Sewickley Cafe

Stopped at the Sewickley Cafe after enjoying their Light-Up Night and had a most sad ending to a great evening. The waiter didn't bring one of our guest's place setting after 3 requests. FINALLY the food arrived. We had to ASK for bread! Most food was ""almost warm"" not at a good serving temperature. The lamb chop appetizer was tasty but only one of the three was of a decent size! The other two were hidden under field greens and were barely a bite each!! The heater out back was off for about 20 minutes and people in the room had to put their jackets back on until it came back on. Management was RUDE and completely defensive! NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!! more

In my opinion: The service was atrocious, with a sniveling manager named Travis who was ruder than rude. Food was warm, just barely (pasta). I had heard that the place was overrated, kept open by a clique of locals who hang out with the owner, but the average review of this restaurant seems to bear out my opinion. Try the Sewickley Hotel or Montecello's instead. more

I am the first to complain when things are not good, but I have never had a bad meal at this place. The dill soup is the best soup I have ever had. I do not know the owners but they are always very attentive and friendly when I have been there. We love to sit in the garden in the fall. This place is a gem and should be recognized as one. more

My wife and I went to the Sewickley Cafe for our 20 yr anniv.We had to wait 30 min's for a table when the entire patio looked open and there was only 4-5 tables inside.We used a groupon and you'd thought I'd be treated the same,but everything changed. I had to ask for refills,the food was average.The chef seemed pissed that he had to cook.The dessert was ok.Tasted stale or like it was frozen before.I will never go back there again.The owner was a complete ass.I heard him giving attitude to a older lady about sitting inside of his rest....So don't waste your time with this place.Rude people,decent food I guess,Had to wait 30 min's and lousy service.We'd wish we didn't waste our groupon on this place.The Sewickley Cafe is a Joke.And It was recommended by a friend. more

I was surprised when coming online to see that others had experienced rude treatment from the management also. My experience echoes another commenter's- my friend and I were denied seating in the patio area despite the fact that seating was obviously available there to others without reservations. Mediocre food with a heaping serving of pretentiousness. Not recommended. more

Anniversary Dinner gone wrong I would like to tell you about the worse treatment I have ever experienced in... more

I would like to tell you about the worse treatment I have ever experienced in a restaurant at The Sewickley Café. It was our 27th Wedding Anniversary and we thought we would go to a place we have dined at in the past and usually have had a wonderful experience. We have always brought our out of town guests to share the wonderful dining experience. However, on this night, it wasn’t such a wonderful dining experience. Upon entering the restaurant, we were asked if we had a reservation. We said we didn’t. We looked around the restaurant and saw maybe 6 open tables inside the restaurant. We asked if we could sit outside at which the owner said it was full and he should have a table out side in about 20 minutes. We said we would wait. We had an alcoholic beverage at the bar while waiting. Ten minutes into our wait, the owner commanded that we were going to be transferred to a table inside and Joe would be our waiter. He pointed authoritatively to the table. I asked, “What about the outside table?” The owner responded, “I tried, it is not going to work out tonight.” We went to our appointed table, as commanded. Then we watched and heard as other parties entered and stated they did not have a reservation and they would like to dine outside. They were taken to the outside dining area immediately. We sat there, stunned. Why were we not allowed to partake in the outside dining area? We did have a delicious dinner, and our waiter was very gracious. When we finished our dinner, we asked to speak to the owner for some kind of enlightenment. Expecting a gracious explanation, the owner said, “O.K.” and stepped away from us, as if to say he was done with us. We asked if he even cared about how unwelcome he made us feel, and he responded with, “O.K. , Have a good night.”, and pointed toward the door. He left us standing there with our mouths wide open, stunned at his response. We don’t understand how an owner of a restaurant in this distinctive town could be so rude. We will never dine at this establishment again and we will make sure all of our friends and coworkers know of our rude treatment. With this kind of treatment, this establishment will sure to be closed soon. Upon arriving home, out of curiosity, we googled The Sewickley Café reviews and we astonished to find we were not alone in our sentiments!!!!!!Reader Beware!!!! DO NOT DINE AT THE SEWICLEY CAFÉ. more

terrible owner who is incredibly rude, experienced this a couple of years ago and tried to give them... more

Regarding the 50+ times I ate at his establishment, especially while sitting for the PA bar... the food and atmosphere were exquisite. I made life long friends and miss it on a daily basis!!! Funny hoe a place to eat can become an institution for a stage in your life... thye good news... in this circumstance... you can go back!!! Pros: Friendly staff, amazing food and well selected cabernet Cons: I LIVE TOO FAR AWAY!!! more

There always seem to be great menu options for dining in. I really enjoy the sandwiches and all of the ingredients taste fresh. One of my favorite options on a busy night are the Cafe Casseroles. A gourmet meal for a great price ready to pick up and enjoy. I just found out that for every Casserole ordered, $1 is donated to the Quaker Valley School system for the use of the fern hollow nature center. It is great to support a business which is giving back to our local community! Pros: Great Atmosphere and menu options more

As I occasionly check out the restaurant reviews in the Citysearch, i was quite alarmed & SADDENED by some of the negative reviews about the SEWICKLEY CAFE. \r My wife and I frequent the Cafe ( one or twice a month) in this charming little town, and won't even think twice of where to eat ( all though there are many choices). My wife may dispute me on this but as I find the breakfasts (they Olympus omelette, made with feta & fresh spinach & tomatoes) are my favorite. My wife loves the the lunch menu, especially the truffle fries that accompany all the sandwiches. What I especially love about the Cafe is their ""take out"" casseroles, that my wife will bring home when she is pressed for time. They are NOT your typical baked pastas! (Your guests would think you've been cooking for hours!)\r The authors of these negative reviews obvioiusly do not know the owner of the Cafe...do they know about the numerous fundraisers he is involved with? The generous time and donations he is active with in his town. It doesn't matter where he comes from originally but the fact is he came to Sewickley and for this my wife and I are greatful that he brought with him the Sewickley Cafe.\r p.s. don't forget the killer desserts Pros: pros:Patio,menu, location Cons: cons:always crowded especially at lunch more

We have lived in Sewickley for 17 years and have been enjoying the Sewickley Cafe' for the past 10. We have always had great food and great service. \r \r The lunches are a great value; we often order for lunch where I work. The truffle fries are unique and really tasty, as is the Lyn's Wrap. I recommend those for something different for lunch.\r \r Dinner is amazing. The standard menu items are always consistently good (something to look for in a restaurant) and the specials are always creative and well done. We particularly like the Crab Cakes, but the Tuscan Chicken, Asiago Chicken, and Penne a la Cafe are also good. The bone-in t-bone is awesome!!!!!\r \r Oh, and did I mention the Tomato Dill soup? You have to try it, even if you don't like dill!\r \r The addition of the bar is nice, but you can still bring your own wine with a nominal stem charge. \r \r While we have noticed a turn-over in staff, they are always well trained and very pleasant. They know their product and are always willing to make it right if there is a problem (rarely!!)\r \r While it is sometimes a dissappointment not to sit on the patio (which is lovely), just because I can't sit out there doesn't ruin my evening. I don't consider the dining room to be ""dark and dingy"" . There is always good (or at least interesting!) art on the walls and fresh flowers on each table.\r \r As for the owner of the restaurant, I have not encountered the type of behavior mentioned in the one star reviews. He has always been accomodating to us and has been more than generous with his time and talents to local and regional causes. And by the way, he isn't from New York, he is from Kentucky ... check your facts before you blast someone!\r \r Not sure why those one stars are so angry ... they may not have been at the same restaurant we frequent! Pros: Great lunches, fabulous dinners Cons: Wish the patio was bigger! Can't always get a seat! more

We recently had out of town guests in for Easter weekend. As you may recall, the weather on April 2, 2010 was beautiful and I thought it would be nice to sit outside and enjoy the weather, along with a nice lunch. Our first choice was the Sewickley Cafe. When we asked to be seated outside, we were told that the patio was not opened, so we had to sit inside. Since it was such a fabulous day, we decided that we really wanted to be outdoors. We told this to the owner and his response was ""whatever"" and then he said, ""don't ever come back here""!!! I cannot begin to express how shocked and embarrased I was by this unprofessional, rude behaviour, especially when I was the one who suggested this restaurant. Quite frankly, I was so dismayed that I couldn't even think of a quick response. My sister-in-law did say to him, ""are you really that rude?"", to which he replied, ""I said goodbye and don't ever come back here""!!!! \r \r Well, no need to worry about that. I would never go back there and I would never recommend this restaurant to anyone. In the end, though, we had a great lunch at the Naked Grape. I highly recommend the Naked Grape and we will be sure to return there. \r \r On a final note, we mentioned the inexcusable treatment we received at the Sewickley Cafe to another merchant in the area, and she told us that she's had a number of customers complaining about the Sewickley Cafe lately. Those folks did not mention rude behavior, but they complained of bad food and slow service. When this restaurant goes out of business, lots of people will know why. Pros: nice location Cons: unprofessional conduct more

Today was a beautiful day so we hoped to go to a nice outdoor lunch in the town of Sewickly. Upon our arrival at the Sewickley Cafe, the owner asked us if we were coming for lunch. We asked about dining outside and he told us that the area wasn't available due to damage from the snow. He proceeded to try to seat us in the noisy dark restaurant. We decided that we really wanted to eat somewhere outside so we thanked him and explained this. He gave us a very rude look and exclaimed ""Whatever!"" and then told us to never come back. We asked if he was really going to be that rude and he said, ""Just leave and don't come back!"" \r Not returning to Sewickley Cafe will not bother us, it will only hurt his pocket. We know this restaurant will soon go out of business because no one that treats people this way knows how to run a successful business. We hear the owner is from New York and all of the locals we told this story to today agreed that he should go back!! Good riddance to a bitter miserable man and his soon to be failure of a restaurant!! Pros: located in a nice town Cons: the owner! more

We went to the Cafe for a brunch group meeting and there was about 20 people in attendance. Reservations... more

Been here several times for lunch with friends. We usually get salads which are very good. It's especially... more

I ordered half-price certificates. It cost $25.00 and I received 2 certificates for $25.00 each. They can only be used for dinner. The prices there are around $25.00 per meal including dessert. The ""deal"" is you can only use ONE certificate per visit/per table. This means it is NOT one-half off. It will cost two people around $50.00 per visit, therefore, you will have to spend $75.00 total to get the one$25.00 ""free"" meal. Even if you both buy the certificates you can only use ONE per table/per visit. They should allow both certificates to be used at one time like most other restaurants around their meal price range. This would equal buy one/get one free, or 1/2 off, instead of just RIP OFF. Pros: Food was good Cons: Loud and atmosphere not nice more

I worked there two summers in a row, well one full summer then I got fired for calling in sick 2 days in a row (I got a doctors excuse and ended up I had mono) and the first summer wasn't bad. Maybe I'm holding it up to too high standards because of the people I met, and I've never served before. But the service is ify. Boss in a good mood, you'll get good service, but bad mood and look out, it's probably safer to be a matador. Food is a ht or miss too, try the chicken ceaser sandwhich, and also the truffle fries. Both VERY good. The chicken salad, however, is out of a tub and the other sides, besides the fries and soup are NOT fresh. I suggest go. Make your own opinion. Pros: food is pretty good, outside is beautiful Cons: chaotic and disorganized more

I've been going to the Cafe for both lunch and dinner for the last few months as I recently moved to Sewickley. I got a recommendation from a stranger when I was in Buggers the one day when I was asking around for a decent spot for some dinner. He said to head to the Cafe as the said that it was one of the only spots in town for a decent meal besides the Sweetwater Grill, which he said was a little pricier. He told me though not to have to high of expectations and that most of the time the restaurant is unorganized and it can take a while to get food. \r \r The first few times I went it was average. The sandwiches looked thrown together, the place was loud, pretty dirty and it had flies flying around most of the tables and in the kitchen. They also had no air conditioning and in late summer it made for a very uncomfortable experience. \r \r My server was not very educated on what they were serving but I can't really blame him since they were out of a few things that I wanted, such as wine. I was however recommended the tomato dill soup by the server as he said it was excellent and it was the owners mothers secret receipt. \r \r I got the soup and it was cold to start. I had him heat it up in the microwave as he was already embarrassed I could tell. Once I tasted the soup warm, there was something not right about it. It tasted like watered down cardboard, with soggy chunks of tomato in it. It had way to much dill in it was not a good consistency. I don't know what was all in it but I could not eat the rest. It is the worst soup ever. \r \r Fast forwarding to the last time I ate there for dinner I am still not impressed with the Sewickley Cafe. Dinner it is way to dark, the menus are stained and gross. The carpet was completely filthy, the bathrooms are horrendous and the kitchen from what I saw is a mess. I don't know how any restaurant owner could be proud of that. \r \r The food is ok, but eating it in a dumpy place is not. I'll stick with the Sweetwater Grill. Pros: Decent priced food, bring your own wine Cons: Dirty atmosphere, loud, terrible chemistry, slopy more

Last week I experienced the Sewickley for the first time . I was extremely dissapointed. We started our... more