Shea’s Express

I had no idea that this place was here. Now that I do, I’ll be making it a regular stop. Excellent breakfast (I had the tacos), espresso bar, pastry window. They have a hue seating area, but also have two areas, each with a leather couch, arm chair, and fireplace. This may be the only place in Huntsville that I’d feel comfortable camping out and working/​reading all day. We’ve been here two hours and the owner just came by to thank us for hanging out. Solid five stars.

Really enjoy the selections of eggs Benedict dishes. Just enjoyed the BLT Benedict. Eggs, arugula, kale and avocado. Cherry tomatoes and separate fruit cup. Meal is slightly chilled. For Restaurant week they add a potato dish and mimosa. Wonderful!!!

My friend and I went here for Saturday jazz brunch. It was our first time. I’m new to town and she came to visit me. First thing you should know is it’s not a full service restaurant. You order up at the counter and they bring it to you. It was kind of expensive for what we ordered. For the 2 of us it was 37 and I never know how to tip at a place like this so I gave 20%. The food I had was ok. I got the shrimp and grits. I guess I was expecting traditional shrimp and grits. It’s a bit spicy with a dark sauce. I didn’t love it. My friend had the huevos rancheros. She liked it but it was a small portion. I had a mimosa. That was good. I’d give it another try because they do have a huge menu so maybe I’d find something I liked and it was pretty busy so people must like it. but I’m not going to go out of my way to go there anytime soon. The workers were all very kind.

Best fish tacos I have ever eaten! Delicious! The cabbage slaw on top was perfectly seasoned.

Excellent Memphis Tacos. BBQ pork with jalapeño slaw and topped with pico. Delicious.

Shea’s express was ok. I went there on a girls lunch outing. I was expecting this place to be awesome and to me it was just ok. I had the fish and grits and it was pretty bland. Maybe I will give it another chance and try a sandwich and see if that is any better.

We used to live in Huntsville and enjoyed eating here. When we come back for a visit, we always eat a meal here. Most recently, we were there for the Sunday Jazz Brunch. The food was excellent, as was the music. Everything on the menu is fresh, and many healthy choices.

Would I be terribly upset if I never visited this place again? No. Is it good, spacious, clean, and a good lunch spot? Yes.
There are sandwiches. There are salads. There are other things. They are what they say they are… Nothing more, nothing less. I would [maybe] rate 4 stars but it is unoriginal lunch food for a pretty high price.
Pros: The portions are huge. (I always get a ½ salad and am stuffed). Everything seems fresh. Extensive, fairly diverse menu. The offer alcoholic beverages and outdoor seating.
Cons: Overpriced. Overkill on the salad dressing (ask for it on the side). The mac n cheese tastes like overcooked mac n plain cream with a hint of cheese. I’m not personally a fan of their sweet, rich cornbread. Self service.

Today’s question was, «Where is cynshea’s deli restaurant, that is rated 5 on TripAdvisor?» Let me attempt to answer: the name of the restaurant is Shea’s Express. It is just NW of the Historic Huntsville Depot museum.
The owner of the restaurant is Cynthia Shea Hart. The name of her catering business is Cyn Shea’s. It is currently stylized in her business logo as cynshea’s.
Shea’s Express is kind of a chick place; ladies having lunch. No tables today had men dining without a lady in the party. Think fancy salads, and chicken salad croissants.
However, that is a vast over-​simplification. They have a wonderful bakery with desserts, and an extensive menu. They claim to have the best cornbread in town.
I split my wife’s Ham & Brie sandwich, and cup of Tomato Bisque. She had a hazelnut Mexican coffee, and I drank a Coke.
Brie cheese is not my favorite thing to put in a sandwich. My wife said she really enjoyed lunch here today. So, I give Shea’s a four, overall.

Fast and pleasant service. Lots of options and lovely atmosphere. Beautiful indoor and outdoor seating!

Great little place near downtown with lots of options to eat. They have daily specials and sometimes have live music playing on Saturday and Sunday. I had the croissant breakfast sandwich which was good and the cinnamon roll which was filling, sweet but good.
Overall a good experience and good service. We will be coming back to try more things on the menu.

A medium sized brunch/​lunch place that offers plenty of seating at both high and low tables. I like the décor and found the food to be just as good.
My favorite cake is the Orange Dream with light cream to fill the layers and as icing. It’s moist from the mandarins they include in it, which is a great move.
Others:
Spiced Hummingbird cake — not really spiced. More like a dry banana walnut muffin. The icing complemented it. ²⁄₅
Coconut — suggested by the employee. Moist, dense, and faint taste of some liquer in the cake. ⁴⁄₅
Lemon liqueur — nice strong lemon taste. Tasted like a lemon cake from Walmart. ³⁄₅
The sandwiches are also pretty tasty; I recommend the Cuban.

I like Shea’s for the variety of their foods and the fancy feeling to them. Even though its just deli food, they have a lot of creative options, especially in the sandwich arena (toppings and the bread itself), that makes it feel above a normal sandwich shop. I LOVE the apple turkey sandwich and their homemade chips are pretty good. The chips have some vinegar in the flavoring, which I’m not a huge fan of, so if you’re like me they have other side choices for just a little bit more.
The inside and decorations make it feel very much like a café. They have stone tables and big windows keeping it very bright and welcoming inside. The only pitfall is that it can get a little pricey, but you are getting a higher quality food so it comes close to evening out.

We went for brunch this past saturday and boy i wish i’d gone sooner.
My wife had the blueberry cornmeal pancakes, and they were awesome. Light, sweet, perfect.
I had the Man’s Quiche and it was a rather large slice with bacon, sausage and ham. It was very good as well, would be nice if it came with a side of some type.
Love that they have locally roasted coffee as well. We will be back to try more of the tasty menu.

In three visits to Shea’s I’ve been consistently pleased with the experience. The décor and ambiance are pleasant and warm, but not too crowded. Each foray into their menu has been a tasty one: a fresh lunch salad, a slice of sweet potato pie with a cup of coffee, and a Christmas party dinner were all excellent.
The clientele is a mixed multitude of folks, and around lunch a seat inside can be hard to find. However, a small area just in front of the restaurant is dedicated to outdoor seating for pleasant days. I’ve heard the live jazz on Saturday mornings makes for a good visit, but I’ve not been able to go myself.

I’ve been twice during visits to Huntsville and must say I’m impressed. I was a student from 2000 – 2004 and I wish something like this was available for a nice Saturday Jazz Brunch. I’ve had the mediterranean quiche as well as eggs, grits, and toast. The fuzzy navel was tasty as well! I’m only not giving it a 5 because it seems to be very self-​serve. The atmosphere doesn’t put me in the mind of self-​serve but it works for them and that’s what matters!

In my first visit (a morning stop for coffee and WiFi), I cannot speak to the food, but I am very pleased with the atmosphere and the selection of coffee flavors. This is compared to the more well-​known morning stops like Panera and Atlanta Bread. I must say that if you’re one who can’t stomach Christianity, then this might not be the place for you, but otherwise, I recommend giving it a try. I will surely return to give their lunch menu a sampling.

I hate to do this but I have to downgrade Shea’s-it pains me so because I really loved this place. This used to be my go to brunch place for Saturdays when I have to spend the weekend in Huntsville, but after too many hard-​boiled eggs placed in my Benedicts, what used to be fluffy pancakes turned to flat, and just general speed of service issues I can’t leave it at 4 stars anymore. I once thought this place had the best blueberry pancakes in town but they must have changed the recipe or something becasue my last few orders have been tough, flat, and not a blueberry to speak of. I’ve had to send every egg benedict dish I’ve ordered lately back becasue the eggs were overcooked majorly-​and given that it takes them forever to get your order up the first time– I end up spending way too much time for what should be a quick meal in a self-​service establishment. I even tried to give dessert another chance-​the apple cobbler was full of half-​cooked apples (not a pleasant sensation in your mouth) and the coconut cake frosting left remnants of something crisco tasting in my mouth…
I hope this is a kink in their transition to a new chef and they get things ironed out soon…

Ok, I came with high expectations (they have a CRAB CAKE EGGS BENNY!!!), but still, this place really sucked. First we arrived at 10:10, started looking at the stained paper menu that the guy behind the cash register gave us. Don’t think that this is a sit down and get waited on type of of place, it is almost COMPLETELY self service. So we start talking about what we would like to order, and the cashier looks at us with a smug grimace and says «we already done stopped serving breakfast» and continued to find an amazing amount of interest in his hangnail… ok, so we continue on to the lunch menu and order. My daughter wanted a smoked turkey sandwich, but wanted to change the gouda to cheddar, the cashier said we could. I ordered the Vermont maple salad, and my husband got some BLT thing. When our order arrived on down the tray track to the other side of the assembly line, my daughter’s sandwich seriously looked like they had simply thrown two pieces of cold bread, some lettuce and turkey together– in fact, the top piece of bread was just kind of hanging off. They didn’t bother to add the cheese that we requested, and still charged us $ 8 for it. My salad was ok, way too much dressing, not worth the hype this thing gets. Now on to the «ambiance”-as I said before, it is completely self service, hell they even have a plastic fork, spoon, and knife dispenser-​you know like the kind they have for straws? And all the food is also served on disposable plates-​for a place that shoves religion down your throat the minute you walk through the door, from their décor to the «jesus saves» music playing, they sure don’t seem too interested in helping protect the earth that their god supposedly created… I won’t be back…

I think that Shea’s lives up to its name; it was easy to order (even though the menu is pretty diverse) and my food was ready before I was finished paying. If I worked in the downtown area I would frequent here often! The atmosphere is very laid back and coffee-​shop-​like. There is free wifi for you people who like to be productive. Shea herself came around to make sure I was enjoying my meal (The Southwest Chicken Salad Sandwich, which was very tasty) and she took my trash away as I was getting a refill. They also have a large selection of mouth-​watering desserts and baked goods as well as a variety of coffees that I intend to try the next time I stop in.