Pioneers Blvd · Open 7 AM – 2 PM · Call for days
Penelope’s Lil’ Cafe
Homestyle · Since 2014 · Lincoln
What folks say

380 reviews.
Mostly about the gravy.

Twelve years of regulars, with 380+ reviews on Facebook. Selected excerpts below — the rest are searchable wherever you read reviews.

★★★★★
"Best biscuits and gravy
in southeast Nebraska.
I drive past two other cafes to come here."
Facebook review · Lincoln

From the booths

Excerpts · 2018 – 2026
★★★★★

"The cinnamon roll alone is worth the trip. My grandkids ask to go to 'the cafe with the red booths.' That's the only place in Lincoln they mean."

Facebook review · Lincoln
★★★★★

"Penelope's is what every small-town breakfast spot wishes it were. Coffee refilled before I ask, food on the table in eight minutes, paid less than fifteen dollars."

Facebook review · Lincoln
★★★★★

"My dad used to take me here in the mornings before college visits. Twenty years later I take my own kids. Brenda still remembers our order."

Facebook review · Lincoln
★★★★★

"The country skillet is enough food for two adults and a teenager. The gravy is real — flour, sausage drippings, time. Not from a can."

Facebook review · Lincoln
★★★★★

"Came here for breakfast after a hospital appointment that didn't go well. Brenda noticed, asked if we were okay, and refilled the coffee three times. We came back the next week."

Facebook review · Lincoln
★★★★★

"Cinnamon-roll French toast is the best breakfast I've had in this state. Possibly any state. Will return on every drive through Lincoln."

Facebook review · Lincoln
★★★★★

"Hot beef sandwich done the way my grandmother did it. Open-faced, mashed potatoes, real gravy. Took me back to her kitchen in Pawnee City."

Facebook review · Lincoln
★★★★★

"Got the patty melt and a chocolate milkshake. Felt like I was twelve again. The cafe earns its 'lil' — it's small, but in the right way."

Facebook review · Lincoln
★★★★★

"Brought my mother for her 80th birthday. They brought her a cinnamon roll with a candle. She talked about it for three weeks."

Facebook review · Lincoln

Selected from 380+ reviews on Facebook.
Search "Penelope's Lil' Cafe Lincoln" wherever you read reviews.

Come write the next one.

Open seven to two; call to confirm days. Walk in. Order the gravy.