The Tomcat Cafe

One of the best places to get breakfast in Berks County. Price matches the amount of food you receive. Only downfall is having to wait outside. But the servers are super friendly and the wait for the food is decent.

Delicious comfort for an affordable price? Sign me up! We stopped in here to meet some friends for breakfast on Saturday and boy was this place alive. People were bustling in and out of the building when we arrived and we were given a wait time of about half an hour. We got a table about 25 minutes later and were handed a couple menus to browse.
Took a little while after that for someone to come take out order, but to be fair it was very crowded. I had a hard time deciding what to get because there are just so many choices, more like choices within choices to be exact. I ended up going with a ridiculous looking caramel apple french toast dish. I got about a two thirds of the way through before it was just too sweet and too much to finish. Really delicious though. Everyone at out table was completely satisfied as we walked out and I take that as a victory.
If you don’t mind the long-​ish wait times then this place is a must try!

A MUST for breakfast before you die !!! Put this place on your bucket list, it’s very worth the sometimes hour plus wait and cramped interior. The service is exceptional and the food, ALL OF IT, is beyond belief !!!

I hate breakfast… but here, I will eat it. Insanely diverse menu for wild breakfast items I never would have dreamed of. The portions are very generous and crafted very thoughtfully. I am a fan!
I can see how some may give this 4 stars or lower, however, many of the factors that would justify this, are entirely out of the restaurants control. Honestly, it’s a Tiny breakfast joint in a small town, what more do you flippin expect?
Ambiance:
Cozy and ecclectic. They have a funky art on the wall and an elvis collection. Their coffee mugs fun! (Unicorns and «i love nerds»…) There seriously isn’t anything boring about this place. It is small, and wait time is insane. People finish their food, walk out, and before their seats even cool down, another butt is sitting at that chair.
Food:
Marty Robbins:
Holy mother of burritos! Is this even considered breakfast? This burrito is a whole noda’ level of a.m. eats. It contained Juicy, flaverful Shredded chicken and chorizo mixed with scrambled egg, roasted poblanos, onions, and cheddar. It was wrapped in tortilla that was actually not dry with spicy awesome sauce on it. The side of cilantro sour cream and side of pico was so different!
The home fries could have used some crispness to it, but I liked the shape and seasonings.
Pancakes:
I still prefer cracker barrels plain hot cakes, however their pancake menu puts IHOP to shame. In their defence, I ordered plain. I just feel that a pancakes batter should still taste good without a million things on it. It tasted too floury to me and their syrup was not the best. Just my personal preference and every one else seemed to LOVE their other choices.
Service:
This place was VERY busy. Though the service was a but spotty, they were VERY nice and accomodating. I really can’t complain. It’s a small, packed place and even so, the owner was kind, involved and all the servers worked together as a well lubed machine. I didn’t care for the fact that the owner and a server were complaining about a table that was taking its time to leave. It made us feel obligated to leave immediately.
Overall, If you are EVER in this area, make a detour to get some breakfast here. It’s quite worth it!

If you can’t find something you like here, you’re just not trying. The place is small, maybe 20 tables, 50 people. Their breakfast menu has about 100 items on it. But what’s great, is that they have combinations that are very unique, and you might never think of.
Prices are reasonable, and you get a lot of food. I suggest looking at the menu ahead of time, because the options can be overwhelming. Friendly service, quick, and the food is delicious.

My word! My word! MY WORD!!!
I Unilocal to find good places to eat, and I often expect to find good meals. However, this was a great place, and I had a great meal!
This experience can only be best described in comparison to a boxing match as round for round it was a fight!
Round One: picking a good item to eat off of the menu. EVERYTHING looked so good. It was a real struggle! With each glance upon the menu, I could tell I was up against quit the opponent! When the round ended with the server coming around with the notepad in hand, I settled with «The Devil can’t keep me down» and the «#30» pancakes which were highly recommended.
Round Two: After my bout with the menu, I was eager to get back into the fight. But for me, that was the beginning of the end as I just wasn’t ready for what was to come. As soon as that plate hit the table, I was struggling to maintain my composure, huge portions had me against the ropes, and bite by delicious bite I began to take quite the beating. A beating I thoroughly enjoyed!
Round Three: As soon as it began the round seemed to end. It was one big blur as I dug into the «#30» pancake order which consisted of Peanut Butter Cups, banana, chocolate chips & marshmallows. It was a unanimous win by knockout!
7 years they’ve been around, and I believe that the pace they’re going, the next 70 look good!

Big portions, great food, great staff. Reading definitely needs a place like this, different. You will have to wait, a very long wait unless you get their early in the morning or after 1. I love their crème brûlée French toast. I liked the other foods that I’ve gotten there but I can’t remember their fun funky names.

My wife and I went to Tomcat on a weekend a little before lunch. The food was AMAZING. I got cheesecake filled french toast and the wife an omelet. The wait can be long and there is no where to really stand and wait so they will take your number and call you or you can stand in the back hallway. The waiting experience is the only negative. You can also expect to pay about $ 12 – 15 pp for the breakfast. Overall a MUST try if you are in Reading, PA and have some time.

Don’t think about it. Just go here. If there’s a line… Wait! You won’t regret it. One of the best brunches I’ve ever had. Insanely delectable. Don’t bother going anywhere else.

Excellent food! Don’t be in a hurry, all good things take time. This place is amazing.
Fresh food, eclectic atmosphere, nice place!

It has been months since I was lucky enough to eat here. I was in for a family reunion and a group of us stopped in before leaving town. I almost didn’t leave. I would have stayed just for this place.
There was 4 adults and 3 kids in the bunch and everyone was happy! I’m not a vegetarian, but try to have a vegetarian meal every so often. The problem is, most people don’t know how to make a truly flavorful veggie meal, this place nails it.
The only part that is disappointing is that there in not one in Detroit.

This place gets raves from some locals but I have no idea why. Breakfasts are awful– flaccid, oversized, undercooked pancakes seem to rule the day. Eggs have more in common with lukewarm rubber than with actual hen laid eggs and the coffee is swill.
The only reason there is a line is because there is a church across the street and they see this place as a charity.
The owner is rude, loud and thinks he is some sort of music maven and heaven forbid anyone ask to have the blaring stuff lowered– everyone who works there cowers when an innocent voices this request.
There are so many good places to eat now in Berks and Lancaster county, no one needs to set foot in this «café» again.

Great food… one meal will feed two people. So many options to choose from it can be overwhelming. The seating and parking situation has prevented me from dining there on several occasions, as it is always busy. Great for the business, bad for customers trying to get in.
Food is fresh, flavorful and unique. It’s a neat place to dine from time to time… If you’re dieting, this is not the place to eat.

The menu is MASSIVE. A Little overwhelming at first to decide what you want since everything looks amazing. The staff is very friendly and helpful. Everything is made fresh. Went with the muscrat love French toast. Big portions, great price. Will definitely be back!

The names of the menu items are epic– as is the food, let me just say: Funnel Cake French Toast.
No other words needed.

Best place for breakfast/​brunch. The portions are HUGE! I always leave with half my meal. The menu is quite extensive with lots of weird combos. Today I had the Heywood Banks– ham, bacon, fried egg, tomato and smoked Gouda on French toast. Delicious! Previously I had the bacon cheese fries omelette which was also amazing.
They have omelettes, bread bowls, breakfast sandwiches, pancakes, French toast, and more. You can’t change any menu items but you can make your own omelette. They flavors they combine are always really good so there’s no need to change anything!
There is often a wait– it’s very small inside– so plan ahead. Definitely worth it. I recommend reading through the menu while you wait :)

I am in town visiting a friend and he brought me here for breakfast. Tomcat was AMAZING, I don’t know how it hasn’t been on Diners, Drive ins and Dives before. The menu is huge but not too extensive. It’s pretty small so make sure to arrive early because there will be a wait. My friend had the cat scratch fever and it was delicious, while I had the shrimp crêpe and it was just okay. I love the ingredients but the crêpe itself tasted like it might’ve been homemade. I’m still giving 5 stars though because everything else was delicious and i will definitely be back to try some of the other menu items.

A gem in the area. I had the cat scratch and it was delicious. The servings are very large portions definitely enough to satisfy. Very busy when we went on a Saturday and not a lot of seating I advise getting there early

In town visiting a friend, he overwhelmingly recommended this place for breakfast. They are well-​known for their pancake and French toast but all of their offerings looked great. I was a bit taken aback with the sheer number of options on the menu. The bigger problem was so many things looked so good! I opted for Cat Scratch Fever as it sounded really unique. I was not disappointed, excellent choice w the braised beef ribs, spinach, eggs, toast and asiago. I also got to try the regular pancake (awesome), and the Roxanne burrito. All great, highly recommend!

Breakfast with that small-​town charm. If I were going out for breakfast in the 70’s or 80’s, this is the kind of place where I’d see myself eating. Close-​quarters tables, friendly service, pop icons on the walls, big-​ol’ coffee mugs, fresh-​squeezed OJ, hearty portions — there’s a strong sense of nostalgia here. And it all comes together perfectly.
The seating is limited. The wait is long — I’ve never had to wait less than 30 minutes. You’ll be up close and personal with fellow diners you’ve never met before. But it’s hard to hold it against this place. It’s a small building to begin with. In a previous life, this restaurant was a house. So you’re essentially eating in the hollowed out living room of the old residence.
So as with all places, you have to take the good with the bad.
But let’s talk about the food (and this is where the Tomcat absolutely separates itself from the competition). Please, take a moment and pan through the pictures from Unilocalers past. Those aren’t stock, canned photos. That’s actually how the food comes out. I would say look at my own pictures for reference, but admittedly, I didn’t order the most photogenic dishes. Taste-​wise, though? Out of sight.
Come for your classic breakfast experience. Seriously. Just roll out of bed and come in whatever you’re wearing. Sweatpants? Onesies? Yoga pants? The little black dress from last night because you got drunk and slept over at some weird dude’s house? We won’t judge. We know you’re here for the food. And that’s A-​OK.