Brown Bag Cafe

I’ve been to the Kirkland Brown Bag Café many times. At one point I was meeting up with friends for breakfast every Sunday morning before church.
The experience from the food, wait staff, portions and quality are all incredibly consistent — something which cannot be said for a lot of places these days. Wait staff is pleasant, although sometimes the women at the front do seem frazzled with the flow of traffic both coming in and out.
They definitely specialize in big greasy breakfasts. But I have gone with many friends who love lighter fare and they have always found something without complaint.
My personal favorite is the Corn Beef Hash with poached eggs. I mix the eggs with the hashbrowns and add a little pepper which really spices them up. My tab is usually around $ 16 for a soy mocha and breakfast, but I always have enough leftovers for one, usually two other meals.
The atmosphere is a little rustic/​country. But again all in all, this is a great place for a hearty breakfast at a reasonable price. During peak hours on the weekend, expect a 20−40m wait and unlike others — I actually find their new «don’t seat till your party is here» policy to be nice considering parking is a bear.

The restaurant is not very impressive neither is the wait staff. I didn’t see one smile on anyone’s face but my individual waitress. The food is enormous and very greasy. The «famous» hash browns are nothing to brag about. The only thing they have going for them is that they are real potatoes. What makes them famous, I imagine, is the put them on the grill until they are burnt and mushy, so if that is good food then you can have it. The only thing worth the $ 100 dollar check (5 meals) was the cinnamon roll but honestly if you can’t pull off at least a roll then you really shouldn’t be in business. That is the only thing they got one star for, the rest is just horrible.
And I have to agree with another Unilocaler that indicated thier new policy about not seating you until your whole party arives is bad service. At least provide a coffe or drink while they are waiting.
TOTALLY NOT IMPRESSED WITH THIS PLACE!!!

This is my go to breakfast place. Everything is amazing. We just ordered the portobello benedict and am sorry excited. All the wait staff are friendly and helpful. The service is always fast and the food is fresh. Great code too.
Just no bad things to say about this place! Yummy!

I’m not one to write some of those «OMG THIS FOOD IS AS BIG AS A SMALL CHILD! 5 STARS!!» reviews because I think that there’s a lot more to a dining experience besides gigantic food but… this place does have gigantic food.
We ordered the Big Mike to share between two people and we didn’t even finish it. The pancakes that came out were the same size as the dinner plate they were on, not like other pancakes that are maybe side plate sized. The hash browns were pretty good and crispy, even after reheating (which of course we did when we had second breakfast with our leftovers the next day).
Service was pretty good and the server was pretty nice. The food came out pretty quickly as well.
We also got a half dozen English muffins to go and they’re so absurdly large, half of each muffin is probably the same thickness as one full regular muffin. Like, what? They were okay, and they thankfully fit in the toaster.
Parking is pretty plentiful in the lot in the back.

The food here is just okay but the portions are enormous. It’s still a pretty popular place so give it a shot if you haven’t tried it. It’s busy so be prepared to wait in the mornings.

Great experience this time! Everyone was very friendly, we were seated right away, and our orders were taken and delivered within about ten minutes. I had the Reuben which is new for me, and enjoyed every bite. I can’t wait to have my leftovers!

Great food! Typically great service.
There is always a wait, and so be prepared for that. However due to recent changes («within the last month»), they won’t even take your name down on the wait list until «everyone is already here». The most frustrating part was the woman that walked in after me and said her «party of 5 was parking» and proceeded to sit next to me for the next 20-​some minutes without a single person showing up.
The policy is asinine. The lady at the cashier’s desk was rude.

one of the best breakfast spots in the state imho… great service, gigantic portions, tasty food, super selection. what else do you need? Haven’t had anything here that disappointed. If there is a negative I’d say I would be the wait for a table if you’ve got a larger sized party. It gets packed during the prime times. I wish they had a location closer to home. Don’t get up the east side as often as before and really miss eating here regularly.

The food is soo darn good here! their giant cinnamon rolls are to die for! The wait staff is super friendly too. Be prepared: the portions are literally mammoth. I just always figure I get two meals for the price of one!

Great food, could use better service. They could make a lot more money but their seating policy sucks. Definitely not enough servers. The management never even uses all the seating available. It’s like this every time we come. But damn they have good food.

Great service from reception to my server. I was flying solo and I admit I’m low maintenance, but as brisk as business was, my server stopped to check on me many times. She was also very sweet, not rushed at all when she stopped.
I ordered the chicken fried steak which came with a pile of potatoes, two eggs, and a huge thick-​sliced piece of toast — I stopped eating at about ¾ toward an empty plate. Enough for two for sure.
I will be back in the Seattle area in two weeks and will make a special trip with my wife for breakfast.
Oh, great décor too… Vintage kitchen items and appliances all over — a great place

One word and that is YUM!
We came in just early enough before the weekend brunch rush (before 9:30AM) and were promptly seated. The décor is nothing fancy… it’s a bit country and eclectic because at Brown Bag it’s all about the food.
The portions are HUGE. Please note to either come hungry, share your meal, or be excited to take some food home! I ordered the Diablo omelet which consisted of chicken cooked with jalapenos, peppers & onion, black beans, cheese, all the good stuff! Plus it came with some excellent home cooked hashbrowns and giant slice of homemade toast! Things are made from scratch here which I can appreciate. I do wish that the jam was though! Those jam packets are MEH. All in all everything was excellent. Service was good and prices are fair. I highly recommend coming here. Plus, you can’t go wrong with a cinnamon roll the size of your head!

The Brown Bag Café is located close to the 116^th exit from the 405 a little less than half way up to Everett from Bellevue.
It shares a parking lot with a hotel and is close to another restaurant Shari’s. The café has a signature style of breakfast all day with a smattering of other dishes.
It closes around 2 or 3 PM each day.
The food portions are large and most people will leave with some leftovers. The parking lot is spacious and the location is accessible.
However, the restaurant fills up extremely quickly with long waits on the weekend (up to an hour). Even after being seated, the servers have large regions of space to cover and your service will be spotty at best, not because of a bad server but because of a busy restaurant.
There are no chips or bread to snack on while you wait for your food, so you will wait on average 30 – 40 minutes after being seated before your food arrives. Both times I have visited I have been an outlier and waited around an hour to get my meal after ordering it.
The waiting area on the inside of the restaurant is also often crowded and needs cleaning. There was sticky stuff on the seats the last time I was there.
For a diner in the Kirkland area, Brown Bag is quite a bit better than say Denny’s but is not as good as the Pancake House a few miles away. Brown Bag like it’s location between Bellevue and Everett on the Eastside, is solidly in the middle ground.

Good food here, but too much of it. The portions are very large. I usually order off the a la carte menu, and get the side of corned beef hash (yummy), poached eggs, and if I’m really hungry, a side of fruit. The kids love to come as a fun breakfast treat, but with the large portion sizes, they rarely finish.
It’s a good idea to come at odd hours, as the line can run out the door at normal breakfast or lunch hours.

My daughter and fiancé have been bragging about this place for awhile now, so I decided to give it a whirl. This place has an open floor plan with tons of seating. The wait staff is very friendly and prompt.
I ordered the Eggs Benedict and was pleasantly surprised. I got it with Canadian bacon and English muffin verses the salmon and croissant. Very tasty plate. The English muffin was a bit different than I’m used to. It seemed like a biscuit of some sort. The sauce was not over bearing and had good texture. The has Browns were cooked perfectly. Overall good experience. Will visit again.

I have really mixed feelings about Brown Bag Café. A trip there usually begins with a bit of frustration. First, it’s hard to park in the lot, which is too small. Next, there is usually a wait for a table on a weekend morning, accompanied by a bit of confusion as the register where you pay the check is the same place people are trying to put their names on the wait list.
The wait to get in would be fine if the space and food were something special. The main selling point of the food is that it’s hearty; if you have a massive appetite or are carbo-​loading, this is the place for you. But the more-​is-​more approach goes a little too far. Example: One of the dishes on the menu is cinnamon roll french toast, which sounds kind of appealing initially, but in fact is one of those MASSIVE sugary cinnamon rolls sliced thickly, battered heavily, and fried. I ordered it once and felt like I was going to be secretly filmed for a health segment on the evening news.
I’ve had better luck with other dishes, and find the portion size more reasonable on the «light» menu, but the food never really wows me, except for the fact that there’s a lot of it.
The place needs a bit of updating — I know it’s got a vintage farm theme, what with the antique stove in the waiting area and whatnot, but really, it’s okay to get new vinyl tablecloths every once in a while. The service is friendly and they somehow manage to keep up with the volume.

Food Poisoning.
Brown Bag Café, I will also be writing your management about food poisoning on 8÷8÷2015.
We almost left. I was looking at the bad reviews on Unilocal and then we got stuck in their TERRIBLE parking lot. Holy hell, you will need a drink after the parking lot — too bad they don’t serve mimosas.
About 30 minute wait on a Saturday. The line to get on the list is the same line to pay at the end. Talk about a clusterf — -.
The food was pretty bad too. Just greasy spoon food but nothing special. The hollandaise on the eggs benedict was separated, thin & bitter. Boyfriend got the chicken fried steak + loaded hashbrowns. he was disappointed in the loaded hash browns. He said the chicken fried steak was cold. A few hours later he was sweating and vomiting. We had not eaten the night before or since Brown Bag. We almost missed a good friends wedding :(
Will never return — even if he hadn’t gotten food poisoning — too much $ for mediocre food & a stressful dining experience.

Oh, Brown Bag. You saucy lady. Huge portions – getting anything here is like getting two meals. I kid you not, my breakfast fed me, my mom, and my dad had some leftovers. No joke.
Good service, good food, and just a good neighborhood joint.
A British family was behind us, and I can only imagine what they thought.
The good: enormous noms.
The bad: burden of options. SO MUCH TO CHOOSE from.

I like this place. Yes, it is always busy and you will wait. But the estimated 20 min is usually on target. They have specials on the board up front. I don’t come here for super fast… I come here to relax, eat a good meal, and just hang out for a lazy breakfast. We have had good service both visits. Sometimes it is other servers bringing something or offering more water, but we had good service and our drinks were kept full and they checked back often enough.
Food. The portions are huge. We take leftovers every time. The pancakes are just divine. They are THICK… almost an inch! And huge. A short stack can easily be shared. The biscuits and gravy are tasty. Bacon is thick… and if ordered crisp they do a great job! The skillet didn’t look huge, but I ate and ate and ate… didn’t look like i had touched it. I took leftovers home and still shared it.
The french toast with berries was awesome. And Huge as well. Berries were soft. French toast is made with bread… it has sesame seeds on it. Just warning the allergy people.
I had the California sandwich my first visit… it was good and portion wise smaller than a lot of other meals, but they pile the potatoes on the side. I can’t imagine how many potatoes they go through in a day!!!
The cinnamon rolls up front… yeah you want one. We got 4 for our family. We ate a little each day and it took days for them to get all gone. Wonderful buns.
We like this spot and will return. Service has been good for us. Food has been great.

Was not at all impressed with this restaurant! Was heard it was packed on the weekends so me and my husband decided to try it for breakfast. I ordered biscuits and gravy and it came with sausage and eggs, I asked for a substitute eggs and was told «there are no substitutions»…ok. The sausage gravy was horrible and tasted like flour… bland bland bland!!! Hashbrowns look disgusting and looked like a big pile of muck on my plate, didn’t even want to try them