The Corner Cafe

Stopped by for a quick lunch. Staff was extremely friendly and cordial. Lots of soups, salads and sandwiches. Casual dining. I suggest the Cuban sandwich.

Service is good. Food is attractive and good. But Portions are small. Especially for the price.

Excellent experience, terrific price. Awesome hearty tomato soup. Cuban excellent! Owner adds to terrific atmosphere. Wife happy. ‘Nuff said

What a great little café. Management is friendly and accommodating and the food is amazing! Had the tomato soup and the Cuban sandwich — they were wonderful. Staff also accommodated our large party of 8 and helped with our daughter’s birthday celebration. Definitely worth a visit when you are in the Sanford area.

The Corner Café is a real class act! Having the owner take orders at the counter and give recommendations was a new and unique experience for my mother and me. We both got Cuban style panini sandwiches with French onion soups (in a bread bowl with double cheese) and Vietnamese spiced salads. The included sweet tea was just sweet enough without being too sweet. I will definitely be back and will bring my father and my husband as soon as they’re in town from the Maryland DC area.

First time visit for lunch yesterday with my boss. There was a couple finishing their order with the owner at the counter, yet he acknowledged our entering and asked his employee to «introduce» us to the menu.
We were treated respectfully and professionally by each staff member.
I had the Cobb. It was fresh, presented well and very good.
I assume the bosses sandwich and soup were good as it was polished off and he obviously thought enough of the place as this wasn’t his first visit.
I’ll make sure and return. Thanks, folks, for the pleasant lunch experience.

Lovely lunch with a friend! The Vietnamese Beef Salad had an intriguing basil/​cilantro dressing and the French Onion Soup was full of creamy, cheesy deliciousness!
What is a celery dove you might ask? You should go to this place and find out for yourself.

I had the pleasure of having lunch there today, The Cuban was fantastic along with coleslaw. Chef Michael was very nice and helpful. I really liked the location too. Highly recommend this place to eat. Thanks. Robin C.

To be fair I have not tried the food. But, do not go here if you want to share a sandwich because your not that hungry and want a coffee. They denied me service because I wanted to share a sandwich. Owner needs to get a clue, the customer is always right.

The food was outstanding! Although it was a little more then we were looking to pay for lunch we were not disappointed! The owner even through in a dessert. Great guy, laid back atmosphere and outstanding food!

Flagged down by what was later determined to be the head chef. Who would have thought that us Steeler fans will be recognized the world over. He came outside and saw saw a Steeler baby cover and stuck up a conversation about back home. (Pittsburgh)
He then went into the information on his restaurant which seemed inviting. After having seated we realized it was much different than your local restaurants the meals were simple and well planned giving you ample portions and good quality food with good flavors.
The little things like the table linen made for a very pleasurable evening

Back again and loving it thoroughly. The food and service are delightful.
Casual and elegant all at the same time.
Everything is delicious and the atmosphere is comfortable. Enjoy!

My girlfriend and I stopped in for lunch last week. The Cuban sandwich and cream of mushroom soup are to die for. The staff was very friendly and gave us free desert since it was our first time in! The only thing that threw us off was they charged us for water that came out of a wine glass when we thought the water was free. My only advice is be a little more open about the prices but other than that the food was amazing!

I want to like this place so much. The location is perfect, right in the heart of downtown Sanford with the marina down the street.
I had a great first impression, the café is cozy and well decorated. The décor is great and the place is clean and neat.
The owner greeted us immediately. He was very sweet and asked if it was our first time dining at Corner Café. He showed us around the menu and recommended the Cuban and French Onion soup.
We decided to go with the pick ½ and ½. I think it was a great deal, half any salad soup or sandwich and your choice of soda, tea, coffee or bottled water for $ 12.95. I chose bottled water, and it was brought out in a fancy, chilled wine bottle to pour into a glass full of ice. A nice added touch. I wish I had chosen coffee, as their iced coffee was made with coffee ice cubes and my friend said it was delicious.
I had the pressed chicken salad sandwich and a Cobb salad. The Cobb salad was delicious, the ranch dressing tasted homemade. The sandwich, sadly, was extremely underwhelming. Super plain and almost flavorless. My friend has the Cuban sandwich and said it was nothing exciting. The food is the reason I’m giving this place 3 stars.
I think I will come back and give it another shot, just because the owner was so hospitable. The next three visitors that came in after us were greeted by name and the owner chatted with them about this and that. We were also given free desert shots, which was a nice touch and made me feel special!
Overall, I was impressed by the owner, the atmosphere and the hospitality. The food was not all there but I think that it has potential. Worth checking out!

We have eaten here a few times. Food is very good & fresh. Staff is attentive.

My fiancé and I were bored on our day off and decided to venture down town Sanford to grab a bite to eat. We were both starving as we looked up a couple of Unilocal reviews and found the corner café. And OH MY GOODNESS we were NOT disappointed.
we each ordered a sandwich and soup combo. (i got a sweet tea with mine that was the perfect amount of sweet!)
Their sandwiches were delicious, not too much meat but just enough to make it so enjoyable.
The French onion soup is out of this world! chef Michael has absolutely perfected it!
I will definitely be returning to have it again.
The staff were all very friendly and made us feel so welcome.
Overall it was a fantastic experience.

After attending the Farmers Market that is held every Saturday, my boyfriend and I stopped for a bite to eat at the Corner Café. I ordered the Cuban and he ordered the Asian BBQ Pork sandwich. They were both delicious. The owner/​chef was very nice. Seemed to get quite busy during lunch hours, we arrived slightly before Noon and got one of the last seats. We each got a meal and our total with tip came to around 25 $, not too bad! Will definitely return.

The Corner Café is right in downtown Sanford and like the other restaurants nearby, it’s operated by locals and that’s good thing. There’s something nice about the owner bringing you your lunch, knowing who’s coming in, knowing their regular orders, and such. I’m not a local, but sitting in the back corner I got to watch these things happen. It was nice.
I read the reviews and went with the Cuban. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it was certainly very good. Nicely toasted and warm, but the ham in the center was still a little cool. Could be better. The macaroni salad was also quite good, though I hope you like chopped bits of pickle. Nicely plated.
Service was excellent and the sweet tea was great.

My girlfriend and I were driving back from Deland and we missed our turn to get onto I-​4. So, me being a fan of serendipity, decided to keep driving and not turning around. We passed a couple of towns and then I saw a sign for Sanford. I had been there one other time for a trial (not mine) and the downtown architecture and history was something that I had to share with my girlfriend… fast forward to lunch time. So we were getting hungry and my girlfriend had been given a flyer for this restaurant by a waitress that was coming out of the bank. She said that the Cuban press sandwich was the best. My girlfriend LOVES cuban food so we went to this café.
The owner of the Corner café is passionate about Sanford and he is passionate about his place. This is not a run of the mill café. If that is what you want don’t go here. It is difficult to explain this experience but it was unique. Imagine you are sitting in a 5 star restaurant and the owner comes to your table and tells you what the specials of the day are. He is thoughtful and articulate about your needs and at the same time he tells you what is famous and a signature dish. If you are in that 5 star restaurant you will take the time to listen to his suggestions. So you have that picture in your head? Good — That is exactly what the owner does except he is behind a counter and there is the menu behind him. He is passionate about two things: The Cuban press sandwich and his signature french onion soup in a bread bowl. The explanation of the process took about 3 – 5 minutes and was well worth it. Treat this as the whole experience of the meal.
We both ordered the Cuban, she ordered the french onion soup in a bread bowl and I ordered the home made Celery Vegetable Soup (did you know that Sanford was once the Celery capital of the world and they have a museum to prove it)
The Cuban was delicious. It had a different sauce that we hadn’t tasted before but that just made it unique. We both agreed that it was a very good sandwich. My soup was good but the onion soup was excellent. It had a silky consistency and was well complimented to the bread bowl. We took our time to savor every bite and I even considered getting another Cuban.
At the end of the meal, the owner gave us both, as he does with every customer, a shot of carrot cake. It wasn’t on the menu so I am guessing that it was a new flavor coming out. It was divine (as they say in candy crush).
The only reason why I didn’t give this place a 5 star rating is because I felt that we were given the dessert as a form of reciprocity to give him a good review on Tripadvisor which he asked us and every other patron. I guess that is his prerogative but I was happy to give a review for my experience.
When I go back to Sanford I will definitely go back to this place. Of all the restaurants on the strip this one was the warmest and most unique. You can’t buy that kind of experience. I will also recommend this place to my friends and I will prep them for the experience they are about to have.
I am a Unilocaler and I am proud of it.

Friendly staff and fresh food. It doesn’t get any better than that. We enjoyed the lunch. They had a sandwich combo that was pretty good. The staff was very engaging and the food was great.
Overall, a great place to eat.