Portage Bay Cafe - Ballard

Big fan of Portage Bay, and often end up eating here when friends/family visit seattle area, specifically the Ballard location. It's not as busy as the SLU location and from what I've seen easier to get a reservation too.Reservations are pretty much a must if you want to avoid a long wait-- I suspect a lot of the lower reviews are due to the wait times. Sometimes with a reservation you might still end up waiting say 15mins.Pretty classic diner/brunch spot vibes inside.I've tried a variety of menu items here (they have part of the brunch menu on some type of seasonal rotation), and my favorites are the breakfast bar items that you actually take to the fruit bar and load up on whatever you can finish! Savory stuff is solid too though, this specific visit I got the mole verde burrito. Felt pretty similarly portioned as a chipotle burrito.

Went with friends for brunch after a long walk with our dogs in the Ballard neighborhood. We took our dog along and sat outside.Me and my friend got the pancake, it comes with their breakfast bar - fruits, cream and all the toppings that you can go and pick! Love that and I highly recommend it.My husband ordered the shakshuka, was bad. The dish and the egg smelled weird. We were really put off by that.

Known for great food that's locally sourced, we hadn't been to Portage Bay in a few years--mainly because of the crowds and wait time. But this time we thought to hop on the website for a reservation and snagged a slot for 2 within 15 minutes. That's the key since the restaurants are so popular due to the food and warm service. Use the website online reservation system to avoid a wait. I ordered a blood orange mimosa which was tasty, and the biscuits and gravy. Hubby opted for the crab cake Benedict. Crab Cake Benedict's are either really good, or really bad; we asked the server if the crab was fresh and she affirmed it was. You could tell. The crab was amazing and the Benedict was lovely. The biscuits and gravy were a different style--a peppery gravy with fresh vegetables and sausage. We stopped in a Saturday at noon and due to making a reservation literally from the car on our way there, we got right in. Service was warm, polite and professional and it's not hard to see why their business is bustling.

Across from the Sloop Tavern.Make a reservation. Long wait. But deliciousness follows.Freshness. Pancakes like Mickey Mouse.Honey Wheat. Butter and Jam.Seattle Benedict -- Dungeness Crab. Huevos Rancheros.Mimosas -- Grapefruit & Orange.

3.5 starsCame in on a Sunday morning for a rare business breakfast with a client. Service was friendly and efficient and the restaurant has a good sized menu. I ordered the crab cake benedict and added some avocado. In hindsight it didn't really go well with this particular benedict, oh well. My main issue with the benedict was that the eggs were overdone and did not run when cut into. Always a bummer. The restaurant was pretty busy when we arrived and had a line to the door when we headed out.

You want the brunch? They've got the brunch!They seemed popular so I made sure to show up not too long after opening. Even then, most of the tables were occupied! We were greeted at the door and asked if we had a reservation. We did not, but there were 2 spots left at the counter - looks like we showed up just in time! As a bonus sitting at the counter gives you front row seats to see how the kitchen runs. Service was fast and friendly so no complaints there! I went with the farmer's hash bowl with scrambled eggs instead of over-easy. First impression: too much salt!! It basically hit me in the face and I was a bit bummed out. Thankfully it was only the hash portion so making sure I had a bite of egg with the hash helped bring it down to a normal level, and adding a touch of hot sauce helped to even things out even more. The hash came with a honey wheat toast that was made in house and truly fantastic! Overall I enjoyed it and I'd come back as long as I can get my order as low/normal amount of salt.

My friend and I decided to brunch at this spot, and we were in for a treat. My friend ordered the migas quesadilla, and it was so generous in portion size that we ended up taking some home. As for me, I opted for the oatmeal French toast, which was not only massive but also made from scrumptious challah bread. The highlight was the fruit bar, allowing us to customize our toppings just the way we liked.It's no surprise that this Seattle brunch chain often has a line - the food is that good! A delightful brunch experience that's worth the wait.

Came at the recommendation of my foodie crazed son and daughter in law.Had goat cheese omelet and others sampled many of the menu offerings. All the sweet plates come with a trip to the fruit bar with lots of selection.Service for our waitress was great but the next one got a little pissed at my aunts gluttony, silly as she acted like it was her personal fruit or something, but everyone else was great.Food and all the fresh fruit were awesome, I can see why this place is popular!! Highly recommended and worth the wait, maybe not in the infamous NW liquid sunshine, LOL

Made a reservation on OpenTable and it worked out perfectly. Best thing to do on a Saturday during brunch. We had the best server. Very engaging and attentive. I didn't catch their name, but it was their 3rd day serving at Portage bay and we couldn't tell at all. Great service on top of great food is a great way to kick off the weekend. We got the wild mushrooms eggs benedict, with potatoes (of course) and lemon raspberry ricotta pancakes that included a trip to the fruit bar. We wanted something savory and sweet so we split both dishes and it was the best decision. Their drink special was a peach mimosa.

I got the Rancher's Breakfat with 3 sunny side up eggs, maple pork sausage, and potatoes. Got the classic french toast and the berry bar was a nice touch as well.Service was incredibly friendly and nice, although the food definitely took some time before coming out.The vibe is very American diner like and it was busy and bustling with some people waiting outside on a Sunday brunch time.I give three stars because for what I got the price point I deemed ridiculously high. The rancher's breakfast was about $23 without tax and tip. :/