Branch Cafe & Market

Harmony Hookham-Dees

4 months ago

First, if you are like me and have been living in this area for a while and haven't been, that needs corrected. Have you ever had food so good you immediately close your eyes and the world fades away? That's how good the Key Lime Pie is. It is perfection. The staff are friendly and warm without being overwhelming. They bring light and humor to their work and it is a delight to be near them. There is also a small shop in back. The variety of products is astounding! Hand made soaps, lotions, medicine, dolls, clothes, jewelry, food, seasonings. There's a small corner with vintage clothes. I got a microfiber cleaning cloth that doesn't have the typical texture that sticks to the ridges of your fingers in an awful Way. I'm excited about it.

Allegra Wentworth

2 years ago

Food was great (we had the avocado toast, stuffed biscuit, carrot juice with all the add-ons, and the lemon olive cake). Outdoor seating had a lovely ambiance. Our server Kirsten, was lovely and friendly. We will be back! (Returned to Longbranch this morning after our initial visit ~5 months ago and now that we live in Carbondale -- we enjoyed breakfast & takeout this time! ) Just as pleased, if not more so, with this meal/purchase! Our favorite item was the freshly baked sourdough -- I know 10 dollars for a loaf is steeper than most but it was well worth it and we will surely buy again. Our breakfast of comfort bowl and burrito were both hardy, tasty, and included excellent potatoes. Their soysage is also awesome, order something with it. Finally, the pecan roll was an excellent sweet treat and we can't wait to try more food from Longbranch. We sipped Americanos this time, no complaints there either -- they have a wonderfully wide range of coffee/beverages! P.s. can we talk about the drawing on their brown bags? I love simple yet effective artistic detail like this.

Remi Shaw

2 years ago

I’m a big fan of this place. The food is always delicious. I love the healthy options and appreciate never feeling yucky after filling up here. The atmosphere is “it” for me. I also appreciate that it feels like a safe space. My go to is the avocado toast, I appreciate being able to switch the toast out for a gluten free option. I also ordered a slice of gluten free blueberry cheesecake to take home and it was absolutely delicious. The coffee is always 11/10 for me as well, you can taste the quality in everything.

Anna

year ago

It's a very cozy and nice café with a hipster vibe which serve vegetarian and vegan food. The staff is very friendly. They grow some vegetables and herbs by themselves an cook from them which is extra cool. And they support local farmers as well. The only thing - it's a bit too pricey🙈

Bryan Monaco

year ago

What a neat little place; I wish it existed back when I lived here. The grilled cheese was first rate. The blueberry muffin reminded me of mom's homemade muffins. I didn't get a coffee, but it sure looks like a good place to get a cup.

Dave Hickerson

month ago

The food was exceptional. My buddy and I had breakfast here and would highly recommend it. Super fresh ingredients. Very much its own place. Nothing corporate about it. Sarah, our server, was a delight. She was bubbly and fun. Both of our entrees were excellent and the almond scone is a must have. If you are in Carbondale this place is a must. If you are within 45 minutes, take the drive. You won't be disappointed. Unless you live in The West Village or at a ski resort, you have nothing like this place.

W Winston Scott

6 months ago

It’s a vibe. I had the biscuits and gravy, coffee and chocolate cake. Was there 2 hours and felt welcome. Service great good pretty good.

Seth Clark

8 months ago

Stopped in for breakfast and tried the Tex Mex Chorizo Omelet — absolutely fantastic. Super flavorful, packed with fresh ingredients, and cooked perfectly. The whole vibe of the café is warm and inviting, and the staff was friendly and fast. Easily one of the best breakfast spots in Carbondale. Highly recommend!

Tim Philpott

3 weeks ago

Great place wonderful food , friendly attentive service. European atmosphere, patio took me back to sidewalk boulanger in France. Run by a lovely Swiss German American lady. Baked goods to die for, I had the bisscotti cheese cake with a double espresso !

AARON HOPKINS

6 months ago

REVIEW: The Branch Café (known to the faithful as “The Long Branch”) There are places in Southern Illinois that don’t merely serve food, they serve eras. For those of us of a certain vintage, the patchouli clouded ghost of The Long Branch still clings to the windows of what is now, in its reincarnated and considerably more self-assured form, The Branch Café. Call it nostalgia, call it denial, call it what you will: the old name remains tattooed on the collective memory of This year 2000 SIU School of Law law school graduate like a beloved, if slightly disreputable uncle. But the new Branch Café? Reader, it sings. The Baroness (Sarah) and I arrived for brunch and ordered the Southwestern Griddle: beef chorizo, eggs scrambled to a soft sunrise, black beans, crisp-edged potatoes, and three salsas arranged like a flight of controlled substances behind a diner-legal disclaimer. It came out steaming and unapologetically aromatic ... an edible declaration of intent. In the photograph I took before devouring it, the dish looks like it’s plotting a coup. And frankly, it might. The flavors were bold without being reckless; confident in that way a place becomes after a few decades of reinvention, like a middle-aged poet who finally figured out how to pay the rent. The chorizo had that perfect Thompsonian swagger, seasoned, a little wild, and possibly armed. And the salsas? A tricolor spectrum ranging from friendly warmth to you should have thought this through. A blueberry muffin followed, soft as a confession. A Will’s Cuban rounded out the meal, cutting through the richness with that bright Havana-by-way-Illinois tang. Say what you will about fusion cuisine sometimes it works, especially when the chef knows exactly what they’re fusing and why. The atmosphere remains as I remember it in the early ’90s: the place where a teenager could feel dangerously intellectual, the kind of café where one could imagine ordering a martini at 17 and reading a physics book upside down t