Darby’s Cafe

After waiting an hour for our food, we asked our server for a time frame for when our order would be ready. We had friends that were seating almost 20 minutes after us, and they had already received their food (same sized party). After an additional 15 minutes, our food came out, but we were missing several portions (syrup for french toast, bacon, drinks). Additionally, my boyfriends food was cold and mine was lukewarm at best. I approached the server to ask for what we were missing. After I turned around, the server proceeded to CALL ME A BITCH in front of my friend (who was also missing parts of her meal). When my boyfriend confronted her, she told me I should «be aware of my attitude». As a former server, I understand frustrations, but our server was rude, inappropriate, and inattentive. They comped our food, but it doesn’t make up for the over 2.5 hours wasted and the terrible experience we had.

Rarely do I leave a bad review, but we didn’t have the greatest experience here. We waited 20 minutes for a table, which isn’t bad for a Sunday. Then we placed our order after getting our drinks. After a while, we noticed that the people who arrived after us were getting their food. We noticed that it had then been 30 minutes since our server approached us. We had to flag her down to ask for some water. We understand that when it’s busy, it can take longer than usual to get your food, but it would have been nice to get an update. The server had someone else bring our water, and we ended up asking that person how much longer our food would be. A moment later, we get our food, and my husband’s order was cold. They took $ 2 off of the bill when I told them about the wait, which was cool, but I couldn’t justify tipping more than 15%. Had our food arrived warm, I wouldn’t care about the poor service.

If you have another (vegan) option, pick it. Service was horrible, food was «okay». If I wasn’t from out of town and in need of a vegan meal, I would have eaten McDonald’s over this place. I went for breakfast, I guess bcuz that’s all that was on the menu, on a Saturday at about noon. No one acknowledged me after I was sat and no one checked on me after I had eaten my food. Had they– I would have sent it back.
Seriously– go elsewhere.

Only a couple of people in the restaurant when we arrived. 2 waitstaff appeared to be on duty. One came and took our drink order promptly and we ordered food when they brought our drinks. The food arrived quickly and it was hot. I had the Olytown Fry my wife had the Eggs Benedict. We both decided rather quickly that the food was slightly below mediocre. Our waitperson never came back to ask how the food was, and never got a coffee refill. The biscuit was the best part of the meal, all 4 bites of it. The waitstaff never asked us how our meal was even when we were paying, I guess they know better than we did anyway. The bonus is that it was expensive. $ 36 dollars for a very disappointing breakfast. Last (but not the 1^st) bad experience we’ve had at Darby’s. AdIos!!!

Probably the best eggs Benedict I’ve ever had. They have an awesome drink menu for the AM and thier staff rocks. If you’re not into dive-​ie spots with urban life right in front of your face, don’t eat hear. But if fresh food and conversation with fine locals is for you — stop playin’ and get to Darby’s. Tell’em I sent you!

I had heard great things about Darby’s from an old local friend so I was excited to try it and thought it would be a good fit for my Paleo diet. After walking all around the block and not being able to find it, we asked someone on the street who pointed us in the right direction. After asking about the soup and being told they didn’t have any ready yet (at 12:30 pm), I ordered a grilled chicken salad for myself and a turkey sandwich for my child (no kids menu, no big deal). I was then told they were out of both chicken and turkey. Ok… I ended up going with the BLT and it wasn’t anything special. I won’t be visiting again. If I had known about the multiple disgusting health code violations from last fall, we wouldn’t have visited today in the first place. I feel sick that I took my child here after reading about those violations.

GREAT food! Typical downtown Olympia service. They will be as nice to you as you are to them. If you’re getting really crappy service, you probably didn’t put your happy face on walking in. Quirky staff and environment = classic Olympia. If you don’t like it, I question your decision to eat downtown in the first place. If you want to introduce your extremely conservative, out-​of-​town guests to classic Olympia culture without quite baptizing them in the artesian well, this will be a good place to start and their tummies will be happy :).

Great food, great staff, excellent prices. I literally cannot recommend this place highly enough! First time here, very busy place, but every staff member makes you feel welcome.

We’ve been to Darby’s 3 times in the last 5 ½ months of our Olympia residency. I am going to give you a little snippet of each visit.
Visit #1: It was August, hot outside, and crowded at Darby’s. We were new to town and saw the line outside (usually an indicator that the food is good?). We waited patiently for a table which we were eventually seated outside… and then forgotten about. After not being acknowledged at about the 25 minute mark, we left.
Visit #2: Hey, I like to give places a second chance. We returned to Darby’s in October on a weekend right as they opened. Nobody but us. The server was nice and the food was pretty tasty. Happy that we decided to come back.
Visit #3: We wanted to check out their new location today. We were curious how the shared brewery space would play out. Note: The dining area had only one server and a busser for a weekend breakfast rush. Clearly understaffed. We had to wait a silly amount of time for our order to be taken/​served to us. My omelet and hash browns arrived lukewarm (at best) with cold toast. Mmm-​mm. My partner’s was a piping hot breakfast burrito. He wasn’t expecting over medium eggs inside to give him a squirt of yolk. Lastly, there was a barista that was wearing a «Fucking Dyke Bitches» (written across his chest) shirt serving a latte to a family with 2 little girls. Not really sure the direction Darby’s is headed, but we probably won’t give them a 4^th chance.

NEW HORRIBLE OWNERS. NOT THE SAME FROM DINER DRIVE IN AND DIVES. First time ever, I didn’t leave a tip! I would never eat here! Food was not goos and to make it worse the waitress was horribly rude and disrespectful to us. I was horrified I brought my 5 year old into this environment. I would recommend NEVER going there. MANY HEALTH CODE VIOLATIONS. BE AWARE YOU WILL EAT AND LEAVE SICK.

***Darby’s MOVED!*** 600 Franklin St SE, Ste 105, Olympia, WA 98 501
Same great food, same great ambiance, same great owners (they own both Darby’s and Three Magnets Brewery) — hence the move, they were tired of being in two buildings and the brewery had more room and *bigger* kitchen! I even enjoyed the new space better than the old… more open, more room, more something … it’s better!

Holy cow! The Blackjack burger was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. Top 5 for sure. The flavors all came through and the jalapeño was perfect, not overpowering at all. A single portion of fresh cut curly fries were more than enough for two. We had so many left over! Can’t wait to go back
Ps. Decent Bloody Mary too!

Don’t eat there while they’re in the RED for Health code violations!
Darby’s Café
211 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia
Aug. 5: Routine check (25 red; 15 blue)
Comments: Red — Several half-​pans of gravies, beans, hollandaise cooled from previous night were at temperatures from 50 – 54 degrees. Foods must be held at 41 degrees or colder, with food depths two-​inches or under. Blue — Two-​door merchandiser cooler was at 50 degrees. Cold holding/​storage must be 41 degrees or colder. Sanitizer dispenser was not working.
Read more here:

Waited 20 minutes to be seated and it wasn’t even busy. Upon being seated we waited an hour for our food. That we didn’t even get…
Want a sandwich? Go to the 5^th Ave sandwich shop.
Breakfast? Try New Moon or The Reef

This is about the recent «ACAB burger» special. I’ve been coming to Darby’s consistently for the past 6 years, and I’ve grown to really appreciate the specials as they give me a chance to ‘switch it up’.
But I have to say, all of my experiences we’re outdone last friday with the «ACAB burger» special. Avocado, Cheddar, Apple, and Bacon. It was such an ingenious combination, and I generally don’t get into the sweet/​savory combo, but the grilled apples gave the burger a subtle and gentle sweet flavor that didn’t overpower, but rather enhanced, the other burger constituents. I hope they bring it back and even consider adding it to the menu. I would certainly use my buying power to make it happen!
Food aside, I want to say how proud it makes me feel that local businesses in Olympia are taking a stand against the recent police violence. The shooting of Andre and Bryson has been a tragedy here and it seems like all the other businesses would prefer to pretend it didn’t happen, or protect their reputation by shying away from being critical of our local police force. Not being afraid to stand up is important for the progress of this community! Thank you, Darby’s! I am ecstatic to be a customer of yours.

Came here because we had a coupon from the Girls Night Out event in Downtown Olympia… Doesn’t hurt that I saw this place on Diners, Drive-​Ins, and Dives.
I ordered the Blackjack Burger with fries. Typically the blackjack burger is a blackened burger, but I asked for it not to be black. It was so good! Juicy burger with all my fave toppings (avocado, jalapenos, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onion). The fries were interesting looking… like a big spiral of potatoes. They were so good. Got a side of their ranch dressing, but I want to get their version of thousand island next time, russian something.
I can’t wait to come back here to try breakfast.
I subtracted 1 star because their service was fairly slow.

Whenever a restaurant has a sign fully admitting how slow they are its probably a bad omen.
Darby’s Café like a self fulfilling prophecy had excruciatingly slow service. Even though the restaurant was half empty. I shudder to think what it’s like at a full gallop.
All would have been forgiven if the food impressed.
Sadly it fell flat. My Oysters Benedict was bland, the creole sauce offered little to know flavor and their massive wall of hot sauce did little to add much needed depth. The curly fries that come with the sandwiches were abysmal. Half of them were large spiral cut potatoes that were half burnt and half under cooked. The rest of them were small thin strips that were all burnt. Even the non foodies among us were disappointed.

Darby’s only makes sense if you live here. Outsiders don’t understand the place, anymore than they get the arty, anti-​corporate social justice culture we’ve got in this town.
Which is why places like Darby’s are so loved by Olympians. It’s fun, it’s quirky, and it’s all ours. All the hipster tourists in the world can’t gentrify it away from us.
Do you think he staff have an attitude? That attitude is called Pride, the pride they take in their work. If you were looking for an Applebee’s or a Red Robin, tough luck pal. Darby’s is an art collective for food artists, not the Olive Garden. And if you’re here to enjoy their art, you’ll have a great time. If you just came here looking for a greasy burger and fries, try the Reef.
Darby’s is Olympia. It’s beautiful, weird, and fun.

Not the best and not the worst. It’s very typical of downtown Olympia and there really isn’t anything special about the place. Just a casual somewhat trendy and slightly hipster type dinner with somewhat decent food and non-​conversational service.
My friend had been wanting to come here for almost 10 years and we have been trying to try new places around the area. There is a nice wall mural as you enter the dining room and the whole dining room is brightly colored with little items scantily placed to give it more of a homey/​thrifty feel.
I ordered pancakes and eggs. My friend got an omelet and coffee. Pretty basic order. While the pancakes were quite large they were slightly burned on the majority of the underneath surface. I mean… it’s still food and it was still edible and was kind of expected that you wouldn’t get nice fluffy pancakes in a place like this. The eggs also were decent and had a bit of the scrapings from the previous item that was in the pan mixed in them. Everything had a nice grease from either butter or some sort of oil. So it is true diner food. The omelet my friend was also large and I think the oil/​butter got the best of my friend as she wasn’t able to finish. I guess it was just too filing.
The waiters don’t really speak much and leave you alone for the majority of your meal. You kind of have to wave one down or get up to find one if you need one as they don’t really wait on you hand and foot. Again, not as if I expect that. It is a diner ultimately. People usually come to places like this to just have good food and relax. There are obviously quite a few options for vegetarians and vegans alike so that’s positive. There is also outdoor seating which gives the place a different feel where you can take in the sights and sounds of the street instead of the music of the moment inside. There are a lot of rules and regulations posted by the cash register so read them over when you get a chance so you don’t get upset as a result of not following the rules, one of which is don’t be on your cell phone or the waiter will not wait on you. Robert R has uploaded a picture of the green rule list. Overall it’s very Olympian in the vibe. Vibrant and a bit grungy and laid back and decent food.

You gotta show up, son
Heard such good things from ddd. The host was very friendly and apologized for the slightly longer than advertised wait. I saw the list of rules that this is not fast food and we won’t kiss your ass. It was noted in my head.
We got some awesome drinks to start. The bloody canuck is probably one of the best drinks I’ve ever had. Things are looking good.
Then time passed and passed and passed. It had been ten minutes since the fourth table sat after us got their food. Now I’m willing to wait for good food but our waitress made no effort to see if we wanted more water or any sort of acknowledgement that we had been sitting for an hour. Oh yeah, the restaurant was half empty.
I get quirky and local and that jibber jabber but I really have a problem with indifferent amateur service. We left hungry.
Sorry guys I can’t grade you on potential, you gotta show up.