Sun Break Cafe

GREAT food, good service. Now that we've settled in the Seattle area, the search is on for great breakfast restaurants. Among the potentials I'm trying out, one has clearly made the cut: the Sun Break Cafe' in Auburn. More on my blog pnwfoodie.blogspot<dot>com.

Conveniently located a block from the Auburn Sound Transit terminal at 22 A St. SW, the Sun Break Cafe has earned a loyal following of commuters and locals alike ... and it's easy to see why.

The Sun Break Cafe is just your basic restaurant; nothing fancy, but not too spartan, either. The wait staff is young and energetic -- and as a result may lack some polish -- but that's part of the draw, as is the tongue-in-cheek notation on the menu that coffee is charged based on how long you sit there.

The other part is clearly the food.

Freshly prepared, the portions are quite generous. On my first visit, I had the potato pancakes -- and could only manage about half of the order! As you can see, there was plenty; too bad I was eating alone. And I thought I would be eating light by not ordering the chicken-fried steak.

On my next visit, I went for it: the "half-order" of the chicken fried steak proved to be more than enough to keep me going all the way until dinner (well, almost). It was prepared nicely, with a crunchy coating covering a tender piece of meat. Though it could have used a bit more pepper for my taste, that was easily remedied with the black pepper and Tabasco(C) on the table.

The coffee was also pretty good for a diner. Not Starbucks, but not the weak colored water so many places serve. And the staff is excellent at keeping your cup full.

The Sun Break Cafe is decidedly low-tech: wait staff write your order on a plain piece of paper for the kitchen to read (no computers here), then present that slip to you as your bill.

If you're alone, bring a newspaper; I doubt if they offer free WiFi, but that's not why you go to the Sun Break Cafe. It's for the food, and I have yet to be disappointed!…

Terrible food and the owner is a jirk with poor service!!!. Where do I start? This place was absolutely horrible!!! I'm not one to complain, this is my first bad review. New to the Auburn area, I saw the positive reviews here and figured I'd give it a try. I ordered french toast and bacon. The food the waiter brought out to me was not mine, the waiter apologized and said he was sorry and that he got stoned before he came to work and laughed. He said it would take a while to get me my food, he comes back with a plate of soggy uncooked hash browns and says "here eat this while you wait" because at that time my fiance had received her plate of food. It was nice of him to bring me something but the way he shoved it in my face and the fact that the hash browns were uncooked and soggy was very disappointing. After about ten minutes I got what I ordered.

My fiance ordered a scramble and hash browns. Again her hash browns were soggy and uncooked. But worst of all her scramble was a pile of mush with a layer of yellowish water at the bottom of her entire plate, she couldn't eat it. A different waiter came by and asked us if everything was ok and I pointed out all the water and soggy scramble and she apologies and made an excuse that it was the spinach being cooked down. There should be no excuses for a bunch of water in a scramble. She got a hot chocolate and it was very watered down with very little chocolate flavor.

We had heard someone in line while we were waiting to get seated mention there biscuits and gravy, so we decided to share a plate. They were barely edible at best, it had a funky gravy. Breakfast should not be rocket science but they seamed to screw up everything! When the waiter saw that my fiance's plate was full of water underneath her scramble and hash browns he said he would take it off the ticket because it was so bad.

When it came time to pay they have you pay in front. The owner waived me over to pay. He saw that my fiances plate was scratched off the ticket and said "I don't pay for anyone's breakfast. I explained to him that the waiter took it off and that my fiance didn't eat any of it. He got all pissed off and only after the waiter came and vouched that the plate was terrible did he remove it. I had originally wrote in a tip even though the service and food as a whole were terrible but then I scratched off and changed my mind. The owner said I needed to give a tip and I said not after the way you treated me.

Bottom line I would recommend looking elsewhere if you are looking for a breakfast place in the Auburn area.…

Horrible service. My first visit my wife and I waited in line. We ordered breakfast and two parties seated after us received their meals while we waited. Food wasn't that great. No tip $$$. Second time I told my wife not to go back but she did with grandchildren. No booster seats for toddlers and same results. Skipped over by parties that arrived later. I would caution other Muckleshoot tribal members thinking about visiting this business. Go elsewhere!!!…

Best place for Breakfast and Lunch. It's a great little cafeteria style place for lunch with fresh made sanwiches and soups for lunch. We've been going there for years and the owners are very delgihtful. I work relaly close to the cafe and whenever people from out of town stop in and ask for a great breakfast or lunch place, we always tell them they have to go to the sunbreak. It can be a bit pricey at times but the food and the portion sizes more than make the price worthwhile. They serve local meats and veggies and are locally owned and managed. You just dont find these kind of places around very often anymore.

For lunch: try the Kelly's Croissant

For breakfast: Biscuits and Gravy and a side of red potato hasbrowns...enough to fill you for the whole day (with a side of banana bread if you have any room)…