Randolph Griddle

Why do I keep making the mistake of giving this place second chances? Ordered pancakes with strawberries for my son. It took nearly 45 minutes, and what came out was some sort of neon red slime covered mess that looked like a murder scene from Ghostbusters. It was inedible, and I ended up buying pancake mix from Korte’s across the street.

Randolph Griddle is now owned by Tommy C. and his food is very filling. I have paid much more at the other breakfast places in the area and prefer to come here. I used to live in the neighborhood and now I live on the edge of Maplewood but still make it a point to stop in and have some coffee and breakfast. Sure, the wait staff could be faster but it could also include more people so they didn’t have to work so hard. I don’t mind the coffee because it actually tastes like a Medium ground coffee instead of the bitterness at Perkins, the Grand View Inn and other close breakfast places. The nearest Perkins in on University and I have never gotten my food before the people who came in after me.
The Randolph Griddle, gets you seated and brings your requested drinks quickly. The food is great and I have only once gotten the opposite of what I ordered when I wanted eggs. recently a couple of the cooks have gone to new places closer to where they were living or had moved to. I have always been served within reason. The menu keeps growing and getting better in my opinion. The Reuben breakfast is something I have only gotten at the Randolph Griddle. Also, most of the other places buy their hash browns in bulk but the Griddle cuts them themselves from potatoes. You can get whatever you want on an omelet and it will be done right. The Pancakes are superb and I like them better than those at Perkins. I have had Chicken Fired Steak here and it was better than the one i had in Idaho which I thought could not be outdone.
When the restaurant was known as the Copper Griddle they had a no credit card policy because the card companies charged too much for small places to be able to use them. That policy has changed under the new ownership and there is much more room to sit and eat while some of the seating is from the original Copper Dome, it is still comfortable.
I was there this morning and as a diabetic I ordered a la carte because I can’t have too much starch in my diet and they accommodated me without charging too much. They even try to fix some of the food as Super-​foods which are diabetic friendly and are cooked in a different way than normal. Sometimes when the waitresses are overwhelmed they forget stuff and I have never been to a place that didn’t during the busy times.
If you want great food for a reasonable price that doesn’t break the bank, go to the Randolph Griddle and order what you think you can eat and if your eyes are bigger than your stomach as mine sometimes are, take it with you. Even the place on Selby makes mistakes during the lunch rush and they have been in business under the same owners for 20 some years. I like to mix up my egg cooking to see what happens and if they don’t do it right at Tommy C’s Randolph Griddle they will do it again.

The food went from great to terrible and sadly we will never go back.
The reason the food took a dip in quality and the menu went from 5 pages to 1 is, instead of giving the head chef a raise after 12 years, the owner fired him.

Awesome breakfast spot. Pancakes are#1. Owner Tom Casper is ever-​present, ensuring everyone is enjoying their food. Try the Magnificent 7.

The service was extremely slow; it took 2 hours for some basic breakfast food and a burger. The breakfast food was edible but the burger was dry and overdone. For a restaurant that was 35% full, the service should have been much better.
They explained that there has been some transitions but they will likely fail if it’s not remedied soon.

Very slow service and took a while to get the food and it was luke warm. Not the best food. Bacon was cold and not good

To start off with the staff weren’t welcoming at all. And their customer service was poor. The food was nothing special at all. I ordered pancakes and they were very tough to chew and just didn’t taste appetizing at all. I will not return.

I travel a lot for work and along with my coworkers, am always looking for good local spots. We wanted to go to the nearby Nook around the corner for a juicy Lucy, but the half hour wait wasn’t going to work for our lunch hour, so we settled with the Randolph Griddle. Looked like a decent enough breakfast spot, and it was packed on a Saturday, and we got seated within 10 minutes. I was very disappointed with about everything. First, our server was not great. She had to come back twice to confirm one of my friends order. Then, when me and a friend had ordered a sweet potato pancake on the side to split and she brought a buttermilk pancake, she didn’t offer to fix her mistake, she just kinda shrugged and said, «oh I thought you said buttermilk». Which by the way, a single pancake on the side was MAYBE a ¼ inch thick and overdone as the edges were almost crispy. For my meal I ordered the spinach, mushroom & cheese omelet which I added ham to. The menu stated it was a 3 egg omelet. If that omelet was made with more than one egg, I’d be shocked. The egg was as thin as a crêpe and you could barely taste any egg. Not to mention, apparently «adding ham» to the spinach/​mushroom/​cheese omelet really means, add ham and no spinach. Cuz there was NO spinach in my omelet. But there was plenty of extremely salty ham and barely cooked mushrooms (basically raw). I didn’t even mention the lack of spinach to the server, as I’m sure she would have just shrugged again. Needless to say, I will never be visiting this place again when in the Twin Cities.

The new owners have revolutionized what was The Copper Dome (a truly dreadful place.) The décor has not changed significantly, which is fine, as it gives the place such an old school vibe. The Swedish pancakes are to die for, but everything we’ve had there on several trips has been good. The menu is huge. And quite creative. Highly recommended.

We really enjoy this place, have been going for the past 6 years and never a bad experience. The menu has everything you need including crêpe suzettes, potato pancakes, Belgian waffles, 3 types of pancakes… the list goes on. My favorite are the sweet potato pancakes, healthy and flavorful! The hash browns do not come with peppers and onions despite a prior review, they are plain unless you add something. Very well priced for portion size. Waitstaff is always friendly and try to get the food out quick! We hope this place is here to stay! Best corner of shops in St Paul!

Now called the Randolph Griddle (instead of Copper Dome), but still very good. Extensive menu with omelettes of all varieties. I especially liked the «senior» option with 2 eggs, instead of 3, and a reduced price. I had a spicy carnitas omelette that was very tasty with a nice kick. Everyone in our group enjoyed their breakfast. Our server, Suzy, was excellent. We will definitely return if in the area. We have never been disappointed in this place.

I just don’t love this place. I didn’t like it when it was the Copper Dome, and besides being brighter, not much has changed. The parking lot was full, so I was surprised that the restaurant was not. We were seated quickly and our waitress was very good, but that’s about all i have to recommend this place. We waited almost an hour for our food, watching people who came after us fed before us. The hash browns come covered in green peppers and onions, which is not stated on the menu, so be warned if, like me, you hate green peppers.
The food is fine, but that’s about it. Mickey’s, Keyes and the Highland Café are all better choices. In fact, if i have to wait an hour to eat, I’d rather wait at either of the Mickey’s locations where the food and ambience are far better.
Overall: meh.

Quality food with generous portions! Friendly and attentive staff. Great breakfast place.

This place is cute. Old, full of charm and regulars. My husband found this place on the way to the playground.
Our server, Patrick was excellent. So genuinely nice, helpful and efficient. He brought our little one a little pancake hat and some stickers which entertained our little guy while we were eating. Wearing it was another story.
Food:
Reuben Omelet. Sign me up. I love reubens. This has a lot of corned beef in it, the right amount of cheese and sauerkraut. Nice and fluffy. It came with pancakes with a bit of a different flour. They were thick and tasted a little like wheat and tasted great with the almond flavored syrup.
J ordered the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with their tots. Loved both!
Will certainly be back for breakfast or at least add it into our breakfast spot rotation.

I walked into this restaurant off the street. My daughter and I were just looking for respite from the chilly noon-​hour. I love, love. love all day greasy breakfast type places. LOVE. Walking in, you can tell it’s not going to be anything fancy. Fine with me!
The food is mediocre and the service is good. I had the cinnamon french toast, my daughter had the silver dollar pancakes. My french toast was pretty good in flavor, slightly under cooked, but overall not bad. It was served with «scrambled eggs» though I’m not sure what they were. Rubbery and gross. The sausage links I got were good. I had coffee which was o.k. My daughter’s silver dollar pancakes were good. At $ 5.50 or $ 6, I think they should have come with a drink or a piece of meat or something. She got a $ 3 mug of swiss miss, loaded with whip cream and a few chocolate chips, she was pleased. She was also presented with a pancake hat which was the highlight of the meal, to be honest.
Overall, I’m going to go with o.k. I’m not sure I’ll be returning, as there are many very good choices for breakfast nearby. It’s not cheap enough to make it a good cheap option and not good enough to be at the top of my list of go-​to breakfast places.

I like the way the new owners are going.
The Copper Dome always looked busy, but I thought the food was bearly OK.
The food has been better now, much better hash browns than before.

I’ve been going to this restaurant since it was called The Pancake House and was on University Ave. We recently went there, after it was changed to it’s current name, The Randolph Griddle, and food quality was improved but prices and the menu remained as they were when it was the Copper Dome. Today, we went there to find the menu was changed and prices now seem to be 50% higher. One of the main reasons we enjoyed this restaurant in the past was its cheap prices. Now, our family would struggle to pay for breakfast there.

The coffee is much better than it used to be (but anything besides metal tasting brown water would be better.)
Portions have shrunk and I am one who prefer a smaller breakfast, but my favorite the“Starvin Marvin” left me a bit starvin!

I believe this local neighborhood spot is no longer called the copper dome, maybe Randolph griddle or something similar now that it’s under new ownership. Service was bad and kind of awkward at times. Server asked how everything was tasting as were all finishing up our last couple bites… Food was typical breakfast food, what you’d expect– nothing special. Resembled a Perkins or bakers square. I ordered the Huevos Rancheros and determined I could make a better tortilla/​salsa/​black bean/​egg combo at home– and my cooking talent reaches to just about spaghetti. I didn’t eat anything there that would make me want to go back. Except my boyfriend loves the little smokies. For once our brunch tab was cheaper because they don’t serve bloody Mary’s and mimosas.
There are a few TVs my boyfriend and his dad were facing, after noticing a strange look on both their faces and asking what was wrong, I noticed the infomercial playing for over 20 minutes about cleft pallets babies in other parts of the world. Not great restaurant material to be watching something kind of sad– and graphic with surgeons and procedures on TV. They did change it when we asked. All around a very mediocre experience.

I had the buttermilk pancakes with eggs and smokies, my guest had crepes with fruit
The pancakes were very good, the smokies and eggs were fine. The crepes were very good. Also their coffee is a lot better than it used to be.

This is the perfect neighborhood breakfast destination. I come here with my dad every Saturday morning for a hearty and tasty breakfast. I have tried. Most of the pancakes in the menu and have yet to find one that did not blow my mind. My all time favorite are the sweet potato pancakes. You will never think of pancakes the same way! And pancakes are not even the beginning of what they offer at copper dome! They also have all sorts of other breakfast items like omelettes, French toast, crapes, eggs, and much more. They even have lunch! The cherry on top of all this yum is the amazing service. They talk to you more like long time buddies than servers. Long story short, if you have not been here, COME!

A decent quality, standard breakfast-​type diner fare, with really cool, old, framed flour sacks on all the walls.
Pancakes and omelets were fine, with really nice servers, and kitschy stuff all around. I recommend it.

My dad seems to really like this place, and there’s nothing really wrong with the Copper Dome… there’s just nothing really all that great either.
Is the food bad? No, the food I had (eggs benny) was pretty standard and the eggs weren’t overcooked.
Is the food amazing? No. It’s pretty standard, totally acceptable fare — but, while my eggs weren’t overcooked, they also weren’t the epitome of poached either (liquid gold gently oozing out). And even though nothing was wrong with my hollandaise, it was a little on the blander, more «meh» side. But, like I said, it’s all just very standard.
My parents both seemed to enjoy their food. Our server was very friendly. The speed of service was fine. The atmosphere was very comfortable and «homey».
I’d say it’s a couple steps up above a Baker’s Square or Perkins… maybe only one step down from the St. Paul Key’s Restaurant. Many greasy spoons tend to make me sick/​rock the guts, but I didn’t have that problem at The Copper Pot, which is a good thing. The Copper Pot is definitely a great place to go with parents, grandparents, or if you’re ever craving simple, standard breakfast food to eat while quietly reading the paper.

I’ve never understand why people keep coming here.
The food is just so-​so, service is fine.
There is nothing special about the Copper Dome, if you have high standards, I wouldn’t recommend it.

After reading some of the reviews on here it surprises me that these people didn’t do any research at all before deciding to dine here. Heck, even if you just walked in off the street there is nothing, I repeat NOTHING, that should tell you the Copper Dome (apparently it’s the Randolph Griddle now), is anything more than your neighborhood greasy spoon. It’s all about expectations people. If you’re looking for a hoity-​toity white napkin experience with fresh peaches, grass-​fed organic anything, freshly ground coffee, not-​from-​concentrate OJ and people drinking mimosas with their pinky’s out, then look elsewhere, because that’s not what you’ll get here.
What you do get is good food and decent service at a reasonable price. My omellete was good, my bacon was good, my coffee was good and the service was good. Was it the greatest I’ve ever had? Of course not. But my party of 4 ate very well for $ 45. How can you beat that? You can’t, that’s why. So if you come to the Copper Dome keep your expectations in check and bring your cash (or your checkbook) because they don’t accept credit cards.
Keep it up Copper Dome. I’ll be back.

This place is very Saint Paully. They have a bunch of vintage stuff around the whole store which is pretty neat while to stare at while you wait for your breakfast to come.
I was having a mad craving for some pancakes and my sister suggested we go here and of course I agreed because I love trying new places.
The food took a while which was ok because we a had things to chit chat about. Their menu is large filled with almost all Breakfast foods and pretty inexpensive too.
Pancakes were good everything else just average even comparable to Perkins or Dennys.
sorry to say: x but if you want to support local go here otherwise if you have coupons stop by the other places to save yourself a few bucks.

Stopped in for Breakfast-​breakfast is served all day until 2pm when they close. First Impression: The front doors open a little weird if ya ask me. Going inside was no different. Old time place inside. The booths are rock hard. The service was slow. The menu was impressive on the other hand. Lots of choices to pick from. They do have a unique assortment of pancakes that makes this place worth considering.
BUT,
I am not sure I will go back to this place though. The food wasn’t that good. The place only takes cash. The seating is all crammed in and way old. This place has some unique stuff on the wall but nothing really cool to look at. Something seem a little off here.
Check them out if you’re in the area and looking for something new to try.