Today I tried Grandpa’s Cafe for breakfast on a Sunday and I was not disappointed. I was immediately greeted by the friendly staff and seated with a drink quickly. I had the two by two french toast with scrambled eggs and bacon. It came out quickly, was hot, and had great flavor. This place had a warm friendly atmosphere. The staff checked on me regularly and brought me the bill promptly at the end, immediately clearing my plate. I could not have asked for a better experience and will definitely be back!!

A cozy, kid-friendly diner that feels exactly like home.
If you are traveling through Northern California and need a break from corporate chains, Grandpa’s Cafe in Clearlake is an absolute gem. It captures that classic, welcoming hometown diner spirit perfectly with incredibly warm hospitality and consistently exceptional comfort food.
It is an incredibly kid-friendly spot where families feel genuinely welcome the second they walk through the door. The breakfast plates feature fluffy scrambled eggs, thick-cut crispy bacon, and golden hash browns that are never greasy. It tastes exactly like a home-cooked meal made by family.
Your coffee mug will never hit the bottom before an attentive server drops by with a cheerful refill.
Whatever you do, do not skip the dessert case the pies feature flaky, buttery crusts and rich fillings that make it well worth saving room.

The atmosphere is cozy, laid-back, and packed with authentic local charm. While it is an exceptional morning spot for road-trippers and travelers, it can get quite busy during the peak weekend brunch rush. Stop in early to grab a booth, enjoy the friendly service, and fuel up properly before hitting the road again.

Well it pains me to say this. But this review is not going to be that good. I have eat at this place a few times and I’ve had usually good service and good food. But not this time. I’m not sure if this is a weekend thing. When I have came on the weekdays it was usually pretty good. However today the service was terrible. My wife and I went today since she had the day off and we rarely get time to go out for lunch together on the weekend. I ordered the Grandpa skillet she ordered the 3 by 3. It was supposed to come with 3 pancakes 3 sausage links in 3 eggs over easy. What she got was a 2 by 2. When we talk to the waitress about it all. All she did was offer her an extra pancake and not any extra sausage or eggs. My wife is nice and did not want to send it back and say no I want my extra egg and sausage. So she took it as is. My plate however had country potatoes in it… a lot of potatoes. I would have figured for $16.00 A skillet would have a even portion of meat, eggs in potatoes but not in this. So for the price my plate was not that good. As we were eating I noticed the waitress was serving other tables near us. I tried to get her attention yet she ignored me. I wanted a refill. She came by my wife earlier but didn’t offer me any refills. After waiting an finally getting annoyed to go up myself and ask for a refill. She did not remember what my drinks were and gave me an iced tea instead of water. I told her I did not order that and at that point I was done. I know some of you will probably want to stick up for her and say” she was probably really busy”. But at the time we were in there there was only 4 other tables being served. And if you have any restaurant experience waiting on 5 tables is not that hard. Because I cannot eat a high carb diet filled with potatoes. I ended up going home and making some hot dogs. As you can see they are quite big and very fulfilling definitely more meat than I was given when I went to Grandpa’s and a lot less expensive. I probably will not return any time soon. At least not on the weekend hopefully the week day crew stays consistent.