Cafe 1217

What a fabulous find. We’re in town from TN and found this place through Unilocal.I had the chicken salad sandwich. Delicious. Made with grapes and oranges. My husband had the steak sandwich and it was FABULOUS. We ended our meal with a delicious tart key lime pie. I would wholeheartedly recommend this place.

So I really like this café. The interior is especially cute and energetic. The food is delectable. I had the Cajun shrimp kale caesar salad and the poblano pepper soup. Wonderful.
My only complaint is that I told the lady behind the counter I’d never been to the establishment before. She explained the menu but not the rest of the process. You order, get your food and eat, then pay at the register. Otherwise it was pretty good and I plan to come back.

Café 1217… My party and I were quite upset initially with the service. With all our questions the girl at the counter finally asks if we’ve been there before, REALLY??? So we fumble around as she waits on others and ask some of the other friendly patrons the protocol at the restaurant. Then we get called to pick up our food… Got the shrimp burger with waldorf salad and thought the salad portion was too small but woah the food was excellent. The food made all our attitudes completely change and I found it quite filling. As the lunch crowd died down and on a subsequent revist to order dessert the staffs attitude changed as well. They were more pleasant and asked how we enjoyed our food and even helped bring our additional items to our table. So the verdict — Might not be best to visit during their busy time, the front staff seems to get flustered with all the people but the kitchen hangs very well getting the food to the table. I got there thinking this place should get 1 star but will give them 4 because we left very happy. The carrot cake and butterscotch pecan pie were sooo good.
For anyone new to this place hopefully this helps. You can order whats in the display al la carte or whats on the menu on the board. You order at the counter get your drink and then find your table. Your name will be called when the food is ready and you will receive your receipt as well. Sit and eat your food and pay at the counter when done. Enjoy!

My only 5x review in Hot Springs, ever
You’ll forgive it for being odd, quirky, and maybe a bit smug, but it has the best kitchen in Arkansas. It uses lots of local produce, the menus change with what’s in season, and its innovations are astounding. They’re good and they know it. Do desert as its baked goods are among the best in the South.
Eat there weekly as a homie and its my go to place for foodie out of town guests.

Lovely atmosphere! Cobb salad is great and very lovely colors. The display case food was very unique flavors. Brussel sprouts are awesome, chicken salad with dill, corn pudding and lentil bean soup were great.

Although the food under the glass counter looks delicious, there is a disconnect between the what you order and what you eat. Although my friends and I have been meeting at 1217 a few times a year, I was very disappointed yesterday in the paltry serving of veggies on my four-​veggie plate. There were maybe two beets, two brussell sprouts and at least a fourth of the plate was filled with lettuce, which I didn’t order. In addition, the broccoli had a sweetish dressing that wasn’t good. The so-​called Ginger Drink was Country Time lemonade with some kind of flavoring. The service was slow also. We’ll find another lunch place which doesn’t leave you hungry after the meal.

My daughter and I had been having the dirty martini salad. So wonderful. But today we had the Reuben salad. Well let us tell you! How wonderful and how innovative. Four round Reuben fritters served over the most beautiful bed of spring lettuce and red cabbage. The presentation is just beautiful and the salad is divine. Try it. Also try a crab cake. My Lord! You MUST eat here.

Cute, CLEAN and delicious.
Great vegetarian options. Menu is clearly labeled for those with dietary preferences. Very reasonable prices.
A MUST STOP spot in Hot Springs!

Yum! This place is great!
I am a vegitarian and my boyfriend is a meat eater (beef, beef, beef) We stoped here while passing through the area and were both very happy with the food.
He had the Ruben and said it was the best he has ever had and it kept getting better bite by bite.
I was told that everything is made in house (must be why it was awesome)
Also, the place is decorated super cheerful and just generally made me smile being there.

Food all looks great, lots of tempting choices. Very confusing to order; menu board has all kinds of abbreviations that make no sense. People standing around trying to figure out how to order, where to pay & makes getting served very slow. But the food is worth it. But a totally disorganized method of waiting on customers. Some signage when you enter would help. And they sell the food by the pound, what’s that about?

Warm, friendly service, excellent food. Second time back and I couldn’t resist the fish tacos. I tried bites of food from friends and there’s were also quite delicious. Recommend!

Delighted with this restaurant. Items are made fresh daily with unusual blends of flavors and spices. Tried the brisket quesadilla with melted brie cheese today — a little greasy, but excellent flavor. All of us enjoyed our meals, my mom especially loved her sampler plate (choose 4 veggie items from the front display case). Really like the fresh ingredients and how flavorful everything is. Desserts look amazing, but always too full to try any.

Great lunch or dinner choices. Fresh foods, wonderful unusual sandwich combos. The side salad was wonderful! Curry couscous salad!

Good food. Nice restaurant. Workers seem quick and ready for you to hurry up. They could be a bit friendlier.

FYI… this place closes at 4pm on a Saturday. Why even open on Saturday at all!

WOW!!! First time at Café 1217 and it was wonderful. I had the half chicken salad sandwich, which was served on a small toasted croissant. Yummy! With a cup of tomato soup. Great taste, not super thick, which was refreshing on such a hot day. The atmosphere is nice. The employees were very helpful and friendly. Lots of choices of salads and sandwiches. Plus they have a huge assortment of salads and entrees to take home. Check out their menu, I wouldn’t be able to do it justice in this review.

So surprisingly diverse and delicious. They have homemade lemonade and juice which is pretty decent too. The service was very friendly and welcoming.
Be sure you read the board on how to order though or it can be confusing.
The pasta salad is so good and the roast beef sandwich I had was masterfully done.
I recommend it for sure.

Walking in, it’s very confusing. There is a white board that seems to give you the menu; however, there is a paper menu on the tables with more options. We wish someone would have pointed that out.
The servers behind the counter where just okay. They didn’t explain anything and where not very helpful.
The food was okay. Nothing we would come back to have again. It’s certainly not coming out of your way for like we did

I admit, I had high hopes for Café 1217. First, the reviews on Unilocal are (mostly) great. Also, the menu choices are very enticing (Tomato-​Avocado & Roasted Corn Salad; Greek Burger; Sage Chicken Salad, Thai Beef Salad… the list goes on and on.) Lastly, they offer Gluten Free options that are clearly stated, which is now necessary for a few of my family members.
As mentioned, I had high hopes… but Café 1217 didn’t deliver in my opinion. My husband and I both ordered the same sandwiches (turkey, peppered bacon, herb mayo, avocado, plus a few traditional toppings) — his on gluten free bread from Dempsey Bakery, and mine on some kind of jalapeño bread. However, I guess they were out of the jalapeño bread, as I got basic wheat bread. I was already somewhat disappointed, but they also slathered it in butter and grilled it… which I personally HATE. I would prefer restaurants to make this known on the menu or during ordering, as we all don’t need another pound of butter in our diet.
The side of the day was good, which was a German potato salad. However, the side was very small… literally, 3 – 4 small potato slices. My husband ended up getting a side of fruit, as I suppose the potato salad was not gluten free? The fruit was fresh, but he ended up eating some of the potato salad (which didn’t appear to have any wheat mixed in.)
One of my main complaints is the pricing! $ 8.75 for our small meals, plus an additional $ 2 for his gluten free bread (which is always a smaller portion size than a normal sandwich.) I don’t think we would go back again anytime soon, for all of these reasons.

What a gem!
It’s almost impossible to find «gourmet» food on the lighter side in a small tourist town in the south and 1217 Café fills the void. Fresh ingredients seasoned well with a chef’s touch plus a menu updated monthly, what’s not to love?
The café is spacious with three cozy rooms but it fills up quickly during lunch time. Sure enough, if you build it, they will come.