Nothing like a simple fried egg, shredded hash-browns, pancake combo to cure the microbrewery morning-after. 20th Street Cafe is almost too perfectly established to be real. Fast and delicious, their food hits every spot necessary by meeting my "missing home in the business district" blues. Wouldn't recommend the coffee if you're looking for strong, but that breakfast fried rice made up for any lack of caffeine at the table.
Review Source:What is wrong with a basic no frills quick serve 2 page menu diner downtown?? Nothing at all.
This place reminds that Denver did exist before Hickenlooper and other developers did serious developing. I am not complaining, I love the new stuff, but a piece of the old city hangs on here.
Food was OK, not great, but priced accordingly. I had the breakfast burrito, and did not leave hungry. Some menu items seemed a touch out of place with the Asian influence, but they seem popular (breakfast fried rice?)
Besides, who wants to stand outside Snooze for 40 minutes for an OK breakfast?
I was a little worried when we walked through the door. Â It looks like a dated mom and pop place that you would find in a small town. Â The staff was out of their way friendly. Â The food, was so good and you could tell that it was made fresh and from scratch. Â We had the breakfast burritos and blueberry french toast. Â I can't wait to go back for the breakfast fried rice.
Review Source:Would literally give this place 10 stars if I could! Food is fantastic, service is awesome, and the price is unbelievable! The only thing I wish this place had was adult breakfast beverages. Its an old school diner-type feel and we have never had an experience less than 5 stars. Nice kept secret with a great location
Review Source:What I had? Â Country Fried Steak, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, and peach cobbler
Food review: Â I haven't been to this little gem in quite a few years. Â It was good to be back for sure. Â Tried out the country fried steak which was generally good but it did use brown gravy instead of white which I tend to prefer on country fried steak. Â The mashed potatoes, peas, and carrots were pretty standard. Â Nothing to really note about those. Â Same unfortunately is to be said about the peach cobbler that was generally OK. Â I was really torn between 3 and 4 stars here. Â The meals here kind of give you that feeling of a good ole home cooked meal but that being said, that didn't necessarily mean it was great. Â Just... satisfactory.
Service? Â Friendly
Other thoughts: Â Definitely want to give 20th one more try to have some meatloaf.
This place is quaint. Definitely a flash back in time. It's a country diner that looks shady, which is awesome since it's never packed when I go. So yummy and cheap!
I went for breakfast last week and got 2 eggs over easy with bacon, hash browns, pancakes, and coffee. $12 including tip.
The pictures on the menu are awful, and definitely don't do the place justice. Hard to mess up my order and since it was my first time, I didn't even notice the specials board. Bummer!
The coffee is awesome (I drink it black). They have every kind of hot sauce imaginable. However my pancakes were nothing special, and tasted burned. The staff is friendly. Everything was typical for my visit to a small diner, and I'll definitely go back to try the specials.
Went to this quaint down home cafe for the first time with my husband and 5 children. Everyone liked their food ~ and anyone with children knows that is a feat in itself. We tried a little bit of everything ~ breakfast burrito, french toast, pancakes, biscuits & gravy and breakfast fried rice. The green chili is the bomb!
Review Source:Ah, sadly, this go-to breakfast spot for me loses a sar beause of the steep decline in service. One waitress in particular, bless her heart, a kindly older woman who tries, is terribly forgtful. I must literally plan on an extra 15 mintuies when I go here just to get my check .
And if you ask for ketchup or hot sauce or coffee, you'll wait and wait until your food is cold.
I truly love this little dive. Close, steady ham and egger. But the help needs help.
This is a step back in time.
This is not a place trying to look retro cool, they just have never updated. Â This is not a complaint. Â I feel like Alice or Flo is coming over any second to sass me.
The food is very, very good, well priced, and straight up diner, diner, diner. Â
You certainly don't need a reservation on Thursday morning. Â You'll be the only one there, besides me.
While I don't understand why the place is not packed, it's also my first time there. Â I have lived a few blocks away from it for a year, and just noticed it.
We were in town for a Colorado Avalanche game, so first stop <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FRestaurants.com&s=92a32e879a8bc9bad14f389149e0a62a99ba27f54b2dca87b4d713cffa7973a9" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://Restaurants.com</a> for ideas on where to go close to our hotel, second stop Yelp to decide where to try. Yelpers were right on point again. This place is great for breakfast, large portions of good food. Don't let the building or decor scare you off, this place was clean and you can see the employees care. This is not a stuffy overpriced restaurant you will find on 16th street, this is a true diner and they know how to do diner food right. Â We will be back the next time we are in town and this time without a coupon, this is the first time we felt guilty for using a coupon because everything was that good.
Review Source:We have driven by this restaurant so many times, and never really noticed it. It tends to "blend in" with the surrounding buildings. Â When you walk in, seat yourself. There are approximately 15 tables, and the bar area. Â The menu is your basic menu for breakfast and lunch. They also have daily specials on the board to the left of the kitchen. Everything is GOOD! Â Small, relaxing, excellent prices, it's all GOOD!
We will be back. Not for large groups, but excellent food, excellent service, can't be beat. Â You can tell there are "regulars," and we will be two of them!
Thanks 20th Street Cafe!
Great things about 20th Street:
The waitresses/staff. Really friendly and you just know they've been there for decades.
The atmosphere - booths and a great linoleum bar with small stools to sit at.
The location - not 10 blocks from my front door and NO LINES like at Snooze - a great alternative if you don't want to stand around waiting for an hour for some pancakes.
The prices - CHEAP!
Not so great things about 20th Street:
How my stomach felt post meal /:
All things considered, 20th street is a great little spot to have a cheap, slightly greasy meal and drink up some old school Denver vibes.
I can't believe I have passed this little spot so many times over the years, never knowing that it is a gem of a diner. Â This place serves up honest, fresh, well priced food that just blows most every other breakfast spot in town out of the water.
Sit at the bar, chat with Lou and just prepare to indulge in great food prepared by chef Rod Okuno who makes an amazing Loco Moco, unreal breakfasts, and just honest, tasty food. Â I love the Asian flare and will be back to try the fried rice. Â The atmosphere is warm, inviting and a home away from home.. I always look forward to my next visit.
Skip the long lines at the hipster joints and stop in ASAP, you will NOT be disappointed you did.
A fab breakfast joint I don't have to wait in a line around the block for!
This cute lil diner is like a trip in time, once you enter you have traveled to old school USA. The staff was friendly and the food was great. The people watching was still good, even if it was sans trendy hipsters. I walked past this place too many times, but that must be how they preserve the awesomeness - chameleon style.
The service was a little slow, but nothing severe. I would like to sample more of the tasty looking menu. Keep on keepin on, and don't change a thing!
Yum! Â My boyfriend and I were in town for a wedding. Â We found this place on Yelp, read the reviews and decided to go here. Â 20th Street Cafe is the definition of a greasy spoon/diner. Â The service was more than friendly, the prices were super reasonable and the food was yum, yum, yum! Â I had the Breakfast Fried Rice and I have been craving it ever since. Â My boyfriend had the breakfast burrito with the green chili sauce and said it was great. Â The portions were huge so neither one of us were able to finish it all. Â Don't miss this little gem!
Review Source:I just love eating homestyle in places like this. Â I've been a couple of times for lunch and got a delicious meal both times. Â The first time I had the meatloaf, mashed potatoes, vege and rolls topped off with cobbler and ice cream. Â The next time I had spaghetti and meatballs, not authentic Italian, but authentic like your mom makes (assuming she's not Italian...) and also delicious. Â Maybe my small-town roots are showing, but I feel so at home in this place.
If you like eating homestyle, no frills, no hipster BS, this is the place. Â Nice counter bar to eat at, if that is your thing. Â Good mix of people come in for lunch from suits to construction workers to seniors coming in to catch up on the news. Â
I haven't had anything off of their breakfast menu but it all looks great too.
I love this place. It's a great classic, un-yuppified diner located in down-town Denver. This is one of a few that I've been able to find and the food is good. We went for breakfast. My wife had the pancakes (she is a pancake snob) and loved them. I had a Hawaiian dish called Moco-Loco. It consisted of a bed of rice, a huge hamburger patty, two eggs my style, all covered with gravy. Â It was pretty tasty and all for a meager amount of money. Â The next time we go I plan on trying the Breakfast Fried Rice. Â
Keep in mind that the fair is nothing fancy, but it is solid (aka good), but it is one of the better deals-for-the-money that we have been able to find. We'll definitely make this a regular haunt.
This is a great divey-ish type place. It's yet another restaurant that makes me feel like I'm not in the middle of Denver anymore. The waitstaff consists of 2 people and the older woman likes to call people "hon" and "sweetie" while she refills your Folgers coffee.
The food is good. And cheap. You won't break the bank here on fancy pancake concoctions, it's just plain old breakfast food. No alcohol. No waiting.
The only downside is that it's not open on Sunday.
The best breakfast diner in Denver. Â I've had the chicken fried steak, huevos rancheros, and various egg and pancake breakfast combos. Â Everything was very good. Â Their bacon is thick, juicy, and crispy, and everything I've had is under $7. Â The service is great and it is never too busy. Â If you want a quality breakfast in the ballpark neighborhood, but don't want to wait forever at Snooze, give this place a try.
Review Source:A lot of people who write the reviews talk about the standard diner fare, breakfast, and biscuits and gravy, and rate it pretty well for 20th Street.
I must say---Try the asian food here! Â The pork noodles are a great little noodle bowl, and putting the little shakey stuff on the table and some soy sauce gives it a nice kick! Â I love this place and have been going for years...granted I have had the pork noodles EVERY time, but my mom swears by the green Chili and my sister loves the beef rice bowls too.
Been going to the 20th Street Cafe for many years. Used to go for weekend breakfast and their steak and eggs. Today, went over for lunch.
The place is your classic greasy spoon, but a step up in quality and service. Lu, who waited on us today, has been there ever since I started going decades ago. She's a peach and a half.
The food's good. Not great. But this is a 3 star place you should go to just to see what a decent, hard working, blue collar lunch is supposed to look like. The prices are more than fair and the 20th St should be on your list of regular places to hit up.
don't know why i felt the need to go here, but i did it. Â i have to say that i'm glad i went. Â it's good to step outside of the comfort zone every once and a while to see if you find something special. Â you feel like your time traveling when you walk into this place. Â old school diner, front-to-back (not to be confused with ass-to-mouth).
it wasn't the best meal i've ever had, but it certainly wasn't the worst. Â i had some spaghetti and meatballs, which was the special of the day. Â and no, i wasn't expecting 5-star italian when i ordered it. Â but that's what i felt like eating, so suck it. Â i have to say it was not bad at all...
i'm anxious to go back here for some reason. Â i really want to try some other things to see if there's really something special going on here. Â i'm definitely intrigued by a number of things on the menu, so time will tell. Â the food was pretty damn cheap too. Â can't beat that imo...
hopefully i can upgrade this to 4 stars soon.
I think I just fell into a food coma... no really! Â I am exhausted after eating all the food on my plate 20th Street Cafe. Â So exhausted I had to get my chocolate cream pie to go. Â Hello dinner!
So todays lunch was down to three new places to try: Gastro Cart, Organixx, & 20th Street Cafe. Â I presented my friend with all his options and he selected 20th Street Cafe; off we went.
It's a very small restaurant that aesthetically has not had an upgrade in decades but the place was PACKED when we came in. Â Seats were easy to find at the bar but forget getting a table or a booth a lunch time unless you arrive early. Â
We saddle on up to the lunch bar and we are immediately greeted by one of the two waiteress running the cafe. Â Drinks served, free dinner rolls with butter, orders placed, and now to relax until lunch shows up.
I got the breakfast burrito because I have been craving non-sweet breakfast foods due to the cold weather. Â My friend got the Corn Beef Hash. Â Both dishes were fantastic! Â We also ordered a hamburger to go for a co-worker and a previously mentioned piece of chocolate cream pie to go. Â Total: Â $21! Â Are you kidding me!!!
Fantastic local cafe.
** CLOSED SUNDAYS **
I used to pass this place all the time during my commute. I would be stopped on the corner of 20th & Larimer, right next to the Buddhist temple, the adult bookstore, and the Blue Feather. Whatever that is.
Anyway, I'd always see the sign for the 20th Street Cafe, and I'd say to myself, "Self? That looks exactly like the kind of place we should check out. It looks awesome. Awesome, it looks."
Well, one day I tried it!
And it was friggin awesome!
It's the most perfect hole-in-the-wall, greasy spoon diner in all of Denver. There are a couple of 24-hour diners in town, such as the Denver Diner, that are trying so hard to be what 20th St. is.
What it is, is an unpretentious, no attitude, no waiting, no fuss, all friendliness, quick service, simple fare, good food, cozy atmosphere kind of diner that is the bee's knees, the cat's pajamas, and the cat's meow.
ANECDOTE!
Just now I was typing away and my girlfriend says, "What're you doing?"
"Yelping."
"Yelping what?"
"20th Street Cafe."
In a sudden throaty, breathy, sexy voice, she purrs, "I LOVE THAT PLACE."
ANECDOTE!
I wrote a review of the cafe earlier, but Yelp deleted it. For reasons. But in that review, I gave 20th St. a 1-Star review. Because "I'm trying to bring down the rating so nobody else finds out about the best breakfast diner west of the Mississippi."
ANECDOTE!
I took my friend here, and her three year old instantly developed good manners, good posture, and proper dental hygiene!
Try everything on the menu! And try the pancakes!
There's basically not a morning I don't wake up and think, "Ooh, breakfast at 20th Street would be awesome right now...
This is the place Denver Diner is trying to be. Â A real old school place with genuine charm.
Eggs, potatoes, toast, and coffee for two for $12 served by nice ladies who you suspect have worked there for...forever.
When I pass Snooze or any other breakfast place with a line around the block on Saturday morning, I want to tell them there's a much better, cheaper, no-wait alternative, but as it stands I feel like 20th street is like my secret place.
They do take plastic but don't forget you need change for the meters.
Warning: closed on Sundays. Â Which is too bad because I would be there like every Sunday if they were open.
There is a TV show called "Cold Case" where the story involves serving justice to those who have committed crimes in their long-distant past. The end of each episode usually shows the perpetrator moving in slow-motion, alternating between his or her youthful/mature appearance. This is the image that struck me when having breakfast with my son in this historic cafe last week. It's easy to imagine this place circa 1969: The décor would be mostly the same, yet, the metal and vinyl would be much shinier; the tired, leathery-faced waitresses instead young, vivacious, and intensely pretty; the irritable old men drinking their coffee instead full of vigor and ambition, their many misdeeds yet to catch up with them. Denver is booming and this place is serving up eggs, bacon, and hotcakes to its dealmakers, laborers, and passers-through.
I snap out of my daydream and turn my attention to the TV perched up in the corner of the room. Images of war in Iraq and Afghanistan flicker across the screen. I briefly consider the images of war that were likely on the TV screen in that same corner 40 years ago.
Along with a satisfying, old-school breakfast, this place--caught in its beautiful time warp--just might provide a few interesting thoughts too.
As I always look for a good diner or breakfast joint on the weekends to ease my hangover or mid morning hunger pains, the 20th Street Cafe won this last weekend. Â The old neon style street sign burned an image of good breakfast in my mind as I parked right out front on the street.
The restaurant is a classic, sit down and drink coffee all morning long type atmosphere. Â Low stool type bar up front, table and chairs in the mid section and a row of booths against the wall. Â Nothing fancy, just a good place to eat.
The restroom is a portal through the kitchen to take a peak and see how your eggs are being cooked. Â Trivial Pursuit cards are stashed in between the sugar and creamer packets. Â Surprisingly great coffee and local waitresses chatting it up as you wait for your breakfast.
The typical breakfast food is served until 11:00pm. Â I ordered the breakfast burrito smothered in green chili and was very happy with it. Â I always find if a breakfast place can nail the breakfast burrito along with the smother of green chili, they are good at everything they make. Â [I also rate Mexican restaurants on how good their tamales are.] Â I actually plan to go back and get it again soon.
Most downtown breakfast places are VERY pricey and over rated. Â 20th Street Cafe does not have any smoke and mirrors, it is plain good food. Â Take a few minutes and venture off the touristic area and get some semi-home cookin'.
I love lunches at the 20th Street. It is cafe food that you just can't find anymore. I feel so lucky to have this place close to my house. I have to say that this is my favorite chicken fried steak around. I love that it is hand breaded, and hand tenderized. It is panfried, and served with a thick, beefy brown gravy. This isn't art food, or 'new retro' like you'll find now popularized at some uptown establishments I love as well. This is the roots. This is where that food came from. No pretense, just Damn good food for the cheapest price that can be delivered and not sacrifice quality. It is all hand made with love, and served the same way. I love you folks, don't ever change!
Review Source:I've passed this little location for almost a year. It always looked interesting but a little scary!! Today I got an old co-worker to meet me there for lunch. We arrived around 11:30 and there were only a couple other tables filled at the time. Yeah!
The staff is fabulous! Super friendly, helpful and on top of the crowds. My water wasn't as full as I usually like, but they were a great group of ladies.
The menu is pretty basic. Greasy spoon type of choices. The breakfast choices looked pretty tasty, but they only served through 11am. Ah well.
But they do server the breakfast burrito (smothered in green chili) all day. It sure looked good! My lunch partner chose that and wow, nummies!
I went with the basic cheese burger. I saw a lot of other people going with the reuben and mmmm that looked good too! They serve most things with chips and a pickle.
Definitely cheap eats! I might have to just do a late breakfast instead of lunch some day!!
As I was walking downtown from the cheap parking to my office building, I noticed a little cafe tucked in along 20th Street. "How did I miss this?" I wondered as I walked into this old-school diner.
Debbie and Lu were very friendly as I sat down at the counter (I love diner counters). They were quick to tell me they make everything from scratch there, and they have good daily specials. I had a breakfast special (1 egg, 1 pancake, 2 strips of bacon) and coffee for less than $5. The pancake was good and fluffy, although not remarkable. The bacon so-so, although perfectly cooked. The egg was just an over-medium egg. The coffee was typical diner coffee.
It's nice to know I can get traditional diner food within blocks of my office, without the overblown "nostalgia" factor. It's over 60 years old, so there's nothing to get nostalgic about ... you just go back in time.
I give them four stars for being a really good example of their genre, with great service and better-than-okay food. For five stars they'd need to get better bacon.
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