Morning Bloom Breakfast and Lunch — Restaurant in Allendale

Was quite excited to try out a new restaurant. Menu looked very appealing, reviews were quite excellent as well. Was immediately put off by the very bad covers of pop songs playing on the patio, I know it’s trivial but they were quite insufferable. You can tell that the place was an old steakhouse - very dark interior with lots of fake plants and flowers.

We were not impressed by the lack of drink options. They did not have any kind of skim/low-fat milk (only whole) and there were no syrups for the coffee. We opted for the iced tea and arnold palmer - both fine but overpriced for what it was.

My party of 3 ordered the bacon egg and cheese sliders, the mac n cheese bowl, the lemon ricotta pancakes, and the eggs benedict. The bacon egg and cheese sliders looked nice at first but were rather abysmal. They came with frittatas that had peppers and mushrooms (not listed on the menu) and had a singular tiny piece of bacon. The buns were tepid and dry. The entire slider was underseasoned and bland. We told the restaurant staff that the sliders were not as expected (because of the peppers) and they politely took them off our bill.

The mac n cheese bowl was nice but very plain, could have done with some seasoning. Eggs benedict was nice but also very standard. Hollandaise was very bland. Potato hash on the side had peppers and onions (not listed on the menu) but was quite nice. Lemon ricotta pancakes were nice but very underwhelming. The side of whipped ricotta was unnecessary - I would opt for a whipped cream/ricotta mix instead of straight ricotta on the side.

The overall service and restaurant staff were very nice. But for a place that advertises itself as a high end and elevated breakfast spot, this place severely underdelivered. Simple tweaks to the menu and preparation could quickly elevate this restaurant. With a lot of competition from some high end brunch places nearby, it will be hard for them to carve a space in the market. Came in with high expectations, left...

Morning Bloom is perfect. I am a local who has eaten there five times since the opening two weeks ago. I am a breakfast person who makes the rounds at several local breakfast / lunch places (all really good btw). The two words I would use for the food I have eaten at Morning Bloom are “thoughtful” and “delicate.” For example the waffle was delicately crisp on the outside and airy on the inside with a thoughtfully prepared bourbon maple syrup. Just looking at my French toast the edge had a thin line of carmelization while the center was the color of French vanilla ice cream which continued through the whole slice because the custard batter was 100% infused (compared to flat or dried in the center French toast I’ve had at other places). The fruit is fresh and ripe. The cappuccino and brewed coffees are excellent and hot. The orange juice is excellent. The carrot ginger muffin bites were lightly crisp and moist. On a Friday in Lent, for lunch I ordered a custom asparagus, Swiss, and smoked salmon omelette which blew my mind. Each of those ingredients had their own personality…not lost in the mix…that get back to “thoughtful” and “delicate.” The ambiance is beautiful and peaceful. Even the coffee mugs are thoughtful..they are slightly hourglass shaped so you get a warm in your hand when enjoying your coffee or tea. The staff is knowledgeable, friendly and attentive. Looking forward when the weather is nice enough to eat outside in the Allendale Mural Courtyard (btw, the new Allendale mural is scheduled to be installed in a few months). This restaurant is another blessing from Eddie, Adi, Ronnie and Danny Veseli who also own Meza Luna Bistro and the Allendale...

Maybe we had an off morning. I was really hyped up to come here since the reviews are great and the ambiance and decor are very cozy and warm.

First we ordered the lemon ricotta bites. It came with six pieces and I bit into the first one and there was wet batter in the middle so they took it back and said they’d fry them more…. I thought… ok, so they’ll give us the same ones refried…. And sure enough it came out with only 5 bites. So they threw away the one I tried, put them back in fryer and gave them back. They were yummy but not very lemony. Would be good served with a lemon curd.

My son’s burger he ordered medium and it came out completely charred and he thought it was onion inside but it was just the meat chunks. He didn’t even want to eat 1/4 of it and usually he eats an entire burger in 5 mins! My avocado toast was just OK. The poached eggs were totally over cooked and not runny. The silver dollar pancakes were not silver dollar - they were a little oily and not the same as my friend showed me a picture of the day before. The waitress was puzzled too and asked the kitchen and said they just changed them for some reason that day. My husbands pork belly was all grizzle. I know pork belly is fatty but this was extra.

The service was great and our waitress was very nice. We didn’t complain (other than the lemon bites) bc I didn’t want to make a fuss. Sad bc I wanted to like this place but for $110 including tip - I thought we’d be blown away. Like I said maybe an off day - but probably won’t...