The Bottom Line
Pros
- Funky decor
- Located in the heart of Whittier's "Eat Street"
- Great coffee
- Open air in the summer
Cons
- Food is not great and service can be slow
- Unusual ordering process can be intimidating
Description
- 2 26th Street East
Minneapolis, MN 55408
Telephone 612-872-7575 - On-street parking only. It's usually possible to find a spot within a block or two.
- Unusual method of ordering your food - be aware of how it's done before you visit.
Guide Review - The Bad Waitress Diner and Cafe
The Bad Waitress is located on the corner of Nicollet Avenue and 26th Street, placing it right in the middle of Whittier's Eat Street. Most restaurants here are international so the Bad Waitress' American diner food and coffee are unusual in this neighborhood.
The Bad Waitress is notable for the unusual method of getting your food. Instead of a waitress taking your order, you sit at a table, write down your food order and bring it to the register, pay, and then your food is bought out to you. Customers have to get their own water and coffee refills, and usually have to help themselves to silverware.
The decor is reproduction 1950s, with comic books, superheros, and pulp fiction decor. The wait staff have tattoos and quiffs, and the customers are sometimes tattooed too, but most are groups of friends, and families.
A bank of windows on the side of the cafe roll up making it an open-air joint in the summer. An superb place for people watching, seeing and being seen, on Nicollet Avenue.
The food is mostly diner-style breakfasts and burgers. The coffee is excellent, but the food, while usually tasty, is often overcooked, sometimes on the verge of burnt. When it's busy, the wait for food can get long. If only they would cook their pancakes a little less and not keep customers waiting as long, this would be a must-visit destination on Eat Street.
The style surpasses the food here, but it's a great place to hang out over coffee, especially in the summer.
