The food is great and so is the staff. They have yummy interesting meals and even gluten free options! My vegan friend loves coming here when she's in town. The staff is always so friendly and helpful with recommendations and suggestions. We always have a great experience here. read more

The best brunch around, hands down! They also make real European-style cappuccinos and lattes.

This was such a great place! The atmosphere is really cool, the art was fun. And the food out of this world. Yummy! The staff super helpful and responsive. Check this place out! read more

The breakfast at the Nucleus is really good. Definitely going again. Service is great.

I gotta be honest, this rocked my world. I got the Yeti dish, which was some kind of hash brown casserole with ham, portobello mushrooms, cheese, and some other inspired additions. Again, my world - rocked. I also discovered a new interest in orange marmalade. The black hot coffee was delish; the iced, on the other hand, not at all. read more

Cute seating, good menu selection, and good location being downtown. This is a go to place for breakfast and coffee. I've never had a bad experience here. read more

A truly cool restaurant. The staff was super accommodating and they pay their people a living wage which means if you don't want to tip you don't have to I did because I thought the service was great but it's good to know the establishments out there that are helping their workers to live. read more

Love this place! Been ordering here more and more. Good quality ingredients, well-made, staff has been great. One of the better restaurants we've found in Eau Claire thus far. Will be back to try more of their menu. read more

On our way home from a road trip, I always like to find something that is not a chain and is interesting... well this was slightly off of our path... we arrived and we walked into a hipster coffee house, I liked the vibe... we had about a 30 min wait for a table, we were hungry & a little cranky. The service was fantastic... when our food came it did not disappoint... I had the Cajun crab omelette full of real crab and it was delish, my partner had the salmon croque madam and it was all he ever wanted. Good Coffee, great food, friendly service. read more

My mornings as of late have been spent reflecting on all I'm grateful for. Not due to any holiday traditions or faith or that, but just to simply go over the details and experience in microdosing all the new people Ive met, the new places Im walking, the new days Im waking up to sunshine and a smile. That time has been spent at this AWESOME (not so little) WONDERFULLY FRIENDLY and DELICIOUS Cafe for Breakfast and Brunch called The Nucleus Their staff is unbelieveably polite, considerate and lgbtqii+ inclusive all around! This has been a place Ive only started in but I already feel its now a regular haunt and a spot if you're in the area cant be missed if you want to get up on the right piece of toast~ [ALSO: Vegan Options!!] Take a morning and treat yo self. Go to: The Nucleus Eau Claire, Wi. -Eve Rêveuse read more

The Nucleus is certainly the best breakfast spot in Eau Claire with two very important caveats. The food is unquestionably good--I'm a sucker for El Presidente, but the omelets and crepes are far above average for the area. The service is generally very friendly and the coffee is strong and plentiful. There are two reasons The Nucleus does not warrant a five star review in my mind. The first reason is their hours--who opens a breakfast and lunch spot only a couple of blocks from a university and then stays closed on Mondays and Tuesdays? I've lost count of the number of times I was planning a breakfast meeting and had to check what day of the week it was on to make sure I didn't accidentally send people to a closed Nucleus! The second issue, as has been noted by many other Yelpers, is the time it takes to get your food. If the restaurant isn't terribly busy the wait is minimal, but the kitchen is actually quite small, so when the place gets packed, the waits can stretch out up to an hour after ordering, I realize that this is somewhat outside of their control given their kitchen constraints, but if you are not prepared for the wait on a Sunday morning, it can be quite jarring. read more

Well, gave it a second try. Son and daughter in law took me out, as they love it. We went early - so we actually got service and I got to try the food. Underwhelmed. It was ok., nothing that I would make a special effort to go out for again, but I would not avoid it. Actually, I would avoid it. The Nucleus could give lessons on bad service. read more

This café is and delicious!! I'm impressed with delicious gluten-free options. We called ahead and they set up a long table for our group. read more

This place is amazing! The menu is wonderful; the food is fantastic;but, best of all is the staff! The fact that the employees are well paid and and offered benefits is a great testimony to the management. If I lived closer I would be a regular customer!! read more

Usually on road trips, I'm the one trusted to find the good spots to stop. However, Nucleus was found thanks to my husband's Yelp skills. We were headed to Minneapolis and Eau Claire was the perfect place to stop for breakfast and coffee. The Nucleus reminds me of other breakfast restaurants I've found in my travels. It's small but has so much charm and memorable food. I started my meal with a white mocha while we perused the menu. There were actually 5 or 6 meals that we wanted, so we deferred to our server. She was honest and told us the one we were thinking about ordering wasn't the best. Of our possible choices, she told us the two that WERE the best and so we went with them. I ordered the Penn & Teller with marble rye and my husband ordered the El Presidente with an English muffin. My meal had a super juicy piece of steak, as well as some marvelous hashbrowns. These were probably the crispiest hash browns I've ever tried and were elevated to a whole new level with the peppers. There was also a sauce on the side that I wanted to put in my purse and take home. I can't think of any way that this could have been better. I only got a tiny bite of the El Presidente but it was really, really good too. Of the two though, I think mine was the winner. Did I mention the steak was cooked perfectly? My husband has already mentioned he'd drive back to Eau Claire just to go to Nucleus again. The only downside I can think is that it took us a few minutes to find parking the morning we came, but it was worth the effort. read more

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Highly recommend the egg and pesto sandwich! Friendly staff, cute ambience, delicious food

I came here for brunch as a guest in the beautiful town of Eau Claire, and I think I would have gotten lost in this building were it not for my dear friend guiding me through its labyrinthian hallways. I'm not sure which part of this establishment is Racy's (Racies?) and which part is the Nucleus -- it probably has something to do with atomic structure, but #EnglishMajor -- don't care; it's all delicious. Protip: Any cold coffee drinks you've read about in the other Yelper's reviews can also be made hot (the Zombie particularly is quite good, heated) and the staff is SO great about substituting breakfast sides and entrees without up-charging. For example: we subbed hashbrowns for fruit, because c'mon, potatoes; I also substituted avocado on the Salmon Croque Madame in place of cream cheese with no additional cost. Loved it. My only complaint is that the potatoes could've been crispier, and I wish they hadn't run out of the lemon ricotta hotcakes so soon. We could have used a breakfast appetizer.* *The point of brunching, specifically, is to talk about problems that are not problems. This was our topic du jour. read more

The Nucleus Cafe - Salmon Croque Madame; sub avocado for cream cheese - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Eau Claire, Wisconsin

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Yum! Super busy. Kinda hard to find from Apple Maps. Worth the wait and the drive. Staff is attentive. Crowd is diverse. There are several different themed dining areas (which was cool). read more

The Nucleus Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Eau Claire, Wisconsin

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Every time I come to Eau Claire I have to eat here. And I have to get the lemon crepe. I wish I could explore the menu but damn, that crepe is excellent. I just recently had a gold press coffee. Not sure what that is but it's delicious. I love the atmosphere of this place and the staff is always nice and accommodating. read more

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Our Saturday brunch meal, delivered curbside to our car was absolutely delicious. I had the (giant!) breakfast burrito and every ingredient was fresh, perfectly seasoned, and paired well together. My husband had the French toast and a bagel sandwich and he thought they were excellent as well. read more

Excellent food, excellent service. My mouth and tummy are in pure delight... This place has amazing food. We had the Penn & Teller and Salmon Croque Madame - both fantastic! If you're ever up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin stop at The Nucleus for breakfast or lunch. You won't be disappointed. read more

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Not impressed. We were sat at a table that hadn't been swept and it was trashed underneath - butter smeared on the floor and hashbrowns and trash everywhere. It was gross. We waited 45 minutes for our food, and it was very over-priced - about $20 per person for breakfast. My husband ordered a salmon sandwich that came with a brick of cream cheese (it was literally as thick as a hamburger patty) and barely any salmon. Also, he ordered a mimosa and the glass was sticky, as if it hadnt been cleaned. We won't be going back. read more

I bring my nephews and niece here every time I'm back in Eau Claire. We've had pretty much everything on the menu and love it. I especially love the omelet and protein sections of the menu. And the coffee is amazing!! Great service from friendly waitresses. I can't understand the few negative reviews. I've had a good meal every single time I've been here over many years. read more

The Nucleus Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Eau Claire, Wisconsin

One of the best stops in Eau Claire if you like either sandwiches orrr coffee. Great atmosphere wish live music sometimes.

Not worth it. We went to the Nucleus today for breakfast. I know there is typically a bit of a wait, but this was ridiculous. We waited well over an hour for our eggs. I mean eggs? How long could that possibly take? The wait was bad enough but the service was MUCH worse. After initially bringing our coffee/water, the waitress proceeded to rush by us with no eye contact at least eight times over the course of an hour. Finally, my husband went to the coffee shop to get a refill on his coffee and was told by the owner that "your waitress will handle that." After letting the owner know that he had in fact been trying to get the attention of the waitress for the last 45 minutes, the owner grabbed a coffee pot poured him a cup and walked away without a word. Nice. The food was fine but definitely NOT worth the wait. Never again. read more

My only complaint about this place is a rather long time for breakfast. Very interesting menu, great service and tasty food. My wife thoroughly enjoyed Ell Presidente, and I had the breakfast sandwich and a fruit cup with probably the freshest strawberries I've ever eaten. You know it's a long wait when you have to go outside and put more money in the meter. It got to the point that everyone was waiting for their food and when another order came out from the kitchen everybody perked up and watch the order being carried across the restaurant in hopes that it was theirs. The only other comment was that it was the strongest light roast coffee I've ever had. Can't imagine how strong the dark roast would be. All in all and enjoyable experience but definitely plan for a nice long relaxing breakfast, especially on a busy weekend mornings. read more

The Nucleus Cafe - Breakfast sandwich - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Eau Claire, Wisconsin

This is a nice, modern location for brunch with an open feel and warm exposed brick walls. We arrived just before 9 a.m. on a Sunday and it wasn't too busy yet. There were a handful of tables to choose from. Since it was my birthday, I was treating myself to a special breakfast and since their "signature lemon ricotta hotcakes" were only available on Saturdays and Sundays, I decided to give those a try. They were topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, with a side of butter. The pancakes definitely did have a more rich taste (probably due to the ricotta) but were not overly lemony to me. There was just a hint of lemon while I had expected more lemon oomph. If you are concerned with them being too lemony, you would probably like them just fine. I ended up wishing I had ordered the lemon crepes instead. I also added a side of bacon which included three thin cut slices. They had curled up during cooking, so a couple of the ends had some fatty pieces that hadn't cooked as much, but overall it was good quality bacon. It did arrive pretty cold, but it was also -17 degrees outside so it may have gotten cold on the walk to the table. I ordered the fresh squeezed OJ and it had a couple of inches of watery tasting citrus froth on top and some seed chunks that made it difficult to drink, but once I skimmed some of that off it was better. Our server was fine but she was a little distracted and took my drink order and dropped it off and didn't ask my husband if he wanted anything to drink when she did so. If I am back in Eau Claire for a brunch occasion, I would try this place again. I would like to try their coffee and their peppered parmesan garlic hashbrowns. read more

The nucleus is a really nice breakfast place! The staff is great. Most of the food is good but it can be a hit or miss. The prices can be a little steep on some items. I would avoid the chèvre crepe. I'm a fan of goat cheese but even this is a bit too much for me. The idea was good but it just doesn't taste good. Not pictured but the boomer is super delicious! read more

The Nucleus Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Terrible service, DELICIOUS food. I was told they were not known for their service and to expect to wait a while for food and drinks. Very hipster restaurant, there are I think 3 restaurants there that all use the same kitchen/ space. The strawberry Nutella crepe was sooooo good!! I also had one of the blender frozen coffees and it was mediocre. I wouldn't get it again. read more

What's the deal? Why haven't they reopened? They said they were closing the dining room until their staff was vaccinated...so the question is why haven't their staff been vaccinated? ANYBODY older than 12 can be vaccinated. They should have been open weeks ago! I don't want fried eggs to take home and eat cold! read more

I have been sitting here for an hour now and so far all I've seen is a waitress once. I do have coffee, but food is nowhere to be seen. No matter how good the food is, the service is terrible. Food finally came at about 75 mins from arrival. The waitress was totally unapologetic. When we asked for maple syrup were told that it would be another $... when I mentioned that we had been waiting for an hour for our breakfast and could the house possibly provide the syrup as a complimentary item, the waitress was unapologetic again and argued about how long we had been there. I took out my phone to verify our arrival as I had hung up a call as I walked in. Yup, 75 minutes. I have been hearing this feedback from other people who have been there lately as well. While I used to recommend this restaurant for a good breakfast, my last two experiences have led me to search for other options. read more

Fantastic food, service and atmosphere. Definitely my new favorite! I recommend the Pesto breakfast sandwich. Absolute perfection. read more

Big portions of delicious food - crepes, waffles, pancakes - all of it is beautifully presented and tastes great

The neucleus is a "gastro" cafe, at the end of water street. In the hub of the college district. As you enter through the tapestry that opens to the entrance, you will be greeted by a typical cafe layout with a good number of small tables strewn throughout the room. Most of the crowd is what I would classify as hipster college students, and the staff is of a similar flavor. The menu is pretty classic for breakfast. Options of eggs, toast, pancakes and such. I went here to sample their desserts with the intent to follow up our breakfast with a pastry or something of the like. Unfortunately it took them over an hour (they did apologize) to make scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. By that time I wasn't interested in desert. Overall the price was in the middle, but more expensive than say the grand avenue cafe. I think the price point was set simply for the convenience of the many college kids downtown. If you are a hipster, you will fit in nicely, but generally could not recommend over the many other options in the area. read more

We haven't eaten here in over a year, of course. We discovered they are now doing takeout with their full breakfast menu. So, we just did breakfast for dinner and, let me tell you, it did not disappoint as usual. This is one of the best places in Eau Claire for food, period. Today is the first time since the pandemic that I now feel like things are getting back to normal. An "El Presidente" will do that to you. My kids loved their crepes and my wife was very happy with her Southwest Omelet. And, as I said, my El Presidente (chorizo, hash browns, eggs, spices, love) was spectacular. Top notch quality ingredients, perfectly prepared, and huge portions. What's not to f***ing like? Thank you very much for giving me a reminder of what life used to be!! read more

Had a wonderful breakfast on a Tuesday at 9:00 am. Was worried about a long wait and slow service because of the reviews but we found the staff to be quick and really friendly. I had the Omega Scramble ad my husband had the El Presidente, we also shared a Blue Buck. My dish was scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, avocado and green onions- a wonderful combo. Very nice toast and side of fruit came with the dish. The Blue Bucks are the most dense buckwheat pancakes you can imagine, but they are packed with blueberries which makes them delectable. Husband was happy with his dish too. Highly recommended! read more

The Nucleus Cafe - Omega Scramble - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Eau Claire, Wisconsin

This place is a diamond in the rough! We had breakfast there this morning. The lattes beat Starbucks by far. Delicious. The food was so delicious. Service was great. Cute place and much bigger inside than you'd imagine. read more

Located more in downtown it is a cute little place among historic buildings. It is farm to table so it is a little higher price. Weekends have a line to get in. I had a omelette with dark rye toast. Food is very good. read more

Leisurely service (ie very slow) with exquisite brunch foods. When you can, you have to try this place. I've only been here once, but I can't wait to go back! My friends who come often for Sunday brunch say to always expect a long wait for your food (45+ minutes). We only have so many hours in our lives, but this is worth the wait. There's a reason so many people take so many pictures of the food. Not only is the food artistic, it's delicious and well-priced! Plus, they have a wide price range for their menu items. You can order as little as one pancake or a much as a breakfast skillet, coffee, and crepe. I hope this is yelpful. read more

This place rocks! Contemporary menu! I love when the food is flavored using just the right meats, veggies and spices! And you walk away feeling nourished and healthy. We'll be back! read more

The Nucleus Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Eau Claire, Wisconsin