Before I begin, I just want to say that I'm a simple girl and when it comes to breakfast, I don't need anything fancy. Give me my eggs benedicts, a side of hashbrowns, a cup of coffee and a glass of water and I'm good. I also don't care for "atmosphere" or whatever. A clean table and chair will do just fine, thank you. So I wasn't particularly excited when my boyfriend told me we were meeting some friends at Breakfast Republic for brunch (turned lunch). Seeing as this particular joint is in North Park, I knew it was going to be unbelievably crowded and probably overpriced.
We arrived at 9:40am and as predicted, it was already crowded. For our party of 6, the wait was a little over an hour. I wasn't surprised, nor was I really that upset either. It was expected. However, for an hour wait, I'd really hoped that it would be worth it.
We arrived at 9:40am and as predicted, it was already crowded. For our party of 6, the wait was a little over an hour. I wasn't surprised, nor was I really that upset either. It was expected. However, for an hour wait, I'd really hoped that it would be worth it.
Unfortunately, it wasn't.
But let's start with the things I did like.
The staff were courteous and gracious, from hosts to servers. Perfectly aware of the long wait that their customers have to endure, BR provide free coffee, complete with creamer and sugar. The place is also pretty clean, though small and cozy. I was practically sitting on my neighbor's lap. The decor is obviously what you would expect from a place like Breakfast Republic. Lots of random knick knacks that they've clearly picked up at thrift shops, to give a more home-y relaxed feel. Everything is wood and the chairs all have the rustic, worn out look (although BR only opened last year).
The menu is one page, front and back. The food menu offers your regular breakfast favorites and their respective (albeit I guess creative) variations. I did appreciate that I wasn't bombarded with 3 different pages of choices. The drink menu offers coffee, lattes, tea, juice, "antioxidant shots" which you can get individually or as a flight of 3.You can also order beer with your brekky.
I opted for water because it was cheap and I had gone to Starbucks for a latte while we were waiting for our table. I also wasn't terribly hungry because of this, so I wanted to pick something "light." I finally went for the Breakfast Hotdogs: smashed house potatoes, 2 eggs, topped with bacon and green onion ($8).
The staff were courteous and gracious, from hosts to servers. Perfectly aware of the long wait that their customers have to endure, BR provide free coffee, complete with creamer and sugar. The place is also pretty clean, though small and cozy. I was practically sitting on my neighbor's lap. The decor is obviously what you would expect from a place like Breakfast Republic. Lots of random knick knacks that they've clearly picked up at thrift shops, to give a more home-y relaxed feel. Everything is wood and the chairs all have the rustic, worn out look (although BR only opened last year).
The menu is one page, front and back. The food menu offers your regular breakfast favorites and their respective (albeit I guess creative) variations. I did appreciate that I wasn't bombarded with 3 different pages of choices. The drink menu offers coffee, lattes, tea, juice, "antioxidant shots" which you can get individually or as a flight of 3.You can also order beer with your brekky.
I opted for water because it was cheap and I had gone to Starbucks for a latte while we were waiting for our table. I also wasn't terribly hungry because of this, so I wanted to pick something "light." I finally went for the Breakfast Hotdogs: smashed house potatoes, 2 eggs, topped with bacon and green onion ($8).
The hotdog wasn't anything special. It tasted like a Friar Frank except it was grilled. The potatoes were potatoes and the bacon was bacon. I really don't know what else I can possibly say about them. I'd rather go to Coco's, to be honest.
My boyfriend ordered the American: 3 eggs, 3 strips of bacon, house potatoes and toast ($10). He substituted the toast with Churro Pancakes, which I unfortunately forgot to photograph. But don't worry, it wasn't anything special either. We thought the batter would be a churro flavored batter, but their Churro Pancakes are literally regular pancakes that have been dumped with tons, and I mean TONS, of cinnamon and sugar. I didn't try it for myself because it didn't look appetizing, but my boyfriend said that the batter tasted like Bisquik. Oh, by the way, I should mention it cost an extra $4 to substitute the toast with the ONE Churro Pancake.
His friend ordered the Breakfast Jambalaya ($13), which is just a regular jambalaya topped with eggs. This dish was also unimpressive as he said the jambalaya tasted old or as if it had been sitting out for a long time.
So as you can probably tell from this review, we were completely underwhelmed. The food wasn't bad at all, but it just didn't live up to the Yelp hype. Yes, it's adorable with all its hipster decor, and you can have craft beer with your eggs, but I don't think it's worth the hour+ wait. Bring me to Harry's Coffee Shop any day please. I'd gladly wait an hour for their hashbrowns.
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