****NOTE: This review was done prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Of course, things are much different at the moment, but we hope things will get back to normal soon and hope you will continue to support these local businesses****
Lost Lake Cafe and Lounge
Recommended by: While eating at Skillet, we mentioned to the patrons next to us that we were at Skillet early in the morning, because our daughters woke up early. They mentioned that Lost Lake Cafe down the road is actually open 24 hours, so when we wake up early in the future, this could be an option.
Description on the Lost Lake Cafe and Lounge’s Google Description: 24-hour spot draws a hip crowd with its American diner fare, happy hour & mid-century modern decor.
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 1505 10th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
What we ate/drank: Chicken Fried Steak – A huge CFS, country sausage gravy, two eggs any style, hash browns and Texas toast. Carnitas Breakfast Burrito – Slow braised pulled pork, three scrambled eggs, spicy black beans, pico de gallo and queso fresco wrapped in a flour tortilla, topped with salsa verde. Served with sour cream and guacamole on the side. Kids pancakes, Caffe Vita coffee.
Comments: First thing you need to know about Lost Lake Cafe is that it is one of the rare diners in Seattle that’s open 24 hours, 7 days a week. It really has that old school diner feel -the long counter with swivel chairs, booths along a wall made of wood paneling and large rocks and rows of tables in the middle. And the coup de grâce, plastic covered menus. You can’t get more “old school diner” than that.
The theme is cabin lodge with forest landscape paintings, taxidermy fish and a log fireplace on the lounge side of Lost Lake Cafe.
The menu choices here are extensive and Lost Lake Cafe have different menu choices for breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. Even with the extensive menu, our server told us that they had honed their menu over 7 years to concentrate what they’re good at.
After being paralyzed by all the choices and sugestions from our server we decided on the carnitas burrito, chicken fried steak, pancakes from the kid’s menu and coffee from Caffé Vita. The Hash and Scrambles were also recommended by our server and she advised if we don’t like what we ordered, she’ll get us something else.
We were definitely happy with our choices. The chicken fried steak was huge, the over easy eggs cooked perfectly and when cutting into the yolk and mixing with the gravy, it creates a near perfect bite. The gravy, thick with bits of sausage is the standout here.
The Carnitas Breakfast Burrito is the dish that really surprised us. We were expecting a rather generic breakfast burrito since the diner doesn’t really specialize in Mexican food, but the braised pulled pork was really tasty and the light topping of the salsa verde was a good complement.
Our server was a superstar. She not only spent an inordinate amount of time helping us with our order decisions, but she made our kids feel welcome and I believe she was the only person servicing the entire restaurant on a Sunday at 8am.
Most restaurants in Seattle are kid-friendly to a certain degree with kid menus and high chairs/booster seats, but Lost Lake Cafe goes above and beyond. They had the Disney Channel on their TV and had a giant jar of toys for our kids to choose from.
For you club goers in Capitol Hill, new parents with babies that wake up at 3am, insomniacs, college students pulling all-nighters, keep Lost Lake Cafe in mind. They have something for everybody and their service is top notch. With the many choices we are sure to be back to try more dishes.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.50
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.25
Overall: 4.60
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future:
Related Articles:
With two little ones under the age of three, we’ve had a lot of early mornings where the whole family is awake. In many of these instances, we’ve decided to treat ourselves and go out for breakfast, so we’ve visited a lot of spots over the years. Seattle has some really great breakfast spots and people ask us what our favorite restaurants are all the time.
In order to be eligible for our list of Favorite Seattle Breakfast Spots, the restaurant has to be open for weekday breakfasts. There are a lot of restaurants that only serve breakfast on the weekends. None of those places make the list. A true breakfast spot serves breakfast everyday.
Without further ado, here are our Favorite Seattle Breakfast Restaurants.
Wandering Goose(RIP 2020)-Eating here is a treat. It feels like your eating at a farmhouse. House-made pastries and Southern-inspired meals!- Stone Way Cafe– We’ve been here at least 12 times. Spacious with lots of seats. Great food options. A really relaxed and casual atmosphere.
- Senor Moose– This is the Seattle Godfather of Mexican food. Always crowded, but for a reason-tasty dishes not only breakfast, but lunch & dinner.
- Toulouse Petit-Cajun-influenced and home of the famous Pork Cheeks Confit Hash. Trip Advisor named it their 5th Favorite Restaurant in the US and 10th in the world!
- Watson’s Counter– Newly opened. Intimate and modern. Great coffee drinks. Limited menu, but that Loco Moco though!
- Seattle Biscuit Co.– It’s got that shack in the swamp feel to it. Southern raised owners put their spin on fried chicken and waffles, biscuit sandwiches and grits with pulled pork. Make sure your stomach is empty when you come, you’ll need the space.
- Porkchop & Co.– Bright, airy and casual. Wide variety of foods French, Mediterranean, Asian, American. They smoke, cure, pickle and preserve everything in house. Impressive.
- The 5 Spot– It’s been a Seattle mainstay for so long, we take it for granted, but cavernous space for Seattle. Has a real diner feel. They specialize in American food, but have a roaming menu, so you’ll be assured of something different on every visit. Their Big Nashty fried chicken sandwich ain’t no joke.
- Portage Bay Cafe– According to Lyft, Portage Bay Cafe has more driver requests than any other breakfast spot in Seattle. The constant line of people waiting outside for a seat is proof of their popularity. Locally sourced ingredients. Super family friendly. Claim to fame: their bottomless breakfast bar of fruits, nuts, butter, syrup and sugars.
- Easy Street Records & Cafe – Review forthcoming. Such a cool place. A cafe in a record store. Hilariously named music inspired dishes.
- Brother Joe– This was a new discovery for us in the Georgetown area. Inventive coffee drinks. Surprisingly delicious variation of a loco moco and chile verde. We loved the playful human-like animal portraits.
- Square Knot Diner-Right down the street from Brother Joe. This was our traditional breakfast spot when going to Seatac airport. Friendly staff. Straight forward breakfast fare. U-shaped counter harkens back to old time diner. On more than a few occasions, jazz is being played, which is perfect for this laid back diner. Great corned beef hash and their cinnamon roll is a monster.
- Fat Hen– Get there early. This place is tiny, but mighty. Get ready to post that Alla Boscaiola on Instagram. Their fried chicken sandwich ain’t no slouch either. One of those places that feels like it’s for locals only.
- Citizen Cafe– This is the most underrated on the list. Don’t hear people talking about this place. An old fire station turned into a café/restaurant. They have French toast, farmers breakfast, scrambles, breakfast sandwiches, but we really enjoyed their breakfast tacos-the Korexican, a Korean/Mexican fushion and the pulled pork.
- Sazon Kitchen– Another new comer that just opened. Mexican cuisine with what seems like 20 ingredients in each dish. The décor isn’t much, but the food is outstanding. The grain casserole is like nothing we’ve ever tasted. Too of their other dishes we enjoyed was the shredded beef and eggs and the Rox’s signature eggs with tortilla, ham, beans and a billion other ingredients.
- Varsity Inn– A traditional American diner with a secret Mexican breakfast menu. Super friendly servers. We’ve had the shredded beef enchiladas, beef fajita omelette and carnitas w/tomatillo sauce. Shhhh. None are on the written menu. Also, order the cinnamon roll. You won’t be sorry.
- Honorable Mention: Kona Kitchen, Roxy’s Diner, Alison’s Coastal Cafe & Bakery, Skillet Diner, Voula’s Offshore Cafe, North Star Diner, Blue Star Cafe, Beth’s Cafe, Bang Bang Cafe, The Dish, Oddfellows Cafe , Biscuit Bitch, Glo’s Cafe, Lost Lake Cafe.
- Haven’t Visited Yet: Nue, Meet the Moon, Café Presse.
Thanks for reading Our Favorite Seattle Breakfast Spots blog post.
Related:
Sazon Kitchen
Recommended by: Back in the spring, a friend of ours mentioned a new Mexican restaurant that opened on 15th Ave NW that served breakfast everyday. He couldn’t recall the name of the place, but on the way to one of our Watson’s Counter visits, we saw Sazon Kitchen and tried it out a couple times.
Description on the Sazon’s Yelp section written by the owner: Clean, newly renovated and open kitchen concept makes Sazon Kitchen a great breakfast and brunch option. Specialty dishes like Machaca de Res, eggs-clusive items and the grain casserole are just an example of our northern Mexico Cuisine delights.
Neighborhood/Type: Ballard
Address: 7301 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117
What we ate/drank: Rox’s Signature Eggs – Motul style eggs, fried tortilla, beans, ham, criolla sauce, queso fresco, chicharron, cilantro, avocado, fried sweet banana, picked red onion. Machaca De Res- Shredded Beef, Chimi Potatos, Chiloquil, Two Eggs, Tortilla. Grain Casserole – Mix of grains in criolla sauce, braised tri-tip and eggs. Toppings include chicharron, cilantro and pickled red onions + greens and bread.
Comments: As mentioned above we heard Sazon Kitchen a new Mexican restaurant opened and served breakfast daily opening at 7:00am. As you know from our Varsity Inn and Senor Moose reviews, Mexican + Breakfast = instant visit.
Here’s a history of Sazon Kitchen per the owner from their Yelp page, “ Sazon started as pop up food vendor at a number of events like bumbershoot, bite of seattle, hempfest and others… Last year we invested in a food trailer but for health laws trucks need to be parked at a commissary kitchen overnight and driving and pulling a 20′ trailer back and forth was too tiring and time consuming. Luckily after looking for a place to make our truck stationary we end up finding a good place to open our dream breakfast place where we can also have our lunch and dinner taqueria.”
As mentioned, Sazon Kitchen is open everyday(except Wed) at 7am. Each time we’ve been we’ve been able to get a seat very easily. There are tons of outdoor seating, but we chose to eat inside. It’s very bright due to having windows on all three sides. You pay at the cashier, they give you a number, you choose a seat and they’ll bring it out to you. As soon as we sat they brought over some glasses and provide an individual glass bottle of water for the table, which is a nice touch.
They have an open kitchen and on multiple occasions we were entertained with the chopping while prepping the dishes being in sync with the beat of the music being played. Over the kitchen you’ll see a collection of French presses. We’ve not ordered a French press opting for either drip or cortados during our visits. The coffee being served is from Caffe Vita.
The owner mentions specialty dishes, Machaca de Res, eggs-clusive items(Rox’s Signature Eggs) and the grain casserole, so those are the three dishes we’ve had so far.
Lot going on on the plate. garnish of onion, avocado, radish. Makes for good presentation but ingredients involved from the main portion of the dish to the garnishes. You can see all the ingredients involved in the description under each photo of the dish.
We enjoyed all the dishes we’ve had so far. All are really flavorful and due to the number of ingredients/garnishes, you can practically experiment with different combinations of spoonfuls of flavors. Almost on every dish, I wished there were a little more pickled onion or avocado or banana or chicharron. We would say the Machaca De Res was the simplest and most familiar of the dishes with the least amount of ingredients. The machaca was moist and tender and with the beans, potatoes, eggs and tortillas make a great breakfast option.
Rox’s Signature Eggs is a dish you won’t find anywhere else. It’s served Motul style which means the tortilla is on the bottom and the egg is on top. In between was the ham.
The best of the bunch is another dish you won’t find anywhere else. It’s the Grain Casserole. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but this is the dish I’d order again on return visits. It was braised trip tip and some peppers and onions over a bed of various grains- I think lentils, beans, long rice and regular rice? I’m not sure, truthfully, but with the sauce and generous topping of protein and veggies, it was so delicious. The one minor thing, I’d prefer is tortillas instead of bread accompanying this dish. Perhaps the abundance of grains wouldn’t be a good match with tortillas? At $18, I was a bit hesitant since it’s bit on the high side, but after tasting it, I’d get it again.
We’ll definitely keep Sazon Kitchen on our list of breakfast/brunch options that’s served all week. Although Senor Moose has a relaxed atmosphere, Sazon Kitchen is even more informal and a good option for us to take the entire family due to the large outdoor area. We’re also looking forward to return during lunch or dinner hours since we’ve only come during the mornings.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.25
Service: 4.75
Food/Drinks: 4.50
Bang for the Buck: 4.25
Overall: 4.40
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future:
Related Articles:
Portage Bay Cafe – Ballard, South Lake Union, University District, Roosevelt
Recommended by: Our server, Angela(?) from Toulouse Petit suggested Portage Bay Cafe as having really delicious locally sourced brunches.
Description on the Portage Bay Cafe’s Facebook: Eat Like You Give a Damn!™ We serve local, organic, sustainable breakfast, lunch & brunch in four Seattle neighborhoods. We also offer to-go orders for corporate events and private parties, as well as hosting private dinner events in our bright, open cafes.
Neighborhood/Type: Ballard
Address: 900 NE 65th St, Seattle, WA 98115
What we ate/drank: See below. We’ve been here numerous times and had numerous dishes.
Comments: If I had to guess, Portage Bay Café is probably the most popular brunch spot in Seattle. Any published list of best/most popular/favorite brunch spots in Seattle will inevitably have Portage Bay Café on it. And if you don’t believe it, all you have to do is walk past Portage Bay Café on any given morning and see groups of people waiting outside for tables to open. Here’s also more proof, Lyft has something called a Lyftie Award of their most visited places by their riders.
In 2018 more riders requested a Lyft to Portage Bay Café more than any other brunch spot in Seattle.
There are currently four Portage Bay Café locations-University District, Roosevelt, South Lake Union, Ballard. The one we frequent most is Roosevelt. This location is relatively new and I believe bigger than the other locations.
Portage Bay Café is the quintessential Seattle brunch experience and one of the main places we take visitors from out of town to. It’s always buzzing with patrons, they have a variety of dishes for everybody, they source locally(in fact there’s a chicken coop right next to the University District branch for eggs). Our visitors all seem to love the experience and feel they’ve gotten a real local experience. The pictures on the wall show their various suppliers of locally sourced product. There’s also a hanging racing shell which pays homage to the rowing culture out on Portage Bay. UW is one of the powerhouses in the world when it comes to rowing and most of their practices happen on Portage Bay and the Montlake Cut.
No doubt, Portage Bay Café’s claim to fame is their breakfast bar with endless toppings of fruits, nuts, butter, real maple syrup, sugars whenever you order. Their breakfast bar menu includes a variety of French toasts and pancakes, which then gives you the privilege of going to the bar to pile on as many ingredients as you want.
Another reason Portage Bay Café is so popular is they are a very family friendly establishment. I’m not exaggerating when I say that on a typical day, 20% of the patrons will be kids. Portage Bay Café is definitely one of the easy choices when meeting up with other families for brunch. As mentioned there is always groups of people waiting for a seat, but one of the more perplexing things is that Portage Bay Café takes reservations from a party of one to parties of ten. So unless people are going to Portage Bay Café on a spur of the moment, they must love waiting in line or building the anticipation of being seated?
Apart from the breakfast bar, there are a variety of meals on the menu as well as specials. Here are a few of the dishes we’ve had over our multiple visits.
THE BREAKFAST SANDWICH 2 organic scrambled eggs*, hill’s pepper bacon, house-made bourbon fig jam, organic arugula, mount townsend creamery new moon jack cheese on house-made potato bread with salad.
GREEN MOLE BURRITO uli’s chorizo & carlton farms pork shoulder carnitas, organic potatoes, spicy bean blend, organic cilantro-lime cream, wrapped in a large, organic flour tortilla. topped with our house-made, green mole sauce & a sunny-side up organic stiebrs farm egg, quest cotija & green onion garnish.
FARMER’S HASH (V**) (GF) Three organic, over-easy stiebrs farms eggs*, a variety of local, organic, sustainably grown vegetables, roasted onions, fingerling potatoes, fresh herbs. served with house-made whole wheat toast and your choice of: $14.50 locally sourced corned beef
CLASSIC FRENCH TOAST organic, house-made challah bread, rich egg batter, powdered sugar garnish.
JOE’S SCRAMBLE your choice of uli’s apple chicken or maple pork sausage, organic baby spinach, beecher’s flagship cheddar, sautéed local mushrooms.
THE BREAKFAST SANDWICH 2 organic scrambled eggs*, hill’s pepper bacon, house-made bourbon fig jam, organic arugula, mount townsend creamery new moon jack cheese on house-made potato bread with potatoes.
The funny thing is that we rarely go to Portage Bay Café when it’s just our family going to brunch. Because of Portage Bay Café’s popularity it’s continually crowded, so we don’t go there often. Their dishes are consistently solid and there’s something for everybody and their famous breakfast bar always makes visitor’s jaws drop, but there’s not a lot of dishes that push the boundaries like recently visited Porkchop & Co., Wandering Goose(RIP 2020), The 5 Spot and Watson’s Counter do. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s one of the reasons Portage Bay Café is so popular. They make great dishes with sustainable locally sourced product in an inviting atmosphere that has excellent customer service. So we normally reserve Portage Bay Café outings when visitors are in town since we are assured of impressing them.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.25
Overall: 4.75
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers Locals recommendations to visit in the future: We met up with friends a recent visit to Portage Bay and they mentioned that Skillet Diner on Capitol Hill is another favorite brunch place they enjoy. We’ll check it out.
Related Articles:
Toulouse Petit – Queen Anne
Recommended by: Our server at The Hi-Life, a recent transplant to Seattle, was really friendly and engaging. She tried to give suggestions on where some of her favorite restaurants in Seattle were, but she was so new to the area that she hadn’t gone to a lot of places and the ones she suggested, we’d already been to. She actually went to the co-worker who suggested Toulouse Petit.
Description on the Toulouse Petit’s website: Toulouse Petit brings the Big Easy to Seattle. Located in Lower Queen Anne, It’s known for having Seattle’s favorite happy hour, New Orleans and cajun creole cuisine, and an amazing cocktail list. Its texturally rich and intricate décor and the general desire to deliver the various possibilities of dining, drinking and adult escapism to others leaves everyone better off for having had the experience.
Neighborhood/Type: Queen Anne
Address: 601 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
What we ate/drank: Spicy Creole Andouille Hash- Potatoes, tasso, housemade Andouille sausage, mama lil’s peppers and tomato confit. Cured Pork Cheeks Confit Hash, Spicy Shrimp Creole & Eggs over Creamy Grits. Chicken Fried Chicken w/Spicy Creole Sausage Gravy. Two eggs, homemade buttermilk biscuit
Comment: Toulouse Petit claims to be Seattle’s Premier and Most Visited Brunch for the Past Ten Years. We’ve got to admit it’s hard to argue. For us, it’s just such a difficult place to get to on weekday mornings being in lower Queen Anne and it’s always packed on the weekend. But once you get there, they have such a huge variety of dishes and interesting things to try, that you could go here every week and still try something new each week. Besides their claim mentioned above, they also have a few other accolades:
- Their Cured Carlton Farms Pork Cheeks Confit Hash was featured on Food Networks’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”.
- 2012 Trip Advisor Traveler’s Choice Award – 5th Favorite Restaurant in the US
- 2012 Trip Advisor Traveler’s Choice Award – 10th Favorite Restaurant in the world
Yes, you read that right – 10th Favorite Restaurant in the world! Toulouse Petit specializes in Creole food.
Unlike most Seattle brunch places, Toulouse Petit is open early every day(not just weekends). There’s even a happy hour breakfast from 8-11 on weekdays and a 10pm-1am late night happy hour every day including the weekends. We’ve mainly been to Toulouse Petit for the brunches, but their dinners are equally delicious. The space is huge by Seattle standards.
The tables in the booths have really intricate details as does the tiling on the floor. And you can’t ignore the ornate lighting and 270 candles on the wall, which makes for some romantic dinners. Large windows let in as much light as possible, but certain areas of Toulouse Petit are dark due to it’s size.
One nice touch about Toulouse Petit is if you order coffee, they will give you a French press and a warmed up coffee mug. I love this. No need to request refills. The menu has so many interesting choices. The best way to try a variety is to get a group of friends and order family style so you can get a taste of multiple dishes. For this visit we got the four dishes below:
Spicy Shrimp Creole & Eggs over Creamy Grits. Score: (5.0/5.0)
This is not a your normal greasy spoon diner and prices are on the higher side for brunch, which is why you should really try to go during the weekday happy hour. It made many of the dish prices go from $17 to $12. Toulouse Petit is not a place I’d suggest to friends on a struggling artist’s income, but it really is an out-of-the-ordinary spot that stands out in Seattle and appropriate for special occasions or impressing out-of-towners. It’s not like anyplace else in Seattle. In fact, if you were blind folded and dropped inside, you’d have no idea you were in Seattle.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
Overall: 4.80
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: Our server, Angela(?) suggested Portage Bay Cafe as having really delicious locally sourced brunches.
Related Articles:
Porkchop & Co.
Recommended by: The person making coffee drinks and cashier at The Fat Hen suggested another popular brunch place nearby in Ballard, Porkchop & Co. We’d been to Porkchop & Co. before, but it was a good reminder to revisit.
Description on the Porkchop & Co.’s website: Porkchop & Co. is a New American restaurant located in the heart of Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. We make casual and creative food from scratch using seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. We smoke, cure, pickle and preserve everything in house – utilizing the full, rich and varied American arsenal – from longer-standing traditional fare to contemporary techniques.
Neighborhood/Type: Ballard
Address: 6201 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107
What we ate/drank: Croque Madame, Steak & Kimchi Hash, Coffee
Much like many of the coffee shops and restaurants around Ballard on Sundays your experience will be very different if you happen to come on this day due to the Ballard Farmers Market. Porkchop & Co. is likely to be packed with a lengthy wait on Sundays, so our advise is to visit during the weekdays if possible. And luckily Porkchop & Co. does serve breakfast during the week unlike many Seattle restaurants that only serve breakfast on the weekends.
Porkchop & Co. is a bit on the casual side which is perfect for breakfast/lunch. There’s no table service. You just order at the counter, find a seat and they’ll bring out your food to you. There’s a bottle of water and glasses at each table, so you don’t have to ask or wait for that. Even the drip coffee is self serve. Although there isn’t your traditional table service, somebody came around to check in on us regularly to see how things tasted and if we needed anything else.
The space is bright and their front windows can be opened when the weather is nice, which is a nice touch for semi-al fresco eating. The main focal point is Porkchop & Co’s extensive library of cookbooks displayed on their walled book shelf.
Looking at their menu you’ll see a wide variety of foods from French inspired(Croque Madame, Foie Gras Stuffed French Toast), Medeiterranean(Shaksouka), Asia(Steak & Kimchi Hash) and some American(Scrambles). They not only serve breakfast dishes, but also sandwiches if you want an early lunch instead. They close everyday at 3:00pm, so no dinner. They also serve cocktails, wine and beer along with your normal non-alcoholic drinks such as coffee, sodas and juices.
One thing to take note of is that they smoke, cure, pickle and preserve everything in house, so you won’t get these flavors anywhere else. On this particular visit we have the Croque Madame – Brioche toast topped with Tails & Trotters ham, roasted kale, gruyere, house cheese sauce, & a sunny Stokesberry egg. Along with a chicken fried steak, my favorite breakfast dish is the Croque Madame. Porkchop & Co.’s variation has a cheese sauce that you don’t normally see on a Croque Madame. It’s doesn’t overpower like you’d suspect and compliments well with the other ingredients.
The other dish was the Steak & Kimchi Hash -House kimchi, potatoes, cauliflower, Painted Hills beef chunks, and a sunny Stokesberry Farm egg. The kimchi by itself was a little over powering, but eaten with the steak, potato or cauliflower, it provides a good balance of flavor.
On previous visits we’ve had the Pork Belly Hash, the Porchetta Benedict and Frank’s Scramble(eggs, asparagus, cheese kale, mama lil’s peppers and a bagel) and all are delicious.
Porkchop & Co. is a great place where you can bring out-of-towners and know they’ve never had any of these dishes before since the dishes are inventive and everything is made in house from locally sourced ingredients.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 4.75
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
Overall: 4.75
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: Not a server, but a customer eating next to us made small talk and mentioned The Hi Life down the street is another great option for brunches and is bigger so there’s less of a wait. We’ll check it out.
Related Articles:
Watson’s Counter
Recommended by: Nobody. We saw it on the way to Biscuit and Bean a few blocks down the street and decided to try it.
Description on the Watson’s Counter website: We’re native Seattleites who want to provide a space for people to come together and build relationships over some damn good coffee and food. We have a full espresso bar as well as a kitchen focused on classic brunch foods and afternoon bites. We’ve drawn upon our Korean heritage and taste for nostalgic flavors to add a bit of our personality to the offerings.
Neighborhood/Type: Ballard
Address: 6201 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107
What we ate/drank: Loco Moco, Chicken & Waffles, 1 + 1 = espresso and 4 oz latte, Anchorhead drip coffee. Update 7/19 below- KBBQ PORK PLATE-Roasted pork belly, rice, assorted kimchis, perilla leaves, tofu, lettuce wraps, Korean peppers, and sauce
A few weeks ago we noticed Watson’s Counter on our way to Biscuit and Bean down the street, so we decided to check it out. We found out they’ve only been open for a little over a month. When first walking in you really wouldn’t know they served food since the first thing you see as you enter is the espresso machine and the coffee/drink board hanging overhead.
Upon entering it reminded us of a mini Mr West Café & Bar -white marble table and counter tops, lots of plants, fancy pendulum lighting , dark wood bench and cabinets, lots of natural lighting, airy. There’s limited seating, a couple of 2 seat tables, a couple of 4 seat tables and a community table for 8. They also have a small counter that’s probably more conducive for standing than sitting. Even with its limited seating, it’s really family friendly. I counted 3 high chairs stacked and they have a changing table in the rest room.
We happen to be there for breakfast and it’s served all day. Watson’s Counter opens at 6:30am and closes at 4:00pm(7:00pm on Fri) on the weeknights, but opens from 8:00am to 7:00pm on Sat and Sun. To start, I ordered the 1 + 1, which is a solo espresso and a 4oz latter. My wife got a drip. Anchorhead is the coffee roaster they use. Can’t go wrong there.
They don’t have a lot of dish choices, but we prefer that a restaurant have fewer plates that they do well, than a restaurant that has a lot of options, but of mediocre quality. Although the menu is small, it’s still varied-Soba Noodles(Japan), Loco Moco(Hawaii), Poutine(Oh, Canada!), Chicken Wings(Korean). The menu definitely has a Korean slant to it.
I got the waffles and chicken. On the menu it’s listed with a honey butter, but the owner advised it comes with an in-house made gochujang option and recommended it, so that’s what I went with. The waffles came with two huge chicken wings and was prepared to perfection-crispy outside, juicy inside. It came with an organic maple syrup, but I thought the waffles tasted best eating it plain in combination with the savory gochujang flavored wings.
CHICKEN & WAFFLES
two of our honey-butter wings on top of our house rosemary Belgian waffle. Served with organic maple syrup and Louisiana hot sauce. gochujang. Score: (4.0/5.0)
My wife got the Loco Moco. I know it’s early in the year, but this dish is a contender to be on our Top Dishes of 2019. We’ve had our fair share of Loco Mocos in Hawaii and around town at Kona Kitchen, Maono, Cheeky Café. This is the best we’ve had. The patty is made with a blend of chuck, short-rib, and pork belly and you have the rice and egg, but the showstopper is the house-made gravy. It’s a thick peppery flavorful smack in the mouth. Mixed with the egg yolk, generous sized patty and topped with sesame seeds and green onions = Broke Da Mouth! As mentioned the dish selection is on the small side, but there are definitely a lot of other interesting dishes we’ll need to try in the future. The K-Poutine, soba noodles and a cereal French toast creation covered in Fruity Pebbles that the gentleman next to us ordered, all look really delicious.
Tips are included so the prices are rightfully a little higher and payment is made at your table-Canadian style. I think I saw a notice/application for a liquor license in their window, so alcohol is likely on the way. We asked about the logo since it’s hard to figure out what type of animal it is. The owner said that it’s his dog wearing a tiger outfit, whose name is Watson, the namesake of the restaurant. We also found out that the owner is the former Director of Education at Caffe Ladro. Quite the pedigree.
For only being open for a short time, it felt like they’d been open for years-attentive service, good suggestions, organized, efficient, spotless.
Prediction Time: Right now this small Watson’s Counter is new and at the moment largely unknown, but trust us this place will soon go the way of other popular Seattle small spots like Fat Hen, Wandering Goose(RIP 2020), Il Corvo(RIP 2020) and have crowds waiting and lines forming when word gets out, so get your ass over there soon!
Update 7/19: Went back for breakfast and got the Loco Moco again and it was as good as we remembered. We also tried a new dish, the KBBQ. You can eat it as just as you see below or you can use the provided lettuce leaves to create a lettuce wrap. As you can see below, there area a ton of ingredients that you can mix and match and come up with your own favorite. One ingredient I’d never seen before was kim chi apples.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
Overall: 4.80
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers Locals recommendations to visit in the future: Back in the spring, a friend of ours mentioned a new Mexican restaurant that opened on 15th Ave NW that served breakfast everyday. He couldn’t recall the name of the place, but on the way to one of our Watson’s Counter visits, we saw Sazon Kitchen and tried it.
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The Fat Hen – Not Little Red Hen!
Recommended by: The cashier at Wandering Goose(RIP 2020)recommended Fat Hen as a suggestion. We’d heard of Fat Hen , but we’d never been there.
Description on the The Fat Hen’s website: The Fat Hen is a neighborhood café serving breakfast & lunch along with handcrafted coffee drinks, house-made pastries, tea, fresh squeezed juices, local & import beer and wine, mimosas, and more. The Fat Hen seats up to 25 guests, and reservations are not accepted. Please note that the menus below are sample menus only; please inquire about our seasonal specials and current menu highlights!
Neighborhood/Type: Phinney Ridge
Address: 1418 NW 70th St, Seattle, WA 98117
What we ate/drank: Alla Boscaiola 12.50 two eggs in house-made tomato sauce with sausage, mushroom & mozzarella. Chicken Sandwich 16.5. Buttermilk fried chicken breast, calabrian chili aioli, cabbage slaw, house-made spicy pickle. Served with small side salad. Cortado
Comments: Before we get into our review of The Fat Hen, we have a funny story to tell. About 5 years ago, friends of ours recommended The Fat Hen to my wife as a place we should visit due to their great brunches.
When my wife relayed the message to me, all I heard was “hen” and I assumed they were talking about Little Red Hen, which I’d never been to, but knew about as the de facto country line dancing establishment in Seattle. My wife was new to Seattle at the time, so she assumed I knew what I was talking about when I said, “Little Red Hen? Really?
I never knew they served breakfasts. And never heard anybody say they were great.” So of course we had to check out Little Red Hen for brunch. Those of you who don’t know Little Red Hen, it’s a lovable divey bar with the service to match. Here’s a picture of Little Red Hen:
So we go there on a Saturday morning at about 9:00. The place opens at 8:00. There is not a soul in the place. I said to my wife, “If this is such a great brunch place, why is nobody here”?
There was one lady there who was our host, server and bartender. She gave us menus and we ordered. If I remember correctly, it was your normal breakfast stuff-eggs, bacon, hash browns, white toast, etc.
We order and she says, “You guys will have to wait a bit. Our cook just called and he’s hung over and I just woke him up. He lives real close though, so he’ll be here shortly”.
We’re already there drinking Bloody Marys, so we just wait. He did come shortly and our breakfast was fine, nothing special. We ask the server for our check and she busts out a pen, grabs a cardboard coaster from a table and writes the price of our meal on the back of the coaster and hands it to us! That was our bill. We looked at each other and laughed.
A few weeks later we saw our friends and told them about our experience at Little Red Hen and asked them why they liked it so much? They looked at us like we were insane, “The Fat Hen, not Little Red Hen!”
On to The Fat Hen: Like Mike’s Noodle House, Il Corvo(RIP 2020), Wandering Goose(RIP 2020), The Fat Hen is small on space and big on popularity, so you’ll most likely be waiting for a table. But of these small places, Fat Hen is by far the tiniest. If you come with more than 2 people, good luck to you. If you come with more than 4, I’ll give you credit for being gutsy.
The space seats only 25 people and even with just 25 seats, the space is so small it feels cramped. There were actually a few daring folks who came in with kids in bassinets and even that was a challenge to find any space to lay the bassinet down. The place is well lit and bright, though. If you are waiting for a table, they will take a drink order from you while you wait. I ordered a Cortado.
They have some small side dishes and salads, but there main dishes ate their Chicken Sandwich, Benedicts and Egg Bakes.
The latter two dishes have variations where you can change the ingredients. For example for the Benedicts you can have Dungeness crab, salmon, prosciutto, pancetta or Florentine. They don’t have a huge menu, but I think it allows them to really perfect the dishes they do have.
I ordered the Chicken Sandwich and my wife ordered what appears to be their most popular dish, Alla Boscaiola, which comes in a skillet and includes two eggs, sausage, mushroom and mozzarella in a their house-made tomato sauce.
As you can see from the picture of the chicken sandwich below, the chicken breast was bursting out of the bun. The chicken was tender and lightly seasoned and matched well with the tartness of the aioli and pickle and came with a side salad . I enjoyed the sandwich and would recommend it albeit at quite a hefty price tag of $16.50.
The Alla Boscaiola is definitely an instagrammable looking dish and not one I’ve seen anywhere else in Seattle. It’s simple ingredients make it one of those dishes that seems so simple to make at home, but difficult to replicate due to the superior ingredients used here and the expertise needed to cook it. The bread that comes with it is the perfect tool to dip and sop up all that sauce.
Summary: The space is really beautiful, but hard to enjoy when the seating is so close together and the rest of the available space is being taken by those waiting for a table. The food is also beautifully presented and tasty, but the prices a bit steep. The service was great. With such limited space, they do a good job of managing the number of parties waiting.
Of course they want to turn tables as quickly as possible, but we never felt hurried. We did feel guilty though about those waiting so we tried to balance enjoying our brunch, but being conscientious of those waiting. The Fat Hen would be a perfect place to visit on a weekday morning while catching up with an out of town guest one on one.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.50
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.50
Bang for the Buck: 4.00
Overall: 4.50
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
-
- Most locals know about it
-
- Locals “in the know” know about it
-
- Only those who live close by know about it.
-
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: The person making coffee drinks and acting as cashier suggested as another popular brunch place nearby in Ballard- Porkchop & Co.
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**********12/20-Unfortunately, This Restaurant Has Closed Down**********
The Wandering Goose – Best Breakfast in Seattle?
Recommended by: Our server, Marissa at the The 5 Spot recommended The Wandering Goose to try out. She advised they had breakfast everyday and had some of the best fried chicken in the city.
Description on the The Wandering Goose’s website: The Wandering Goose is a thirty seat Southern influenced cafe in the heart of Seattle’s North Capitol Hill neighborhood. The Wandering Goose is warm and inviting with bright natural light streaming in through the east facing windows. The demising wall between the neighboring restaurant is made from vintage leaded glass windows allowing for even more light and a sense of openness in this tiny but magical café. Offering Southern inspired breakfast and lunch fare including biscuits, cookies, layer cakes, biscuit sandwiches, hushpuppies, crock pot grits, country ham, sawmill gravy, country sausage gravy, greens, pimento cheese, chow-chow and fresh salads. All ingredients are seasonal and affordable fare. We will offer baking classes, cooking classes and retail sundries.
. 
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 403 15th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112
What we ate/drank: Hangtown Fry-fried oysters, cured pork belly, poached eggs. Fried Chicken Plate w/collard greens, coleslaw, butter milk biscuit. The Sawmill Biscuit Sandwich-fried chicken, sawmill gravy, cheese, poached eggs. Machiatto using Caffe Vita coffee.
Comments: Update 9/22/19: Wandering Goose just made Seattle Met’s 100 Best Restaurant
Marissa at The 5 Spot did not let us down with her suggestion! We’ve now been here multiple times and The Wandering Goose is now in our rotation of breakfast places.
Wandering Goose has two similar characteristics of two other recently reviewed restaurants:
- Like Il Corvo, you line up, put your order in toward the back of the restaurant, pay and then take a seat. They’ll bring out the meals to you. Also similar to Il Corvo lines through the restaurant form regularly due to it’s small size and popularity.
- Like Citizen Cafe and The 5 Spot, it’s one of those rare Seattle restaurants that’s opens for breakfast at 7:00am not only on weekends, but on weekdays.
If there is anything you take from this post it’s if you have a group of four or more, you’d better get there as soon as it opens or you’ll be waiting awhile. The Wandering Goose only has 30 seats. We’ve only come on weekdays in between 7-8 am to ensure we get a table. We won’t even think about going on the weekends unless we do takeout. There’s basically two rows of long benches on either side of the restaurant with tables and adjoining chairs.
The Wandering Goose specializes in Southern comfort food and has the decor to match. It feels like a diner in a small farm town – branded wooden tables, weathered window panes, ceiling fans with long downrods, lamps made of burlap sacks, old cases behind the cashier. It has that laid back country feel, which is a nice departure from the modern hip restaurants that permeate the Seattle landscape.
Here are some of the yummy dishes we’ve had. There aren’t many places that serve a Hangtown Fry(typically eggs, bacon and oysters) in Seattle, so whenever I see it, I normally order it. Usually the ingredients are all scrambled together or as an omelette. I like Wandering Goose’s variation on the dish. You have a poached egg, so you have the runny yoke. You have the pork belly instead of bacon. Take a look at the picture down below to see how thick the piece of pork belly was. Whoa. Lastly you have fried oysters on top of a bed of potatoes in a skillet. Lots of savory flavors in this dish. I added a bit of their house made “sweet heat” sauce too. As with all their dishes, the portion size will leave you full.
Note: There are two entertaining origin stories of how the Hangtown Fry came into existence. The first was a gold prospector hitting it rich and going to a hotel in California and ordering the most expensive things on the menu which in those days were eggs, bacon and oysters. The other story is that a condemned man was due to be executed and for his last meal he specifically ordered oysters, because he knew it would take more than a day to get them, so he gained an extra day of life.
Fried Chicken Plate w/collard greens, coleslaw, butter milk biscuit. Their fried chicken definitely deserves mentioned when talking about the best fried chicken in the city. Perhaps Wandering Goose will enter the fray in the war over who has the best fried chicken in Seattle between Ezell’s and Heaven Sent. Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The seasoning on the crispy skin was flavorful, but not overly seasoned like many other places. Our two year old devoured the drum stick like the Tasmanian Devil from WB. The Fried Chicken Plate also came with collard greens which were sweet and spicy and cole slaw which was crisp and fresh. It also came with one of their biscuits.
The Sawmill Biscuit Sandwich-fried chicken, sawmill gravy, cheese, poached eggs. Like the Fried Chicken Plate, The Sawmill may give another Seattle Food War a new combatant. Wandering Goose may give Morsel and Bean & Biscuit a run for their money for Best Seattle Biscuit Sandwich. Take a gander at the pictures of The Sawmill below! Your mouth is salivating, ain’t it? I opted for the addition of a poached egg for extra. How could I not have some runny yoke with this bad boy?
This is not really a traditional sandwich you can eat with your hands. You’ll need a knife and fork. The biscuits are huge and fluffy. I always expect biscuits this big to be dense. Everything about this dish is substantial from the size of the biscuit and chicken to the amount of thick gravy. The sandwich was delicious and despite it being so substantial, I finished it. Needless to say, there was no need for lunch that day. I think the next time I order this, I’ll try it without cheese. The cheese melted into the gravy, making it cheezy. It was still delicious, but I’d like to taste the gravy on it’s own.
The Sawmill – **Before**cutting into it $13.00- fried chicken, sawmill gravy, cheese add poached eggs $1.25. Score: (5.0/5.0)
Summary: Are we ready to crown The Wandering Goose as our favorite breakfast spot yet? Not quite yet, but it’s a front runner. I think if we were to put it in a category, it would be our favorite breakfast spot when playing hooky from work. Due to it’s small seating capacity and popularity, I think we’d only come here during early morning weekdays.
If you want to learn more about the history of The Wandering Goose you can read about it here.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 5.00
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
Overall: 4.85
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: The cashier recommended Fat Hen as a suggestion. We’d heard of Fat Hen and have a funny story about it, but we’d never been there. Stay tuned for our visit and review of Fat Hen and the funny story connected to it.
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The 5 Spot – Seattle’s Best Diner?
Recommended by: When we asked our server(Brian) at Citizen Cafe for other breakfast spots in Seattle, he recommended The 5 Spot right up the hill in Queen Anne as a suggestion.
he 5 Spot’s website: Home of the “American Food Festival Series“, 5 Spot’s menu offers big flavored food and kitsch from all points of the continental U.S. Our menus are inspired by our nation’s cultural roots and history that’s found on kitchen tables across America. Our roaming menu might find us parlez vous-in’ down Bourbon Street, two steppin’ into Texas, or soakin’ up those lazy, languid days along Florida’s Gulf Rim. Not feelin’ like goin’ too far outta town? 5 Spot highlights its regular Melting Pot Meals from 5 defined regions (or spots) year-round for those who like to stick with a sure thing.
Neighborhood/Type: Queen Anne
Address: 1502 Queen Anne Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109
What we ate/drank: Bag O’ Beignets, Kids Waffle and Fruit, The Big Nashty Sandwich, Enchilada De Desayuno, Coffee
Comments: First thing we want to point out is The 5 Spot is not to be confused with The 5 Point, which we mentioned as our “Drive Off the Date Bar” in our Seattle Bars For Each Stage of Dating post
Now that we have that service announcement out of the way let’s get to The 5 Spot. Brian at Citizen Cafe recommended The 5 Spot. It has been over 10 years since I’d been there and my wife had never been. The 5 Spot is out of the way for us being up on Queen Anne Hill, but after going here my wife may insist on putting it in our restaurant rotation.
As mentioned I’d not been here for over 10 years, but it’s been a Seattle institution since I can remember. More than 20 years? The 5 Spot’s claim to fame is their roaming menu of American cuisine, so you can always get new dishes no matter how many times you’ve been there. Also, if there is a particular dish you’ve enjoyed, you better go back quickly if you want it again because it might be gone once they change the menu. They do have their standard dishes that always remain on the menu though.
The 5 Spot is one of the bigger diners you’ll find in Seattle. It doesn’t matter, you’ll most likely be waiting for a seat due to it’s popularity. In totality, it probably seats over 100 people.
Another thing you’ll notice is that it’s very kid-friendly. They provided our two year old with crayons and a kids place mat. They provided a car seat stand to put our 4 month old in. And they have a kids menu, which is greatly appreciated for us parents on a budget. More than half the parties at the 5 Spot on a Monday morning had kids, so it shows you how kid-friendly they are.
One of the nice things about many of the brunch/breakfast places we’ve visited lately is that they are open on the weekdays. The 5 Spot is no exception opening every day at 8:00am. They are also open til 11pm on the weekdays and til midnight on the weekends.
The atmosphere is nostalgic diner. It has the old-style coat hangers at each booth and also has individual lighting at each booth. It’s bright, airy and busy.
On this particular visit they have a Nashville theme going on. So a huge Elvis cut out met us at the door and guitars hung from the ceiling.
At home, the best our 2 year old gets are microwaved French toast, so getting real ones was a treat for her. The Enchilada De Desayuno is from their normal menu and was prepared in an iron skillet. It came with black beans, pepper jack and Oaxaca cheese and two over easy eggs with massive potatoes on the side. I also went with an addition of smoked pork. The portion is huge, but you definitely pay for it at $16.50($13.50 for the dish + $3.00 for the addition of the smoked pork). It was a delicious dish overall and I think the potatoes paired well with the enchilada sauce, pork and cheese.
We agreed the definite favorite was the Big Nashty off the Nashville menu. It’s a “Big ass shpicy breakfast sandwich” with chicken thigh, bacon jam, vinegared greens, pair of over easy eggs, and pickles on Ciabatta. Take a look at the picture below. As you can see the chicken is massive and impossible to fit in your mouth. The sourness of the vinegared greens and pickles mixed with the bacon jam and chicken was so flavorful.
Although the portions were big, there were no left overs. The sign of a delicious meal. Bag of Beignets accompanied with a chocolate dipping were a good way to top off the meal, especially with a coffee.
Below are our the ratings of some of our dishes from our visit.
Egg dipped and griddled golden brown slices of country white bread with Vermont maple syrup, powdered sugar and fresh fruit. Score: (5.0/5.0) <<<based on our daughter’s empty plate
Enchilada De Desayuno $16.50. Score: (4.75/5.0)
The Big Nashty $13.50
Score: (5.0 / 5.0)
Summary:
The food is a bit on the expensive size but the service was top notch and over accommodating to our family and the atmosphere and everchanging menu is a very rare treat in Seattle. So the higher prices are justified in our opinion. This is a great places to bring visitors out of town and any large group. The size of the diner and the number of choices on the menu means you can accommodate all.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.25
Overall: 4.75
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
-
- Most locals know about it
-
- Locals “in the know” know about it
-
- Only those who live close by know about it.
-
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: Our server Marissa suggested Wandering Goose(RIP 2020) in Capitol Hill to try out. She advised they had breakfast everyday and had some of the best fried chicken in the city.
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