Brookdale Cafe - Brookdale, California

K C

My family and I have been visiting the Brookdale Lodge regularly since it reopened after the renovations. The first few years were fantastic—the family running the cafe was welcoming, and the service was consistently excellent. Unfortunately, something changed recently, and the quality has been on a steady decline ever since.

During our recent visit, we were met with a chaotic atmosphere: tickets were scattered across the counter, and the place felt messy and disorganized, yet we were the only customers. It’s disappointing because the location has so much potential as a fun place to relax, enjoy live music, and grab a bite. We want this to be a spot where we can come together and have a great time, but sadly, the food quality and organization have slipped significantly over the last year.

In our last three visits, half of the menu items were unavailable, staple items. My order was wrong, and my wife’s was missing, the staff had to be reminded. We attended a Mother’s Day event last year where they charged $45 for a “Prime Rib” lunch that turned out to be a poor-quality meal. While the service is usually friendly, I worry about the food being served and the overall disarray of the cafe.

I want to emphasize that this review is solely about the cafe/diner and does not reflect the hotel itself.

Ian Irwin

Howdy. I'm loathe to write bad reviews most of the time. I'm more of a "bad places will inevitably get what they deserve" kind of person. However, I went to the Brookdale Cafe this week and had an overall poor experience. It was about an hour after they opened and when we arrived there was only one other table with people. They were clearly understaffed and the only waiter was running around trying to make things happen. I appreciate the effort but clearly they didn't have what they needed to run a good business that day. All the tables had not been cleaned from the previous day and he apologized as he wiped ours down after we were already seated. He had trouble remembering what we ordered and we had to repeat our simple order a few times. The wait time for food was surprisingly long considering there were only 5-6 customers total. The food itself was fine. I've never been to this place before but from the looks of other reviews it used to be a cute and reliable place to get breakfast. Maybe they had a change of ownership or they're just unable to hire the people they need. Either way, I won't be going back to this place.

Be Van Arsdale

Great place for breakfast! I had the 3-egg veggie eggs Benedict that was delicious with fresh squeezed orange juice. You a tell the owner takes great pride in his food. Cool retro 50s atmosphere hidden away in the back corner of the Historic Brookdale Lodge.

Kristy Kilfoyl

This hidden gem has delicious home cooked food! Our burgers were so good and you could taste the quality and love cooked into it. We saw others near us order breakfast and it looked and smelled so good! If you’re in the area do not pass this place up!!

Kristina Kinstler

My husband and I have been going to this diner since it has opened and it was always great. The staff were on top of it and the food was always great and consistent. However, I believe they’ve gotten new ownership in the last 5 months or so and ever since the quality of service and food has completely plummeted. They don’t answer their phone anymore, they run around like chickens with their heads cut off, forgetting food items, completely ignore their customers and are actually rude and dismissive when asked questions. The price is constantly different for the same exact food. Food is bland and often toast isn’t toasted. We are beyond disappointed because we loved that there was a good diner in Brookdale close to where we live but at this point I don’t think we’ll be going back since the last incident on Mother’s Day where they yet again didn’t answer their phone so we went in and were greeted rudely when trying to place an order. Then we were told they were only doing a buffet breakfast and it was $35 a plate limited to only potatoes (no hash browns) eggs and bacon or sausage. Literally no pancakes, or French toast or anything else. We had 3 people total which would have been over $100 for just a basic breakfast. They then started arguing with my husband and we ended up just leaving. Couldn’t be more disappointed with the staff and management. Adios Brookdale cafe

Shauna Mobley (Shaunaniguns)

A little local history, the BDL has gone through some rough spots in the last few years. Long story short, it was purchased by an owner who had little respect for the historical value and the place the BDL has in the heart of the SLV and California history. The  mountain community quickly let their displeasure be known. 😉
Luckily, the new owner understands this, and is doing his best to restore her to her former glory. One of his best moves was tracking down Pedro Perez, who ran the original BDL Diner over 20 years ago, for those of you with a long memory. Let me tell you the food and service have gotten even better.

This is a beautiful family run establishment.
Pedro and his family are lovely.
It deserves support in these trying times.

They serve fresh homestyle diner faire with California flair.
Heavenly chicken fried steak, huevos rancheros, waffles, pancakes, crepes, French toast, eggs bene, burgers, hot and cold sandwiches, salad, ect. The hash browns are out of this world. He does this thing where he adds green onions to them, and it's just too good.
Great menu. Not too much to choose from, but enough that you'll have a hard time deciding on what you want to try.
They serve Santa Cruz Roasting Company Coffee and man is it good.
They have an ice cream counter too, they serve Marriane's. If I have to tell you how good Marianne's is, you have been missing out my friend.

Truth is, I haven't tried anything I haven't loved.
The portions are spot on.
The ambiance is great.
Red, white, and chrome.
Black and white checkered floors.
Pure Americana.
Indoors or out.
Darling patio.
If you come for the live music on the weekends, you can order from the diner and they'll bring your order to you on the other side of the hotel. Just so you can continue to enjoy the music uninterrupted.
There is Wi-Fi.
(If you're a local you know how awesome this is.)
There is plenty of seating indoors and out.
Even on a busy weekend you should be able to get a table.
They are kid and pet friendly.
They are just plain friendly.
There's even a little smoking patio in the center of the parking lot, for those of you who enjoy a smoke after a good meal.

Cheryl Noon

Updated review:

I was hesitant to leave a poor review for Brookdale Diner the other night after having a disappointing dinner experience. We normally visit Brookdale Diner twice a month for breakfast which until today has always been good.
Today however was a disappointment beyond anything I have experienced anywhere before.
It started out as expected, seated in a booth and drink order taken. Our coffee and orange juice were promptly brought out and that is where the good service stopped. When our server returned to take our order she was in front of us but not “with us” as we ordered. My bf asked if I was getting home fries or hash browns. I answered home fries and he looks at the server and says, “I think I’ll get home fries too.” I ordered the special which I have ordered a handful of times before and always comes the same. She starts walking away and I piped up, “I’ll take my eggs over easy” because she didn’t ask. When our order comes it looks nothing like it ever has before and there is a pile of French fries on my plate. I asked her why and she says that’s what it always comes with. Again I’ve ordered this a handful of times and never received French fries. I asked if I could have the home fries. She then tells me she’s going to charge me more because I didn’t specify that when I ordered. If they charge more for substitutions that’s fine and I’m happy to pay. But don’t tell me you’re charging me because I didn’t specify when I ordered. If you were actually listening to us when we started ordering you would have heard me say I was ordering home fries to which my bf told you, I’ll get home fries too. His meal was delivered with home fries.
After the conversation about the potatoes we didn’t get a visit from our server again. She went to the table next to us three times and not once to ours. So much for wanting my coffee topped off and eventually I went to the counter to pay, not receiving a check. I was bothered by the neglect at this point and admit I was snarky when I told her, “I guess we’ll pay up here since you won’t be stopping by to check on us again.” She replied with an apology stating it was busy. We were one of three tables she was helping, but sure.
As I mentioned we visit Brookdale Diner twice a month for breakfast. I left a positive review 6 months ago after our first visit. I will leave that up as this bad experience doesn’t take away the good. But after today, we will not be back for quite awhile. The majority of the staff seems to have turned over which explains the night and day experience we had the other night and this morning vs previous visits. It’s unfortunate that the poor performance and attentiveness of an employee costs the owner of the establishment patrons who previously enjoyed and referred their restaurant. With the current staff I will not be referring any longer.

6months ago:
My bf and I decided to try out the Brookdale Cafe and Grill as a new breakfast option as another local restaurant we frequent a few times per month still hasn’t managed to replace their waffle iron. Let me tell you, the food is phenomenal and it was a friendly, quiet atmosphere with a great menu, fantastic service and wonderful prices. Needless to say, this is our go to spot now.

Paul Izor

Whoa! What's happening? We arrived Wednesday about 1:20 for a later than average lunch to show visiting family our favorite burger place. The cafe was dark and closed. No sign on the door of an emergency closing and no one was in the hotel registration office. For me, advertised and posted Hours are an important promise to the public that must be delivered. An operating hotel without dependable food service is not acceptable. After so many wonderful previous meals, our large group was very disappointed and Brookdale missed out on a generous bill.

UPDATE - Brookdale Cafe is up and running on the published schedule. After a rough start and a winter season with challenging customer response, summer has arrived. The food and service is fabulous so my encouragement to the dining public is to give Brookdale Cafe a try. To the owners and staff, keep up the fine effort.