Bradford Lantern Cafe

Great little breakfast spot in Tewksbury. Seat yourself style tables and a counter with ample chairs. Standard breakfast and lunch menu. Cash only, but considering the price and the feel of this place, it’s not a big issue. You could do worse with the Deli King next door, or wait in a line at the Waffle House if you so choose.

Great breakfast! Plenty of food, especially for the price. My family had coffee, French toast, pancakes, hash browns, fresh home fries, eggs, breakfast meats and omelettes. Everything was great. I would ask for cheddar cheese in my omelette next time. I think it came with Colby or American cheese. Great service!

Definitely get bacon when u come here… soooo goood!!! Also note-​CASH ONLY!!! NO ATM ON SITE-​BRING UR GREENBACK!
Excellent service and quality of food because they care. Lovely lady that owns it has great sense of humor and makes sure everyone is OK. Prices are reasonable and they are ok with substitutions on any order.

Best place in Town. Excellent breakfasts and sandwiches. I love soup and their homemade soups are THE BEST. The staff is terrific. Very comfortable atmosphere with the best staff in Town. Children are welcomed with friendly faces. My five year old granddaughter loves Joan and calls the staff by name. Highly recommend eating there.
Marilyn Hebert

Great little diner that runs like a well oiled machine!
Sat at the counter and had a yummy breakfast. Huge pancakes so order the short stack! It was fun to watch the cook make all the egg dishes behind the counter area. Very nice family! Cash only.

Looking for a place in town to get a quick breakfast, I stumbled upon the reviews for the Bradford Lantern Café. We’re pretty open to trying new places and the reviews were mixed, so we figured why not try it out. I have a 3 year old who loves going to «restaurnauts!» so with a vacation day looming and the need to get out of the house growing, we bundled up and headed out.
We seated ourselves at a two seater right away and she was delighted to find a menu already on the table (cause you use them to find out what food there is!). We decided to share food (cause, again, she’s three!) so we ordered the 2−2−2 (two eggs, two pieces of sausage, two pancakes and toast). We were offered a beverage right away, our order was taken quickly, and the food came out shortly after. That is huge when dining with a toddler! Overall, I thought the food was tasty and the prices were reasonable. The three year old gives the pancakes (which were quite large!) two thumbs up and devoured a whole one plus both sausages. I’m pleased to find a breakfast place right down the road where we can pop in and expect decent food at decent prices. We’ll be back.

I love this place! My husband and I eat here every weekend. The staff is great. They know us by name and we don’t have to order drinks anymore, they just bring them. As far as diner food goes, this is some of the best I have ever had!
They are very accommodating when it comes to substitutions, etc. This is definitely a place that has it’s «regulars» but they treat everyone well.
Yes, it is cash only but if you know that going in there I don’t see the problem.
All and all, I can honestly say that I would be devastated if The Lantern ever closed! Keep up the good work guys!!!

This place might be a secret better left kept.
Walked in on a Saturday morning to try this place out… I’ve seen lines here before… at least I think it was for this place.
So to sum this up… service is a bit lax. You’d think bfast joints would warm new visitors… as I’m sure most bfast places have their list of regulars. Nasomuch here…
Food is average at best.
Price is decent… CASH ONLY.
Had two eggs over medium… which came out over hard.
White toast which was actually decent.
Shredded Home Fries… which I typically love, but they were burnt and had that old potato taste to it… these obviously were sitting on the grill for way too long.
Being such a potato fan, I also ordered the mini-​browns. Which turn out to be these little McDonald’s like Hash Browns that are pan fried apparently… sorry, cool thought, but um… no.
Coffee was ok.
If ya like Waffles, don’t get them here… my buddy did… undercooked with overly think batter used. If ya want waffles, head up the road to Vic’s Waffle House.
I don’t like to give 1’s to places… people work too hard to make an honest living… for me to just waltz in, visit once and be like «Eek! Methinks not.»…but c’mon now… you won’t see some eggs, toast, coffee and potato competition showing up on any Food Network Challenge any time soon… cuz it’s assumed everyone can make that.
Minimally, even a friendly, warm welcome goes a long way… and might bring someone back to try something else.
Maybe an off day… maybe I ordered the wrong thing. Try it yourself and tell me about your bfast.

I went to the Bradford Lantern Café for weekend breakfast. The sign outside reads «Tewksbury’s Best Kept Secret» which is open for breakfast and lunch daily. The inside of the place has that hometown feel and atmosphere with a small lunch counter near the front (with grill) and rows of tables along the walls. The walls are decorated with nostalgic décor, quirky signs and Red Sox memorabilia. No whining allowed here and this is not Burger King where you can’t have it your way and you’ll have it my way. Plenty of locals eat here.
Okay, I walk in here around 12:30PM and a take a seat at a small table across from the lunch counter, menus at each table. I was offered coffee ($ 1.45) as I sat down and went over the menu. They do offer both breakfast and lunch on the weekends, but no fried foods since the fryolator is shut off. The breakfast menu offers the usual fare including omelets, eggs, pancakes, Belgian waffles, and breakfast sandwiches. The lunch menu offers soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps, hot dogs, and sides. Daily specials are posted above the counter. The prices here are reasonable, items priced $ 7.95 or less.
I ordered the Western Omelet ($ 6.50) with egg beaters (add $ 1), homefries, and wheat toast. The food arrived in about 12 minutes after ordering and I watched my omelet being made on the grill. Initially, the omelet and toast were on the plate with the homefries missing, but 2 minutes later the homefries arrived. The Western omelet was pretty good, which was nice and soft with ham, onions, peppers, and Swiss cheese (a choice that I really enjoy). The homefries were okay which were cubed potatoes, grilled just enough to be cooked through, not browned enough on the outside.
At first, the attitude of my waitress was a bit gruff and seemed as though she didn’t want to be here and couldn’t wait until 1:00PM when the place closed up. The service was overall pretty decent. I got my food in acceptable time with top offs and refills on my coffee which was good and a box for some of the unfinished food.
As I paid the check and left, the front door was already locked shut and I needed to unlock the door to let myself out. A-​hah! It was 1:00PM on the dot, closing time!
NOTE: Cash Only
HOURS: Mon-​Fri: 6AM-​2PM; Sat: 6AM-​1PM; Sun: 7AM-​1PM