HAROLD'S KOFFEE HOUSE
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★★
District: Florence
Diner w/ hearty, classic breakfast dishes
Perfect For: Breakfast/Brunch; Casual Dining
Standout Dishes: Fluffy Cakes; BYO Omelet; Susie Special
A meal at Harold’s Koffee House won’t be exactly what it was when the restaurant opened in the 1960s, but it will likely feel very similar. The recipes remain unchanged, the classic diner atmosphere is immaculate, and there’s a good chance you’ll interact with one of original owner Harold Halstead’s children, grandchildren, or nieces and nephews during your meal. Harold’s family is intertwined with his restaurant, and you feel like family when you visit.
Located in Florence, you can’t miss Harold’s as you drive down State St; the giant orange “FOOD” sign lets you know exactly what’s inside. And when you enter, you feel like you’ve time traveled back 60 years. From the upholstered booths to the counter in the middle of the restaurant and the classic decor and old photos, this place just screams “diner.”
And the friendly service reinforces that vibe. The servers and cooks genuinely seem happy to work here, and their happiness and enthusiasm creates an atmosphere that you just want to stay and hang out in.
But it’s not polite to linger too long at Harold’s, because there’s usually a line of people waiting for a table. The breakfast classics at this quaint cafe have a sterling reputation, and they bring hungry diners in droves.
Harold’s doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel when it comes to breakfast. You’ll find no cinnamon roll pancakes or crab rangoon omelets here. This is just simple, delicious diner food cooked extremely well, and the Susie Special might be the best example.
The base of the dish is Harold’s fantastic hash browns, which are crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. The potatoes are peeled, boiled, sliced, and fried each morning, and you can taste the extra effort.
The spuds are mixed with scrambled eggs and, for a small upcharge, the protein of your choice. I’d recommend the salty hunks of bacon and peppery ground sausage. It’s a plate with enough food for three people, but it’s so delicious you reach the end of the meal and find you’ve devoured the entire bounty.
The Fluffy Cakes are the thickest, fluffiest pancakes you’ll find in Omaha. They’re soft enough that you could use them as a pillow if necessary, and they insides are porous so they drink up every ounce of syrup you pour onto them. They’re also so large that they nearly eclipse the plate they’re served on; two is enough to crush most appetities.
The BYO Omelet, which you can customize with whatever cheese, proteins, and veggies you choose, are large and extremely well formed. The egg blanket is thin but has great flavor and dutifully holds the truckload of ingredients Harold’s packs inside. It’s loaded with gooey cheese, and the side of hash browns gives a crispy complement to the tender omelet.
These items highlight the simplicity of Harold’s menu. There’s nothing crazy innovative here; it’s a menu with Biscuits and Gravy, French Toast, and Chorizo Hash. But when you cook simple dishes extremely well, as Harold’s does, they stand out.
Even the very basics of breakfast are standouts at Harold’s. The bacon is crispy and salty, with just the right amount of fat running through it.
And the egg cookery is wonderful. The over easy eggs are fried brilliant to gives the edges a nice crispy texture with creamy, barely-set whites. Once pierced, the yolk happily leaks forward to share its rich flavor with whatever its on the plate with.
The prices are very reasonable at Harold’s, as most dishes range between $6-12 dollars. And the portion sizes are enough to feed a family; the pancakes are the size of frisbees, the Susie Special clocks in at over a pound, and any dish you order will satiate you for most of the day.
But what really sets Harold’s apart is how it makes you feel. You’re not just another customer when you walk through the doors. The service staff is attentive and happy, and if you’re a return customer, there’s a decent chance they’ll remember your name.
The restaurant is rather small and feels a bit cramped, but that’s oddly welcomed. This is the kind of place where it doesn’t feel weird to sit close to other customers; everyone is in this experience together, from the everyday diners saddled up to the bar to the families with babbling bibles to the first-timers trying to drink in all the history this restaurant exudes.
And it is indeed a lot of history. If the walls at Harold’s could talk, they’d have some fantastic stories to tell. But the plates themselves do plenty of talking, and if you’re at all a fan of classic breakfast dishes cooked exactly the way they should be, this is your type of place.