Alvie’s Gateway Grill

One of my favorite lunch spots in Cleveland. The food is very reasonably priced and always great. The matzoh ball soup is always great and they always have daily specials that change. I am a huge fan of the buffalo chicken salad… you can always ask for it grilled as well and comes w cucumbers, tomatoes and sliced almonds. The servers have been there for years and always friendly to us. They also serve «yesterdays soup» for a little less cost than todays soup of the day. I will continue to frequent Alvies and enjoy the food and hospitality. Also… they close at 2pm. I think the Unilocal hours are wrong

For what it is, a greasy spoon, downtown diner — it’s perfect. Quiet, right across from the casino, with great real Cleveland people taking care of you. Try the corned beef hash, exactly the way it should be.

The only way to truly appreciate and enjoy a typical meal at Alvie’s is to understand ahead of time that you WILL be abusing your body. Meat! Sugar! Dairy! Fat! Holy yum!
There are a few «greasy spoon”-type diners downtown, but Alvie’s serves the tastiest and most fattening sandwiches by far! As others have pointed out, the atmosphere is nothing really to speak of… cheap tables and chairs crowded together in an outdated dining room.
However, there is a reason this place is always hopping (but never TOO crowded) no matter what time we head over for lunch. The food is fresh, generally house-​made and always delicious.
The reubens and other special sandwiches are piled high with tender, not-​too-​salty corned beef, with sweet cole slaw and Thousand Island on the side, of course.
The baked potato soup is crazy good, too!
Why not five stars? Other than the outstanding french fries and typical, but delicious, grilled cheese, there are no real vegetarian contenders on the menu. You’re totally out of luck if you’re a vegan. Also, the salads are pretty meh.
But then again, it doesn’t make sense to come here and eat a salad. You want a big boy fatty sandwich, dammit! Order one and you’ll be happy you did!

We work downtown and go to Alvies about once a week. Nobody mentioned the salads so I had to add a review. We both get salads which are huge and excellent. Since we are regulars, all the waitresses know our orders as we are creatures of habit. Everyone is super friendly and the service can’t be beat. We have also had their wonderful chicken soup and several specials which were all very good.

Alvie’s was my office’s go to breakfast about 5 years ago when I worked around there. The breakfasts were always delicious and extremely affordable. The inside is awesome. I love the décor and ambiance. We placed a lot of big orders and never did we have an issue with consistency. I miss Alvie’s. I miss the way things used to be.

Alvie’s is the reigning undisputed champ of the downtown diner circuit. For a home cooked (style) meal you can’t beat Alvie’s. I’ve never had anything I wasn’t completely satisfied with. The menu is diverse and constantly has new daily specials, so there’s always something to hit the spot of whatever you’re feeling.
The staff is great, they’re all personable and fun. Always prompt service, drinks rarely reach the bottom, and all the times I’ve been there (probably going on 50 over the past year) they’ve never gotten an order wrong.
My one qualm is that the best sandwich I’ve ever had, the country fried chicken sandwich, has only been on the menu once in close to 6 months. It needs to be a staple of the menu!
I would advise you to go to Alvie’s as soon as possible, and give my personal guarantee you not be disappointed.

Alvie’s is a solid lunch place food-​wise, offering a pretty diverse diner-​style menu. The baked mac-​and-​cheese is great, and the lunch omelets are huge! I’ve heard good things about the matzo ball soup, but haven’t yet tried it myself. Apparently they once had, but no longer «officially» serve, chocolate phosphates.
Service is friendly, although a bit slow during the lunching hour. If you’re in a hurry, you would probably be better off elsewhere. The décor… well…don’t go to Alvie’s for the décor…

Alvie’s is a solid home cooked diner. I’ve eaten lunch at Alvie’s approximately 20 times in the last three years.
The service is great. When me and meh boys walk in, we are usually promptly seated. Once seated, the server pours our drinks quickly because she knows our «usuals». One of the servers doesn’t write down the orders, she remembers them, even with four people.
The soup and the leftover soup are my favorite menu items. I think all of their home made menu items are delicious. Lunch with drink and tip is about $ 11. The atmosphere is typical diner, but it could use updating. There are two small TVs to watch the news on closed caption style.
Definitely recommend Alvie’s if you’re looking for a quality, hot meal in the middle of downtown Cleveland’s fast food frenzy. Alvie’s makes excellent breakfast and sandwiches too!

Get matzoh ball soup.
Waitresses call you honey.
I dream of corned beef.
ommmmmmmmmm

Excellent home made corned beef hash for super cheap, but stay away from the desserts… I saw one of the waitresses stuffing her face with the pastries she was packing up for a catering customer. Yikes!