Restaurant Review: Breakfast Republic in East Village

It’s no secret that Breakfast Republic is one of San Diego’s favorite breakfast spots. With its sweet and eclectic menu as well as charming and punny decor, it draws the attention of every breakfast lover. The restaurant recently opened up a new location in East Village and having never experienced the hyped Breakfast Republic meal before, I was thoroughly excited to try it out.

The East Village location sits on a corner of the block and the early morning sunlight filled the restaurant. A host stand stood outside of the doors, with a framed sign of actor Christopher Walken that said, “No reservations, Walkens only.” This was the first of clever quips and phrases found throughout the decorations of the space. Even the napkin wraps were thought of and read “common sense is a flower that doesn’t grow in everyone’s garden.”

The space was entertaining as I looked over the plentiful menu. Ivy spread across the wall to my right, and whisks that were turned into light fixtures hung all over the ceiling. Even the bathrooms were given their own special design, with a wall mirror shaped like aviator sunglasses and “you look fine” written backwards on the opposite wall so it could be read in the mirror. There’s no question that design is important to Breakfast Republic and it makes for an aesthetically pleasing dining experience.

The food was delicious. It was one of the sweetest breakfasts I have ever had.

That being said, there were a few things lacking. My guest and I ordered a flight of French toast (we chose smores, brioche, and lemon ‘n coconut) and a flight of pancakes (we chose Oreo, churro, and bacon) to share. Each of the flights were brought to us on long, oval-shaped plates, which were pretty difficult to slide back and forth while sharing. Make sure your table can accommodate sharing these plates back and forth (if you plan to share). Both the pancakes and French toast were decadent and incredibly filling.

The food had a really quick turnaround from when we placed our order to the time the food was brought out. Curiously enough, both dishes were simply warm and not hot. The scoops of butter that had been placed on some of the toast and pancakes didn’t melt much at all. The warmed syrup cooled off rather quickly too. That being said, we still ate as much of our meal as we possibly could since these flavors Breakfast Republic offers can’t be found anywhere else.

The Oreo pancakes were chocolate flavored and super sweet. The bacon pancakes surprised me, as we were given two pancakes with one strip of bacon inside them (take a look at the oblong shaped cakes in the photo. That’s the bacon). It may have been harder to eat than a normal pancake, but the bacon was cooked perfectly.

My favorite of the pancakes had to be the churro, topped with cinnamon and was even tasty after it had gone cold. The smores French toast was filling after just a few bites, but definitely worth it, especially if you like to order dessert with your breakfast. My guest thoroughly enjoyed the lemon ‘n coconut flavor and said it lived up to her expectations. The plain brioche option was tasty as well.

I was perfectly satisfied with the food at Breakfast Republic and I enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant, very much. The downside came from our service at this location. From the time we were sat at our table, everything seemed to move slowly except for how fast our food was brought. It took five minutes to get water and to be asked for our drink requests. Our waiter, who is the manager of this new location, asked my guest if she wanted coffee and walked away before asking me for anything. I called out for my orange juice after him, and he assured me he’d bring that out as well. The coffee arrived five minutes after it was ordered, and my orange juice over fifteen.

After receiving our food and drinks, our waiter was friendly, but not really attentive. He checked on us once ten minutes after we began eating, and refilled the coffee nearly twenty-five minutes after it was brought to the table. When I asked the manager about how the restaurant was doing and where the employees came from, he willingly shared and explained. He was a general manager brought in from another restaurant, and all other employees were some of the best from other locations brought downtown to help open the new store.

Though I feel customer service is a relatively universal skill that can transition from store to store without issue, the other bumps in this breakfast I will attribute to the new location. We visited the restaurant for breakfast at 10am on a Monday. It’s hard to imagine it being less busy during a Sunday Brunch rush, but beings that the restaurant is new, and kinks are surely being ironed out. I urge you to give it a try for yourself. The decadent pancakes and French toast could be reason enough to come back.

Overall Breakfast Republic still has a menu that I’d love to try more of, and I would recommend visiting their East Village establishment (or any of the other location) to try the menu out yourself.