Cafe 98 - Fairhope

Was very good until it permanently closed several weeks ago. Rumor has it opening June 1 with new owner for lunch and dinner only, no more breakfast.

I was impressed with this place. I came in on a Sunday afternoon, about the same time that church had let out. There was a wait, about 30 minutes. The staff at the desk didn't seem too friendly, but all the wait stuff was very nice. Once my table was ready, I had it over, and my waitress was pretty quick to come and ask me what I would like to drink. I couldn't decide between two plates, so I had to order both. Both of them looked beautiful, and tasted exactly as expected. If I have any feedback, it would be for the shrimp and grits. It tasted like the finishing salt, used before the plate leaves the kitchen, was a little heavy handed. Other than that it was perfect.This place is definitely something that I would be back to try again.

The food and service here is outstanding! I love the super cute decor and atmosphere. Staff is always very attentive and friendly. I love the pot roast ! Absolutely delicious. If you're looking for a great place to eat try out Café 98!!

I was excited when we walked in because it looked really cute. I liked how it was decorated. We stood at the hostess stand (we were the only ones waiting) and no one was there. Then the hostess and two employees came out of the back. They all looked at us but no one acknowledged us. They didn 't say be with you in a minute or anything. She finally walked over to us, still didn 't say anything. She started writing something down, finally looked at us and said two? . I said yes , she walked us past some empty booths, to a TINY table by itself against the wall. It just looked so uninviting, and there were multiple booths with two people, and multiple empty booths. I asked if we could have a booth instead, and she said since you asked, yes. But now other people are going to have to wait longer. But if you insist on taking the booth then fine . There was no one waiting behind us when we got there and then another couple came in...and she showed them to a booth. Again, most of the booths had two people. It just really was not welcoming. I really liked our waitress. She was very friendly and on top of things. I didn 't like how the employees were talking about their schedules in the middle of the floor and being snarky to each other. The food was pretty good (eggs on the Benedict were not poached, but lightly hard boiled) but honestly I won 't go back because the hostess and some of the employees were so snarky.

First time at Cafe 98. Ordered the shrimp and grits. It arrived looking appealing and dressed with a cheezy sauce. It was seasoned well and included diced sausage. The service was outstanding with friendly wait staff.