45th Parallel Cafe

Category:	Restaurant
Address:	102 W Broadway, Suttons Bay, MI 49682, USA
Phone:	+1 231-271-2233
Site:	45thparallelcafe.com
Rating:	4.3
Working:	7AM–3PM 7AM–3PM 7AM–3PM 7AM–3PM 7AM–3PM 7AM–3PM 7AM–3PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 9

Robert Brouwer

You know, these days, there are a ton of good places to eat in Leelanau County - Mama Lus, Jolly Pumpkin. That wasnt neccessarily the case 10 years ago when 45th Parallel Cafe was one of the only breakfast joints in the area, but its time for a wake up call. The food was decent - not great, nothing special - but decent. Now lets talk about why this place gets one star: We get there at 11:10 AM for brunch today, a Thursday. We were told 10-15 minute wait for a table. Cool. We hung out in the candy shop. We got a table in about 10 minutes. Thats where the wheels came off. We waited almost 10 minutes to be greeted by our server, a male who has worked there a long time and was obviously overwhelmed. He took our drink orders and after another 10 minutes, a young kid brought our drinks. 15-20 minutes in. The server unapologetically came and said What are we eating..." to which I regretably replied with our order. 48 MINUTES LATER we got our food. He did tell us 15 minutes before that about how the kitchen is behind, and I get that. Sometimes the kitchen gets behind. But its all about how you handle it (with a visit by a manager). The food was decent, but Im not really even sure. 1:22 after walking through the door I think I could have eaten anything. Not that it would have mattered - Our server never asked how the food tasted. We were geniunely curious as to whether we would receive a full bill, a discounted bill, or no bill as we waited way too long for the check. Ill admit, at this point, I was just pissed off and noticing more things that suck about the service here. He dropped off the check with no apology whatsoever and when he went to pick up payment I said, "Hey, Im just curious - are you doing anything to take care of us after a 48 minute kitchen ticket?" Here is the response verbatim: "No, it just kind of is what it is... you know, its a pretty busy cafe." "Really?" I said, "In my day if we couldnt handle the table we just went on a wait." "Well, then people get mad that theyre waiting." "Okay, I suppose thats what yelp is for." He laughed but I dont think he got the joke. And that brings us to now.

Lolly Wood

Disappointing on our first visit. Maybe they have a new cook or perhaps the cook just doesnt care about putting out good food - its got to be one or the other because the French toast was bland and absent of any flavor whatsoever and my corned beef hash & eggs did not arrive as ordered. When the server asked me how Id like my eggs, i replied "scrambled with swiss" however, the plate arrived with swiss melted atop the hash. When I informed the server the swiss was supposed to be in my eggs, she had the biggest look of shock and dismay on her face. She offered to take it back and get it corrected and returned only a minute later with the same plate of food, where someone literally peeled the melted cheese off the hash and plopped it on the eggs. Who would EVER think this is okay!??? I again shared my disappointment with the server and Im quite surprised a Manager didnt visit the table, but perhaps the manager was not aware of the issue. This place is a bit pricey but I get that it is a vacation area. Nonetheless, if I were an owner or manager of such an establishment, I would definitely want to hear/know about incidents such as this, especially when charging premium prices because we did not get premium service!

josh hunter

The food was okay but the service was awful. Our waitress was inattentive, cold, and shrew. When we were seated, she barely muttered a hello. Upon coming back, she asked us if we were ready to order. My girlfriend looked over at me and said, "I think so ... do you know what you want?" Before I could even answer, our waitress very rudely announced she would be back while turning her back to us. While eating our food, she did not stop to refill drinks or ask us how the food was until we were finished eating and ready for the check. This was problematic as my girlfriends coffee was cold at that point and I had no butter to spread on my english muffin. Overall, the subpar food would have been more tolerable with better service. The staff needs to be conscientious on how they interact with their guests.

Angela Hamilton

We were warned. People in the parking lot did not recommend this restaurant. The waitress asked me how I wanted my turkey burger done. It is illegal to serve raw poultry. Then she told me they were out of turkey burgers so I switched to the portabello mushroom sandwich. She, again, asked me how I wanted that cooked. ??? When I expressed my concern to the owner, he cut me off and was dismissive. When he previously approached our table to greet us he only looked at my husband. Needless to say our mushroom sandwich did not have a portabello mushroom in it. Just small white cap mushrooms. The bread was extremely greasy. The tomato soup tasted like pizza sauce. We havent had food this bad in a long time and the plates are expensive for what you get. Avoid this place.

Emily Sjolander

What could go wrong did. We waited for 40 min to be sat, expected for a holiday weekend but once we were seated the wait continued. The waitress was young and nice enough, but really inadequate at her job. She brought drinks single file, forgetting members at our table all together. Served a refill in a broken glass and couldnt remember who ordered what. We had friends in from out of town and were looking to try a new place. We unanimously agreed that none of us will be back .

Kathleen Gilgrist

Never use the words "share or "split" at this restaurant. I ordered a cup of soup & my husband ordered portabella chicken quesadilla What we got was portabella quesadilla , no chicken but got a $2 extra charge for a plate because I said I would share his! So for $14 we got 4 small triangles of greasy quesadillas When we complained neither the waiter or the manager cared. We will not return but we will "share" our experience!

Melisa McCullough

Food was good; However, the service was to-do. Im not a fan of waitresses up-selling directly to children without disclosure of prices or asking the adults. She over-charged us for our espresso & was obviously displeased with the tip we left (which was a reasonable tip for the service) because we could hear her complaining. Then she returned the completed credit card slip & pen to the table and walked away. We wont be back.

Aaron Merritt

This place was pretty great. Friendly staff, good food, good view of youre sitting outside, which we did! Decent prices and good portion sizes. When Im in Suttens Bay again Ill most likely stop here again. Best part is its connected to a candy store! So wander over after you pay your bill and grab a couple slabs of delicious fudge, then wander into the rest of the shops that its in walking distance of. Great town.

Dave Seefeld

Stopped in the morning after the Northport wine festival. Good breakfast omelettes but theyre small. They could include a side of potatoes like they do for all their other breakfast items. Service was OK, would definitely come again when Im in the area since there are very few other options around.