Highlands Cafe

I had the veggie hash… suuuper meh. Not bad but absolutely nothing exciting about it. Had to drown that bad boy in cholula.

Meh. After tip it was over $ 14 for a very average chicken sandwich. Service was so so. No major complaints but didn’t get a reason to come back. Urban Joe’s a few miles away is the same concept but much better.

I like this place. I like that I have the option of either grabbing a coffee quickly on one side or sitting down to enjoy the café atmosphere.
I got a latte here last fall. I honestly don’t remember what I got but I remember it being SO good.
I went a few weeks ago with my bestie and we both got hashes. I had the veggie hash. I never thought of the combination of potatoes, a whole bunch of veggies and avocado. It was cooked very well but it lacked seasoning. (Which I found to be true on the last time I was here as well). I don’t eat eggs, so it was nice to find a savory breakfast dish that didn’t have eggs.
The service was only ok. I had to ask for a refill on coffee and then wait a good 10 minutes for it to come.
Overall though, pretty good!

We stopped into the Highlands Café for breakfast because it’s just a few blocks from our new house. The interior is fairly spare, but pleasant, with warm walls and a small bar. I was pretty happy to see they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner plus they’ve got nice drink specials too. All this just a few blocks away? What a find, right?
On the plus side, our server was great. She was attentive, kept the Misters coffee filled (Valentine!) and was really friendly. Why one star?
When we stopped there was one other table in the place. We placed our simple orders (pancakes, eggs, a Benedict) and waited, and chatted, and waited. And waited. Mind you, there is one other two top in here. That’s it. Around the 20 minute mark I get antsy because we have to get to our closing. We’ve been assured twice our food will be «right up». At 30 minutes, we’re both worried about time…
And then our poor server stops by to tell us the kitchen realized they were missing a key ingredient for one of our dishes and I’d have to pick something else. WHAT??? There’s literally no one else in the place — what the hell was happening in the kitchen that whole time? It wasn’t cooking or urgency that’s for sure. I felt terrible for our server as the idiot back there had put here in a pretty bad position.
We bailed — she offered to comp our drinks but we paid for them and left, frustrated, irritated and hungry. I’m sorry — North Ave Grill can get me food in less then 10 minutes even when the place is packed which tells me whoever was «cooking» at Highlands has extremely poor time management and kitchen management skills.
Chance of return? Not bloody likely.

I love this place! Great food and very nice people! I always get great service with the sweetest servers! I’ve been here quite a few times and never had any issues until today. Today I got a server named kelly and she had so much attitude! My friend got a cup of soup and asked our server for a roll, our server looked at her like that was the strangest request she’s ever heard and says with such attitude, «you mean a side of bread??». Then I got a chicken Caesar salad and I didn’t eat all of my tomatoes. When she takes my plate away she says in the bitchiest way possible, «you know if you didn’t want tomatoes you could have said so.» Maybe she was just having a bad day and is usually nice. I don’t know. I wont let this experience keep me from coming back, the service is usually great.

Well how they don’t get five stars every time I’m not sure! This place is great, ambiance, cocktails, fresh to order food, AND the service!
We walked in with our little service dog and there was no problem first of all. I have been asked several times before. «Is this a service animal»? Yikes helloooo hence the VEST! Here it was like no attitude so we were off to a great start! And they loved on her too and got a biscuit. Made her happy.
We have our vehicle at dealer for repairs and got a rental. So to Unilocal we went and found this great place. Decided to relax and get a Bloody Mary and a shorty comes with it. When in WI do as the locals. Nice! Learned about that today (what a shorty was)! So after we lubed ourselves a bit with these fabulous Mary’s and the sample of bacon, we ordered. He had the hash with Steak and omg fresh broccoli, cauliflower, onions, mushrooms, green peppers all roasted with a nice char on them with great tasting steak slices and potatoes. We could have shared that. But I did taste it. Soooo good that dish made us decide to come back for another meal this week sometime. I wasn’t that hungry so I got eggs bene. Also good and perfect size meal for me. After all we were tanking up on liquid so I couldn’t do anymore food. Ah the memories on my taste buds. Nuff said.

My husband, son, and I decided to try the Highlands Café in our old neighborhood. We had come a number of times for coffee, but we had not tried the dining room. Hubby had the Reuben, I had the chicken avocado sandwich, and our son had the special, a gyro. We all thoroughly enjoyed our choices. The servings were ample and nicely presented. I behaved myself and had a side salad with my sandwich, but hubby had the chips with his sandwich. I couldn’t keep my hands off of them. They were delicious. The prices of each sandwich was reasonable. Our server was very pleasant and attentive. We enjoyed sitting in the window watching the world go by.
We will definitely be back.

Nope. (Firstly, this is a breakfast only review. I had been here before like 2 years ago for coffee only, which didn’t really require service as I was at the bar.)
So get this. It is Saturday, 1pm (they close at 2pm) and we walk in. We just get stared at for about 10 seconds and then a woman asks if we were there for lunch. We say yes, and then we were told to just find our on seating.
A woman comes out, provides water, gives us menus, and then asks if we want anything to drink. I say I will take a look and my partner got coffee. She drops off the coffee and takes off without asking if I made a decision for a drink. Whatever, I will tell her when we order our food.
So I checked into Unilocal.SO I KNOW WHEN I SAT DOWN. Unilocal time doesn’t lie.
First thing is first, I open the menu and a large hair was trapped between the paper of the actual menu and the plastic sleeve it is protected in. Not a deal breaker, but definitely something worth noting… maybe a sign?
And I decide I totally want the special omelette of the day with a side of hash and a blue palmer to drink. Partner decides pancakes and hash sounds good.
So now a woman walks in off the street. I SHOULD NOTE: The only other customers were us and a single man who already had food at the bar. The woman sits at the bar, gets a menu, and then (and there were two servers) OUR SERVER TAKES HER ORDER FIRST.
So I am agitated, but I am like, «You know what? I can wait. I have patience. She wants to sell this woman to stay since there aren’t many customers. Then she disappears for a while.
I check my check in on Unilocal.TEN MINUTES SINCE WE GOT OUR WATER. MY PARTNER’S COFFEE IS ALREADY EMPTY.
But then she really tops it off for me. She THEN BEGINS TO HAVE A PERSONAL CONVERSATION WITH THAT ONE GUY AT THE BAR. Things she brought up:
— How she couldn’t wait to get off at 2pm
— How her son is taking golf classes
–Something about a trip but at this point my head was going to explode and we were sitting there for 15 minutes without an order being taken.
It isn’t the timeliness that is the issue, it is the fact that there was TWO servers, and only two other people (one who came in after us) and we were ignored at this point for 15+ minutes.
I took a 5 dollar bill to the bar where she was leaning chatting with this guy, placed it there, and told her that her (lack of) service was really disappointing, that she could keep the change for the coffee, and that they lost out on continuing customers. Her response?
«Oh…ok, well the coffee is on us.»
And I was like, «No, keep it, you clearly will need the help.»
Now, I have my opinions of why this happened. Did we come in an hour before they closed? Yes. But we were headed to the state fair grounds and in a rush too. Also, if you don’t want to serve people past 1pm, then close at 1pm.
But this isn’t the case. (I think.) Because she took the order of the other lady in front of us. My partner is a large bearded black-​wearing grungy kinda guy and I (as some of you may know me) have a lot of tattoos, including visible hand, knuckle, thumb, and chest tattoos. I think she thought because we look scummy we weren’t tipping.
Joke is on her though, I love excessive tipping and as the severs at Bel Air know, I tip over 100% quite regularly. I am known for $ 30-​$ 50 tips to make someomes day. Think I’m lying? Ask the servers at Bel Air Tosa, we eat there twice a week.
This is why I Unilocal.Sometimes things are awesome. And sometimes they flat out suck. Word of mouth is strong and bad customer service is the worst thing that can happen for me.
So to the owner of Highlands: I went to Rummage O Rama to visit a friend. I told her about my experience. Then her friend. Then a friend I ran into from UWM.
Then I went to Outpost. And I told the check out lady and the lady behind me in line. (You see, I was buying breakfast stuff because I am about to make a breakfast that I’m too lazy to make, but at least my order will be taken.) They asked me if I was making breakfast for dinner and I was like, oh boy, let me tell you about that.
So here we are. I’m starving while writing this review. My groceries are waiting for me. You are two blocks away but you will never get my money. If my descriptive details about her son playing golf doesn’t help you identify this employee, it was the older, taller of two female servers.

Tried this place twice, both time food was gross. Bacon was too salty and portobello mushroom burger literally soaked my whole plate in juice. They are fine for a coffee run. But go to valentine instead it’s just down the street!

We just moved to Tosa and desperately needed dinner with no effort involved. Highlands Café is just down the street, and I was excited to start tasting the local marvels of my new hood. This place is cute, though the construction across the street is not helpful in terms of ambiance. The server was a lovely, attentive young lady.
They serve Rishi tea, which makes me happy. There are a good number of dinner items on the menu, but being the picky princess I was that night, I wanted only half the ingredients of all the dishes. I’m a brat. I finally settled on the chicken/​avocado sandwich, which was a delicious choice. Pancetta (fancy bacon, right?), avocado, a thin chicken breast, and some sort of aioli made me very pleased. The portion wasn’t crazy huge, the flavors were salty and heavy and great for a cold night. Boyfriend’s sandwich (I forget which one now) was equally delicious, and I have a feeling all of them are just as well thought out. I did not like our sides, however. My chips were too crunchy and flavorless, the fries were overdone and not salty enough to cover it.
Overall, I enjoyed my dinner here. I want to try brunch to see if I would rate Highlands higher.

Charming resturant especially the patio. The food is super yummy and extra special. Great coffee, breakfast and lunch, if we lived closer we would be there more!

Went here for lunch on a Friday. Staff was quick to welcome us and inform us to sit wherever. Service was alright as was the food. Our food was a bit salty, which was alright with me but my friend wasn’t too thrilled. The s’mores hot chocolate was great, but for the price tag this place was kind of «blah». The food wasn’t enough for me to truly say this place is a must go. Decent food for a higher price tag. Would go back to the coffee shop portion again for that hot chocolate though, that was totally worth getting.

Love this place! Wish it was more in the Tosa Village or in East Tosa.
Excellent breakfast and lunch spot; haven’t yet tried it for dinner. Great in the summer – can sit outside. Try their Bloody Mary! Full review at
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Amazing food and pretty good service.
I was talking for days about my Goat Cheese Sandwich and how delicious it was. Going back and thinking about it is still makes my mouth water. My husband had a potato and Ham scramble which was also delicious.
We went on a Saturday around brunch and service was a little bit slower but still pretty good for a saturday. Our waitress was amazing with our 2 year old son who was acting up due to being hungry. She made sure to bring his milk right away and brought his fruit out a couple minutes later. Since she did this we were able to eat our whole meal without a screaming toddler and that in itself was well worth a large tip.
This place will easily be worth 5 stars when they hire more wait staff.

Hashes are absolutely AMAZING on the menu, add a poached egg and its perfection.

I am updating my review of Highlands Café after my great experience on Sunday morning. It is obvious that the neighborhood likes this restaurant based on the full dining room. Luckily I was dining solo and didn’t have to wait for a table, as they have a cute little bar with about 6 or 8 stools and it works well for us loners.
My rating change is really due to the chef — who I assume is also the owner — who came out of the kitchen to see how things were going. I wasn’t sure if I wanted breakfast or lunch — it was close to noon and they were serving both. He asked me if I ever had deep fried soft boiled eggs, to which I kind of scrunched up my nose at. He said if I didn’t like it, he would buy it. Smart move! I absolutely loved it.
The soft boiled eggs are battered in beer batter and deep fried. The batter has just a little sweetness to it. This is served with a vegetable hash and thinly sliced peppered ham. So when you break open the eggs, you get an awesome flavor combination with the runny yolk, the sweetness of the batter, and the smokey pepper ham.
I paid for my meal, happily.

This was just an unfortunate experience. I will not be returning.
Brother and I went to Highlands on Sunday around 1:00, which is still brunch, but after the busy crowd. I went inside to inquire about outdoor seating, and was told to sit down where we wanted, a server would be right over. Well almost 20 minutes without even a menu or water dropped off… we flagged down one of the dozen waitresses that had walked casually by. We were given drink menus and simultaneously asked what we wanted to drink. We hadn’t even had a second to look…
Michael asked for a macchiato, and the server had no idea what it was. I got a Blue Palmer, (blueberry tea and lemonade) which was awesome. It was very tart, but good.
Michael ordered the chicken salad and it was very very small. I ordered the savory french toast and was told that they were out? Out of bread? What? But apparently the original french toast was still available… hmmm. I ended up getting a ribeye skillet. It was awful — just awful. There was steak «ham» and «bacon in it. I maybe had 5 potatoes, and five pieces of steak. The rest was HUGE chunks of red/​green peppers, so big and overwhelming that I asked for an extra plate to put them on, (which like my hot sauce, water refill and ketchup, was never delivered) and the ham/​bacon was PURE fat. So much that I felt bad even giving them to my dog. I sat with an empty glass, a fat covered plate and an empty stomach for almost 20 more minutes before the server came to refill. I just wanted to go somewhere else and get real food.

Their panini sandwiches are fantastic! With the recent major expansion nearly tripling their size, this is a great location with a European ambiance to connect with friends, neighbors & colleagues.
ENJOY!

We just had lunch (on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012) in the newly expanded/​remodeled Highlands Café.
The new space has floor to ceiling glass windows that on this beautiful (albeit it cold) winter day was allowing warm, streaming sunshine in to naturally light and heat up the space. We were surprised to find out that part of the addition contains a full service cocktail/​beer/​wine bar.
We had two of their «signature» sandwiches, a chicken bruschetta and a pancetta BLT that had lots of good stuff inside, including avocado. The sandwiches were outstanding.
Highlands Café is a wonderful restaurant addition to Vliet Street in the Washington Heights/​Highlands neighborhood. I believe this place is going to be very, very popular.

The Highlands Café’s breakfast wraps are pretty awesome. So awesome I wrote a wrap rap:
Some weekends I’m just too lazy to make breakfast myself,
So I head into the Highlands hood where there is much wealth,
I order two wraps and then stand around reading the business card bulletin,
I pay the cashier about ten dollars and I’m on the road again,
I can feed myself and my girl for not much dough,
My last wrap didn’t have much chorizo