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Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Soul Food
Neighborhood: Civic Center/TenderloinMon., Wed-Sun. 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
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I have never experience this so called "French Soul Food" (I don't know why they don't just call it New orleans style food cuz that's what it really is) but I really enjoyed my experience here.
I took my mother here and it was both of our first times there--went on a wednesday morning so there was no wait (thank god). It's a tiny place so i can only imagine how long the wait would be during the peak hours. The waitress wasn't as pleasent as I expected, but warmed up to us cuz we are just so damn friendly. Definitely come hungry, or make sure you have someone to share with! Portions are large. Here's the breakdown:
-We ordered the Beignet sampler since it was our first time--might as well sample it all... It came with original, chocolate, apple cinnamon, and Crawfish.. heard good reviews about the crawfish one... maybe i'm not a crawfish fan but it was a little too salty/spicy for my liking. When i come back, i'll definitely stick with the plain Beignet--It's the winner
-Pancakes--I'm a pancake fanatic and a bit of a snob so i'm picky but these were pretty good. My one pancake (i ordered a half order) was HUUUUUGE and the batter was super thick--not in a gross way, but a hearty/fill you up way. Definitely had some leftover for the next morning (which still tasted good btw)
-My mother order some cheese, mushroom omelette that was also delicious.
-Watermelon Ice Tea--GOOD! i'd never even heard of watermelon iced tea but it was worth it
Anyways, moral of the story: My mother loved it, the food is great, service is mediocre but i won't complain cuz the food came out fast and deliciou and the location is a little sketch but just use your street head and it's all good
After +1K reviews it really doesn't matter what I say, so I'll be brief. Yes, it's not cheap, and you won't find many options for people on a diet.
My favorite is the Egg and Bacon Tartine dish, love the tomato-bacon relish.
In my opinion, this gumbo (chicken, sausage and okra) is much better than Cajun Pacific's version in the Sunset, or Angeline's in Berkeley.
But the beef cutlets in the Grillades and Grits dish are slightly tough.
Remember to check out the daily specials hand written on a corner of the mirror wall.
Something seldom mentioned by other reviews are the table condiments. The brown jar contains homemade mustard. Don't miss the delicious fruit preserves in the white jar (changes weekly) - really good flavor and not too sweet, goes wonderful with the biscuits.
I usually choose to come on Sundays for brunch, before 10am, because street parking is free and plentiful. Never had to wait long.
Went again yesterday. Cousin came from out of town and had to try it. Beignet flight, gumbo, shrimp n grits, goat chees omelet. all good as usual. When am I gonna learn not to order so much food though. A big bowl of gumbo is enough by itself.
I could live on that gumbo. god its good.
I think this was my 6th time going to Brenda's. i live in the neighborhood but I only go when I… Read more »
waited around 15 min=not bad
getting seated and watched others get seated after, but served first = bad, bad, bad.
That was the extent of my bad part.
The food was interestin and good.
loved the Beignets . the Crawfish one was the best!!!
The omletts were very fresh and tasty.
the price was reasonable but not cheap.
I Did the breakfast but would go back to try the lunch.
Ive heard this place has the longest lines imaginable on a weekday morning so we went around 9:30 to secure a spot. Luckily enough, Thursdays didn't seem to get so happenin' until around 10:30 or so. We were able to be seated right away at one of the very few tables.
Nice minimal environment with a friendly waitress was a good start to an even better ending.
The beignets were amazing! We got the sampler (good to try out, but was wayyy to much food--stick with one that sounds alright to you) plus some egg plates. My boyfriend got the plain ol' ham and eggs with toast and grits and I got the andouille and cheddar omelette with a biscuit and grits.
I would give five stars but as soon as I started eating I could feel the grease starting to seize up muh insides and, eight hours later, I am still in fact burping up the flavor of greasy sausage and cheese. Tmi? Probably.
Anyway, the food is rightly priced and there is plenty of it--I suggest getting the biscuit with your eggs. They're SICK! (The good kind, common of the hipster parlance of our times, not the gross kind)
The coffee was, eh, okay. I may just not be a huge fan of chicory, but it had an acrid spicy taste to it.
All in all, since we didn't have to wait for days, the food came quickly, and I was good and stuffed for the rest of the day, I'd say it was money well spent.
I wasn't as impressed by their pumpkin pancakes or their breakfast options but we did get to try their sampler of Beignets which includes the Craw fish, chocolate, apple cinnamon and plain. I thought the craw fish was amazing and so was the chocolate. I also had their watermelon juice ([people here like to call it watermelon tea but that's not what it is as their is no tea in the drink) which was very refreshing at the time.
We managed to get there on a Friday morning without waiting more than 5-10min. The place is rather small but everything is fresh and smells good.
I'm not a big breakfast person so I'm going to have to come back and try their brunch and lunch options once we move back into the city next week.
Deserving of all its raving reviews and well worth the wait.
Had the beignets flight / sampler. Crawfish one was super delicious, apple was yummy, chocolate was a little too rich for my taste, and saved the plain for later.
The gumbo was fantastic - such wonderful flavor!
Didnt think I could take any more food, but the eggs and bacon tartine with hash was sooo good, I couldn't pass on a few more bites.
Definitely share or come with a monster apetite. I'll have to come back and try more of the yummies on Brenda's menu!
The hype is true my friends -
I was looking to try a new brunch spot. I did some research and my bf and I headed over to Brendas. We got there around 11, and put our names on the list, and waited... and waited... for about 45 minutes we almost got discouraged - but we held out, and I am so glad we did! We got the Beignets sample platter. Delish. I think the plain are actually my favorite. The savory Crawfish one was awesome, and the chocolate and apple are also very tasty. I opted for the watermelon tea and the catfish benedicts. My bf got the coffee and chicory, and the bacon and egg tartine. We both opted for the potato hash instead of grits. I really shouldn't have plowed through the benedicts, but there was no way I could leave any left over. My boyfriend did the same. The potatoes had to suffer from not getting proper attention, but those carbs would not fit in our bellies following all the other deliciousness.
Definitely check it out - expect to wait.
The place is VERY tiny and to get to the bathrooms you have to basically walk through the kitchen, but oh well. They have crammed as many tables into the place as humanly possible... so expect to hear all of your neighbors conversations. Come here with a party of 4 maximum.
There is something to be said about waking up at 10am on a Sunday morning, throwing on clothes, brushing your teeth and running to catch the 19-Polk bus to get Brenda's that makes these excursions magical. Especially when you're leaving and a crackhead follows you to the bus stop...:|
We waited for-wait for it-AN HOUR AND A HALF. Standing. The entire time. He had his book to read, I had Client Engagement & Brief Interventions to study for class--thankfully it was a long chapter. But something about standing and waiting for that long takes it out of you to eat. It almost ruins the experience, to say the least. The fact that the boyfriend waited because I wanted so badly to eat here really says a lot about how selfless he is. So two thumbs up for that!
Word to the wise--if stress has you eating like a bird, then chances are ordering a flight of beignets is not going to help your entree. You'll be full by the time you get there. The crawfish beignets were overly sprinkled with paprika (too much), the chocolate ones were good (not in bf's taste), the granny smith apples were amazing and so were the plain. My stomach filled up after two bites (/shakes fist Dammit!)
The entrees were pumpkin pancakes with cream cheese whip topping, and the braised beef with eggs, grits and a biscuit. Well, that was delicious. I decided to save the rest after two bites for dinner, but forgot how much food my boyfriend consumes--GAH. I opened it up when I got home and it was almost gone! What the hell, man!?!
Well, I got him back later that night when I ate the rest of the beignets as he was out smoking a cigarette. Take THAT, squishy!
All in all, I wouldn't wait that long again, but they have good intentions.
Walked in at 11:00 am on a week day and there were 2 empty tables and 6 empty stools. What luck! The biscuit is very fine and the peach jam has just the right balance of spices. The potato hash was cold. The Creole omelet was alright. The coffee, not to be gross, has a laxative affect...You have been warned.
I'm almost tempted to wait until I can write the 1000th review because the 1000th review obviously matters more than the 997th and the 996 reviews that precede that... =P I'll try to keep this one short because everyone already knows this place is rad.
YES YES YES:
- Fried catfish benedict = orgamiscally caloric and so so good. I was seriously full all day. Perfect crust on a flaky fish. Though the egg could have been a little undercooked. I like the yolk everywhere :)
- Cream biscuits and jam
- Chicken, sausage, okra gumbo. MMMMMMMMMM.
MEH:
- Potato hash. Looked flavorful but lacked it. I would get the grits if you can. I saw someone put jam in their grits... mmm.
- Chocolate beignets. I expected light and fluffy. I got dense and heavy.
NO NO NO:
- Long ass wait. We waited about 2.5 hours. If you have time to kill, you can enjoy some of their coffee while waiting outside. Ended up getting back to socal at midnight =(
Bring a friend. Bring an appetite. Bring (a lot of) calories to spare.
You will have to wait, but it's not as bad as the line of people outside would suggest. At least not the two times I've been. Each occasion we were fifth or sixth on the list and were sitting within 30min. They get you in, feed you, and get you out in impressive fashion.
Now about that feed.
There is so much good stuff on the menu this is where I highly, highly encourage you to bring someone so you can try a little of everything. What should not be missed:
Breakfast:
Beignet sampler (plain, ghirardelli chocolate, apple and cinnamon honey butter and crawfish with chedder). All delicious, though your waistline might not want the whole thing. Take a bite. Smile. Move on to the next one.
Shrimp and goat cheese omelet. Dive right into a mound of gooey sweet flavor, and savor the bits of caramelized onions and tomato bacon relish that further bring this amazing dish to life.
House. Granola. Pancakes. Three words that usually have me ordering whatever they are offering, and in this case, it's one fantastic dish. Huge, huge pancakes with a vanilla bean cream and loaded with fruit. Epically delicious.
Don't miss the peach jam on the side, a perfect complement to any of the above.
Lunch:
Sloppy Josephine v. Vegan Josephine. Do not choose one or the other. Get both (bring. a. friend!!!). One comes with turkey, the other with tofu, and each is soaking in a succulent tomato sauce. Slapped into a kaiser roll with no other toppings to muddle up the simple perfection, this is sandwich euphoria.
yeah, i get it, you're popular, but please leave that "i'm too cool for school" attitude back home. this is a restaurant, not high school.
beignets weren't very authentic, breakfast was pretty good, but being served with that sour puss on your face isn't enough to bring me back.
The best Gumbo in the City if you have west of new orleans, east of lake charles southern louisiana palate.
We were a bit discouraged by all the people waiting outside but since we were already there we figured we might as well go through with it. After putting our name down, we got some Philz coffee to help keep us warm while waiting. It took about an hour for us to be seated, could have been longer but a lot of people on the list left.
Crawfish Beignets: Delicious! These came out piping hot and when you cut it open, all the goodness oozes out.
Banana's Foster French Toast: I think these may beat Zazie's French Toast. So good!
Eggs Benedict Florentine: The eggs were a bit more cooked than they should be. Instead of an English muffin, they use a biscuit. I love buttery biscuits but wow, these were just too much. They may have been good on their own but were too overwhelming in this dish, I couldn't taste anything else. After a few bites, I ate the toppings and side but left the biscuits.
Watermelon Ice Tea: Pretty good, would have been better if it was actually cold.
I would come back for the Beignets and French Toast! The wait wasn't so bad with good company and some hot coffee. :)
So I came by just a bit after 2:30pm and they closed the list for the day. Fortunately they let me get an order of a flight. Boy am I glad I did not sit down inside today. It's definitely in the upper 70s outside but felt like 90 inside. There wee no fans and they're really cooking in a totally packed place. I started dripping sweat just ordering. The server was so sweet when I asked to also get an iced coffee, something they said they don't normally do because she felt bad. Must give her an extra credit as she's so nice and apologized quite a bit.
I waited outside for about 10-15 minutes for it. Unfortunately they only had small paper bags left but gave me some napkins.
You know, this is probably then became the best time I have ever had my beignets, because I took my beloved chicory chilled coffee and yummy food, walked over to the City Hall green, sat down and had some of the best afternoon! Keep an eye on my next post on Civic Center Plaza Park.
Bravo to the food and San Francisco!
(See more drooling pics)
So I love it so much that I came back twice in 1 week!
How do you impress…
Read more »
Get there at 8am.
It's worth it.
Don't listen to the people telling you that it's not worth the wait. They're just trying to make you leave so their name gets called sooner. Yes, the wait for this restaurant is ungodly long--upwards of 2 hours if you come at 11am for the Sunday Brunch--but once you're in, you're gonna want to order nearly everything on the menu and take your precious time savoring the cuisine that is French soul food.
Everyone likes lists so here's a list:
- Beignet sampler: Plain, chocolate, sauteed apple and crawfish. $8. Fluffy. Delicious. We ate the crawfish one first, which was filled with a spicy creamy sauce, and saved the rest for after brunch. Like a brunch dessert!
- Gumbo: The bowl size is enough for one's entire breakfast, so I suggest ordering the cup size to get a taste and save enough room for more. The gumbo itself was very smokey, bordering on too smokey, but full of robust flavor.
- Eggs Benedict Special: Poached eggs on fried catfish and some of the best cream biscuits ever? Have I had a heart attack and gone to creole heaven? BTW get the grits. You won't be sorry.
- Grillades and Grits: Beef cutlets had a strangely tough texture. But everything else was top notch. Get the biscuits.
I'd been wanting to go here for awhile, but unfortunately, for me at least, it was a bit overrated. First of all, wait is crazy ridiculous, but I kinda expected it.. expect a 2-hour wait in the morning towards noon time on the weekends. We decided to take ours to-go and if you have a small party (like of 2), they might let you just put in a to-go order which'll come out in like 20-30 minutes.
Beignets were pretty good (especially the chocolate one) although the crawfish one was slightly strange especially the cajun powder-y outside was too cajun powder-y.. not necessarily in a spicy way, but in a too-much type of way.
I got the watermelon sweet tea, and for me, it wasn't sweet enough (although my friend thought it was good). The watermelon was in there but almost too subtle for me to taste and if I'm getting watermelon sweet tea, I'd want to taste the watermelon, right?
I got the granola pancakes and although other people might've liked it, it was kinda not my thing.. had dried cranberries or something in it and a ton of granola and if you put any syrup on it, it was overly sweet and I like sweet!
Amazing. Let me say that again Amazing. The bennets were awsome as was the corned beef hash. They make this peach jam that is prefect. It's a small place and you have to wait outside but it's worth it.
I don't understand the hype. We waited about an hour and a half to get in a party of three. If brunch is your thing though, you'll love Brenda's. They give you good sized portions and they have decadent options. I tried one of the specials: pumpkin pancakes which smelled and tasted yummy. They were topped with cinnamon sugar and pecans. It also came with a vanilla cream cheese which didn't really strike my fancy but my BF's friend actually liked the way it tasted on his whole grain pancakes. I sampled some of my BF's pancakes which were okay they were definitely not something I'd go out of my way for. Service was minimal at best. Other tables had their drinks refilled several times but we only got one. If I were in the neighborhood, I'd definitely stop in, but otherwise, I'd go somewhere else. Not terrible but it didn't wow me completely.
I heard that the seafood options here are really good. They don't take reservations and they don't split checks. The watermelon sweet tea is pretty good. I don't recommend going here if you have a large party unless you feel like throwing down West Side Story style. I'd say four people max or you might get some evil looks.
I'm a boy who likes his lazy brunch. I can safely say that Brenda's is the single best brunch I've eaten.
My table of four ordered the beignet flight. God, I love pastry (especially fried). Top marks go to the crawfish beignet, followed by the plain. (But I'm a savory breakfast boy, rest assured the apple and chocolate are certainly to die for).
Brenda's serves the BEST biscuits I have ever had. So flaky and buttery, just drives me mad! Imagine my amazement and awe when I discovered my Catfish Benedict special would in fact be served not on an english muffin but on a biscuit. The biscuit/deep-fried catfish/poached egg/spicy Creole hollandaise combo was supreme. I had to just eat my potatoes and stare at this perfect Benedict for about 15 minutes before I could even bite it. Then I bit it. And bit it. And bit it. It was magic. Actual magic. Words can't explain.
And in between bites I tasted my friend's Shrimp and Goat Cheese Omelette with Caramelized Onions and Tomato-Bacon Relish (WHAM BAM! This sucker packed a big punch too!)
Also with only one menu item exceeding $10, it's not too pricey, Like I said, words fall short of eating at Brenda's, so just go there, and bear the hour+ wait because it's clearly worth it, and eat the best brunch ever.
Any time I visit SF I have to have a meal at this tiny hot spot. The food is always amazing and yes though there is usually a wait... it is well worth it! Being from the south it is always good to find familiar food in the big cities of California. I highly recommend Brenda's. Quaint and consistent.
The only problem I have with Brenda's is that I ALWAYS end up ordering the wrong thing. And whomever I'm with orders the most delicious thing ever and I'm grumpy the rest of the day because I wanted the frittata instead of my lame omelet or whatever.
But really, I love the food and now that I've tried a lot of the menu I'm pretty sure I know what to get. I just get so tempted to try the specials and then realize I should have just ordered what I wanted. I'm neurotic about ordering, sorry.
The crawfish beignets are my fav but sometimes come out a tad too salty. All of the egg dishes are super duper and the biscuits with homemade marmalade are the really the main attraction here. The po'boy sandwiches kind of suck tbh. I think it might be the big mac sauce or the fact that the breakfast food is so darn good but the time I ordered that I wanted to cry. My friend had gotten the andouille and cheddar eggs which I loved and considered ordering ex post facto and giving my sandwich to a homeless person outside (i'm not that nice tho)
The only other thing to watch out for is that they exclusively serve that chicory shit here. I still don't know if I'm comfortable accepting this as a substitute to real coffee and there should be an option for the tradition coffee bean sect of society. we do live in america right? I NEED OPTIONS. AND FREEDOM FRIES.
I would do anything to bathe in the famous gumbo!
Brenda, will you marry me?!
I just went here yesterday @ exactly 8 O'clock sharp! Ten minutes later it was half packed...20… Read more »
The food here was mediocre. I wasn't sure what all the bragging was all about.
So the wait on Sunday morning was about an hour, but I guess that was because we were a large party (6 people). The interior of the restaurant was pretty small. The maximum occupancy for the restaurant was 40 people. So we were seated, but felt squished. I ordered the gumbo, boyfriend ordered the Andouille and Cheddar Omelette, and someone else in the party ordered the Flight Beignet (has all 4 beignets if you can't decide on which one to order).
The gumbo was okay. I couldn't taste the okra and that is my favorite ingredient in a gumbo. The omlette was nothing extraordinary, but I must admit the homemade biscuit was quite delicious. Lastly, I would say my favorite beignet would be the plain. The apple beignet tasted like an apple pie; the chocolate one was too sweet, so I would order that as a dessert. And the crawfish was too salty. The taste was different but it did not satisfy my taste bud.
Worth the wait, which ended up being an hour on a Saturday morning.
Try the crawfish beignets if you know what's good for you. Get the buttery Gritz and the big biscuit (so you can use their homemade peach jam on it!) for the side dishes. Also, when your waiting in line, go to Philz coffee on Van Ness. Best coffee in San Francisco.
yum yum yum..chocolate beignets and coffee to start out the day. What could be better, how about pumpkin pancakes and eggs & grits. Could barely move after all that food. And I almost forgot to mention the biscuits, light and fluffy, with butter and homemade jam. Carb loading for sure!
the only downside to this place- the wait to get in..but it's worth it!
A: "I wonder why all the good breakfast places have women's names? Brenda's, Dottie's, Chloe's, Mama's ..."
J: "It's because when women wake up, they should go to to the kitchen and cook breakfast!"
A: "You are a dead man."
With Brenda's help, I attempted to kill J.
Operation "Death by Butter" started out with Brenda's awesome Beignet Flight and steaming cups of Cafe au Lait. The plain beignet could not compete with the sweet chocolate one and the cinnamon-sugary apple one. But actually the savory, cheesy, spice dusted crawfish beignet was our favorite.
Then we inhaled piles of grits oozing with pools of yellow butter and "the best I've ever had" biscuits alongside. The homemade jam with big chunks of peaches was so good I had to talk myself out of pilfering the entire jar. (You are welcome.)
To go with our butter-carb fest, we had the Hangtown Fry (scrambled eggs, fried oysters, potatoes, green onions) and the Grillades (beef cutlets braised in Creole gravy). I loved the fried oysters and the creole gravy as they had just the right amount of spice and were a culinary flashback to the rich and colorful flavors of the amazing city of N'awlins.
J did not die.
But he WAS incapacitated by a big, fat, buttery food coma.
Mmmwwwaahahaha!
Paula Deen would eat here everyday I think if she knew about it. Perfect for lazy, afternoon-brunch-dates with your darling best friend or significant other! Just be prepared to wait outside for about an hour or so...but totally worth it. I recommend wearing stretchy clothing because you're going to eat a lot of heavy, soulful goodness and will want to take a nap afterwards.
Don't forget to try the watermelon sweet tea too!
:]
I've been to this self-proclaimed soul food brunch spot a few times over the past couple of years, braving that horrendous line just to get a taste of a hearty, home-cooked meal. It's a crack-in-the-wall and seating is scarce, but I like to come here every once in a while to get my fix for beignets, a corn maque choux omelette, and perhaps one of the best, flakiest buttermilk biscuits this side of the Mississippi. They also serve a delicious oyster-fry scramble, but it's delicious only if you love oysters as much as I do. My bf, who is not such a fan, thought it was not appetizing. My point is that they have something for everyone here on the menu.
Minus two stars for the wait, the service, and for the fact that the food is never as hot as it could be. Maybe it's because the servers, who seem less-than-enthusiastic to be taking your order, are really busy doing...something (which is questionable since I swear that it seems this place only fits 15 people max.). Rest assured, you'll be full after a meal here because their dishes are of epic proprtions.
Located in the (un)tenderloin, the food was worth arduous wait. Deliciously flavored crawfish beignets (not to be confused with "crayfish" :p) that were spicy just how I like, even if they were a bit crunchy. My french toast (the daily special) was great as well, but it was a little too much on the sweet side for me conquer all of it. Still, I'd definitely go back.
Extra friendly wait staff. I went with my friend and her (amazingly well-behaved) 1 year old boy. The little one seemed to like the food more than everyone.
Laissez les bon temps rouler!
I changed my mind..... It was delicious....Everything was good. I should have come back sooner to give it another try.
Only thing to mention is their coffee....YUCK, it's Chicory so be warned it has a very distinct flavor.
Welcome to San Francisco- Land of good food!
I headed to Brenda's, with all my suitcases, straight from the airport for breakfast. The walk from the Civic Center BART station was what I would call "interesting"... made many metal notes to not walk the area again...even at 9am... The wait was about 15 minutes (3-4 groups in front of me right when tables were about to turn). The menu was posted outside, and specials were outside as well, so I narrowed my order for maximus speed on getting my food.
I was seated at a stool facing a mirrored wall and ordered the beignet sampler (crawfish, apple, regular, and chocolate) $8, after not being able to choose sweet or savory, and the daily special of oyster and farmed bacon scramble $11. The dish came with grits or potatoes and toast or biscuit. I went for the potatoes and biscuit. My food came pretty quickly- with the pastries arriving first. When I saw their size I knew I was in trouble. My eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach. The craw fish was a great hot savory meal starter. The original beignet was perfect in flavor, tenderness, and consistency. I saved the other two for later in the hotel room. When my main entree arrived I picked the oysters(thinly breaded) out first, knowing what the star of the dish was, and then ate some egg and potato. The bacon was a little too fatty for my personal taste. The biscuit was so tender I had a hard time not eating all of it as I was tempted to pick at my plate upon realizing I was super full. My service and server were kind and basic
The afternoon after eating at Brenda's I walked, and walked, and walked to work it all off... the food was heavy and flavorful- it sticks with you for a while.
FYI's~
* Write your name and how many on the list by the door for seating
* Sandwiches. Po Boys, Burgers, etc are served starting at 11am
* They sell sweet homemade watermelon tea
* The beignets are on the large side- and do not keep!!! eat them immediately- They lose their texture and taste as they cool off
* The space a Brenda's is VERY small- does have more than a few seating options by it was cramped- nothing bigger than a 4 top
Walking towards the not so pretty area of the Tenderloin, we arrived at this place and knew right away that it was gonna be good after seeing 6-7 people waiting in line. We waited half an hour which was well worth as we bit into our chocolate beignets. We each had one full beignet and saved the last one of the three as a desert to share.
I had two eggs with sausage and grits and she had a veggie omelet with potatoes. So we had best of both worlds. The sausage was spicy and tangy and the grits were cooked to form a nice porridge. The omelet was light and tasty with vegetables cooked perfectly. It was soul food at perfection.
As we were halfway through our breakfast, the lunch crowd started showing up and the wait list went up to 20 or so people. If it wasn't our first day in SF, we could have stayed and have had lunch as well.
Every town needs a place like Brenda's where you can have good soul food at reasonable prices and in a totally laid-back comfortable environment.
Brenda's is a small, cozy space. Very few tables with the largest accommodating 4. I came here with three friends for brunch on a Sunday, so needless to say it was a bit of a wait. To keep the wait to a minimum, get there early and maybe stick to a party of 2. Parties of 2 go by quick. Parties of 4+, prepare to wait.
And yes, it is worth the wait (mostly.. I'll explain later). We ordered the beignet sampler to start. The crawfish was deliciousss! It had a little bit of a kick to it. I also liked the chocolate, maybe not wowed by it, but I really like chocolate in general. I ordered the andouille and cheddar omelette. Very good but also very heavy. I couldn't eat too much of it. What I could definitely finish though and what I think everyone should order is the grits. Unbelievably good! You get the choice of grits or potatoes. I tried the potato's off my friend's plate and was not overly impressed.. average potatoes. But amazing grits! I definitely recommend ordering the grits. And the biscuit was buttery goodness. I really love butter so I was very pleased.
Service was okay. We were a bit put off at first because the lady gave our table away when our friend was literally across the street and waiting for the green light. Our name was called, we pointed to the direction of our friend, who appeared next to us about 10 seconds later and all she could say was, "already gave your table away." I'm sure she's used to people pulling the "oh, she's just parking the car.." and then not appearing for another 30 minutes but after you've given other parties "last call for so-and-so party of x" and waiting that 10 seconds for them to respond, it's a little frustrating that you wouldn't give our friend that time to cross the street. We get that you have a policy of not seating incomplete parties, but c'mon.. seriously?! We ended up having to wait another half hour for our table. I can't say the food was worth that extra wait..
Overall, I'm happy with the food and will only go as a party of 2 (hungry Jess is not happy Jess).
More like a 3.5 stars.
I was very excited to try the beignets. I must say, I don't know what the hype was all about, I was disappointed. We tried the craw fish as an appetizer and the chocolate for dessert - both were okay. I was expecting better and this is why:
a. the dough on the craw fish beignet were 1) too thick, 2) enough filling, 3) was over cooked (too hard)
b. too salty on the craw fish beignet.
c. the chocolate one was okay - tasted like the chocolate croissant from Starbucks, but in a warm crispy dough.
For our main course, I ordered the catfish egg benedict, my gf ordered the fritata, and her bf ordered the oyster & bacon scramble. One word: BOMB.
I will definitely come back here again, but not for their beignets.
P.S.
The wait was horrendously long! We waited for 1.5 hours. Just be prepared to stand around outside. Bring a book.
Came on a beautiful Friday morning for lunch with a few friends. You can immediately spot the restaurant a block away by the cluster or people waiting outside to get seated.
Brenda's is a small establishment that is best suited for small parties of 2 or 3, preferably 2. The staff is friendly and do their best to accommodate all the patrons, both seated and waiting. It can be quite a long wait for your food though...
Ordered the following:
Beignet Flight (plain, crawfish, chocolate and spiced apple)
Po'Boy Fried Shrimp Sandwich
Po'Boy Fried Oyster Sandwich
Hangtown Fry a bacon and fried oyster scramble with potato hash and a biscuit
Sweet Watermelon House Tea
Coffee
The beignets were delicious. I could eat the chocolate and spiced apple one everyday. They come out freshly baked and oh so warm. The shrimp and oyster sandwiches were good. I would suggest getting the shrimp over the oyster Po'Boy sandwich. Of course you have to choose the biscuit over the toast. Butter that thing up and top it with some jam and you are good to go. The coffee...that was interesting. Not the best. Everything else was great though!
Another fabulous find in the TL. I've only been here for brunch, but wow was it great. Although there is always a wait here, it wasn't too bad when we went early(ish) on a Saturday morning (less of a wait than there would have been at Mama's over at Washington Square). We started out with the plain beignets --evidently I'm a plain person--and they were nice and fluffy and sweet. I had the french toast--best french toast I've ever had (and my dad, a sweets aficionado, agreed). The fiance had a really tasty omelet with spicy sausage, which was also really yummy.
Comfy, home-style breakfast in the not-so-comfy TL. Gotta love it though.
Best place in town for a savory breakfast. Favorites -- crawfish beignets, grits and grillades, sloppy josephine, gumbo, coffee.
My friend would say it is the best place in town if you like a sweet breakfast !
Delicious. I dine here every time I'm in S.F.
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