trying the two dishes. they were out of the mac and cheese! how in the world...as a restaurant...could you run out of one of your signature dishes?! you are featured on triple d and drawing crowds how can you run out!? what a dissapointment! i would not reccomend going on a sunday during the crazy busy brunch time, no guarantee they will not run out. one other note, there is no kids menu. so if your kids do not like fresh made all natural foods you might choose another place. of course it was our son who wanted the mac and cheese... well, he waited the 1 hour 40 then waited for us to eat before he got lunch elsewhere.

"i got lucky in tremont!" (twice). i watched the episode of diners, drive-ins, and dives with guy fieri and heather haviland who is the owner and chef oflucky'scafe in tremont.. her ruben sandwiches are incredible. everything is homemade or homegrown and the sandwich melts in your mouth. i don't live in cleveland but the 40 minute drive each way is well worth it. i have not been able to make the return trip home with my to-go meal intact. the aroma of the food makes me salivate and it doesn't stand a chance!
the meals, the servers, and the chefs are all excellent.
i look forward to my next meal, it was truly scrumptious!
thank you matthew and heather, i shall return!