Downtown Cafe

Reviews

• Tish S.

  star star star star star 3 July 2026

  I got to eat lunch today here with two of my dear friends... I had driven past many times, but never had the inclination to stop in.  Not sure why; maybe because it's on the main drag in Tullahoma and one has to park on the street in front and take your life in your hands if you're the driver... opening your door with traffic passing by!  Anyway, we managed to not get run over, so that was a definite plus!
  
  We hit just at the end of the lunch rush, so the place was clearing out as we were going in.  Our waitress was very sweet and mega efficient... she was one of those you adore because she timed EVERYTHING right... never caught you with a mouthful when she asked a question, always filled your tea at the right time... y'all know what I mean.  We each had something different... Sterling had the beef stew, Nancy had the turkey and dressing, and I had their hamburger and fries.  The other two swapped sides... I'm not sure who ordered what... but greens, beets, white beans, corn bread, and some cranberry sauce were circulating between the both of them... I had macaroni and cheese with my burger and fries... it was a bit runny and could have used a bit of seasoning, but was okay.  I'm still giving them five stars overall despite that as the service was great and everything else was on point... and that burger was a BURGER!!!  See the pics.  Oh yeahhhhh...
  
  I'll definitely go back to eat there, parking on the road or not... and it was cool to see the swivel stools at the bar like the old days.  The decor is pretty sweet as well... down home.  They're a stickler on cleaning... I REALLY liked that!!!  And cloth napkins.  Yep.  Cloth.  Napkins.  There's a lot to recommend about this place... so a definite FIVE STARS IT IS!

• Andrew S.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 3 July 2026

  Disappointed with the amount of fries you are served for the price. Hamburgers are not served with onion, mustard or mayonnaise. However, we did have rotten tomatoes on our burger. Bathrooms should be cleaned more often. All and all the waitress was friendly and apologetic.

• David J.

  star star star star_border star_border 17 June 2026

  I have enjoyed lunch here on several occasions and once for breakfast. Overall, if you appreciate a simple diner, this is it. Casual atmosphere, good food, attentive staff and very reasonable prices.
  
  A meat and three lunch with beverage will run you under ten dollars.
  
  I will be back.

• Ralph S.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 12 June 2026

  We ate breakfast at the Downtown Cafe on a Saturday morning.
  
  The cafe is neat and clean, obviously not a chain restaurant and the breakfast is inexpensive. This is primarily a restaurant for local folks. Nothing wrong with that, of course, as they usually go to the best places to eat. When we entered, there was a group of about 8 people getting breakfast.
  
  As in most small towns, most people know a lot of people in town so everyone turns to look to see who has just entered they they want to acknowledge. As we don't know very many people there, including this group, they turned back to their breakfast.
  
  The service was good. A young woman took our order quickly and it was filled quickly.
  
  The grits were very runny and watery so not very good. The wheat toast was cooked well. It was nothing special or nothing wrong with it; it was the usual commercial brand of bread such as Bunny Bread or Wonder Bread.
  
  The scrambled eggs were cooked well, the fried over-medium eggs were not cooked as they are usually cooked as the white of the eggs were uncooked. The sausage was slightly spicy and quite good.
  
  So, good service, convenient location for an early morning breakfast in a small town and the food is inexpensive.

• Dave O.

  star star star star_border star_border 7 June 2026

  This is one of those local cafes in a historic downtown district  that's difficult to pass by especially if it 7:00 AM and you're looking for a place to have breakfast. As nostalgic as the outside appearance is the inside trumped it with its old school charm and decor, it was like taking a step back in time. We were greeted by a friendly southern voice as soon as we enter through the front door and were told to sit anywhere we'd like. Finding a seat in a comfortable booth opposite of the breakfast counter I was liking everything I experienced up to this point and the expectation meter was climbing by the minute.
  
  We were again greeted by the solo server who was as efficient as she was friendly a true professional at work, it was apparent she has been working here for awhile and very proficient at her trade.  I thought the coffee was amazing as well as the country ham, my over medium eggs were perfect and the grits were served warm free of any lumps. If I had any issues it was the fact that the packets of food service "restaurant pride" condiments were sitting on top of my toast this I find pretty disgusting - I'm referring to the non-sterile packaging as well as the low grade quality of the product inside. Real butter and smuckers jam would of earn them the fourth star for sure. I also thought the extra charge for a "to go" cup was even further validation of the owner's attempt to save a few pennies at the expense of quality, these cost should be built into the cost of the meal saying all of that I'd stop in again.