Sunol Railroad Cafe

Excellent breakfast spot. Food was not greasy like a lot of breakfast places. I got the scramble and it was AWESOME! So sad this place is closing.

I use to like the place but not too clean of a restaurant and I have seen a mouse. When it warms up, there are tons of flys inside. Its unfortunate they don’t keep up with the place. Food is okay. I really thought it would be better.

Eh, nothing spectacular. Passive aggressive and standoffish waiter. Had a relatively rude attitude. Probably won’t come by again.

Great place to stop and eat brunch after hiking in the Sunol wilderness. Crispy breakfast potatoes, good omelette and friendly service.

Just stopped in for a basic breakfast, french toast with bacon and eggs… The place was actually quite busy, and I’m not sure how the poor waitress kept up with it all! A second waitress would help with the orders, and keep it running a bit smoother (and would catch a 5 star rating). The food was really, really good. The portions were perfect, and everything from the eggs to the french toast was quite tasty, and I will definitely come back again to try more of the menu! I really like the mom and pop feel, and I hope this little gem survives for years to come. :)

4 star average? High ratings are from years ago. I wish I would have checked newer ratings which are definitely not 4 star average. Breakfast at Denny’s would have been tastier. I won’t go into the conversations I overheard while there between the cook and server but they definitely took my appetite away as did the feedback from a customer about his food. Come on Sunol Railroad Café, step up your training and quality. I won’t be back.

I really wanted to love this place — we are big fans of Sunol, but they just need a lot of work.
Fiancé ordered an omelette with cheese, jalapenos, mushrooms and linguica. He got an omelette with mostly egg and little bit of cheese, GREEN BELL PEPPERS, mushrooms and a few bits of linguica. I understand that sometimes restaurants skimp on expensive ingredients to save cost, but this was our first visit — skimping won’t entice us to return. Toast was OK, just your general toast, not very «sour» for sourdough and very, very little butter.
My cornbeef hash (CBH) seemed to come from a frozen version or a can — it wasn’t fresh, it was mushy. All around me, breakfast potatoes and hash browns being served did not match the ones in my CBH. My serving portion was also so small, I went home and ate lunch as soon as possible. After a very filling meal of CBH, I normally don’t eat for several hours.
Also, food took over a half an hour to arrive — there was a large party in the back and I know that made the restaurant busy, but they weren’t even ¾ full. They just don’t have the cook staff to handle large orders.

Came here out of curiosity and a bit of a whim with my mom. The diner is definitely small town but it’s what makes it charming. The waitress was friendly and welcoming. I brought my dog with us and sat in the patio which was pleasant. I ordered the Huevos Rancheros and they were DELICIOUS! The hashbrowns had the perfect crispy consistency that all perfect hashbrowns must have. It was simple but delicious. My mom ordered pancakes, bacon and hashbrowns with an orange juice. She loved the homemade quality (without having to clean up). We are definitely coming back again!

Great little stop off of route 84. Food was good and service was excellent. Good price for a mushroom omelette, fruit and toast. Will stop here again!

Sweet little café in downtown Sunol. My family and I came here for lunch on a Saturday after having ridden on the Niles Canyon Railroad. We left our car at the train station and walked to the café in about 3 – 4 minutes.
The children’s menu was standard and the silver dollar pancakes had seen some serious inflation as they were each about 4 inches across but they were fresh and good.
My husband had a cheeseburger and fries. He thought it was ok but not great. He would give it an extra star for the handmade patties.
I had the tuna melt with cheddar cheese and it was DELICIOUS! The sourdough bread was thickly sliced and toasted but still soft and didn’t tear up the roof of my mouth. It was seasoned with fresh red onions, had lots of cheese and didn’t taste overly much like celery like many other places I have been.
It has a small town rustic feel that left us feeling like we were on vacation in a small town in Northern California instead of just minutes away from the high tech capital of the world.
I wouldn’t make a trip just for the restaurant, but if you find your self in the area it is definitely worth the stop.

Not a good experience today! Pretty sad Have been here many times and have experienced slow service at times, but today everything was horrible! They apparently were overwhelmed with customers, and not staffed to handle the business. Understand that this is not a very big café and we have tolerated slow service in the past. It was beyond being a little slow! Getting basic service like water, coffee, napkins, creamer, sugar, or even a spoon to stir you coffee. When some of the food did arrive the orders were incomplete and prepared very poorly. Eggs not cooked completely, missing hash browns, bread not even toasted, chicker fried steak over done, no jam or jelly, had to go find our own salt and pepper, etc… We brought friends with us that had never been here before. I was very embarrassed that I had recommended the Railroad Café. Sadly I may never return! The owner arrived a short time before we left and my wife did speak with him. He did discount our check slightly. I don’t think he realized just how bad everything was from start to finish! I did not leave very happy!

Love this place! The owner is a friend of a friend so we went here to try it out, now my husband and I try to go once a week. Chicken fried steak + biscuits and gravy = most delicious meal ever!!! We like sitting at the bar and talking to the servers. The burgers are so good too! Also the scrambles… everything is good here lol!

I really wanted to like this place, and in general I did. The only drawback is the food.
The ambience of this super small town, the railroad pictures around the restaurant, the friendly wait service all make you want to root for this place.
This place is truly a café instead of a diner. Their menu is quite limited: burgers, sandwiches, traditional breakfast and omelets.
I ordered a cheeseburger and I can’t say it was special. The patty tasted like a burger that I could make in my backyard, which I guess reinforces that «homey» feel.
If you’re a biker or trucker in the area, it’s worth stopping by for lunch or breakfast. But, for out of townies to stop by on their way to San Jose, it might be worth driving a few more minutes to Fremont.

I came here for lunch after a bike ride on Calaveras on Sunday. Sunday also happens to be when people come to Sunol to see the trains. The place was pretty busy, and it was nice that we could sit outside in the back since it was such a hot day.
This is our go-​to place after weekend bike rides around the Sunol area and you’ll often see other cyclists here as well. They serve mostly breakfast items and some sandwiches. There is never a problem customizing your order, such as if you want all egg-​whites for your omelet (there is an extra charge for that), and they offer free re-​fills for your coffee.
Service was a bit slow today, understandably since they were so busy. But at times it seemed like maybe they forgot about us outside. My friend had to ask twice to get her coffee refilled. I ordered the huevos rancheros with hash browns. The hash browns were nice and crispy on the outside just as I like it. The portions are perfect, so you don’t feel stuffed after finishing everything. If you find yourself in the area and are hungry, stop by.

For a diner along the roadside in a small town like Sunol, this is a great stop if you’re hungry for an excellent breakfast or lunch. Understand that this isn’t a fancy place by any means! Old pictures hang on the wall, the floor slopes in certain areas, the tables and chairs are generally old. Rather, vintage! That is the appeal of this cute café: vintage charm. You don’t go here for modern conveniences, you go to experience great food in a small, rustic, charming, and friendly environment.
They do accept cash or credit and parking is fairly easy. Stop here if you’re on the way to Livermore!

My family and I stopped by the Café over the weekend for brunch. Having been there before, I was extremely disappointed in our experience.
Given that we had a larger party of 7, we were recommended that we sit outside on the patio area. The hostess (a young gentleman) went back in to the restaurant to get a dry cloth to wipe down the table (which was wet due to the morning dew). One of the servers came out and rudely told us that the table would be wet until the sun hit on it and that we were not allowed to eat at that table. First off… we never asked to sit there in the first place — we were told this table was our best option. I didn’t appreciate being told off like that in a condescending tone when it wasn’t my idea in the first place. Secondly, she told us we could sit on the table with benches even with a 1 year old baby… how were we supposed to get a high chair or booster seat on a little bench?
So then we proeeded to go inside and the server was clearly annoyed that she needed to push two tables together for us. The table was in the corner where there were a few plants, which were infested with flies. I’m not talking 4 or 5 — there were like 20+ flies coming out of the plant. When we brought it to the servers attention, she raised her voice at us and told us that given the location of the restaurant, flies are very common due to the dry air. Her response was rude, but her tone of voice made it even worse. And we asked to move to a table in the middle of the restaurant (willing to separate our party if needed) and she did not allow us to. I’ve been to the Café many times and never had a problem. Furthermore, we could clearly see flies coming out of the plant base. As soon as my biscuit and gravy came out, a fly landed on it (literally within 5 seconds of the plate hitting the table). The kids were screaming «bug! bug!» the entire time!
I really wish I knew the name of this waitress. She was so rude! And it pissed me off even more when she was smiley, flirtatious and giggly with other restaurants patrons — yet so rude to us. NEVER EVER … EVER coming back to this restaurant again. It’s such a shame because the food is good and the restaurant is so quaint. We have never had a bad experience here… the waitress really put us over the edge.

Sunol Railroad Café is cute and charming as it is situated along the railroad tracks in a small, sleepy town. We saw lots of morning bike riders swing by for a cup of joe and some food to fuel their ride that morning. The people both working and dining at the café all were friendly and seemed to be perfectly content as they slowly ate their morning meals and read the paper.
The owner whom from reading these reviews– Mike, is a hard-​working and very kind man. He cleaned up our table for us and was sure to offer anything we may need. He was a really nice guy, and you can see that his staff are all very hard working and devoted employees. I truly admire that kind of work ethic.
On the downside, I thought the place could use a little cleaning up. Tables and table utensils seemed a little grungy and it turned me off a bit. For example, the jam holders were dusty and sticky, paint was chipping along the windows, etc. I understand its an older establishment, and I applaud the authentic charm, but this place could use some cleaning up. You want things to feel clean and get you excited about your meal!
Between the two of us we had a BLT and some eggs/​biscuits and gravy. The bread used for the BLT was definitely stale, but I didn’t make an issue of it. The tomato was fresh which was lovely, and I thought the presentation of the sandwich was EXCELLENT. However, the bacon was very dry/​crunchy and bland, and my side salad had some browned/​wilted leaves. I didn’t eat it.
All in all, I know for a fact that people are working VERY hard here, and I truly appreciate that. However, with dining out any place being a luxury these days, I don’t foresee us coming here again in the future.

Food was just okay. We didn’t have much of a choice since this was the only place around that served food.
Home fries were undercooked, and chicken fried steak was just okay.
I don’t think I’ll come back to this place.

I stop here for lunch quite often. Mark, the owner is a nice guy and always makes my orders how I like them i.e. Well done fries or hashbrowns or special veggie plates for my vegan friend.
The turkey club sandwich is good and breakfast items are always great. The chilaquiles is yummy. Always check their specials too.
Sometimes you will get to see the trains come by, this quaint, simple diner has great service, friendly faces and good eats… what more could you ask for?

What a cute little place.
We have gone here a few times and I just love it. I’ve had a few of their omelets, biscuits and gravy, and for som reason I love their OJ. The food came out fairly quickly and it was amazing.
I was surprised that the place wasn’t packed but the Sunol area is usually firstly quiet. It has never been empty when I have gone in but I always expect more people because the food and service is so good.
I love that small town feeling that Sunol offers.