Sleepy Bee Cafe - Oakley
| Address: | 3098 Madison Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45209, USA |
| Phone: | +1 513-533-2339 |
| Site: | sleepybeecafe.com |
| Rating: | 4.4 |
| Working: | 7AM–2:30PM 7AM–2:30PM 7AM–2:30PM 7AM–2:30PM 7AM–2:30PM 8AM–3PM 8AM–3PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 8
JA
Jay Mehta
Sleeping Bee was suggested by a local and definitely a great recommendation. The place is obsessed with bees (not the live ones). The entire atmosphere is bee-fied. If you are in Cincinnati area, this is definitely the place to be for a breakfast, brunch or lunch. We went on a Saturday late morning and the place had a good half an hour waiting. But with a recommendation and great reviews already, we thought it would be worth it. And it was. Food: Their menu is quite extensive and a lot of options for vegetarians as well. We went for a single Apple Cake Pancake, Warm Quinoa Bowl and Roasted Beet Sandwich (with a side of Roasted Sweet Potatoes) along with Big Orange Splot and Grapefruit Juice. Warm Quinoa Bowl was simply amazing. Aesthetically, it was very appetizing and we enjoyed every bite of it. In terms of portion, it might a bit too much for a single person. Its best shared. Roasted Beet Sandwich was one of the best we had in the US yet. The idea of keeping beet as a hero of the sandwich is a big gamble and it paid off. Sourdough bread was great and I couldnt think of a better bread to go along with it. Apple Cake Pancake was good. However, the almond+quinoa+buckwheat flour lacked the strength to hold the pancake together. So, it made the whole pancake very brittle and almost impossible to eat with knife and fork. Luckily, we had spoons ;) Ambiance: This place shouts "bee" everywhere - even in the restrooms. The theme is quite confusing as you have a brick wall at one end that gives it a rustic look but the rest of the place has a very contemporary styling. On each wall, you will find something or the other related to bees - a trivia or just a painting. But everything is related to bees. It seems to be getting a lot of young crowds, which I believe is due to good pricing and availability of smaller portions. Perhaps why, iIt is quite noisy, especially during peak hours. Staff: The staff was great. Although the guy attending us was a little more excited than normal but there werent any gaps in the service. Overall, it was a great experience. Definitely up my list if I am contemplating a great breakfast on a lazy weekend.
MA
Matt L
The "Sleepy" apparently refers to their wait staff. I can only comment on the Blue Ash location, which is a perfect example of a restaurant with great food but terrible service. I like to give servers the benefit of the doubt, but after four visits, it is getting much more difficult to justify going back. This is unfortunate, as I think the food is very good and very unique. The wait staff never seems to "bee" in a hurry, and most of the servers have lacked the ability to multi-task -- a necessity of the profession. One young woman, who has waited on us two of our four visits, apparently doesnt realize that a breakfast establishment should offer refills on coffee. Our most recent visit, I almost got up and refilled my cup myself at the server station, as actually getting our waitress attention was nearly impossible. When she did finally check on us, she acted as though it was an inconvenience to refill my mug. Quite frankly, I should not have to ask for this service - it should be offered freely and frequently throughout the meal. That is Serving 101. I hope management takes suggestions to heart and makes some training changes. Cincinnati needs more unique restaurants, and it is a shame when places with great food are ruined by poor service.
TO
Toni Thomas-Feren
Disappointing visit at the new Blue Ask location after only great experiences at the Sleepy Bee in Oakley. The toast was cold, the omelet so full of mushrooms it was hard to find the spinach, onions or cheese, the red potatoes not as satisfying as the hive potatoes, the pancakes came without any syrup being brought with them and it was probably 10 minutes before we could hail our waitress to bring syrup. Having said that, we will give it another try in a few months, figuring perhaps they still just have some work to do to bring this new location up to the high level of the original Sleepy Bee. Our waitress was very knowledgeable, accommodating, friendly, and brought us a take out container of cookies for the long wait for our food.
JA
Jayna McDaniel-Browning
3.5 stars. We actually went to the new Blue Ash location, which isnt on Google yet. While we appreciate their offering vegetarian and vegan options, the scrambled tofu was THE WORST weve ever eaten. It tasted like plain crumbled tofu tossed with turmeric had been heated in a microwave. The veggie sausage, though, was quite good and the roasted sweet potatoes were delicious. The Hugo cocktail was also one of the best brunch drinks Ive come across. I definitely applaud their commitment to local and sustainable foods, but I really hope theyll take the time to get their tofu scrambles up to par. In my opinion, if you wouldnt be glad to eat it yourself, you shouldnt serve it -- and I cant imagine these are pleasing to anyones palate.
TE
Terry Paulus
Staff is very friendly, the service was excellent. It is quite spacious and airy, with that it can be a incredibly noizy. The location is convenient and the windows make it quite bright inside. It seems to always be busy, so most likely you will wait to be seated. The food was very delicious, although the servings were incredibly small. Do not bring a big appetite, or you will leave hungry. For the amount of food you get, it was QUITE pricey. $23 for 3 eggs, 2 pancakes, and 3 small roasted red potatoes with coffee. I guess they have to pay for all of the space somehow. It was nice to experience once. If I were to chose again, I would probably go elsewhere.
HA
Harold Lutz
Ill start with the good, the staff is great, the food is good, my family loves coming here, and you can use the NoWait app to skip waiting around in the lobby for an hour. It can be a bit pricey and crowded, but overall the positives far outweigh the negatives. I recommend the Melted Leek and Sausage Omelet and my wife is a big fan of the Buzzy Grilled Cheese. The coffee isnt too bad, wife loves the iced Mocha (if I liked chocolate Id probably like it too, it looks delicious!), and it is a great place to bring the kids. There are kids books already there and the staff does a great job interacting with them.
LU
Luke Wertz
It is pretty pricy for what you get. Service is usually good, but it takes a while to get a table and the kitchen tends to be slow. The coffee is mediocre at best. It has really nice upscale touches (like custom art), but the actual experience of eating there is more like eating in a cafeteria. The kitchen is open to the dining room and there isnt a soft surface in sight. You cant hear anything over the noise. The best thing about Sleep Bee, though, is that they really seem to care about how the ingredients are sourced. If ethical eating is important to you, youll like Sleepy Bee.
KA
Katherine Mayerovitch
This place is fantastic! Great brunch spot, with options for vegans and vegetarians too. Theyll make any omelet as a tofu scramble, and non-dairy milk available for your coffee too. Do watch out for the after-church crowd on Sundays, as it can get packed. But you can get on the waiting list from home, which is totally worth it. Or you can just stroll around Oakley and visit the neighboring shops, which is also fun if youve got the time.
