Garden Cafe

Nice place! I ordered a steak burrito and was surprised out how delicious it was. I wasn’t really expecting much because it seemed like s place that was more about lighter offerings, like salads but I was wrong. The outdoor seating is great during he cooler months. I believe they are closed during the summer.

Great place to have breakfast. Outdoor atmosphere, great service, very polite people and the food is awesome. Love the sonoran omelette.

So disappointing. Went to take my family to celebrate the favorite moms in my life & it was a horrible start to our Mother’s Day. The buffet was overpriced for what was offered. Food wasn’t that good. No fresh veggies or salad; which u would expect at a Garden café. Waitresses were so rude to everyone & multiple times. Sun was in our face despite umbrella. No music; which u would expect a little something extra for moms day even if just a CD playing. The flies were unbearable & disgusting! The whole experience was just sad & upsetting.

If you like to eat with flies and have the rudest server in the world ruin your Mother’s Day, then this is the place for you. Some of the food was dried out, and just not very good. Next time I would elect to pay quarter of the price and eat better food at Cracker Barrel and have better service and cleaner silverware. The staff should come to the Valley and eat at some real choice places to see how a real high end restaurant treats customers.

WOW! We were looking for someplace different to have a quick lunch break in between shopping. We were so excited to be able to be seated. They were super busy (Sat 1:10p.m.) but managed without a reservation. I ordered the Turkey & Monterey on sourdough with their signature red potatoe salad. Amazing! My husband ordered the Tri Tip Dip sandwich. Wow! I kept staring at it. I swapped half of my turkey sandwich for half of his sandwich. Generous proportions. The atmosphere is serene and beautiful. Today happened to be breezy and overcast. We had a wonderful lunch. Will definitely visit before they close for the hot months.

I’ve been here a few times and the food has always been decent and the service is ok at best. Today, my friend and I went to get brunch without reservations and was told it would be at least 30 minutes and that they ran out of several items on the menu– which happens every time.
We decided to go else where and as we were leaving, the couple behind us were clearly regulars and on a first name basis with the host. They told the host they didn’t have reservations either and were informed they would have a table within ten minutes-​literally seconds after we turned around-​how rude.
The restaurant is only open when the «winter visitors» are in town and cater to friends/​regulars. Definitely won’t be coming back.

Went on a Sunday for brunch around 1pm. When we got there the place was more than halfway empty. When we asked to be seated the waitress asked if we had a reservation. We said no and didn’t realize we may have needed one. She told us to hold and then spoke allowed to someone else «I don’t know where we are going to put them?! They don’t have a reservation.» A little weird to hear that just a few feet from us especially when the place was pretty much empty. Once we were seated after about 5 minutes we were seated right next to breakfast buffet. It looked delicious. They had Carne and chicken asada with tortillas and biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon etc. Two people at our table got the buffet and then the other two ordered regular plates. When I finally got to the buffet they were out of biscuits and tortillas. And it took them about 20min to get more biscuits out. And then we found out they were completely out of tortillas so we didnt get any of those. Our waitress was great. Took some time to get us our drinks but other than that it was great. They charged us extra for a fountain lemonade refill… Overall the food was good and the atmosphere was quaint. Maybe when it gets a little more cooler we will revisit.

The Garden Café is in fact a garden. Lol. It’s a popular spot for breakfast on the weekends so there might be a line. But the menu is very unique for Yuma and you won’t be disappointed.

Love this place! Very relaxing and love the service. It is a little pricey but the portion is huge to share. They’ll actually will split up your order for you We’re glad we have found this place in Yuma.

A hidden Gem. And found thanks to Unilocal!We were looking for someplace different for Breakfast, and after perusing Unilocal,we decided to try the Garden Café and we were not disappointed! Even though we were late for Breakfast, the Lunch menu was more than adequate: the Quiche was excellent, the Tortilla Soup was great, and the chicken salad and tomato was light and very flavorful. Quaint and quiet setting back off the Street, this place is great.

Very nice spot to get away from Yuma in Yuma. I had their version of a French Dip which was good. Pleasant atmosphere.

The best thing we tried was the fruit bread which was merely a side accompaniment. The tortilla soup was also good, but I would guess that local Latinos are having a good laugh at the «gringos» that pay $ 9.25 for a small bowl of tortilla soup. The rest, like the eggy and thick quiche, was basic and ordinary. The outdoor setting was different and thankfully, the weather cooperated for us.

I love this place for the great outdoor seating and the Best tortilla soup. Who would have thought cream cheese and avocado in a tortilla soup would taste this good. When I am here, I forget the fact I am in Yuma because of nice garden and real trees. I love it!!! My only complaint is the wait time… and it gets really busy between 12−1pm so make reservation and try to go at 11:30 or after 1pm.
Must try!!! Definitely going back.

We were taken to this delightful spot by friends who winter in Yuma every year. What a treat! The hundred+ year old residence currently owned/​managed by the sixth generation was fascinating. All the buildings are designated Heritage so only minimal exterior improvements are allowed.
Terraced gardens at the back create numerous delightful dining spots. If you’re skittish about dining outside this might not be the place for you… there are real trees with real leaves and lots of birds!
I had heard so much about their tortilla soup that it was a ‘must try’ and was not disappointing. I had the full bowl which should only be attempted by the very hungry! VERY flavorful and not all that spicy, lots of cheese and perfectly-​ripe avocado. Perhaps it could have used a tad more chicken and it might have been nice to have the actual tortillas added a tad later as they had sunk to the bottom but still retained some texture. Another teeny complaint was the cutlery. A large and hearty soup requires a good, deep, soup spoon. The proffered spoon was too small and had a very shallow bowl which prompted me to want to pick the bowl up and sip. (I didn’t!)
Along with the soup I had a half avocado sandwich. The 9 grain bread was fresh and very tasty, the avocado was perfectly ripe and the cream cheese and veggies were great… the only surprise was that the advertised sprouts seemed to have been lost in the mail!
All in all an excellent experience and we will be back on our next visit to Yuma!

Outside from the parking lot it doesn’t seem like much, there’s barely even a sign to indicate you’ve arrived at the restaurant but once you walk through this moderately narrow stairway down to where the restaurant is, it opens up into this rather nice outdoor dining area! It’s like a little hidden garden!
Food:
1) Turkey scramble with fruit bread: Very tasty and flavorful. There was plenty of cheese and little bits of turkey which all blended together very well with the scrambled eggs. It came with home fries and a cantaloupe wedge. There was a piece of fruit bread that tasted very delicious! Not too sweet or dense. The portions were pretty big! I could only finish half the meal and I eat a lot! I liked how the meal tasted and how it came together! Very nice! Totally hit the spot!
2) Swedish pancakes: I only tasted a little bit of what my friend ordered, but from the little bit I tried, it was VERY good. The consistency of the pancakes were different than regular American pancakes because I think a little bit of oatmeal was added to the batter. It gave it a different texture which was very interesting.
Ambiance:
Outdoor seating only. It can get a little cold but luckily they have heating lamps you can sit next to. The tables and chairs were very simple, there’s an intricate fruit pattern on the table cloth that made it a little too cluttered and busy. It’s pretty quiet, a nice place to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea in the morning.
Service:
Very friendly, welcoming and attentive to all your needs! I loved the staff there! Very nice!
Price:
Reasonable for quality, portions and service. The bill came out to be $ 33 (tax and tip included). Not too bad for the amount of food I ate and got to bring home.
Overall:
I really enjoyed my meal here. I heard they have good tortilla soup here, I think I’ll be coming back for that!

First you need to know two things: The Garden Café is not open all year around. Check their website as they close when the weather gets too hot to sit outside at mid day. Next, I strongly recommend reservations at lunch time particularly for groups.
You may well have noticed from the other reviews that the setting is beautiful. The seating is all out of doors in a rustic but well maintained patio/​garden area. You can enter from Madison by going down the alley with the shops or from 1^st by a parking lot. There is plenty of parking on both sides.
Service is generally good and the staff is knowledgable about what is in the food. The menu selection for both breakfast and lunch. The portions are large. My favorite is the Tortilla Soup. If you get the soup and a half sandwich it should fill you up nicely. The Spice Tea makes for a good beverage. The Tri Tip has always been a good choice when I have been there. My wife likes the Quiche. For those with allergies to food in the Nightshade family I strongly urge that you try the Quiche.
My wife and I have shared the Chocolate «Killer» Cake. The portion was large enough to share.
If you are passing through Yuma and need a break from the I8 desert drive, the Garden Café would certainly be worth your while. Whether East or West Bound the best exit to the downtown area is Giss.
I have taken my staff for lunch, so I know that they can handle parties up to about 12 – 15.

The food was soooo good! Delicious, very fresh, and well prepared. The best Cobb Salad I’ve ever had. I love that the greens were dry (not wet from washing) and that the bacon was still warm, as if it was just cooked. The turkey was from a real, freshly roasted turkey, I’m sure! It was so good!
The Yuma Spice Tea is unbelievable! This is a must try! Delightfully yummy and even though it tastes a little sweet, there is no sugar in it. Sooooo good!
The atmosphere was lovely. Pretty birds and lots of trees and shrubbery around. Pretty garden setting. Just beautiful with a desert touch. It was a little warm, but it’s getting near the end of their open season.
Two drawbacks:
The first item was the crap from the trees blew into my food and it was all over. I just couldn’t bring myself to eat anymore after one gust ruined my meal. The trees have so many little flowers and seeds and stuff that one gust of wind and whoooosh, my plate was full of stuff.
The second thing was the kids. There were kids running around everywhere. No one made them sit down or controlled them. It’s hard to enjoy a meal with little girls running up and down, kicking things, giggling, watching us eat, literally standing 2 feet away just to listen to us, etc. It really ruined the entire meal.
They close after Mother’s Day until October, so I’m sure it’s lovely in the winter to come here. The gift shop was extraordinary and Mark was so helpful! I wish I could buy a few things, but not this trip. I can’t wait to come back in the fall/​winter. I sure hope those rotten kids are gone! And next time, I’ll keep a napkin over my plate. The food was too good not to try again!

Beautiful setting and good food. I forgot to order the tortilla soup! I’ll have to go back.
My husband had the turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich with potato salad. It was huge and he said it was good. I had the chicken salad sandwich with a side salad.
If you aren’t huge eaters, get the half sandwich. I had to eat the insides without the bread, it was too much food! That is usually not a problem since we are big eaters.
We shared the coconut cake for dessert. I am a coconut fan and while the cake was good, I thought it was a bit much with the coconut pudding inside the cake. But overall I was impressed and will certainly return.

Got the trip tip salad. Large portion and decent meat. Some pieces were dry, but most were good. Came with a tasty ranch salsa dressing. Ambiance is very relaxing when sitting outside with birds chirping and plenty of shade and heaters. Waitress was friendly and checked on us regularly. Recommend this place.

When I lived in Yuma, my boss always took me to the Garden Café for lunch.
I love the pretty patio and the tortilla soup. And there used to be a Chocolate Killer Cake on the menu, that was delicious. I make that myself now, because my mom found me a recipe book from Arizona restaurants and the recipe was in there! yeah!
I think this is a nice little lunch spot, and if I was back in Yuma, I would go again.