Is Tacoma a brunch town? Our food writer goes here for Dutch babies & bloodies
Last year, it felt like perhaps the tide was shifting.
Side Piece Kitchen took flight on big biscuits and extravagant cheesecakes. Buddy's Chicken and Waffles and Howdy Bagel likewise attract fans from far beyond Tacoma before noon. Manuscript debuted in February 2024 with a weekend brunch now core to its identity, and Three Hearts opened last fall with daytime-only hours. Other new or updated restaurants, including Amor Wine and Tapas, The New Frontier Lounge and Indita Mia in its new waterfront location, have leaned into the mid-morning feast, wherein copious beverages must be consumed per the undisputed Law of Brunch.
Field Bar, one of the most ambitious restaurants in Tacoma, known for hyper-seasonality and a frequently rotating menu, also dabbled with weekend-morning service. The food differed from its evening fare in that it focused on a few consistent dishes done incredibly well: fluffy eggs folded with roasted duck onto a Balloon Roof Baking Co. English muffin, French toast bread pudding, an herbaceous green shakshuka. The drinks were, unsurprisingly, an equal draw, with a Jin Jin matcha spritz and a mezcal bloody with pickled horseradish. Yet the crowds didn't show, and brunch is a heavy load, even if it seems like it's not. They scaled back to once a month early this year before hitting a hard pause. Instead, they will focus on special events, including wine dinners and private parties on their usual off-days of Sunday and Monday.
I was sad to hear the news but understand the calculation from an ingredient and labor perspective. Then I suffered a different kind of disappointment — in myself: Why had it taken me, the local food reporter, several months to settle into a barstool at one of my favorite restaurants on a leisurely Saturday afternoon? Am I an unwitting member of the apparent cohort of Tacomans who just aren't big on brunching? Am I too old, too friend-less? Or is Tacoma simply not a brunch town?
What likely started as a post-church meal, first printed by a British author in 1895, the concept of brunch has assuredly infiltrated the American psyche. In some cities, people stand in line for hours to dine on fare that chefs often lament you can easily make at home — or at least that you could have at any old spot, as the television show Portlandia satirized in its Emmy-winning 'Brunch Village' episode.
'We got the Triple Play. We got the cup 'o joe, side 'o dough. We got the Early Morning Eye Opener — all $1.99,' says Ed Begley Jr. as the owner of the retro diner/drugstore ignored by a horde of people, including the mayor, waiting in a laughably long line for a table at a fictitious brunch haven called The Fisherman's Porch.
Around Tacoma, the plentiful sea of busy diners like The Pine Cone and Hob Nob, as well as modern brunch destinations like Art House Cafe, Cooks Tavern and Le Sel Bistro, would seemingly refute any broad anti-brunch sentiment. But is it brunch if the menu never changes, and you can get it on a Tuesday?
As a frequent restaurant diner and an avid home cook in a household always trying to one-up our last bodega-style breakfast sandwich, I'm not keen on waiting in line for a veggie omelet. I've also worked brunch shifts, as a server and a bartender, and empathize with the many hospitality pros who trash the weekend ritual for its reputation as a leftover-food ruse, a pit of lower prices which lead to lower tips, or as just a drag after a late night and a long week. At my first restaurant job, we had to serve so many lattes and cappuccinos that I became the de facto espresso queen, spending my Sundays almost exclusively making drinks in between running food and bussing tables. At another, a thin and motley crew of what we jokingly coined the B-team worked without a dishwasher until 4 p.m.
So, when I brunch, I prefer a restaurant that serves food I can't easily or don't frequently make at home. See: sky-high quiche, pancake alternatives like Dutch babies; brown-sugar-soaked pork belly; and ostensibly not-brunch dishes like fried catfish and collards with a side of hush puppies, or homemade gorditas with wake-me-up salsa. I also want coffee and a cocktail and beer and soda water, all at once.
All of the places mentioned above are fun choices, but here's a deeper look at four spots that I keep in my back pocket to satisfy specific needs without a weird wait. Per Brunch Law, they all have a bar, but they also cater to families and anyone who wants to feast in the middle of the day with beverages a-plenty, no matter when your 'weekend' might be.
▪ 203 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, 253-212-0779, manuscripttacoma.com
▪ Brunch hours: Saturday-Sunday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (dinner served Wednesday-Sunday)
▪ Best for: breezy weekend brunch with a shareable modern menu and frequent vinyl DJs
▪ Reservations recommended for weekend prime time; most dishes $14-$18, cocktails $15
The edgy nighttime vibes of Eda Johnson's Stadium District restaurant turns breezy on weekend mornings when natural light spills through skylights and, weather permitting, the garage-door rolls up and the lounge-y patio opens. Banana bread pudding here is deep-fried and drizzled with a buttered-rum sauce. The 'Lemongrab' Dutch baby, in a cast-iron skillet, features tart, seasonal house jam and lemon curd with the freshest of fresh whipped cream. A nicely spiced tomato sauce surrounds two runny Eggs in Purgatorio, and hunks of cider-braised pork belly are joined by latkes and apple chutney. You can also get a notable smashburger and Reuben, chilaquiles and an awesome Caesar salad. Local beer, draft wine and solid cocktails — including one of the city's best bloodies, an all-day espresso martini served neat or on the rocks (like an iced latte) and thoughtful NA sippers — make Manuscript the kind of brunch that says, 'Let's brunch,' with confidence. Check Instagram for Vinyl Brunch dates, usually Saturdays starting at 11 a.m.
▪ 1116 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, 253-201-7742, threeheartstacoma.com
▪ Standard hours: Monday-Friday 6 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
▪ Best for: weekday brunch and pastries for the table or on-the-go
▪ Walk-ins only (order at the counter, then find a seat); most dishes $13-$18
Three Hearts has brought a destination-worthy brunch option to Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood that manages to also be casual and befitting of a weekday visit — especially if you prefer to eschew brunch-addicted crowds. Indulge in a sweet or savory Dutch baby, the latter served benedict-style with grilled ham, a poached egg and béarnaise, red-wine-braised brisket hash or a happily vegan tofu scramble. The towering quiche, with a flaky butter-crust, rotates daily. Noteworthy sandwiches include a juicy shaved pork loin on a Macrina baguette and a salmon burger with house slaw on a potato bun. You can just as easily pop in for a pastry: passionfruit-laced morning buns, sausage croissants, pretty little tarts and an array of cookies; they also bake a limited number of whole loaves for retail sale. The space was designed to be family-friendly, but singles and couples can also sit at the bar — which means beverages abound, from Bluebeard espresso and tea to beer, wine, cocktails and zero-proof refreshers.
▪ 1715 Dock St., Tacoma, 253-301-1784, inditamia.restaurant
▪ Brunch hours: Saturday-Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
▪ Best for: brunch with a view and patio, plus fresh-fruit cocktails
▪ Reservations encouraged but walk-ins welcome; parking available on Dock Street (free on Sunday) and select spaces in building's garage (always complimentary); most dishes $15-$18, cocktails $12-$14
Previously home to The Social, a popular Sunday brunch destination for all-day happy hour in the 2010s, this soaring waterfront space and spacious patio has found committed caretakers in Angie and Oreb Apodaca. Indita Mia opened here last year with a colorful dining room outfitted with custom wicker chairs and a striking round bar anchored by a Madrone 'tree' from Guadalajara. Every weekend, brunch reigns with classic Mexican breakfast dishes like huevos divorciados (fried eggs split with rojo and verde salsa) and chilaquiles with house salsas, served on traditional earthenware. But it's the colorful red-velvet pancake stack and pink conchas that will steal your Instagram feed. Try the sweet rolls stuffed with strawberries, cajeta and cream or prepared as French toast. Some of the restaurant's best dinner dishes are also available, including thick, homemade gorditas brimming with carne con chile and the Oaxacan-style wagyu tamal steamed in banana leaves. Pair with a cup of cafe de olla (coffee with piloncillo and canela), rotating agua frescas, tropical juice spritzes and the wonderful fruit cocktails like the Don Mango margarita and Coco Rosa with strawberries, lime, rum and coconut.
▪ 3832 S. Pine St., Tacoma, 253-474-9898, pacsouthtacoma.com
▪ Standard hours: Daily 7 a.m.-8 p.m. (except Tuesday until 2 p.m.)
▪ Best for: late-day brunch in the bar with Southern flair
▪ Walk-ins only; most dishes $6.99-$14.99
This unassuming restaurant off the busy commercial stretch of South 38th Street has been serving Tacoma since 2015. The dining room is straightforward, and it fills up on weekends, especially with families and big tables of friends. Beeline instead through the back door, accessible from the parking lot behind the building, to snag a stool or a high-top table in the lounge. It's a quirky experience where you'll overhear the servers' chatter as they fill iced teas and coffee carafes. Don't be a in rush. Get a bloody mary and a beer. Strike up conversation with your neighbor. Breakfast is served all day, but lunch and dinner dishes start at 11 a.m. Focus on the Southern fare: shrimp and grits, buttermilk-fried chicken with ham-hock collards and baked beans, fried catfish and hush puppies.
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