Bread & Porridge

This place is GREAT… Found them using a groupon. Using coupons encourages us to try other eateries… Glad we found them… the food is Extremely fresh, cooked to perfection… and the use of obviously fresh herbs/​spices sings in your mouth. Gerardo, head waiter. seems like the boss… is a true Pro! he’s the best! And the portions are unbelievable. i always leave with a to go bag. We drove in from La Canada to meet friends that live in MDR… now it’s one of their favorites… Keep on cookin guys!!!

One of my favorite breakfast places. Service is always great. Rarely ever a long wait. Love the French press coffee. Can’t really go wrong with anything but I usually have the super florentine omelet. The spicy Cajun andouille sausage is the bomb!

This restaurant is under the impression that giving large portions will win your
Clients over and keep them running back for more. Although sadly this may be true of some people, if you appreciate good food and Nice Service, this place is not for you. I ordered two different types of pancakes, chocolate chip, and another with walnuts and bananas. The pancakes look and feel like foam frisbees. They may look good for a picture (fluffy and grand) but they taste like card board. Also has the French toast, nothing to write home about either. Their turkey bacon was cold and felt like I was chewing on a flip flop.
The order took twice as long as it should have to be prepared, and when I approached the restaurant and hopes of speaking with the manager I was told that the manager wasn’t there, instead a short order cook decided to take charge and tell me how they do things. Suggesting that if they end up taking a phone order for 20 people, the rest of the restaurant sits without food coming out. Again, I gave him an opportunity to let me speak with the manager but he was talking down to me so I hung up.
There aren’t a lot of places in Santa Monica that have a great bfast, but tons of places better than Bread and Porridge. Which by the way, does not have porridge on the menu!!! You put it in the name you should at least be serving it, my two cents

I have always liked their food. But I won’t go to one that I (now) know is dishonest. Their website says they close at 3p. The sign on their windows says this as well. So does every restaurant related website (including this one). Yet when my wife and I showed up for brunch at 230p on a Saturday we were not served because the kitchen staff had already left! I looked towards the kitchen and it seemed as if it had already been cleaned up and everything put away for the day. So they must have stopped serving people quite a bit earlier than 230p. This is unacceptable. If they are dishonest about their closing time, how can I trust them to serve safe food or maintain proper hygiene?

Been coming here for years. Many items to choose from… food is still consistently good. The service remains top notch (one of the reasons I return). Parking is easy-​always able to find street parking with no issues. Give it a try!

Another great brunch today
at Bread & Porridge. Waitstaff particularly helpful.

Quaint, quiet on a Sunday morning. Service is excellent. Food is typical brunch fare but there are way more pancake options than other places I’ve been to. The food was decent. I think I’d go more for the cozy, homey feel than anything else. The food isn’t amazing, but it’s good and the service is great.

Updated review: I was nice and gave this place two stars, because I could tell they were trying. After someone named Mark R contacted me from the business and said I was inaccurate… I decided to elaborate on my experience with some details…
I started with a latte. I make one at home daily, so I’m aware you’re not supposed to steam the milk until it is so ungodly hot it would melt metal, but that’s what b&p did. Luckily I felt the temperature of the mug before taking a sip and cold tell that that liquid lava it contained could not be sipped for a good 15 minutes.
After that, I ordered the cornbread, which was made from jiffy, but served with some decent jam. That was the one star. That was all I could eat. Literally.
My breakfast, whatever they call it at b&p, was your basic bacon, eggs, breakfast potatoes plate… the eggs and bacon had been sitting under heat lamps for who knows how long, but neither contained a single morse of moisture… hence the cardboard reference in my previous review. The potatoes were soggy and undercooked.
So for a latte, some cornbread, and a basic breakfast… you succeeded at jiffy cornbread

Omg yes yes yes. Best goat cheese and spinach omelette ever! And I also ordered a banana pancake. Go to groupon and get a really good coupon for this place there. I will try to be back when in the area. Excellent service too.

I parked on Wilshire intending to find a lunch place and this was literally right where I parked.
I ordered a basic grilled chicken sandwich which came with a cup of soup. I chose the tomato.
The soup was good, the sandwich was rather ordinary.
All told not bad.
Service was rapid and excellent despite Unilocal reviews to the contrary.
I’m impressed the owner is still motivated to respond to reviews.
It’s close enough to my new office but I’m not sure it is distinctive enough for a return visit.
Update in response to the owner.
I’m not sure I can help. The chicken sandwich was okay. It could have done with a better bun, preferably lightly toasted to give it some crunch, and a bit more seasoning. In reality it delivered on its promise. A good lunchtime sandwich.
I’ll try you again when I’m close by

First impression, poor management here. We came for lunch, it’s not a very big space so they don’t have many tables for more than 2 people. The first table that opened up happened to be able to seat 4, but they seated the two people who came a few minutes earlier than us, which in turn made us wait a long longer for a table for 4.
Food wise, the grilled chicken salad was good, and it was a large portion. The bbq brisket sandwich was not impressive, it just wasn’t tender/​flavorful enough. It also took us a LONG time to get our bill, so all in all, I wouldn’t return back here.

I came with a groupon that expired the day before. I was hoping that they would honor my expired groupon for full value since it was only 1 day. No such luck. The servers who barely spoke english gave me some song and dance about the computer. Yeah, ok. So, my spouse and I sat outside with our dog. We were mostly ignored. I ordered the combo, with a chicken sausage upgrade and banana pancake upgrade. 15.00 for eggs, 1 sausage and 2 pancakes is really really expensive. I had to get up and ask for pepper. I had to get up again and ask for syrup. I had to get up yet again to get the check. Very expensive, very basic breakfast with sub par service. Won’t be back, especially with Bru’s wiffle right across the street.
EDIT: The owner’s response is WAY OFF BASE. I asked 1x about the groupon. I was told No as soon as I asked. I asked for a manager and was told none were available. So, the server was not «so busy» running back and forth. They ignored us because we shared 1 entrée and thats the honest truth. Even if the food was amazing, I would not be back because of this owner’s personal attack in his reponse.

I come here on Saturday’s after hiking. Always hits the spot. I’ve had the breakfast burrito and the omelette. But were really good but I prefer the burrito. The milkshakes are delicious. The only thing I thought could have been better were the pancakes. But definitely a good place to eat overall.

I loved my breakfast this morning. Delicious California omelette with avocado and jack cheese. The server graciously accepted my request for chopped fresh tomatoes instead of the salsa. The ambiance was warm and comfortable. Service was outstanding and the gentlemen serving me were so charming. The roast potatoes with the omelet were also wonderful.
Looking forward to returning. This will be my go-​to breakfast spot and will be in for lunch soon.

Solid brunch offerings at Santa Monica prices, with friendly, albeit slow service.
I am a huge fan brunch in general, and Bread & Porridge is a great venue for a cozy, hearty bunch with great friends. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, with both booths and tables to fit a multitude of different sized parties. It’s bright and sunny and maintains a small town more rural feel even though it is on a busy boulevard.
I appreciate the extensive breakfast menu that includes all the regular favorites in addition to omelettes and a great menu of unique, locally produced sausages. They use high quality ingredients and serving sizes are heaping… exactly what I hope for in breakfast foods. The food is good, not great, but solid enough to bring me back. What it lacks in flavor, it makes up in freshness, and the occasional blandness is nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a dash of salt. The breakfast burrito is huge and I love that it comes with a side of salsa, guac an sour cream. It comes with sausage, though I prefer bacon. The omelettes are also huge and I love the side of roasted potatoes. The prices are a little steep, but what would one expect out of a cute little spot in Santa Monica?
I’ve always been able to find street parking in this area (be sure to check meters and read signs regarding permit parking!)

Bread and Porridge is a cute little breakfast place in Santa Monica. Apparently, it’s a very popular place that can warrant wait times up to over 30 minutes around breakfast time. Although it serves breakfast, it also provides a menu of other lunch and dinner items throughout the day.
I have been there twice now (just because I like to give restaurants a chance to make better impressions), and both times I was underwhelmed by the food. It is «OK» breakfast food, but it isn’t really that great. The eggs are small, the maple syrup tastes kind of fake, and the pancakes are a little dry.
Overall, it gets the job done, but it is far from the best breakfast I have had.

We walked in and it felt like a cozy American diner. Think a nicer version of S&W Country Kitchen (in Culver City) that isn’t falling apart. Also the service was excellent, which is completely unlike S&W.
We ordered decaf and they brought out big mugs full of hot, tasty coffee. Things were looking good. Maybe this was a replacement for the now-​closed Omelette Parlor? Could it be?
I ordered the Breakfast Combo with sausage instead of bacon. That alone was $ 13.65, for two eggs, two pancakes, and one large sausage link. It’s not just me, right? That’s a lot of money for two eggs, two pancakes, and one large sausage link, even if the sausage IS local. But I really wanted to try their potatoes (~$ 4) and to have some toast to dip in my eggs ($ 2.90). How the hell am I at $ 23 – 24 ($ 3.35 for coffee), pre-​tax, pre-​tip, for BREAKFAST? I’m glad I didn’t order OJ, for which I would probably have had to sell my car.
Yeah, read that again. Two slices of toast was $ 2.90. But the coffee was good and kept coming, and the service was great, so we put up with it.
Then the food came out. It looked glorious! The grilled chicken salad my wife ordered looked fresh and colorful; the pancakes looked light and airy; the eggs were perfectly over medium. Maybe this was worth it after all.
Then we bit into the chicken, and it bit back. I cook chicken breasts all the time. Once, I bought Empire chicken from TJs and they had a similar texture. It was simultaneously rubbery and also… crunchy? It was I think I would say crunchy in the middle? Like if you clenched your teeth hard enough, it would give up all at once in a snap. My wife couldn’t eat it and I could only get a few bites of it down. Minus a star, maybe two.
We fell back onto the chicken breakfast sausage, which was gristly and tasted like what you might get at Sprouts from the deli counter. It also didn’t taste much like breakfast sausage, with too much crushed red pepper and almost undetectable sage and fennel. Minus a star.
And this was $ 45 before tip? Minus a star.
The two stars remaining are for the service and the coffee.
This is an easy fix for the owner of the restaurant. Buy better meat. Costco would solve all your problems. You could serve their chicken breasts and sausages, and you could even lower your meal prices. Or keep your prices the same but at least don’t dick me over at $ 1.45 per slice of toasted bread!

In my never-​ending hunt to find delicious brunch spots at reasonable prices in Santa Monica, we stopped at Bread & Porridge.
I expected to see a bakery with tons of delicious breads or a vast selection of porridge, but there was none of that. They do have a section on the menu about fancy sausages, but I didn’t get the chance to try them. Instead, we got:
Denver Omelet
Ultimate Breakfast Burrito
The omelet was okay, but the veggies and ham were in such big chunks that it was hard to get everything in one bite. Also, there was waaaaay too much cheese (and I LOVE cheese), which made the whole thing super greasy.
As for the burrito, it was big and had a TON of ingredients, but was just meh. It was necessary to add the sour cream, salsa, guacamole, and some salt/​pepper to give it some flavor. The sausage was tasty, but that was my only real takeaway. Other than that, it was a pretty basic tasting burrito.
Service was great, I will definitely give them that. They are on top of it, super efficient, and friendly. Plenty of parking on side streets and meters.

I checked out brunch here and the place was alright. The food was pretty mediocre for the relatively high prices. They also don’t do bottomless mimosas.
The place is pretty cute and it’s fun sitting outside so you can people watch on Wilshire. The server was nice!
We split three different kinds of pancakes and an omelette for the table. I liked the chocolate chip pancake the best.

I love this little place! The servers are fantastic and the food is fresh and delicious! All our servers were friendly, knowledgeable and always taking care of everything we needed! I love going here!
On this last trip here, my friend and I sat outside on the sidewalk. It was a beautiful Sunday morning and we were not bothered by the cars on Wilshire at all.
The servers were fantastic and they all took care of us the entire time. Everyone we met knew what they were doing and it shows that they really all share responsibilities and duties. Not one staff member was slacking.
The food is delicious! When they say «fresh» they mean it! The portions are great and if you are into sharing get an order of their pancakes to share. Super yummy. The coffee is one of the best I’ve had at a café in a while and they bring you out some real cream to add to the java!
Parking is metered on the street or if you are lucky you might get one of the spots in the small lot allocated for B&P in the back alleyway.