Vera’s Restaurant

3 visits and 3 perfectly prepared hash brown orders. There is something comforting about returning to a fondly remembered place, and having your memories confirmed. The Eagles, Madonna, and Blondie tunes emanate from the kitchen as I remembered, meaning the chef had not changed. Our window seat overlooking the mini corner park was available again, and the food and service were as good as I remembered.
I love the old style café feel, roominess, and the number of locals enjoying this classic spot. The only difference is we are here during a rainy December two years later, and we were here on a lovely August visit last time. I recommend August.

Vera’s takes you back to when your grandparents would take you out for breakfast. The décor, menu and ambiance all scream 60s coffee shop. Very comfortable and familiar to anyone who grew up in a small town American setting.
The staff treat you as if you’ve always eaten here… even on your first visit. They are friendly, attentive and accomadating with special requests.
The menu covers all the expected favorites, adding a north western touch with salmon scrambles, salmon eggs benedict etc which I am told they do very well. I can testify that they do a great job with the classic, eggs/​bacon/​hashbrowns plate as well as anyone. The hashbrown potatoes are especially well done. Shredded potatoes cooked on the griddle, toasted brown on both sides and tender white in between. Perfect!
If you are looking for the 60s Ballard, this place is a good escape from the trendy, hip place it is today.

I’ve been eating at Vera’s for years, and normally I’d give it a solid four stars, but I had a very one-​star experience today and I’m writing this review to hopefully get someone’s attention. My omelet today was a frittatta folded in half (the ingredients and the eggs mixed together, cooked so much they were light brown, which is burned in egg-​speak, flipped, same treatment, then folded in half with cheese inside. It was not good. I ate most of it because I was very hungry and because the server didn’t check on us until the end of the meal, which is when this particular server always offers up that second cup of coffee. Her timing is always off. The hash browns were the palest shade of beige, just barely browner than completely uncooked potatoes. When our server finally did check on us, I made the mistake of telling her what was wrong with the food. She then dutifully took my dish back to the kitchen. I could hear her explaining my issues to the kitchen staff, and them yelling back at her about how I was wrong. Maybe they always make their omelets like that, hell, I usually get the Benedict. In any case, I’m a little surprised that there was no offer to make things right by me in any way. Since the prices have become so high at Vera’s now (it was $ 40 plus the $ 6 tip, only 15% because of the service), it’s likely I’ll be more diligent about making sure we have potatoes in the pantry so we can have weekend breakfast at home.
Seriously disappointed today in a place I’ve patronized for a bunch of years.

We didn’t have much expectation when my husband and I entered this place. It is close to our place, so we just stopped by for a quick breakfast. It was better than we expected (maybe partly because of our low expectation). We ordered traditional two eggs breakfast, which was nothing special, nothing wrong, but decent. One small surprise was they served fresh fruit with the breakfast.
If you want relatively cheap, non experimental, and traditional American style breakfast, this is the place for you.

This was a great breakfast! The hash browns were home made, all ingredients were fresh. A true «diner» right in the heart of Ballard.

Service has gone downhill here. No food for 1 hour. So much for a Happy First Father’s Day meal with my family. I understand one of the waitresses quit, but the restaurant was not packed full of people. There were 3 waitresses helping people, but only the blond hair woman was hustling to get customers their orders. The older lady in the red blouse may have been the manager and she looked really stressed, but made little to no effort to help customers. I am sad to say this was and is the last time I will ever visit Vera’s Restaurant. My family and I will not be back.

Went here yesterday morning for a quick breakfast. The décor looks a bit like grandma’s house.
The veggie omelette was decent, the hash browns exactly what you’d expect. I guess the food was just nothing I’d write home about… Also, either our server forgot about us towards the end, or they don’t accept payments at your table. Next time, I’d probably try somewhere else in Ballard.

The food was terrible and the service was worse. I had a grilled tuna with a salad – the salad was a plateful of week-​old romaine lettuce (limp and brown around the edges) with runny blue cheese flavored dressing making the salad totally inedible. The sandwich was dry and served with a limp dill pickle. My friend had an omelette that was smothered in processed melted cheese. The server was not friendly and never once came and asked how our meal was or if we needed anything. I had to flag down another server to get more water. I asked for separate checks and she gave us one check with the amounts separated out – too lazy to write two checks! It’s one thing to have bad service and great food, but this time it was bad service and bad food… definitely won’t be going there again!

This is why it can be a little risk to go in a place without checking the reviews.
Whatever former glory and deliciousness Vera’s used to have, I assure you it no longer has.
My relaxed Monday morning breakfast consisted of:
1. Brown water aka coffee. Tasteless, thin.
2. Rubber chew toys for a dog… er…I mean the pancakes. Thick, dry, chewy, yuck.
3. Cardboard cut outs of bacon aka bacon. Nothing more to say here.
I just moved to Ballard a few weeks ago, and this is the first terrible restaurant I’ve tried here. No idea how they are still in business considering the competition.
Hopefully something new and improved that can griddle a pancake, fry bacon, and brew up some strong coffee will replace it. Until then: GO ELSEWHERE! I assure you, Vera’s is a waste of time, money, and opportunity to eat truly good things in Ballard.

I come to Ballard nearly every Sunday for the market. Usually, my friend joins me and we grab brunch somewhere during our jaunt. Although we’ve been to some really great places, after finding Vera’s, we haven’t been anywhere else.
The first time we came, we both ordered the crab cake benedict. (It should say crab CAKES because you get two.) Though I’ve had better crab cakes, they were still really good, and with the generous order of hash browns, it was more than either of us could finish. We have tried many other menu offerings since and never been disappointed. It is always easy to find something that sounds appetizing, which has been an effort for me at other places. And the reasonable prices make it even easier. My friend’s favorite is the California omelet and mine is probably the Oscar omelet.
The atmosphere is diner-​plain, but clean. The coffee is good, we are always seated promptly, and receive friendly service from waitstaff.

Compared to other places in Ballard this isn’t somewhere that would catch the eye. It’s a diner that looks rather no-​frills.
The menu has a broad selection of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Prices here are lower than most brunch places in ballard but you’re not paying for the trendy ambiance either. The food was much better than I expected. The OJ was fresh squeezed and the bacon came out perfect.
They have a limited bar but I didn’t get a drink while here. The waitstaff was meh but I thought they were at least attentive. If you’re doing Ballard on a budget, definitely come here first.

Pretty standard breakfast. Prices are great and atmosphere is old time breakfast diner. Full bar for those who prefer a whiskey breakfast!

We used to go to Vera’s back in the day, I’m talking over 20 or 25 years ago. It was a great, classic diner with classic pancakes and just good basic food. It was filled with salty, Scandinavian Ballard types and the wait staff was awesome. Friendly gals who remembered you, great service. Fast forward to 2014. Not so much.
It still looks the same, sans the Old Ballard types. Sure they’ve passed on to the great diner in the sky by now.
Decent omelette, decent hash browns. I requested crispy hb, and also requested my English muffin crisp, otherwise they are under done. We have been there several weekends in a row because there’s no line. (First clue). Hideously poor service. Really bad. The wait staff aren’t rude per se, they absolutely don’t care. My sister dared me to go get the coffee and refill our own, which I did — three times. Still no waitress in sight. She then brought our bill… «Can I get you anything else?» I asked if we can have some more water (all empty glasses — I couldn’t find the water pitcher!) She said, «We’re closed at 2:30» was her response. I looked at my watch and well, my goodness, it was 2:35! My bad. There were still two other tables there I might add. Unbefrickingbelievable. We won’t be back. No wonder it’s so empty. One star for the ok omelette.

Well if you write checks, they will take them here without checking ID. Someone stole my checkbook (and my car), they said they would not hold me for it and then they sent it to collections. I now have to pay a fortune in fees because they did not check ID or keep their word. Unethical place. I have never been here and never will as they are shady.

Finally checked out Vera’s this morning (afternoon?) after walking by countless times. I heard it was a delicious version of the traditional diner food, and it did not disappoint.
I ordered a decaf coffee and it was poured for me instantly, along with a tall glass of ice water without having to ask. I as never able to drink more than half of it without a warm up coming along. Excellent and quick service. Our server was super friendly and patient while we tried to decide between the many amazing sounding benedicts on the breakfast specials menu.
I went with the crabcakes benedict, and it was delicious. Homemade hashbrowns that were a thicker shred than your typical shoestring hash browns, not at all greasy, and just crispy enough on the outside. The hollandaise was creamy and amazing and they did not skimp. Eggs were poached to perfection with runny yet thick yolks, the crabcakes were rich and thick, and it was garnished with fresh fruit that was actually cut fresh.
The only inconvenience I can think of is the cash only variable, but luckily I looked on here first and was prepared. Big recommendation here… great place for a quick brunch with friends/​family, or a great hot cup of coffee to enjoy at the bar with a Sunday paper.

Full disclosure. I posted a review in ’13. It wasn’t favorable. Basically, I just pleaded with the people in charge to make the food taste better.
Less than a year later, all that I am asking is for Vera’s to serve a good cup of coffee. I don’t know about costs and such, but how expensive could it be
to brew a strong, tasty pot of coffee? I’m even pretty sure that a lot of the food complaints you receive would be completely forgiven if you could serve up a strong, flavorful cup of coffee.

I like vera’s and the staff is nice.
The menu items are good but I feel like they’re somewhat overpriced. I love diners so I’ll always stop in but it hurts to drop $ 15 on a meal that is just average.

We stopped in for breakfast on our day in Ballard and were greeted by a smiling hostess who turned out to be our waitress.
The food is diner-​ish, so I wasn’t expecting a lot of surprises, however I did enjoy watching the locals who seem to come in everyday for their breakfast and newspaper.
Cool dive spot for tourists but I wasn’t wowed by the food, mainly because I’m not a fan of diners.

I’d heard some good things about this place, but it didn’t really live up to the hype. This spot feels like a dive and the food is just OK. My waffle was a little on the sad side because it wasn’t hot.
Good not great, won’t be back.

I’m tacking on an extra star (however much you want to rock and roll about the unfairness of it) for sentimentality. My aunt and uncle live in Ballard and have been patronizing this place for years. They know the people in it by name and everyone is so very friendly.
The décor says breakfast joint. Nothing gaudy. Nothing to scare innocent travelers seeking a meal. The food is solid. True, I’m a die hard 2 egg breakfast broad, but that’s just how I roll. And I say, a solid A for Vera’s. Everything’s clean. Nothing fancy. Just tastes good and prices are as reasonable as diners get.
My aunt enjoys the benedict but me and my waistline are trying to get along. As Ballard turns more into the urban village it’s trying to become, parking may slowly evolve into more and more of an issue… especially on Seattle’s sacred Sunday brunch hour, but I didn’t figure that should factor in the quality of any restaurant in this area. We all suffer together.