I was visiting family from the Bay Area and on a strict diet, so I wanted to eat some where that…read morehad healthy options. I actually ate here 3 days in a row so I got a good taste of the experience for sat dinner, sun brunch, and then Monday brunch on the way out.
The first night, I came with family, who ordered the Brussel sprouts, which came out a little over cooked, soft, not crispy, and the balsamic was just ok. However I did share the gigantic ribeye dinner with my date and it was honestly one of the better steaks I've had recently, especially considering the size, it was cooked perfectly medium rare, and the veggies and mashed potatoes that came with it were amazing. The server was also very friendly and funny, the experience in general was a 4.8.
The second day I came in for brunch, the server that we had was truly a delight, she was extremely friendly, her name which I forgot, was a spice like Cinnamon or something. Anyway, she was very sweet, she let me and my gf sit next to each other and take up two tables, even though it was quite a busy time (they do have a large back room). I was able to build my own omelet which was nice since like I said I was in a strict diet. I had the San Francisco omelet with mods, which came with ground beef, spinach, mushrooms, I also added zucchini, pickled jalapeños and some bacon. It was amazing! Once again, the server seemed like she would go out of her way to make our experience a great one! I will also say that they had some soul music playing which me and my girlfriend really liked (bias of course).
Unfortunately the Monday brunch was not as great of an experience as the other two days. I will give a little grace considering it's Monday, and the bartender was the only one serving in the whole place, he did not live up to the standards the first two servers provided. Anyway, we walked in and there was one person in the whole place, sitting at the bar, we sat next to the window and I asked if I can push the two tables together so I can sit next to her, he actually said no initially bc he wanted to save room for bigger crowds (keep in mind, this place is empty and they have a huge back room), he eventually said "it's all good we are not that busy right now anyway." His negative tone kind of set the "tone" for the rest of the experience. I ended up getting a coffee while my date a latte, the coffee was noticeably not hot, and tasted kind of stale, when he came to refill my coffee later, it was still not hot at all, I don't want to say it was cold but it was just kind of warm, and kind of gross.
This time I decided to get the same omelet with egg whites, initially I was unsure if he would be willing to go out of his way to accommodate for the previous modifications, but I asked and he was "willing", though he seemed a bit annoyed (maybe this is just his usual face). The omelet came out different obviously with it being egg whites and unfortunately it was a little runny, while the veggies were a little overcooked. I realize that cooking with egg whites are not as easy as regular eggs but either way, it was noticeably runny. The server did show that he had a little sense of humor and could smile at one point while helping a different group, mainly at the expense of a group of teenagers who came as a group of 10 kids to post up a single poster in the window. It was nice to see that he "could" smile. Ultimately, he was ok, but a little awkward, and really never smiled. The breakfast wasn't terrible, the seasoning (like the other meals, was great, the potatoes came with bell peppers and green onions on top and were good, and other than the eggs being a little runny, it was still good. The music was also different, 80s punk/ Ramones radio. To top things off, I ordered some house made pickles, which I was very excited about since I was a little hungover, but they never showed up :(
Like many of the other reviews, it was pretty expensive, which is understandable since they advertise that most of the ingredients are organic and locally sourced. Two omelets, a coffee and a latte came out to $80, not including tip. I am willing to pay for great quality food and great service, but it does little room for error, and the last experience did have quite a few of them.
At the end of the day, it is a unique place that offers a lot, breakfast, lunch, dinner, organic ingredients, a charming ambience that reminded me of a grog bar, midtown setting that is a short walk from the riverwalk and downtown. Obviously I liked the place since I came back twice, and if the option of 4.5 stars was possible I would give it here bc the first two experiences were stellar. And, if i never came in on Monday, it would've been easily a 5 star rating. AND once again, I'd hate to judge a place based on the performance on a Monday morning, however, I simply can't give this place 5 stars after that last experience.