Another Broken Egg Cafe — Restaurant in Auburn

Today, I had the absolute displeasure of watching the front manager completely disregard my friend’s complaints about her food. I decided to take my friend out to lunch at the Opelika location. My friend, a Maryland native, ordered the crab cake Benedict but promptly realized the crab didn’t taste right. She literally took one bite of the crab cake and expressed her disdain. As a sous chef, I told her to send the plate back. That if there was a fundamental issue with the dish, the manager would alert the kitchen staff and they would fix her food or allow her to order something new. She offered to keep the side dish in exchange for just having a different protein to go with it. Our server- who was super sweet about the whole ordeal- notified the manager of the issue. He comes to the table and after having the problem re-explained by my friend, proceeds to tell us not only do we have to pay for that dish, but pay for the replacement meal she wanted to order. Seeing the confusion on our faces, he tries to explain that this is corporate policy. So we ask where we can find this corporate policy. He says that it’s a verbal policy. She asks for the CORPORATE number and he gives her the GENERAL MANAGER’S number. The general manager then explains that it wasn’t his fault that she found issues with the dish. Says the restaurant was a corporate franchise, but privately owned.

Let’s go through the staff’s mistakes, shall we?

1.) My friend had an issue with the CRAB in the CRAB CAKE. That is a viable reason to have the dish replaced. Period. 2.) She didn’t eat the entire dish. Didn’t eat half. Didn’t eat a quarter. She took a bite and realized it wasn’t to standard and asked for something else. Another acceptable reason to have the dish replaced free of charge. 3.) What corporate policy isn’t put in writing? What legitimate rule was EVER enforced without it being in writing? We aren’t talking about calling dibs or shotgun, you’re playing with a customers money and-quite frankly- the reputation of the restaurant. 4.) The general manger had the audacity to tell my friend that it wasn’t their fault she had an issue. So whose fault is it? 5.) The manager didn’t even TRY to remedy the problem. He attempted to string a bunch of big words together in hopes that no one at the table would understand or dispute him. 6.) I don’t care if the restaurant is privately owned, if you are a part of a corporation, you represent that CORPORATION. It doesn’t matter if it is you, your neighbor or your pastor who owns that building, if a company’s logo is on the door you abide by THEIR rules, because you’re an ambassador for THEIR business.

I have NEVER heard of anything like this happening at any restaurant I’ve eaten or worked at. I was INCREDIBLY disappointed in what happened. I have been to this establishment and the servers have been nothing but sweet. This was my first time speaking with this particular manager. What we thought was supposed to be a quick conversation and an even quicker fix turned into an entire ordeal. It was embarrassing, and by embarrassing I’m talking about the manager. He...

I never write reviews but I felt the need to share my experience. It’s so hard finding gluten free restaurants and broken egg is my go to spot for gluten free pancakes. I recommend this place to everyone but after today this is my last time eating here. I’ve been gluten free for years now due to my severe gluten allergy. The service I received today was absolutely horrendous. I was with my family we all sat together. My mom ordered a pineapple mock tail drink. Her throat and lips were irritated after drinking it. That happens sometimes with pineapple it’s a weird fruit. She told the waiter, he got the female manager and the manager was EXTREMELY passive aggressive the moment she walked to our table. My mom shared that she was having a slight reaction to the drink. It was delicious but she was afraid to keep drinking. The manager asked if we should call 911 in a sarcastic tone. My mom said no she would like to have the drink without the pineapple juice. My mom was very polite. The manager says well the drink you ordered doesn’t have pineapple juice. My mom was confused and I interjected… it DOES have pineapple juice that’s the first ingredient. The manager was gaslighting us until I requested the drink menu back and it had pineapple juice. The manager said whoops my bad. Lots of attitude and sarcasm from the waiter. After that situation, 10-15 mins later the food comes out I ordered three gluten free pancakes and I received only two. The waiter comes out walks over and addresses me directly.. he says hey do you want the third pancake and I said yes (of course I want the three gf pancakes I ordered??)… long story short what I received was NOT gluten free pancakes. I had the same reaction I always have when I’ve come into contact with gluten accidentally. Swelling. Almost like edema/inflammation it takes days sometimes weeks for it to go away. The same manager comes I told her what’s happening. She said oh no should I call the ambulance (SARCASTICALLY) I said I would call the ambulance myself I’m not having an anaphylactic reaction. I promise I would not be standing here talking to you if I was dying. But I always get gluten free pancakes this is not gluten free. The texture everything. Four bites in and I KNEW these were not gluten free. I didn’t care to know how or why but it was not gluten free and I was reacting. My parents confirmed they tasted exactly like their pancakes. She claims it is gluten free. Nevertheless, I told her I’m reacting. Not here to debate with you on if the pancakes are gluten free or not I’m actively swelling this never happens here and I just want a refund. I gave her my plate of pancakes back. She argues with me about what symptoms look like for her celiac best friend. All I wanted in that moment was a refund not a passive aggressive, insinuating I’m lying for no reason, nasty attitude. Never eating here again. That manager is bad news. Never had an experience like this before...

I wasn’t even planning to write a review about this experience — until someone recently told me they had also been unfairly treated here, and they were black like me. Hearing their story made it clear that this isn’t just a one-time issue. This is a pattern, and something seriously needs to be done about how this manager treats people.

During my visit, I was recommended a drink, and I specifically made it clear that I liked champagne in my drinks but didn’t want to spend too much. The bartender kindly suggested a way to adjust it and never once mentioned there would be an upcharge for the substitution. So I assumed that the suggestion was within the price range I expressed I was comfortable with.

When the bill came, I was shocked to find I was charged separately for the champagne and the drink — totaling $20 just for liquor, more than double what I paid for my actual food. I politely asked to speak with a manager, thinking this would be an easy fix since even she admitted the mistake was on their end.

Instead, I was met with an attitude that was aggressive, dismissive, and flat-out rude. She claimed she “couldn’t” take liquor off the bill (which felt like a choice, not a policy), and offered to remove the food instead. But when the revised bill came, she had only taken off half the food, and told me bluntly she wasn’t going to take the rest off because I had already eaten it.

Let me be clear: I didn’t order overpriced liquor knowingly — I would’ve never agreed to that if the cost was made clear upfront. This wasn’t about a few dollars — it was about the principle and how terribly I was treated when I tried to advocate for myself. Her tone was unnecessarily combative, and she made no genuine effort to resolve the issue. It felt less like a customer service encounter and more like being scolded for asking to be treated fairly.

What’s even more upsetting is finding out that I’m not the only one who’s experienced this. When other customers, particularly black ones, are also being met with this same kind of treatment, completely different scenarios, but the same exact treatment. It’s no longer a coincidence. It’s a trend. And it’s unacceptable.

The manager was a caucasian lady wearing heavy black eyeliner both days I visited. After this review, I’m not sure if she’ll still wear that, but I can’t help but wonder if that will be the only change. This experience left a bad taste in my mouth that no brunch can fix. I truly hope management addresses the way this location is being run, because no one deserves to be treated...