Sleepy Bee Cafe

I went here with my family after church on a Sunday. We had gone to the Oakley location before and loved it, but parking was a pain so we decided to try the Blue Ash location which has ample parking. Since we are about a 45 minute drive from the Sleepy Bee, we put our name in on the No Wait app and our table was ready when we got there. If you aren’t using the No Wait app, you should! It’s awesome! I wish more restaurants used it. No wait commercial now over ;)
We were seated quickly and I noted how much bigger the Blue Ash location is than the Oakley one. It was still extremely busy however. I informed our waitress that we were gluten-​free (one of the reasons I love Sleepy Bee). My kids love the kids blueberry pancakes and it’s so refreshing to be able to go out to eat and have gluten-​free options. The vegetarian and vegan options are also excellent.
Somehow there was a mix up with our order and the waitress thought I only ordered one kids meal for both kids. I felt bad for my 5 year old watching his brother eat while he waited, he survived though. I was happy that he didn’t have to wait long, she did a good job of turning it around quickly. Other than that little snafu and the service being a tad slow, the service was decent, but not stellar by any means. They probably need more servers working on a busy Sunday afternoon. I don’t blame our server, she was doing the best she could. It is also extremely noisy inside, perhaps something to soak up some of the noise would be good.
But I digress, I ordered the Avi omelet with the sweet potatoes and it was phenomenal. I don’t think I’ve ever had an omelet so stuffed with veggies. Yum! The sweet potatoes are also wonderful. I got a gluten-​free pancake instead of toast and it was delicious. I forget what my hubby got, but I remember he liked it. My kids loved their pancakes and I also ordered them a side of eggs which they gobbled down. The eggs are excellent here! The fruit cup side is nice too. My kids cleaned their plates.
Overall, excellent food and I would definitely recommend checking it out.

I love the idea of Sleepy Bee Café. It’s such a beautiful facility and I love the idea behind local food served in creative dishes. Plus, the logo is completely adorable. The wait was about an hour around 12:00pm on a Sunday, which is to be expected after church. However, it took 10 minutes to get my order of grapefruit juice and another 30 minutes to receive our food which was a little disappointing.
I really enjoyed the beekeeper sandwich, the flavors went very well together, plus the addition of the breakfast potatoes (red skinned potatoes with a garlic sauce) was on point! However, I was very underwhelmed with the beef burger. The bread came out soggy and almost collapsing under the weight of all the (yummy) toppings, but this made it very difficult to eat. However, it must be said that the goat cheese with herbs on a burger is everything, ever, ever, ever.
The last disappointing thing was the wait to receive our bill. I understand the business of a Sunday brunch time. It was busy and crowded, but I saw and smiled at our waitress 4 times as she walked past our empty table before having to finally hand her our credit card, prior to receiving the bill, so we could pay and head home. All in all, this place is OK, and I would give it another chance for sure, most likely not at peak Sunday brunch time.

Best breakfast in Cincinnati. Period. The quality of ingredients is truly exceptional, and even the simplest things are made with love. My family of 5 were all thrilled with their brunch. It’s not cheap, but it’s a great value when you consider the quality. I’ve eaten at both locations, and both are equally good. We need one in Clifton/​Northside!

So yummy as a breakfast aficionado, this place is whats poppin lol! Love the new location in Blue Ash. Definitely bigger than the oakley location. My go to on the menu is of course the Piggy Cakes. Can never go wrong with bacon and pancakes all in one! The cakes are so huge too. Definitely cant eat them all even though i will try. I lovw that everuthing is all natural here.
Be ye warned… this place is popular so on the weekend its tough to get in. They use the app «No Wait» and you can see how the wait is, put your name in for a table and see when its your turn. So love this and i wish all restaurants used it. Enjoy!

Sleepy Bee has been on my bookmarked places to go for a very long time but due to wait times, I haven’t had time to go until today.
I was very excited about their Blue Ash location. It has better parking options than their Hyde Park location and it doesn’t seem as busy. Since I was alone, I had an instant seat at the bar.
I will say the food is absolutely amazing. I could eat those breakfast potatoes for days. Seriously, they were that good. They also have amazing pancakes. I left with a very happy tummy.
Now why did I give them three stars? One reason is the price. I feel $ 11 for blueberry pancakes is a bit steep (even if they are really tasty). Not to mention if you add ANYTHING extra, it’s an extra dollar… per add on. If you get pancakes (with one add on), a side, and a small mocha, you’re looking at a $ 25 meal for one person. The second reason for three stars is the service. The staff is friendly and nice but it was a snails pace in there. I don’t know where the breakdown exists but the whole experience was so slow. Slow to get your drinks and slow to get your food.
Despite the price, I would totally eat there again because the food is that good. However, I might fall asleep if the pace doesn’t pick up.

It’s a very strong brunch spot in town. I would stick to the breakfast menu as I’ve never been too impressed with the lunch options. Food is quality and the service is always good. Enjoy the time there. It takes a minute but that’s a worthwhile experience. Not the kind of place for a quick breakfast.

Only reason it gets 4 stars is because the corner we were sat in was tight and made it a bit uncomfortable to eat. The pancakes are awesome! Also, the turkey omelet was quite tasty. Try the mimosas! It was a great visit and I will be back!

Delicious brunch spot with higher than average prices. However, the food is above average and locally sourced.
I’ve been intimidated by the Oakley location when I see how busy it always is, so I decided to give Blue Ash a try. 30 minute wait for 3 at prime time for brunch isn’t bad. The food was out pretty fast! I’d love to go back sometime and check out the lunch menu.

I have been to this establishment multiple times. Today I went specifically to try the «Blue Ash Smash». My sandwich came within about fifteen minutes accompanied by two red skinned potatoes.
I ate one of the potatoes and thought that it was decent with a garlic aioli or something similar adorning them. I then attempted to eat my «sandwich» which was easily six inches long, four inches wide and perhaps four inches deep and NOT cut in half. Impossible to eat.
I struggle to keep the sandwich together while cutting it in half to make it somewhat manageable. I took my first bite of the sandwich and was immediately put off. My hands were absolutely soaked in cooking oil. They had used so much oil to toast the bread that it was coating everything. I told the waiter and he said they would remake it «trying to cut down on the oil». He essentially dismissed my complaint as something to do with ingredients that I don’t understand. Unfortunately for him I have been in the restaurant business for years and know what goes into toasting bread. Under no circumstances should I be able to squeeze oil out of bread that is composing a sandwich.
He returning with on a lighter browned sandwich but same amount of oil used, I guess they don’t know how to toast bread and think I had a problem with the color of the bread. Not to mention that they took the rest of my uneaten breakfast with them and didn’t replace the red skin potatoes I had as a side with my replacement sandwich.
Overall, today, I was incredibly disappointed. For an establishment that prides themselves to the point of being pretentious on «doing it right» they certainly got it wrong today. I’m sure they felt that it was my silly concern and I can tell you for certain, they made every effort to not make the new sandwich nearly as nice and not nearly with the same quantity of ingredients.
Not worth the price for this kind of experience. Do you really want to pay $ 12 for a sandwich that anywhere else would be $ 6 so the owners can put handmade/​hand painted tiles of honeycombs from our west in the bathrooms?

I had a really good breakfast here — gluten-​free pancakes and an egg. Service was fast and friendly. My niece had the kale salad with salmon, which she said was delicious… I will try it next visit.

A good idea that needs refinement. There were some positives to our late breakfast experience and mostly some negatives.
We arrived and were told our party of four would be seated in 20 minutes. It took 45, which can happen at all restaurants. Once we were in, the service was good and attentive. However, the overall experience was not great.
The menu is inventive, using non-​gmo and some locally produced foods — which we like. However, the quality was not great. The bread, which is locally, made was stale — both on my kids turkey sandwich and my burger. Overall the burger was nothing too special and made worse by the bread that broke apart. In another sign of less quality, my wife’s avie omelette contained three times as many mushrooms as it should have and felt like a waste. She was not impressed with the flavor.
One of the bigger issues with quality was mixed fruit that was moldy. It happens at times, I understand. However, given the other issues, seems there could be some overall quality control challenges that need to be addressed. Our server quickly replaced it.
The atmosphere was just ok and the restaurant was busy and it was very loud. They should think about sound panels or some carpet to absorb.
The cost was a little higher than we would have liked — about $ 15 a person for breakfast. However, I get that the ingredients were probably higher quality, so can’t complain too much.
Overall it felt like a restaurant with a great idea, that needs a lot of refinement. We may try again in the future, but overall not too impressed.

Okay, ridiculous prices! My omelet and coffee cost $ 20 — no joke.
That said — it was very very good. I can’t justify eating there often as it’s way overpriced, but I will relish it when I do.
My fav is the omelet with goetta.

It’s really nice to have a good breakfast/​brunch place so close by! The downside is because this place is so popular you really have to get there early — before 9 — on weekends to get a seat. The service slows as they get busy.
I think the portions are big enough to share.
— the bacon pancakes are sooo good! Bacon adds just the right amount of saltiness.
— the goetta sandwich is surprisingly good but the potatoes and homemade ketchup really stole the show. Definitely recommend trying out the potatoes!
Their smoothies are really on the pricy side, not sure if it’s worth the price.

Food was ok but not very flavorful overall. I like that everything is locally sourced and there are lots of healthy options, but there are many ways for healthy to still taste flavorful and good.
My biggest complaint here is the noise level. Concrete floors and brick walls make for noise at levels of an airplane. Seriously if you plan to have a meal with friends, you won’t be able to hear each other at all. Definitely doesn’t make for a relaxing and chit chat kind of place.

Another solid addition to the Sleepy Bee Café chains.
The entrance for this is a little confusing, but it does allow you to park in either the front lot or the back lot.
Always delicious coffee and I love that I am able to get lunch or breakfast OR a little bit of both.
They have amazing locally sourced food and I have never had a bad experience.

Thank GOD this place is bigger than the Oakley location, but has a lot of the same menu items… and still a wait. I would say this place was 3x the size of the original Oakley spot, but I couldn’t figure out why there were still people waiting when there were open tables at 10:30am on Sunday. Must not have been fully staffed.
Anyway, I was a little disappointed with the service. Our server was very nice, however, she was a little slow. Also, when my friend and I ordered hot tea, she only brought out 1 mug of hot water each. Usually places will bring you a small carafe of hot water and a spoon to remove your tea bag. Details like this are important.
I did not order food for breakfast, however, my friends dishes all looked amazing. The regular pancakes were fluffy. My friend said his gluten free pancake was just ok, but he loved his omelette with turkey, pesto, and tomatoes.
Since my office is close by, I would like to try this place for lunch.

The space is much larger than Oakley and we were able to quickly grab two spots at the bar — the wait for two was about 30 minutes at 9 on Labor Day. We were pleasantly surprised to see the addition of brunch cocktails at this location. I ordered a bloody Mary, and though it was tasty it was pretty pricey ($ 10) and only came with two pickle slices — for $ 10 I would hope for a few veggies or something at least. They also had a green bloody that was made with tequila for $ 12, but I didn’t try that. The food, however, was totally awesome and worth the price. I can’t remember the name of what I got, but it came with scrambled tofu that was seasoned perfectly, amazing vegan sausage, and roasted sweet potatoes. They serve homemade ketchup and it really makes everything next level good — SOO much better than Heinz!
We will definitely go back, I will just likely skip the cocktail next time.

Best breakfast in town! Much larger space than the Oakley location but same great food (plus a few local specialties). Both breakfast and lunch options are great.
Very kid-​friendly.

As a former resident of the Blue Ash area, I was curious as to what the inside of the new location looked like! They did a great job with the space! It has a huge, open dining room with a much bigger coffee counter /​bar than Oakley, in addition to a larger area to wait for a table. If that were to get full you could definitely wait in the breezeway (which will be great as it gets colder). The outdoor patio is nice as well and would be a great place to relax and eat on a nice day! There is also a private room off to the side which could be really great for special events and large groups. Awesome!
I didn’t stay to eat but I grabbed a coffee and muffin to go right around 7am when they opened and it was delicious as I expected it to be. I can’t speak to the quality of the kitchen staff at this location or the wait staff because I didn’t dine in, so once I get the chance to stick around, I’ll update my review. 4 stars for now!

I ate lunch here with 4 friends on a beautiful Tuesday, so we ate outside. The outside area is lovely and we really enjoyed the weather. Our waitress was friendly and efficient and very knowledgeable about the food and the Blue Ash specialties.
All the food looked good, and tasted good too. As a Whole Food Planted Based (like Vegan but also NO processed food or added oils or sugars) I wish that there was more to choose from that I could order. Something like a quinoa salad with tomatoes, olives, artichokes, would be great. To learn more go to:
or go see the new FREE film Sept. 17 at UC college of Medicine:
The inside area seemed larger than the Oakley location, and was nicely decorated.