The New Moon Cafe

Great avocado eggs benedict! Yummy!!! Very friendly staff.

Pros: Affordable and good quality food. It fits with the whole Olympia vibe. It really is a product of its environment, which — in many ways — is a good thing: the diaries on the tables, the local ingredients, the friendly hipster-​ish staff.
Cons: The breakfast is not the best I’ve ever had, and I wouldn’t become a regular, but it was affordable and tasty (in a non-​traditional way). The place and silverware could benefit from a bit more attention. Still, the detractors don’t outweigh the positives. 4 stars.

I WANT to like this place but I just can’t. I’ve tried it three times and it’s not about the food! The food is great. It’s how it’s managed. First time I went in, ended up sharing with another diner which was totally fine (there’s nine tables). The guy was a super cool locale, older. The waitress however was unbelievably rude. She acknowledged him throughout the meal and it was obvious that he was a regular but she wouldn’t give me the time of day… At the same table. I had to get up repeatedly to ask for water, coffee, the check. Second time, sat there with a friend and the service was again, terrible to the point where my out of town guest asked if it was normal. I tried AGAIN with my son last week. We got up and left as we sat there for 15 minutes without water or a menu. One guy was waiting, and seating people but was obviously on «greener» time. Figuring that we would be there for hours, we walked out and went down the street. The food is great. But not a chance I will try again!

What did I just do?! Coffee, weak and not all that hot. Ordered the sausage gravy and biscuits, not made from scratch I can tell you that. And if anyone says other they would be lying. The gravy very thin and what was the spice? Hard to tell through all of the sugar added to the gravy. WHY ADD SUGAR? That is unless you are hiding the fact you over seasoned it. Biscuits too dense and I believe I bit into a clump of unincorporated baking soda. The home fries not boiled enough more than a few raw ones in there and when they were being roasted they were burnt. I opted for the Rosemary garlic and wish I could taste the herbs and salt but the olive oil was too overwhelming rendering the under boiled over roasted potatoes tasteless. Sorry I wasted my time and money.

First off, the place is dirty. Second, I ordered a tofu scramble with hash browns and a biscuit. They served me just a pile of cooked tofu and the greasiest hash browns I’ve ever had. At the check out, the girl said «sorry, I’ll give you a discount». I paid almost $ 9 for today’s heartburn. Thankfully I have mints in my car to take away the taste of that coffee and mask the grease from the hash browns. So much for searching the word vegetarian on Unilocal thinking I’ll get something healthy.

Different. Good Grub. Plain atmosphere. Vegans. Fair price for good food.

Not pleased. I always review and place before I eat and I wanted to give it a new try and not judge by others comments. I’ll never do that again. I was disappointed biscuits and gravy taste generic and the biscuits tasted like a a high student tried to make it in home economic class. The hash browns were burnt and the bacon was soaked in grease. The straw broke instantly. So on to the next down street to the King Solomans they have the best chicken and waffles.

The food was verrryyy delicious and really fresh the service was just pretty slow. But it was nice and warm and the waiters were very friendly

Mmmmm yummy everything, they make magic in that little kitchen! Free parking on weekends around the corner at the bank. Came here after horrible service from another eatery a mile away. Nice friendly service here so yay for that.
We had a great brunch and I especially loved their variety of sides which included things I didn’t expect to see like seasoned tofu and garlic steamed kale. There are plenty of classic breakfast /​lunch dishes and more gluttonous options too. I’ll be back!

Had brunch yesterday with my gal pal, Allison. Found this place on Unilocal.THX!
Very friendly, accommodating, well attentive staff and great food! Tucked in behind some construction but the were pretty busy none the less.
Only wanted two eggs and they were great about letting me make it custom like the omelets. Yummy grilled onions, mushroom, spinach & smoke Gouda. The hash browns were the best I have had in a very long time. Super crispy on the outside and melted in my mouth on the inside. How do they do it?
Plus yummy caraway rye toast. Did ask for it dry and it came butter. The server offered to fix immediately. Hate to waste food, so it was fine.
Would come here again, so I can try lunch!

It’s a cute quaint little restaurant that serves some good and tasty food.
Olympia is full of these cute and tasty eateries that won’t disappoint.
The new moon is really small and you might have to wait but it is one of the better places to eat at.
Service can be a bit slow but I think that just has to do with the size of the restaurant and kitchen itself.

Hashbrowns were very oily. Biscuits & gravy tasted chalky. Overall the food was very bland.
The place was kind of dirty. The fans looked like they were compiling dirt.
Pro: i enjoyed the fact they had coffee outside as we waited.

I haven’t been here in a long time, and I can’t really add anything new. Great jam, yummy food, takes forever. Definitely the real local oly flavor! Unique in that Oly way. Come here if you have plenty of time and want a real Oly experience. Recommend!

With all the rage it seems to have, I was excited to try this café. Their is only nine places to sit, and two of the tables have double tables so it’s a pretty small joint. If it is busy, which it was, you have to put your name on the wait list and wait outside. I didn’t mind the wait. I only waited a couple of minutes. I got inside and was assigned a double table, because all of the others were taken. Understandably so, but again it was just myself. I ordered my food, biscuits and gravy with hashbrowns along with an apple juice and the complimentary water.
I waited a half an hour, only to be told that they had lost my ticket. I don’t know how that is possible but it happened. If I would have been told that as soon as it happened, I would have gone elsewhere. Lack of communication it seemed. I was told that the meal would be complimentary, and both waiters’ working apologized.
My gravy was extremely runny. It had a very watery consistency and it was cold. The sausage was cold as well, and the biscuits were somewhat soggy. The hashbrowns weren’t too great either. Not much to rant about. The place was boring and bland, just like the food. Won’t be eating here again
If you want great customer service at a reasonable price and fantastic flavorful food, head on over to O’Blarney’s Irish Pub.

We’re from out of town and were looking for a place to have breakfast. New Moon sounded delicious, so we headed over. When we walked in the door, we were confused about whether or not we should just seat ourselves. The server never said a word to us. Just a quick, «Hi guys! Go ahead and find a seat,» would’ve helped. But he just continued on and made us feel a little silly. After sitting for nearly 10 minutes, we were given water and silverware, but he didn’t ask if we wanted coffee or anything. After another 10 he asked about coffee. Finally after over a half hour of sitting, he asked for our order. At that point we couldn’t wait anymore because we had somewhere to be and didn’t want to risk being late, since we noticed no one in the entire dining room had food. We offered to pay for our coffees, but the gentleman gave them to us on the house.
I’m not giving this place a one star because it seems like a nice place. I think it’s completely unfair that the server was all alone, that’s an issue on the management/​ownership. Plus the coffee was delicious. I would give it a try again when I have more time and maybe if they were a little faster.

I’m really starting to think that Olympia, in general, is lacking in customer service when it comes to the food industry. This is a very small café. There is a small table outside with a piece of paper that says to add your name to a wait list. From the looks of it, they are extremely busy with maybe little to no down time. Let me see how I would phrase this… The service wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t inviting, welcoming, friendly or helpful. When the server came back to take my order he had asked if I wanted the half or full size of the biscuits and gravy. I asked what the difference was and he said the half size gets 2 biscuits and the full gets 4. I said half was fine. To my surprise, when I opened the box, I guess you could say it was 2 biscuits but in all reality it was ONE, split in half. And I was left a little hungry. The food did taste amazing though. The gravy had to be perfected at one point in time. The meal really could have used a protein of some sort. Maybe an egg or an additional sausage. The overall quality of the food was a 5. But the service man, I just don’t know how to describe it… So 4 it is!

Blink while driving, or walking, on 4^th and you’ll miss this place… And then you’ll be sad because you missed some really, really yummy foods.
This place is really small. Maybe 8 tables inside and a couple on the sidewalk. We were fortunate enough to get in early (around 8:30) and didn’t end up in the line that had formed while we were eating.
The menu features breakfast and lunch options. My kiddo was so excited to have grilled cheese for breakfast! She was even more excited when the cheese from her sandwich was super stringy and gooey upon biting into it. I eat salad for breakfast most days of the week. Weird, I know. I was beyond happy to see their special, the Bird’s Nest, was a salad… Arugula, caramelized onions, avocado, poached eggs, and goat cheese. Yummmmmm! Of course, a side of bacon was ordered and added. The avocado vinaigrette was delicious. The salad came with toast (gluten free!) but none was ordered. The salad was the perfect portion size… Toast would’ve killed it!
We really loved thumbing through the little journals past customers wrote and drew in. We added our own lovely art and words for others to enjoy!
There’s nothing fancy about this place (there’s a pull-​up bar in the doorway to the kitchen) but the servers are sweet, the food is awesome, and it’s just so quintessential Olympia!

I think if you want a good breakfast in Olympia? Try it! I really enjoyed our food but it is cramped crowded and if you want to sit and enjoy breakfast for more than a few minutes you have hungry people staring at you in the window. I am ok with that having been said «hungry person». But the breakfast was good and just that.breakfast. So I will go back, absolutely but I will go back on an off time so I can enjoy my after breakfast coffee and conversation and not feel like i am holding both staff and the folks outside waiting to eat. staring at me …
food very good breakfast, eggs cooked exactly to order toast nicely toasted… COFFEE very good… atmosphere, cramped and crowded along with being understaffed.
they do keep the prices very reasonable and I am realistic and know you can’t have it all
please give it a try, very nice folks with a mission to please and I will update as I do

I was getting the hangries on the drive back to Portland and decided to see what veggie options I could find in Olympia. It’s rare for my tiny tummy to have enough room for me to clear my plate, but the vegan delight was perfect. Tofu was cooked perfectly, the toast came buttered with Earth Balance, and all the greens were delicious. Sauces are not high up on my list of favorites, but the tahini was so light it added just the right amount of flavor without being overwhelming. My only quibble is that service was a little slow, but everyone was friendly and happy to feed us. I wish I didn’t live so far away so I could try the other omnivorous options. There’s so much I love about Olympia and New Moon was the perfect place to stop on my travels I can’t wait to come back again.

There’s a few real gems here in Oly. They’re not well advertised, and if you’re not from here, you’ve probably never heard of them. Trinacria and the New Moon are two such examples.
First off, this place has nothing to do with Twilight. The café has been here for over 20 years. It’s a tiny little hole in the wall, a place you’re as likely to miss if you’re driving by as you would be to spot it. The décor is a standard diner aesthetic, only without booths or a counter. Tables are two or four seaters. It can get a little cramped at times. They’re only open for breakfast and lunch.
The food is incredible, especially the tofu scramble. This being Oly, there’s vegan and vegetarian options on the menu. The staff appear to be college age, and the music tends to reflect the tastes of the millennial generation in Cascadia. Its played at a comfortable volume, just enough to create a pleasant leitmotif, nothing that would obviate conversation. There’s no wifi, although that appears to be intentional– you’re supposed to talk to each other here, not stare at your phone.
The New Moon has a tradition of setting aside one day each month where everything on the menu is free of charge. The idea is that low income people deserve the dignity and pleasure of a sit down meal at a nice restaurant as much as anybody else. This isn’t a simple hand-​out they’re offering– they’re offering humanity and dignity with a side order of solidarity.
So yeah, I love the New Moon. This is what Olympia is all about. Simple, honestly presented, with a pure heart. It doesn’t brag, it quietly achieves. It’s noble and modest. It’s home.