Missy's Main Street Cafe 181 East Main Street, Rockaway, NJ 07866

"***3 1/2 stars*** I'm really not understanding the over-the-top buzz for this place; it's the only brunchy establishment in the immediate area, which explains the local appeal but beyond that I'm pretty mystified. I came here yesterday in the late morning with my top-tier chums for a bite. Two of us had been here maybe a decade or so ago and had favorable impressions though so much time had elapsed that I didn't remember any specifics beyond the check coming in a cute little mailbox (which is still the case). Right off the bat, I didn't have a great vibe. They don't take reservations (which is fine) so the first person to show up in our crew put a name in to wait. They were told that the wait was about 30 minutes. It ended up being closer to 40 minutes from then, which I understand is not an exact science but once we were on the premises it was clear that the staff was not prepared to manage dawdlers. There was at least one party in there that had finished their food well before we all got there, and no attempt was made by the staff to move that along, which I think they should be prioritizing when there's literally customers bunched in the front waiting for a table. That table of people actually stayed throughout most of our meal as well, which means they were there for about two hours, and it could have been longer. Meanwhile, you have parties inside and outside just standing around when the seating is extremely limited. I understand that that can be an awkward situation for the staff, especially at a more blue-collar dinery establishment like this, but you CAN go over a little more often, ask if they want the check, etc. There are ways to expedite dawdlers without massively confronting them. We watched the guy at the register (who was very nice, by the way) shoot them a few looks, but it was completely ineffective and he flat out should have been more aggressive/proactive. Huge miss in my book. It was also nippy out so we spent most of our wait in the very small front area that can't comfortably accommodate more than one or two people there, so we were constantly being shuttled aside by other customers or staff to gain access to the fridge for milk, etc. Bottom line: if you don't have the space to handle groups of people waiting for a table, you need to be willing and able to turn the tables over more frequently. That's not just on the oblivious diners - that's on you as the proprietor (for what it's worth, my chums thought that was almost exclusively on the diners, but they're more than welcome to roll up their sleeves and write their own account). Anyway. Our waitress was excellent. Very friendly and definitely took a lot of the bad taste of the wait out of our mouths. She had strong opinions about most of the menu items we referenced, which I liked, and although it took a while for the food to show up, that clearly wasn't on her. I got the Chicken Za Za or something (I just spent five minutes online looking for the actual name, but it seems to be a super recent menu addition - basically chicken and waffles), which came with raspberry drizzle. I liked how the chicken was prepared, pre-cut into manageable slices, which made this dish much more low maintenance. Very nice presentation overall. Surprisingly though, it was pretty bland; the raspberry drizzle was barely detectable so I think they either need an additional ingredient for this (maybe the waffle and chicken by definition are soaking up a lot of the taste?) or a lot more of the drizzle. It wasn't bad but I was a little disappointed in that one. The fries that came with everyone else's dishes were excellent; perfectly crispy. I ate quite a few of those as well. I only had a water, but I did notice that we had someone stop by very frequently to check on both the water and coffee levels of our drinks, so that's a positive as well. This place wasn't bad, but I would absolutely never wait more than 10 minutes here again. And we know now from experience that the 10 minutes would likely be an underestimate."

"Great service! Great food! We felt very warmly welcomed by everyone there right from the moment we were warmly greeted until the moment we left! We would definitely recommend this quaint breakfast spot to anyone that is looking to grab a quick, delicious breakfast or lunch. I had the western omelet and loved every bite!"

"Great little place been meaning to try for a while! Did not disappoint. They offer very simple ingredients in their breakfast dishes, but put together with CRAVE worthy impact! It was a special dish on the menu (Monster Smash?) with fried eggs, tater tots, onions, jalapeños and a Jersey hot sauce, just fantastic, wish it was a regular offer, SO good!!! Fortunately, there is a similar item on the regular menu, Garlic Smash, which I am going back next week to enjoy! Loved the artfully presented rye toast as well, very appealing presentation. Also the service is great, love seeing a happy staff, would give them all 10 stars if it was an option!!! See you next week!"

"Fully satisfied breakfast accompanied it with great service and cool vibe. The place has limited dine in and few chairs at the bar, the place can get quickly crowded, and might have to wait at times. The service is amazing, working on many things at a quick and friendly pace. Loved the coffee served and I enjoyed the JB garlic smash, the hot sauce was yum! They were able to swap Taylor ham with chicken sausage for me. I wouldn’t hesitate visiting again!!"

"Great energy, service, and food. No anemic looking home fries or anything on the plate. The seasoning, playful and different variations on familiar items is sure to please foodies and regulars alike. I'd leave a longer review but I don't think I need to rave about this place any longer as it is already popping. Driving the 30 mins just for a meal at Missy's was a trip worthwhile that I will continue doing."