Ballard Bridge Cafe

We’ve been having breakfast here since the staff left their last restaurant over on Holman Road. Their chicken fried steak is the best — the gravy is perfect, and the steak beneath it is usually tender and crisply breaded.
But I understood that on Jan 4^th they’d be under new ownership, and will close for a few weeks until they complete a remodel. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that this will be a good thing for everyone. Even if the servers sometimes forgot about us, and the young kids they has seating & busing tables were often in their own worlds, we got great service and great food the majority of the time. If the new owners can give new hires a little more training, and not claim to have «homemade Devonshire cream», it will feel a little more professional.

Terrible service every time I’ve been here. Food ok. Nothing to complain about not right home about. I’m not coming back though. The service just sucks every time.

Best service I had. Owner even opened up for us to grab a quick drink because we were late. Love it. Rustic.

Pretty much a big «Meh». Nothing exciting. Nice restaurant inside. Service slightly below average. Wasn’t much going on but there seemed to be a lot of confusion among the many staff that were on. We waited quite a while (based on how busy it was) to place our order. The food was fine Iguess, eggs, bland (really bland!) hashbrowns and while the toast was actually toasted (yay for that!) the kitchen staff thought that buttering less than half of it was somehow okay. No quality check on the meals, we were finished before the waitress came back to check on us. No realy compelling reason to go back. Much better places to go for breakfast.

Service is hit or miss. Food is pretty good but nothing memorable. Convenient parking, ample seating. Nice family-​friendly ambience.

The place was practically empty and the waitress still managed to get my order wrong. On top of that, they don’t take American Express.

I would give negative stars if I could.
Worst service in the city. We were greeted when we walked in by a girl who glanced and saw one table that needed to be bused, so she said just one moment. Great! We score the last table on a Saturday morning! In walks a family of four who is greeted by a young boy who says — oh you can have that table over there… to which I obviously reply, hey that is supposed to be for us. He was SO. RUDE. questioning if we were there first but thankfully the family was gracious and confirmed.
So we’re seated at the last table, menus delivered and coffee ordered… a few short minutes later the coffee arrives and the waitress walks away. And never comes back. For at least 15 – 20 minutes. Then her little high-​school aged friend walks in and it is game over. We watch her and a few other staffers chit chat for a few minutes, meanwhile the one older lady in the joint (owner? dark hair, extremely tired looking) is busting her ass to take the order of a much larger table that arrived after us. WTF?
We are patient a few more minutes before getting up and walking out. Thankfully The Dish is just down the street and has 500x better service. (and I think better food)
Also just a note — for breakfast, the prices are kind of ridiculous! Beware… for what looked like mediocre food they seem to charge quite a bit.
And a note to the older lady — if you are the owner, maybe consider hiring some staff that have some experience… I understand the need to hire kids in high school to give them jobs, keep your costs down, teach them responsibility, etc. but your restaurant suffers from their shitty service.

We love this place! We have been here at least half a dozen times in the past 3 months.
The Swedish pancakes are what brought us in, and they do NOT disappoint. The biscuits and gravy are some of the best I’ve ever had. The coffee is strong, and the juice is fresh. What more could you want?
Great service, you say? Well they have it! We have never been left waiting long for anything, even on busy Saturday mornings.

I really want to like this place. It’s a great location with lots of parking. Unfortunately, that’s where the compliments end.
I should have read the MANY other reviews before venturing back into the Ballard Bridge Café. My first visit over a year ago was just fine. However, all of the recent reviews about poor service are 100% accurate and I really hope the owners start paying attention and get it fixed.
Today we entered the restaurant at 9:30am and the restaurant was only half full. We were greeted immediately but were told they were «running low on menus.» Huh? When you are only half full? We were seated, brought coffee and then we were NEVER greeted again… for over 25 minutes. Trust me, there were at least 4 other tables seated near us that also were patiently waiting to place an order. Finally, we dropped $ 6 on the table to cover the cost of the coffee and walked out the door… unfed and frustrated. The funny thing was, we exited the restaurant behind another couple who had done the same thing and I heard him say «life is too short to wait that long to be greeted».
I’ll give them another shot when I see a sign that says «under new management».

Super underwhelming. I almost feel bad because the staff was so nice and attentive. The service was amazing but the food was truly mediocre.
It was also surprisingly expensive for what we got.

I’m not horribly picky when it comes to breakfast food, so me saying this is bad should tell you something.
When we entered the restaurant around 9 on a week day the place reeked of cigarette smoke… they allow smoking on their outdoor patio but keep the huge windows open to allow everyone to bask in the lovely aroma. The place itself is cute and they seem to try for a country-​kitchen vibe.
The service was fast but the food was bad at best. The bacon was limp, soggy and beyond fatty. The waffles had no flavor.
Bottom line… I regret not just stopping at McDonald’s instead.

I’ve been here half a dozen times in the last 18 months. The food is always decent: slightly above average to «good». But the service just keeps getting worse and worse.
The restaurant is clearly in need of an experienced kitchen staff to expedite and someone to manage service. Last two times our breakfast has taken an hour to show up. The staff looks bewildered and clearly nobody knows who is in charge of which table.
If you have enough payroll to pay some guy to walk around and remove used dishes one at a time from the table, you have enough payroll to hire a manger.
Probably done going here. Back to portage bay.

The English banger was good.
The hashbrowns were soggy and not browned. The waffle was undercooked (batter in the middle). The eggs in the scramble were also undercooked and that chunky consistency (as if too much filler was added to the mix).
Our server took time out to berate her assistant. Refills had to be actively sought out. I had to journey to other tables for brown sauce and pepper. The order took a long time to arrive and when it did it did not include the hashbrowns.
Parking is free & abundant & the location is convenient.

Please save your money, time, and stomach. Their food is terrible. Under cooked, over greasy, extremely slow service, and rude waitresses.
I ordered the waffle and chicken with hash-​browns. My waffle was uncooked and doughy in the middle. My chicken was clearly from a generic frozen bag and tasted terrible. But worst of all was the hash browns… They were laden with imitation butter and uncooked. They were yellow from the fake butter but no crisp from actually cooking the food on the grill. They were barley warm.
Please save your Saturday morning breakfast outing for another restaurant.

If you want to be sat at a table and be ignored for 45 minutes, this is the place for you. What was once a decent option in Ballard is now ruined because of their service.
I waited about an hour for a scramble, hash browns and some bacon. During that time, I was offered more coffee only once. No one bothered to say they were running behind. If I knew that, I would be OK with it. When I did ask for an update, I was told a few minutes and my food arrived 20 minutes later.
Sorry Ballard Bridge Café but you lost a customer. A little communication and a paying even just a little bit of attention to your customers goes a long way. The gal who brought my food did apologize when I was paying my check as they told her I was in a rush and tried to give me a gift card but I declined it. I wasn’t in a rush, I just didn’t realize it takes an hour to do a scramble these days. I did appreciate her effort but it was too late.

Ballard Bridge Café has okay brunch food, but long waits. Working in Ballard, I have dined here about 4 times in the past year.
The restaurant is located in Ballard Blocks. There is ample surrounding street parking or the Ballard Blocks parking lot.
I have tried the chicken fried steak, pancakes with eggs and bacon, and veggie burger with fries. I enjoyed the chicken fried steak and the veggie burger. The pancake and eggs are okay, but the bacon was unfortunately rubbery and overcooked. The portions are generous and I always have leftovers.
Service is always super slow. I have visited during lunchtime on a weekday, and there are sometimes only one two or three other customers in the restaurant. At least the waitress comes by to take our order, but then it takes them 30 – 40 minutes to make the food.
Prices are on the expensive side for okay food and slow service. At least the portions are big, which makes it a little better.
Overall, mediocre food but not really worth the wait. There are many other great options for brunch the Seattle area that is worth your time and money.

So food was a little slow getting to us since there were a few large grips eating at the same time, but the waitress communicated that to us and didn’t charge us for the endless coffee we drank as compensation.
Staff was very friendly and service was great.
I had the bridge French toast and it was quite possibly the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth… So delicious!

You know what’s better than waiting in line for portage bay café? Getting seated right away at Ballard Bridge Café. Service is great, drinks are stiff, coffee is wonderful, and the food is superb. Three things to keep in mind:
1. OJ with or without bubbles (mimosa) is fresh and hand squeezed and insanely good.
2. Food portions are HUGE. Absolutely delectable food (scrambles, biscuits and g, chicken fried steak; really any breakfast item) and for a price that makes you think you’re in the south sound or eastern Washington.
3. Service is top notch. Want to split a bill four or five ways and not a pay a fee? No problem. Great spot for groups.
Don’t wait in line somewhere else when you want brunch, just go right to Ballard Bridge Café!

How have I lived in Ballard for 2 years and only just now discovered this place?! Granted, it is tucked away at the bottom of a shopping center that I only frequent to go to Trader Joe’s, but still! It’s such a hidden gem.
This place boasts the BEST Swedish pancakes short of the ones served at the monthly Swedish Pancake Breakfast at the Swedish Cultural Center. And servings are generous! Make sure to get some fruit or bacon to offset the sweetness overload, though. These babies come with a heaping of delicious Devonshire cream and a side of ligonberries. *diabetic coma*
One suggestion (from my friend who ordered this) — go easy on the hollandaise sauce for the Eggs Benedict. My friend loved her food but was a bit turned off that it was swimming in the stuff! A little bit of goodness can go a loooong way.
Service is always fast and friendly. I’ve never had to wait when I come here, which is a plus. Parking is in the garage structure, which is another plus.
Try it out, fellow Ballardians… and Wallingfordians… and Fremontians… etc.

So I was invited to have breakfast with my parents here today. I decided to check out there Unilocal reviews and was a little scared that it was going to be a disappointing meal with my family. As heart slowly hardened with dismay I decided to keep moving on in life and meet my family for breakfast.
We arrived at the café. Service was decent, our server was new and it was his first day so he was a little excited. What I’m assuming was the owner arrived at our table very shortly after getting coffee. She was a little abrupt and seemed annoyed. My father with a heavy Spanish accent and this lady started getting annoyed because she couldn’t understand him completely. When it was my time to order I decided to give her a custom order ;) I think she knew what I was doing cause she chuckled a little bit and lightened up after.
I ordered the peanut butter french toast which in my opinion was pretty damn good. I added a nice drizzle of jam to my french toast. Highly recommend, gave it the real pb&j feel. I ordered a side of hash browns, soft poached eggs and extra crispy bacon. Definitely get the hash browns over the house potatoes, there nice and crispy just what I wanted. Eggs were poached right and bacon was crispy.
If in the area I would come back, overall experience was good.