Cheap Charlie's

Great food, quiet place for breakfast but everything is absolutely home made.

Wow, was recommended to try out Cheap Charlie's, that was several months ago. Regret not trying it sooner. Loved the place, cozy and comfortable, very friendly employees, and some of the best Cafe food I've tried. I would recommend it to anyone.

I love the small town diner feel of Cheap Charlie’s. It’s great they have survived downtown Rochester for decades, especially with mother Mayo gobbling up many of these establishments. Daily specials that are creative and delicious. If you are one that requires spotless, updated equipment/seating, this place is not for you. Pictured is a French toast sandwich.

My wife and I had breakfast here this morning. I had coffee, scrambled eggs and toast, and she had coffee, bacon, hash browns, scrambled eggs and toast. Our meal was simple, tasty, and inexpensive, in a comfortable setting. The only thing I would improve would be to make the coffee stronger. We got more than our money's worth, and will be back.

First time here and let me just say, it was the best breakfast I’ve had thus far. The coffee was good and hot the food arrived in very fast unexpected manor and the owner was very pleasant and Kind. I will be returning After the 4th of July weekend. Thank you please don’t sell!!

True family owned restaurant. One of few places open after a long night shift. The menu is full of great diner classics and fair priced. Also, this is huge for me, the food prep is consistent. You can be sure that you'll get the same good quality of menu items every time. Very fond of this place. If you show up early, the owners can chat with you and you'll gain an even greater appreciation for this business and it's food.

Nice staff, very accommodating of dietary restrictions with the chef coming out be sure that there weren't any mistakes. The portions were generous and the french toast was especially good. The coffee was only ok and the food a little under seasoned. This place is worth checking out especially at their prices.

Best burger ive had in 10 years here in minnesota. Lady was so super chill. Will be here everytime I goto Rochester.

Family-owned staple in Rochester with a rich history and legacy. The owners were adorable and very friendly. Prices are really reasonable and felt like a visit to early 2000s. Food was average at best though. A bit greasy and quality of ingredients makes sense for the reasonable prices.

The food was amazing I ordered the one pancake with two eggs (sunny side up)and I got it in like only 8-9 min grandmas and Hollandberry Pannekoeken can not catch up

The food was amazing. We are visiting from illinois and this place hit the spot for our hunger. The staff are extremely nice and the service was amazing and fast. We had a wonderful conversation with the woman who i assume runs the place or is a waiter. The cook was amazing at what they did, 10/10 Recommend!

Recently moved to Rochester and kept seeing the pig on the building. Finally came for breakfast and so glad. Super friendly server. Both my daughter and I enjoyed our breakfast. Pancake super fluffy and yummy. Will be back soon

Though I got recommended cheap Charlie's as a great breakfast spot in town, I was disappointed after actually receiving my food. The pancake I ordered had little areas that were discolored(black specks) and the sausage and gravy that I ordered was extremely bland and didn't seem to contain any sausage. Though it was definitely affordable, I don't plan on going there again.

This shit is so ass I thought I saw a 8 legged parasite floating in my water as it was from a sink that seemed like it was cut out of a bathroom.

I'm just confused. We ordered 2 of the combo plates. One including pancakes, eggs and sausage. The other included eggs and pancakes. We got two sides of hash browns. We asked if they had fruit to put on the pancakes. They said no. The server offered chocolate chips, so we accepted. When we were ready to pay, our server calculated the total to be $41, and we both agreed that that was not correct. Way too high. So she grabbed the coworker who just so happened to the owner. When the owner took over and tried to calculate the total, she told us our total would be $49. No. No way. She told us that because we got chocolate chip pancakes we got a different special. She tried to explain how she settled on the $50 total, but it made no sense. After looking on at the menu it should have been $22.96 (7.99 for pancake & egg combo plate, $8.99 for the pancake, egg and sausage combo plate, and 2.99x2 for two sides of hash browns) I took a picture of the menu and the bill slip to do the math yet again when I got home, and I am correct. The owner was trying to charge us an extra $30 to add chocolate chips to our pancakes. She was trying to charge 11.75 for EACH pancake. Just... what??? We were charged a total of $29 after conversing with the owner for quite a few minutes. So we were still overcharged, but we just wanted to leave at that point. Also, sometimes a greasy diner is just what you want. This wasn't just greasy, this was dirty. The salt and pepper shakers were filthy. There were yellow clumps in the sugar shaker, which was also filthy. I didn't realize these were inside the shaker until one of the clumps fell into my coffee! Ew. TLDR: Don't make any substitutions unless you'd like to pay a $30 up charge for chocolate chips, and maybe just say away...

Old school diner type of spot I had fast hot homemade meatloaf plate for lunch. Breakfast menu looks good! Waitress was friendly. Parking under large pig on roof. Lol

MI am a local Muslim from here in Rochester, I have to say that this has to be one of the worst restaurant experiences I have been through at a breakfast spot. The server lady was insanely disrespectful and took a used coffee cup from a table she cleaned and put it BACK INTO THE POT! Not only that but I am Muslim and found a piece of bacon in my pancakes which is against my religion to eat maybe let's pay more

This place was amazing! I had the French toast sandwich and my boyfriend got the pork tender meal. Such big portions and the server was so nice. It was a family owned restaurant and I'm so glad we came here! I wish I could give more stars. I would rate this place a 5 on service, 5 on food and 5 on affordable prices! this place!

Me and my basketball team came in for breakfast after our morning practice. The waitress was really rude and gave us a side eye or smacked her lips whenever we asked for something, even simple things. Also we saw her grab the coffee off of a table that had left and put it back in the pitcher and on the stove to heat up. Disgusting. DO NOT RECOMMEND

Our favorite breakfast spot in Rochester! I've been going since I was a kid, over 20 years! The pancakes are massive and the country fried steak is soooo delicious! Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a great breakfast spot around town that istn too expensive or boujee.

If you're looking for a down home restaurant that cooks some delicious comfort food, Cheaps does a great job!! Plus it makes you feel like you're in an old-timey sort of diner even though you're right in the middle of town! Not to mention, they just had a cameo on a movie that needed the old diner sort of style ambience, so you're sitting in a famous place now, and I guarantee you will not be hungry when you leave there!!!

Food was extremely low quality and the service was terrible. This place needs to be inspected by the state, it is filthy where people eat- I can't imagine what it looks like in that kitchen... I have been to a lot of restaurants in Rochester and this one is by far the worst. Stay away

What a great breakfast place. It's a family owned business. Food was tasty and quick. Will eat there again.

Man this place has gone downhill. The once charming grunginess has fallen deeper into physical disrepair. And the food, which was always the thing, just isn't good anymore. Stick to breakfast items. Avoid the hot turkey sandwich with the freezer burned turkey and its weird sweet gravy.

I saw that Cheap Charlie's was listed as one of the 8 must places to dine in Minnesota. We went and yep it was awesome. The food was fantastic and the price was really low. Today Eggs Benedict was one of the breakfast specials. It was outstanding! The wife had eggs bacon pancakes and fried potatoes. She couldn't finish it all. The portion was large. Add two cups of coffee and breakfast was less than $20 A great meal

Gross French toast. Massive smell if urinal deodorizer hits you when you walk in the door. Friendly staff, but I hate to say: the food was not good. I had open-faced roast beef sandwich. The gravy was wrong. The beef seemed like it had been cooked for 3 days. Not good at all. I really had much higher expectations for a local dive diner.

This "divey "breakfast diner was exactly what we expected. We had great service and food was fast. Reminds me of the restaurant cafés back home in my small town. Plenty of seating and the price is right in line. Definitely going back. Great for a hangover breakfast too.

This dive is a MUST if you are in Rochester! The breakfast is outstanding. The portions are enough to leave you bloated walking out the door. The service is very good. I would recommend sitting at the counter so you can catch up with the gossip. Yes a town with over 100,000 people has a rumor mill. I'm a sucker for breakfast and this is my choice if I'm in the Rochester area. It does get busy so you might have to wait.

I cannot recommend the choc pb pancake enough. It was cooked perfectly. Coffee was ON POINT. big fan of this place. It's a diner, don't get me wrong, but it's a DAAAAMN good diner.

Very much a hole in the wall. The family that runs this restaurant is very sweet, welcoming and helpful. I ordered a no-frills double bacon cheeseburger with fries... it was so satisfying and delicious. Definitely not good for you, but it tasted absolutely amazing! Very affordable as well!

We were at Mayo for an appointment and one of the workers told us about cheap Charlie's. I m so glad they did! The food was excellent! The portions were huge and the price was good. The staff was nice too. Definitely would recommend. I only wish they were open later than 2! I would have eaten here for dinner as well.

Try it to say you have, but don't expect to be a regular. It modulates between kitsch retro greasy-spoon quaint and just plain nasty. I think they embraced, too much maybe, their "best dive" award. I am told the place hasn't changed much in the years it's been a fixture on the near-North part of town and from what I saw in the upstairs overflow area where I ate breakfast it might not have been cleaned since then, either. So if that's what they're going for they nailed it! The food is OK and the prices slightly better. The smoked pork chops are a rarity in this town and a good value.

The best breakfast ever! Ate there every day during my girlfriends appointments at the Mayo Good prices Great food Fantastic atmosphere 12/10 would recommend

Cheap's Charlies is one of Rochester's hidden gems! You can expect good food with reasonable size portions at cheap prices. The atmosphere is unique from the giant pig that greets you at the front door upon entering to the classic diner feel. If you're looking to find some of Rochester's locals you've found the right place and they scattered throughout the resturant adding to personality that makes it Cheap Charlies.

I saw a story about the place on the news and thought I'd give it a try and support a local business. Boy am I glad I did. The staff was super friendly and the prices were great. You get a huge portion for cheap and the food was great. Our food even came up surprisingly fast. Will for sure be going back many times.

Meh!! That's my reaction to this restaurant. Several people recommended this place to us so we gave it a try and left underwhelmed. The venue is a little dive spot known for its breakfast but no one in our group was impressed with the meals that they received. The coffee was watery and undrinkable, the pancakes were a doughy mess, and the burger was served on stale buns. The icing on the cake was that the staff was extremely rude and abrasive which was reminiscent of the Seinfeld Soup Nazi episode. Overall, I would recommend avoiding this place and grabbing breakfast at another nearby place.

I went to Cheap Charlie's when I was in college and it is a fun hole in the wall diner. The booths and service and food were classic. My father loves this place because of the grease and home town feel. I am not a huge diner guy, but it was fun when we went and the food was pretty darn good if you want a coronary. You get what it advertises for. A fun place in Rochester

My boyfriends and my favorite breakfast places! Delicious food (especially the pancakes), and there's always a clean place to sit. It's like a chain diner but with some personality. My only complaint is they close early!

Awesome breakfast spot- exactly what it sounds like. Cheap food, huge portions, very quick. The ambiance had a cute hole in the wall feel. I would compare it to an old town diner. The breakfast was clearly homemade and very delicious!!! I will be back.

I liked the food ..that's all that matters...the sever woman was a sourpuss though..but the grub was hit and tasty

Actually, we never went into this restaurant because when got to the front door there was a sign that read "GUNS ARE BANDED ON THESE PREMISES" even though I was'nt carrying at the time, I will not patronize any business that chooses to deny my 2nd Amendment right because of their personal feelings.

Listen, I'm originally from the East Coast (the mecca of diners)--I love a kitschy, authentic greasy spoon. I really wanted to like this place when we tried it the other day, but the place was so, so dirty, I'm not sure I can go back. (I considered walking back out when we came in this time.) There were about a dozen short white hairs sticking to the syrup bottle on our table and everything from the condiments to the floors and the kitchen walls was visibly grimy. As a former server, I seriously question how this place passes its health inspections. I get the feeling the place was once better cared for and that the management has just given up. It's really a shame, because we really enjoyed the food (nice fluffy pancakes, hashbrowns were nicely browned, sausage links were crisped just right, and my husband loved his country fried steak). Our server was down-to-business but friendly and quick. It was also very, very cheap (coffees came with our meal, and I got two eggs, a pancake and sausage links for about $5 or 6). But I'm just not sure I can do it again. There's divey, and there's dirty.

It's kind of a dive, a little old school, almost retro. Food was okay. Scrambled eggs were an odd thin sheet of cooked eggs then folded up on the plate. I like mine actually scrambled. The sausage was good, and the pancake was great. It was really filling though, and huge, and don't think most people would need more than one. I thought the place was clean enough, I didn't feel like my health was in danger. I wish I had been able to try a bit more but the person I was with ordered the same exact things so I didn't get to try anything else. I was really looking forward to trying the eggs benedict but was told they only have that on the weekends. Unfortunately I can't foresee a time where I'll be there on the weekend since I go down there to go to the Mayo, so that's a little disappointing. I was looking forward to that while we planned our visit. Waitress was attentive. Not quite rude, just short and to the point. I guess she was busy. I will admit I was a little disappointed in this place after reading all the great reviews. I guess my expectations were too high. I was hoping to find a good breakfast place, I will probably keep looking.

Very respectable old-school diner! Breakfast for two ran us 13 bucks. Great cost performance; pleasant staff. Will visit again.

Cheap Charlies is kind of like "Mickey's Diner" in St. Paul MN. No gold stars for the cleanliness but ya gotta love it. I like taking my Dad there for breakfast. He has been going there for decades and just gets a kick out of the waitresses. The staff is hard working and friendly. The prices are fair and the portions were good. If you like old fashioned truck stop diners, you'll love Cheap Charlies!

Best breakfast I have had in town. I had the country fried steak and potatoes. You can never go wrong eating at Charlie's!

Cute lil mom and pop shop! And since that's right up my ally we had to stop! Did I mention that they were on mn must eats? Let's start with the prices of food! They are pretty normal for mom and pop shops. The problem the food! Although it looked amazing, as soon as u try to eat it, we'll everything else went down hill! Our hash browns where burnt, the omelette was over cooked and flavorless, the gravy was lumpy and tasteless as well! When we told the lil asian lady she was so sweet to either give us a refund or remake it! But the amount of grease in our meals were enough to clog any artery! When paying the bill, the girl dropped our change and just left it there! Like oh ok this is what we doin now? You would think that this place would be way better considering it's right next to the big Mayo Clinic's n hospital! I must say even though I gave this place a low score, they do have so much room for improvement! And it's always a plus when the owner knows how to apologize for the food not being up to par!

My wife first brought me here almost 16 years ago when I moved to Rochester. The old fashioned diner feel was so awesome and the food was great. We haven't been back a lot, as we're not regular breakfast out people. This morning, however, she asked if I wanted to go to Cheap Charlie's and I was so excited to come back. It is definitely NOT the Cheap Charlie's I remember. The waitress was quite curt and unfriendly. We ordered our food and when it arrived, my wife asked if they had any packets of strawberry jam, as the cup on our table had other varieties but no strawberry. Small request in my book, and a perfect opportunity to give good customer service. The waitress acted appalled that she asked and told my wife that if she wanted to, she could go dig through the packets on the other tables. They weren't busy AT ALL, so it wouldn't have been much for the waitress to go grab a couple strawberry jams. The waitress also took what was clearly a personal call on her cell phone and proceeded to walk around doing drink refills and waiting on customers while on her phone call. I don't think I've ever seen that happen in a restaurant - dive or not. And as for the food - it was a huge disappointment as well. The eggs and sausage were lukewarm at best, and the sausage was under done. I was hopeful that the three super fluffy pancakes would be the redeeming thing. Wrong. They were too "cakey", not fluffy at all. And NO flavor. They were so bland. And the syrup was either watered down or some seriously cheap off brand. I love shopping small and supporting local businesses, so thankfully we still have Panakoeken - which, thankfully, is never a disappointment. I am an Uber/Lyft driver and am asked on a daily basis where to eat in Rochester, and Cheap Charlie's will no longer make my list of recommendations sadly.

Hole in the wall breakfast joint serving breakfast, lunch and dinner all day (or however late they are open). Great greasy breakfast, good service from the waitresses, super cheap... don't know what else you can ask for. It's a great diner that makes you feel like you've found something special. I've never understood why anyone would go to Pancake house or waffle house or those chains instead of finding a great small, unknown place to dine at (get real food, better service, support a local restaurant)

Cheap Charlie's is great if you go there with realistic expectations 1) it's cheap 2) it's a diner 3) they serve cheap diner food. Nothing out of the world or will make you think "there's no way I could make this at home" but it's decent, inexpensive tastiness. The atmosphere is nothing special, but the service is friendly and relatively quick. You can stuff yourself for less than $6. It gets crowded, so you may have to wait or sit at the counter if all of the tables are full.

I'm not sure I can do any better than G. D.'s review... The Atmosphere: post-apocalyptic is the word. I doubt it could pass the most rudimentary of inspections. Helpful signs on the wall specify 2 or more people per booth - as opposed to what? Do they really have a problem here? I have never checked the restrooms, and hope I never need to. The way the rest of the place looks, I can only imagine. The Clientele: You have 2 types - the middle-aged suits that roll in at 6am, pour their own coffee and go upstairs, and (without a word exchanged) their order is delivered. I'm told these guys are there 5-7 mornings per week. I asked today who the one was and was told he was Fred, a local dentist. It's good to know that my Dr will understand when I tell him I'm addicted to CC. And then you have the retired crowd at the bar - who lay down (in exact change) their payment when they sit down. Seem to be a ritual. The Food: With Cheap as our first name, what can you expect? the best pancakes, sausage, and eggs in town, served with coffee and more butter than the law allows. Best breakfast in town - or any town. Really when breakfast include a drink for $2.99, what more could one ask? The Price: See name on sign. The Pig: Beats me - must be Charlie. The Location: Conveniently located within throwing distance of the world's biggest hospital system, and within 4 blocks of said hospital's ambulance service, so response time ought to be pretty decent. Overall: Rochester Icon - and has a loyal (and disposed to chronic illness and early death) fan-base, of which I am a card-carrying member.

I went to Cheap Charlie's for the 1st time today. The initial customer service was very poor. But I was open to giving it a chance. Half way through my meal, I noticed a white chip in my food. It was a piece of the plate that had chipped off- yes, porcelain/glass! I showed it calmly to our waitress (who I heard was one of the owners), she just took the plate and walked away. No apology or anything!! She brings back some microwaved potatoes that were just as gross. They tasted a day old and you can tell they were microwaved. The waitress asked us if the potatoes were good. We answered honestly and said no, they taste like they were yesterday's potatoes microwaved. Our customer service got worse!! Again, no apologies! Never once heard sorry. Our friends asked for a box to go; she handed it to them with an attitude and didn't even look at them. We had to ask for the hash browns to be removed from our bill. I would NEVER COME BACK!

I neither loved it nor hated it. As many have said it is a small diner of modest proportion and style. It does have a very large pig on the roof if this means anything to you. The food wasn't bad, my potato pancakes with eggs were good. The bacon was kind of meh. My wife's meatloaf was good. It came with mashed, green beans and a small salad. As the name implies the prices are low, so our meal was a good value ($25+tip for 2 adults and 1 toddler).

The fold was undercooked. The sunny side eggs were barely cooked. The butter wasn't even butter. The French toast had no flavor, not even salt. I didn't finish eating any of my food. Never had such a bad experience as this one.

Went to Cheap Charlies for the first time. Its a small dinner with good service, good food, descent prices. We heard the breakfast there Rocks! Can't wait to try! We talked about our favorite places to eat while in school and Cheap Charlies was mentioned so we gave it a shot. Went to try their breakfast a couple weeks ago and ,YES, breakfast rocks! I ordered their Spanish Omelet that was on special. At first I thought, thats all I get . . . It was loaded. The first bite melted in my mouth and I took my time eating it, letting every flavor hit my taste buds. It did my tummy right! When you are with a group of people, you may get lucky and be able to eat off of their plates also, because you do get a lot of food and the price is right!

It's a little more than a half mile outdoor walk from Mayo Honda to the restaurant, if the weather is nice, it's a nice break from the indoor-ness that is Mayo. This place is a "dive", but the food was good, and the service was excellent. I spent this morning sitting at the counter with 3 gentlemen talking about their experiences during the Korean and Vietnam wars while drinking coffee and eating an omelet. A " super omelet " with hash browns and coffee was just short of $9.50 plus tip. For the quantity of food, it was very reasonable. The place isn't pretty, but it hash a lot of character if you don't mind the looks.

Nope. Eggs were fine. Place was clean. French toast was made with a close relative of Wonder Bread. "Syrup" was only thinly related to maple syrup. Coffee was weak. Not enough atmosphere to compensate for the cheap - not to be confused with inexpensive - food. Nope. Denny's would have been two full levels of improvement.