The research continues! Since the weather turned to crap this weekend and cancelled my plans to go tulip photo hunting (though looking outside right now looks pretty good.. damn you weather! So I decided on Saturday morning that I would take another stab at a breakfast spot. I tweeted out to my usual suspects for some recommendations and did a bit of googling. I didn’t feel like eggs so filed away the options suggested to me for next time (got a number of good spots in mind now) and found Portage Bay Cafe.. they sounded like they had some good sweet options (I Do have a sweet tooth remember) so that was settled. They have 3 locations, Ballard, University and South Lake Union (SLU). Since it was Sunday morning I probably should of hit up the University location but with the 520 shut, instead I went to SLU. Figured it would of been quiet.

From Seattle Life 2013

Street parking was a b$%ch to find (and part of me went.. your dumb for even trying) but I found a spot about a block away and walked on over. When I got there it was PACKED! People were jammed in everywhere… (turns out not my best work on some of the photos… sorry)

From Seattle Life 2013

But there is always one thing that helps, being a single person eating alone. You can slot in anywhere, and for me it was like walking in ahead of the masses. As someone was told it was a good 45 minute wait for a table, I was directed to a seat at the side counter… score!

From Seattle Life 2013

Portage Bay Cafe is more like the trendy kind of place with Vegan this, and gluten free that. But no matter what it all looked tasty. I got a coffee pretty much before I took my jacket off which was a half decent sign of service. The menu looked good but I was sticking to the top half of the menu.

From Seattle Life 2013

From Seattle Life 2013

With the top half of the menu you also get access to the “Breakfast Bar” which is really all the stuff you would normally see on the side of most restaurants. So really if you can’t find a topping you do like for your pancakes you can just make up your own. Me… I was going for something tasty 😉 I checked out the “toppings” after ordering and they looked good

From Seattle Life 2013

While ordering I got suckered into a Side of Bacon. Not that I needed it. The wait wasn’t to bad, I had just finished my emails when my breakfast arrived

From Seattle Life 2013

Let’s look at them individually shall we… first up the not so needed side of Pepper Bacon. Good (although not at all as peppery as it could of been), not 100% crispy, but not aussie crappy bacon either. So that wasn’t to bad.

From Seattle Life 2013

But the main show this morning was this:

From Seattle Life 2013

Bananas Foster French Toast! 3 big chunks of Challah dipped in “custard” (ie egg) and then grilled and topped with the most craziest of real caramel sauces. How do I know it was real caramel? The damn stuff was hardening on the plate! It was sooooo good. I grabbed some whipped cream, some flaked almonds (for that crunch) and some berries (Strawberries & Blackberries for some Tartness to offset the sweet) and tucked in!. My god it was good. The bread was as light as a feather so even though they looked huge, they were light and airy in the middle meaning it wasn’t as filling as you would think. Three pieces was the perfect size as it wasn’t to much but it was just enough.

I saw some of the other meals go out while I was eating and they looked good. Although the special (which I never got given a specials menu mind you) Spare Ribs Benedict looked more like a Loco Moco to me, since it came with rice not bread. The service towards the end got a bit shoddy. My coffee was hardly ever refreshed, I was never asked if I was enjoying my meal and at one point a couple moved to the counter to my left (where there was only meant to be one person but they tagged on another spot). I had gotten up to go get some extra whipped cream cause I ran out and before I even came back they were planning to move into my seat… I hadn’t even finished. From that point in I felt like I was being pushed out the door!

All up the food was good. The french toast would be worth the trip back that’s for sure. I would definately skip the bacon though. Price wise all up set me back $23 incl tax & tip, so about average for the preppy places. Definately more of a special occasion place than a “I feel like breakfast out” kind of place. With the amount of people there as well, it would be worth it to come early…. REAL early. I don’t know if the other cafe locations are as busy on a Sunday morning but if they are more busy than that, tables may come at a price. Definately recommended for the sweet tooth!