Going against my usual rule-of-thumb, we paid a visit to Cafe Folino on its opening day in August 2024. Whenever you visit a recently opened restaurant, you have to expect that the service will be slower and there may be some hiccups along the way.Â
We waited patiently as the girl behind the counter took our order with her manager looking over her shoulder to assist.
As tends to happen when we go out for breakfast, I ordered sweet while Julie ordered savory.
My sweet this time – bananas Foster French toast. Six slices came swimming in sweet syrup (infused with orange brandy) with sliced bananas and whipped cream.
It was an indulgence, for sure. One that I definitely did not regret. Everything about it was perfectly done – reminiscent of the dessert that inspired the dish. I would definitely order this again (and again and again).
Julie’s meal was not as much of an indulgence, but certainly no less appealing. She got a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a croissant.
Not enough places offer the croissant as an option for an egg sandwich. It helped elevate the dish at Cafe Folino to another level.
Between us, we shared an order of hash browns. I enjoyed it as a nice change of pace from the sweetness of the French toast.
Despite some service hiccups, it was still a great first impression.
Fast forward and we were back again March, this time for lunch. The cafe was busy – an extra row of tables had been added in the middle of the room, and there were barely any seats to be had.
It was an early lunch, just after 11 a.m. and a steady stream of customers kept the place full throughout our meal.
The service was much quicker this time, both taking our order and having it arrive on the table.
I had ordered one of their flatbreads – the chicken pesto. It came topped with pesto, chicken breast, mozzarella, diced tomatoes, a heaping helping of arugula, and a balsamic drizzle.
The flatbread itself was crispy and held up well with the weight of the mozzarella. The balsamic drizzle added a nice zingy sweetness. The herby pesto brought everything together nicely for an outstanding dish.
At first, it didn’t look like it would be enough for a meal, but it was plenty. The flatbreads don’t come with a side, but I didn’t need it.
For her meal, Julie opted for the chicken bacon ranch wrap (which came with a side of fries). The wrap was very good was grilled chicken breast, bacon, tomato, and ranch. Though a common site on menus, this was a very well done version that packed plenty of flavor in every bite.
It was another really good meal – though $40 was a little more than we would generally be looking to spend at lunch time. Still, we left very satisfied once again.
And meals like this will keep us coming back for more.
BCE Rating
Food: Excellent
Service: Good
Ambiance: Very Good
Price: $$
Cafe Folino
951 Hill Avenue, Suite 3
Wyomissing, PA 19610
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