Cafe Espresso

I had eggs Benedict, espresso, and they have fresh squeezed orange juice! All fantastic with great smiling service. Here all week on travel for work and this is my favorite spot so far!

We had a business meeting in this place over breakfast. Breakfast was of decent quality but nothing that made me think I want to go back. Service was also good. Overall we enjoyed the session but I have been to better places.

We ate there this morning and almost everything was great. Our server (didn’t catch her name) was #33 according to our receipt and she was AWESOME; totally on top of things even thought the place was slammed! It appears that a lot of effort and attention to detail is put into the food by the kitchen, however the «home fries» are (sadly) deep-​fried, unseasoned potatoes; they are a total contrast to everything else they work hard to create that is so good. Par boil, add some seasonings and maybe some fresh chopped parsley and finish in a pan with a little butter and you have a perfect compliment to the wonderful creations they are known for. A tea pot that is bigger than the mug for the tea (according to my wife) would be nice and prevent having the server to make that refill run. We will definitely continue to go back, but this potato-​loving Irishman wishes they gave the spuds the respect they deserve so they compliment their well prepared companions on the plate!

The food was great and the service was good.
It took a bit longer than I was comfortable with for a mid workday lunch break. I don’t think I’d go back for that, but for a nice brunch sometime, definitely!

They have a regular menu and they always have daily specials. Today I got one of the specials, Fish n Chips. Very yummy. I haven’t had anything bad there. I also love their lobster BLT.

Great lobster roll, great coffee, friendly service. Was able to sub fries for sliced tomatoes. Even the music was in good taste.

Our favorite breakfast place! Love the French Toast and Eggs benedict! Perfect place for casual weekend breakfast w friends.

Great reubens, awesome omelets. They are good about accommodating people with food allergies and dietary restrictions too. Fast, friendly service and good value. Well done!

I ordered steak and eggs. Then, i was served with potato and eggs.
Steak and eggs dish should have eggs and steak as the major component of the dish.
4 pcs of steak tips comes in a portion for $ 12.99. Any other breakfast place serves more than that, not that i count it every time.
Nice interior decoration and lighting though. Makes me feel like home

We really enjoyed the local vibe, friendly service and excellent corned beef hash. The coffee was just ok and the potatoes were alright. We will come back when in the area again.

I had the special today: The Blarney Bene. Instead of ham, a delicious meaty hash was set between the biscuit and the eggs. The hollandaise didn’t taste like true hollandaise but it was DELISH nonetheless. French fries for my kiddo made for a happy, munching little one which is all a Mum can ask for. Hubby licked his basic breakfast plate clean. I love that they serve breakfast all through lunch.

This is my go-​to spot for breakfast with my mom every time I come home to visit. No trip home is complete without a stop here. The waitstaff is always wonderfully friendly, the food is always great and prices are affordable. This place is a gem!

Have been here many times, but not being from Portsmouth we are not regulars in that sense. We usually consider it a treat to go here because it is 25 miles form our home. The service we have received the last two times leaves us questioning our choice to eat here. We went on 1÷19÷15 and the food was good but our waitress seemed to only care about the people she knew by name (regulars). It took way to long to seat us but they were pretty busy. But after we were seated it took even longer for service and almost walked out. Finally ordered and got food in a reasonable time, but after that we were invisible and never even asked how it was. Again the waitress was only concerned about the (regulars). Too Bad, maybe we will try somewhere else in Portsmouth next time. UGH

The great: A delicious, fluffy and tender waffle. I had it plain with butter and syrup and was stunned at how good it was.
The good: The coffee, thick bacon, ham, potatoes and service were all very good.
The not so good was something that a breakfast restaurant should have down: eggs. I ordered mine scrambled soft. They arrived in dry layers surrounded by skin from overcooking them. Understanding that a high-​volume restaurant can’t gently scramble eggs in a pan resulting in soft curds which is what scrambled eggs should be, the dry overcooked mess that I was served was a disappointment.
Will return because everything else was above average.

3.5 stars — A cheerful friendly breakfast depot as an alternative to the in town madness. Eggs Benedict traditional $ 7.00 & eggs black stone (a nene with bacon & tomato) we’re good for the price though the hollandaise was a little over cooked. One egg was perfectly poached the second overlooked. Home made baked goods are delish (cinnamon bun was fab!) and we got a magic bar for the road. Def a locals bfast plAce but not divey whatsoever.
I didn’t try it but the lobster eggs Benny $ 11.99 was overflowing with lobstah meat.
Did I mention Hilary Clinton stopped here on the campaign trail in 2008.
Got here before 10 am on a summer Sunday with no wait– after 10 a line out the door.

Had Brazilian dish at lunch today, called feijoada. It’s a stew with meat, rice and black beans. Earthy and delicious. For dessert, I had a rice pudding-​type dessert. It was served warm and was not as sweet as typical rice pudding. Very good.
The restaurant is offering Brazilian dishes every Thur. Definitely worth trying. The owner’s wife and one of the cooks are from Brazil, so authenticity should be spot on.

I’d like to start by saying that I am not one of those people who only gets on Unilocal to make negative reviews, I like to share my good experiences too, however after this morning’s breakfast at Café Espresso, I feel the need to share the experience.
Our waitress was very friendly (she is the only reason I gave espresso the 2 stars that I did), I could tell that she had food industry experience and knew what she was doing.
My Fiancé Mike ordered some chocolate milk to start out (I know… bizarre breakfast drink choice). When the drinks came he took one (large) sip and realized immediately that the milk was very sour. Our waitress was great and she took the milk away and brought him a new one.
This alone would not ruin our dining experience but then we ordered breakfast. I ordered the «healthy scram» which is tomatoes, spinach, broccoli and egg whites, and a side of veggie sausage. Mike ordered french toast. The food came out fast which is nice and his french toast wasn’t bad. I, however, took one bite of my healthy scram and thought I tasted something funky. After a few more bites I realized that the tomatoes were completely gross tasting. I couldn’t tell if they were rotten or what but they tasted (and smelled) absolutely nasty. This rotten tomato smell and taste tainted the whole dish. Not that the rest of the dish was anything to brag about, the broccoli was limp and yellowish and I could just tell that none of my healthy scram was all that fresh. Since we had already experienced the sour milk I was just overall grossed out and stuck to my previously frozen veggie sausage patties and a few pieces of toast.
Seeing as how I didn’t eat more than three bites of my meal, and it was indisputably gross, I assumed (being a waitress myself) that it would be taken off of my bill with no question. Our waitress seemed to agree with us however, when she dropped our check, she brought us some burnt chocolate chip cookies that were hard as rocks and told us that the manager was not present so she was unfortunately unable to void the 7.75 healthy scram. At this point I was not only disappointed with the food but also with the management. I asked her to please separate the meal onto another check and then talk to the manager whenever he decided to show up. Surely, he would not have us pay for the meal right?
She then informed us that she was helpless in this situation and that it was out of her hands. At this point I, being stubborn and angry, considered leaving the check total minus the cost of the scram and no tip, but I felt too bad for the waitress. When she came back to ask us if she could make change, Mike spoke up and said that there is no excuse to charge us for a meal that was both not eaten and that tasted foul. Our waitress was clearly irritated and told us that she would get a «senior waitress» for us to speak to, which I am unclear as to how this was going to help us but whatever. Instead, our waitress returned and dropped our check with both the milk and the scram removed.
Though I was disappointed with the way the whole check debacle went down, I didn’t get the vibe that it was our waitresses fault, she was very apologetic and I could tell that she genuinely felt bad for the situation.
I have been going to café espresso for years and recently feel as if they are just dropping the ball and things are in decline. Not quality food, not a quality experience.
If you’re looking for a good breakfast joint just go across Islington to «Street» restaurant, it’s more pricey but the food is very high quality.

The service was terrific on a Saturday AM. The food was hot, timely and good. The chef needs a little more practice with poached (the better one was placed on top) but this place is solid and I’m coming back.

Perfect omelet, homemade toast, fresh squeezed oj, home fries were crispy with well cooked insides, perfect service!
Perfect.

Have come here a few times in the past couple years on my trips to NH. Love it everytime!
LOCATION: in the plaza where hannfords food store is, right off islington street.
FOOD: their breakfast dishes are amazing! The portions are so big and the prices are low, definitely my favorite part about café espresso. I have gotten the pancakes before which were the size of dinner plates, seriously! Haha they were delicious. I usually just get scrambled eggs and maybe a side of homefries with sausage or bacon. That dish never disappoints either. Everything is always hot and delicious. Also I really like that you can still order breakfast until around 2pm i think?
SERVICE: average. Sometimes when their busy they can be a bit slow with bringing your drinks and food, etc.