This is your standard breakfast place; portion sizes and prices were fair. I don't think there was anything particularly special or eye catching about the food. The food was alright as well, but I would skip out on the cinnamon roll...it was just doughy and lacked the aroma of cinnamon, and would do better if there were some nuts added in it. One of the other servers there looked like she totally hated her job, but our server was quite attentive and way more pleasant. read more

See all

We were pretty hungry and the food was good enough. We went because I had a Groupon for this place. I don't think I would go back without the Groupon due to price. Nothing spectacular and there are other breakfast places in Bellevue with more interesting options for a competitive price. read more

First trip here - the food was decent, the atmosphere leaves a little to be desired, old diner look. Will probably give it a second try....

I had the scrambled eggs and potato pancakes. Everything was very tasty and will fill me up for the rest of the day.

This place is part of Delta Skymiles dining. For dollars spent airline miles delivered. But needs a update to interior design and polish the menu items. Pancakes are not very engaged. Service though polite lacks professionalism. I am trying to understand if I need to revisit. The seat cushions are tired. read more

The food here is okay. It's probably the cheapest meal I got while in Seattle, which is something to note if you're a frugal eater. I got a vegetable omelette, hash browns, and toast. The hash browns needed seasoning, and the omelette was fine, but not outstanding. I went on a Monday morning, so the place was practically empty. Service was fine and fast. read more

I have been in this Seattle area 4 times in the last year...and every time I come I end up here. My lovely mate dad frequents this place. He seems to suggest this spot every time we come into town. He knows the staff, the menu options, the substitution options, and the hours...all by heart. I have been pleased with everything I have tasted, from the breakfast to the lunch. I hear they have private parties here sometimes and nights where you can reserve a table to try special meals. I don't know all the details, but it sounds nice. Overall I am a fan not just because of the food, but the service paired with it. read more

It is terribly hard to find a breakfast restaurant in general, especially on Mondays unless you're willing to go to Denny's and I just can't go there! We were planning our own little brief encounter, the friendly breakfast version, not one of which perhaps this name may suggest. A friend was visiting from out of town, was staying in Bellevue and thankfully Yelp didn't let us down and led us to this little diner. Located in a strip Mall, this is a small space and there isn't much to look at here, the cracked vinyl bench seats and rickety tables don't say much but Breakfast is their thing and I personally enjoy a purist approach. They had a perfect selection of choices on the menu from sweet to savory. One thing to note is that they do have large portions so definately come hungry or prepared to share. Our friend chose the friench toast with bananas, I believe it was Challah bread and looked delicious. My husband went with their special for that day, a meat lover's omelet. I was a bit concerned as I'm trying to get him eating healthier these days but to my surprise there was little grease and the potatoes were cooked to perfection. He really enjoyed it. I chose a breakfast burrito. Now I have a pet peeve when people use chili in mexican food. This could just be my thing, but I don't feel that chili lends to a burrito taste so this greatly detracted from my enjoying this meal. It may be that I just don't really like chili in general and don't get me wrong the burrito was good but would have been better had they just put some sausage and black beans in there, the salsa, sour cream and avacado would have given me the flavor I was seeking. It would have even been better had they added some fresh cilantro-just sayin'. All in all it was a good breakfast stop, the staff was very friendly, kept the coffee cups full and our food arrived warm and timely. I don't know that I will ever come back, not that I wouldn't but I enjoy more of a full experience that includes atmosphere and food. Plus the coffee, although they were generous with the refills, was just not that great and I'm a bit of a snob this way. read more

I was excited to find this place listed online. It was close to where I was, and I didn't know of many options for breakfast near downtown Bellevue. I was seated immediately at 9:15 on a weekday morning, not too crowded. The lady who sat me asked if I wanted coffee and brought it right away. However I wasn't offered cream. I sat there for over ten minutes, in no-server land (even though a gentleman, obviously a regular was seated 5 min into my arrival and he was given attention). There was a woman behind the seated counter chatting it up with some customer almost the entire time I was there. She was too concerned with herself and talking to see if I needed anything. She was probably supposed to be my server, as I didn't see anyone else around. Never tried the coffee or the food, I got up and left when I'd reached the end of my patience with waiting for someone to see if I needed anything, anything at all. Wish I'd saved myself the frustration and read more of the reviews further down. I realize lots of places have off days, but I won't bother with this one again if their employees are so poorly trained. The food like some others have mentinoed, seemed a little pricey. The cornbeef hash I was going to get was $13 and I think two pancakes was close to $6. read more

Ok everything. OK eggs. OK potatoes. OK toast. OK service. OK coffee. Nothing was great but nothing was bad. It's a solid diner-style meal. I went to try the biscuits which are supposedly great, but they were out of biscuits when we went. I'll go back and get them some time. read more

Friendly service. Decent food. The waitress was patient with me as it was my first time here. I went around 8:30am on saturday and it was already getting full. read more

The encounter was indeed brief and I don't expect another encounter in the near future. I ordered German potato pancakes with sausages. My pancakes were a minute or two under, so it actually tasted slightly raw. That was not a pleasant experience. I end up not finishing my pancakes. Although I asked for my eggs pouched and they were pouched well. This place has TVs and all the wait staff were in a Seahawks shirt when I went on a Sunday. So this is probably a decent place to watch a game. The service is decent. If you don't care as much about the food, then this is fine. read more

Nice atmosphere, very good service. Downside....I wasn't over impressed with food or prices. The portions were relatively small, though that's possibly a good thing. What bothered me, though, was that things that ought to just naturally go together, did not forcing you to buy sides to make up the meal. Examples: Corned Beef Hash did not come with eggs, only toast. You'd have to get eggs on the side to make it seem "complete". Biscuits and Gravy came with nothing, also forcing you to get eggs on the side to "complete" the meal. The food I did have was tasty, but nothing "fantastic"...just good. It did not taste "home made". The sausage was in small pieces and reminded me of the same sausage McD's uses in their breakfast burrito. Portion was a little small and price was a little more than I'd have expected. I'm giving stars more on the atmosphere and friendly service than anything. The food wasn't bad, just nothing special. read more

Hash-slingin' diner fare perfect if you're in the mood for a "two eggs and ______" kind of breakfast. No issues. Nothing stellar, nothing bad. Everything as it should be with this type of place. Just a solid place to go. They're open pretty early as well, so it is great if you want to sit down for breakfast before work. read more

I went here today for brunch with a friend since he lives really close to this place and wanted to try it out. Since it was a really nice day out, there was a good amount of people eating outside and enjoying the sun. We arrived around 11AM and we got seated right away. I think the location of this place is why it wasn't as busy as I thought it would be. Since it's located next to a QFC inside a small strip mall, most people wouldn't know of this place unless they were actively seeking it! I got the fish tacos which weren't bad. You get three of them which comes with fish, pico de gallo, avocado, sour cream, and red cabage on top of a flour tortilla. I asked the waitress for a lime but since they didnt have any, she brought me some lemon instead. Squeezing some lemon juice on top of the tacos is def. recommended! It gives it that acidity which brings out the flavors :) My meal also came with a small cup of soup (I think it was chicken vegetable?) which was really yummy. The reason I don't give this place 5 stars is because of the price. I paid about $13 with tip and tax for my meal which was much more than I would usually pay for just three small tacos and a cup of soup. I think Taco Del Mar has a better deal with their fish tacos! I most likely won't be coming back unless there was a special deal (I wish I knew there was this $2 off Yelp deal!) or was coming here with my family since I know there are places which offer fish tacos at a fraction of the price. read more

Brief Encounter is mediocre at best. It's a small restaurant so expect a wait on the weekends. The menu is fairly basic with typical breakfast foods like French toast, breakfast sandwiches, burritos, etc. In my opinion, it's overpriced for the quality and flavor. read more

Food had no flavor and was very bland. Overpriced for what you get. Our table was dirty when we got seated. I would not recommend.

This place is awful. I ordered crepes and a breakfast wrap, and I kid you not, cardboard probably tastes better. "Brief Encounter" is a fitting name considering I doubt anyone spends much time there after seeing there food. This place is like the Arby's of the breakfast diner food. Wanna get diarrhea? Give it a shot! I personally, will never step within 100 feet of that trash can of a restaurant!! read more

We were going to Bellevue and wanted some breakfast so I came on Yelp and found this place. Lucky me there was even a coupon in the Entertainment book! We got there and laughed at the random strip mall location but it was cute inside and the service was good. We both got the egss benedict which was pretty good. I did find a small little egg shell and my meal was quickly comped and my coupon returned! I will be back for sure if I find myself in Bellevue again, looking for breakfast. read more

Good place. Came for breakfast. From out of town and seems like a locals place to go, which I like. Would come back again. Great service and staff. Serve tully's coffee which is tasty. Cozy diner. read more

I ventured to this area for a job interview one day. I didn't want to drive in traffic all morning so I came early and had time to kill. I came in here for breakfast. I ended up getting some biscuits and gravy with some potatoes and eggs. My food wasn't anything spectacular but I wasn't looking for that either, but my potatoes tasted a little cold and felt like they may have been bought from a Costco or something. I sound like a snob but come on make my potatoes with love! The prices here are very high for what I got. Aside from that the service here is pretty good and everyone is nice. Would I come back? I doubt it but then again I don't live in this part of town. Well that's that! read more

Absolutely terrible. This used to be a great breakfast place but has changed hands several times over the years. Food was unappealing, home-style potatoes were soggy, and staff didn't seem to care......prices were way too high for what we got. This isn't 13 Coins! Both my wife and I had diarrhea within 2 hours. What's happened here, don't they care? I even had the "Golfer's Special" which was the special of the day...eggs were tasteless and overdone. Sorry for this review as we've been coming here for 30 years and this was a big disappointment read more

In the middle of a busy go go go major city of Bellevue, Brief Encounter allows for you to slow down the time and enjoy the freshly made food. The staff are all friendly, kind and compassionate. I ate the biscuits and gravy. You can easily tell the food is freshly made in house. The fluffiness of the biscuit was delicious! My wife got the French toast and we shared a pancake. In both, we can taste a hint of vanilla and wow it was yummy. We will be definitely be coming back here again! Thank you for the warm and welcoming environment! read more

Had breakfast today for the first time at Brief Encounter. On the whole it was a so-so encounter. The wait staff doesn't seem especially well trained. They're functional but that's about the best you can say. My corned beef hash with 2 eggs over medium was so-so. Eggs were cooked properly but greasy overall. Had trouble getting a second cup of coffee. Never got around to a third cup. Never got the water I'd asked for. Hey the wheat toast was okay! read more

Not bad. Not great. I had heard so many great things about this place that I just had to go with my husband and son. Parking is non existent. Just keep that in mind. There was a wait when we arrived. There was a clipboard on the counter so people could sign in. The staff ignored it and took whoever was closest to them. Finally got a table. A waiter asked what we wanted to drink. I asked for water, my husband got orange juice, my son got chocolate milk. OJ on the table. Milk on the table. The water glass was practically thrown at me. The waiter says Oh, sorry, then walks off leaving the table covered in water. I expected him to come back with something to wipe it up. Nope. There were no napkins on the table so we sat with our arms at our sides so our sleeves didn't get soaked. We asked a few times for napkins and got them after far too long. I ordered the Wild King Salmon scramble with fried potatoes. The eggs were cooked perfectly but the salmon tasted canned. The potatoes were really good! Some crunch on the outside but fully cooked without being mushy. Very tasty. My son ordered a sausage breakfast sandwich from the regular menu, with hash browns. He liked it a lot, but the English muffin was a bit tough. My husband had eggs with French Toast and bacon. Bacon and eggs cooked perfect. He said the French toast was good but not anything special. Our bill came to $50. I thought it was pricey but my husband didn't. Not sure we'll go back. I really wanted to like this place! read more

Best chicken fried steak and gravy in wa state. Comparable to one's I've tried in DALLAS TX. Glad to support local family business. The homestyle potatoes were too perfect for their own good! read more

Brief Encounter - Chicken fried steak and gravy yum! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

I had lunch with my kids today at this fabulous family restaurant. My 17-year old daughter ordered the breakfast wrap with hash browns. My 12-year old son ordered the BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich with Fries. I ordered the Mama's Hot Meat Loaf with Fries. Everything was wonderful. read more

This place is EXACTLY what you'd expect from a traditional diner. Solid food, solid service, hardly a wait even when slammed, reasonable price. Will be back. read more

The food was fresh and great tasting but would stood out the most was the service. They were extremly nice and accomating.

Food was good. Service was friendly. We wanted to sit outside but were told that they had lost the key to the lock for the chairs. I had the Raider's Omelet, big portions for a great price. Would probably add some vegetables to the omelet next time. read more

I've only ever had door dash take out from here. Twice. And is always soooo good! Always perfectly presented. Not just thrown into a box. And the food is good. Crisp bacon and everything just works. Normally you can imagine take out breakfast to be kinda weak but it's so on point. read more

The place was packed at 11:00 when I got there, but the service was pretty quick and helpful. Got the cornbeef hash and it was pretty tasty and contrary to what other people said I was quite full after eating what was given to me. I'd go again :) read more

I have visited Brief Encounter many times....each time, after getting my order I shake my head and wonder why I did it. Granted, the people are nice, but quite honestly I can do much better at home. After not having been for quite a few months, I was craving eggs and hash browns. I took out my Brief Encounter menu and thought the 2 egg breakfast would be fine. This is what the 2 egg breakfast offered on my menu: 2 farm fresh eggs, shred hash browns or fruit & toast. - $5.99 Add bacon ham or sausage $2.75 extra I thought, eehh for $10 why not just this one last time...mistake! I drove over to get my 'to-go' order and was told my total was $13.+ I asked why, my menu showed it should be cheaper. I was told the menu changed. So now, this is what you get: 2 eggs any style with hash browns or home style potatoes and toast - $8.99 Add bacon, ham or sausage - $2.99 Thanks for raising your prices for the same dry food. I don't think they use large eggs either, dry potatoes, dry bacon...the only thing that wasn't dry was the greasy English muffin!! Brief Encounter is an over-priced joint, I mean, come on...$3.25 for a small glass of juice, $2.00 for a small glass of milk?? Not very clean either. I guess, I have finally learned my lesson. Next time I get a craving for eggs in the morning I'll take the time at home to do it myself. Let's see, I buy a pack of 18 eggs for $2.39 (2 eggs approx. .26 cents), 10# bag of potatoes for $4.50 (one potato approx .15 cents) so for close to .50 cents I can have the same thing, better actually (I season my hash browns). That's just my .02 cents... See, even my opinion isn't expensive!! read more

If I could give this breakfast Joint 10 stars I would. Service is great , good is very tasty , and the the atmosphere is cool! Art is for sale on the wall , and it smells so good in here. I eat here once per week , the French toast is the best! read more

Brief Encounter - French toast to die for!! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

Homely atmosphere, friendly service and delicious brunch food. Exactly what we were looking for! The coffee was great too! read more

Brief Encounter - Southwest Chicken Salad with a Bowl of Chilli Soup - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

Wait staff was super friendly and the food was delicious and exactly what you want from a cute PNW diner! Highly recommend.

We met some friends for breakfast here and really enjoyed this restaurant. There were lots of options so that all our party members found something g they could eat. Everyone said their food was really good, and it all arrived more quickly than we were expecting. The staff was really friendly as well. The only downside was that we had to ask for drink refills. On the other hand, the restaurant was busy and the staff were running to keep up with everything. read more

Well our first experience here was absolutely ridiculous... stood at the front where it says "please wait to be seated" for over 5min when there were 3 tables open that could sit just us two. Was walked by 7 times by both waiters and not a single "just one moment" or "we'll be right with you". We had to finally ask the guy (that was walking by for his 4th time) if there was a service bell or something we needed to ring... his response was "just one second". We finally felt relieved that we would be sitting in a minute.... that was all until the phone rang and he answered the call before seating us. That was absolutely ridiculous!! Never coming back here again. I can't believe this place is so well talked about. read more

One of the worst customer service experiences I've ever had. Our waitress never checked on us, and we had to ask her twice for drink refills. Her excuse is she is training someone? If you're training someone shouldn't you be showing your customers great service by checking on them? Lol. Very disappointed. read more

I'm blown away at how homey this place is. We live in Bellevue, so come here quite often. Every time I'm leaving happy I'm fairly new to yelp so I usually strut by the front door without a second glance of the windows. I did notice the sign that said, "people love us on yelp!" I thought that was pretty cool. But anyway, I had thought the old-fashioned diner had died out years ago. But no, it hasn't, and this is definately one of them. It doesn't try to be like an old-fashioned diner, there are no old coke posters with little boys riding their bikes drinking coke. (how unsafe!) But you can come here early in the morning with bags under your eyes, and leave, the only bags you have are the ones that carry food (you want to get every last bite!) As for food, anything goes. Nothings bad on this menu. If your looking for a good old time breakfast, just call the waiter and ring up some bacon and eggs. You want to pig out a little? Orange-Cinnamon French toast will get you the calories from fat you need! And the service is plain nice, though they're not afraid to tell you just whats happening in their lives, which can get a little awkward. But I shouldn't end on a bad note, this place is too good. So come here! read more