The Egg & Us — Restaurant in Issaquah

Very disappointed - I’ve been a customer of egg r us for many years and I’ve always been happy with the service and menu. Sadly this morning I made an exception to my usual choice and chose an Omelette actually the manager took my order which was off menu and simply not wishing to have anything too elaborate chose the three egg omelette plus Feta, spinach a sausage and onion no cheese - I noted that a Feta, cheese, spinach, tomato, avocado Omelette was $12.95 - thought about the Smoked Salmon with Avocado, onions and Mozzarella but at $13.95 decided against it ordered some coffee too. When the Bill came I was quite surprised the bill was just shy $20.00 3.00 for the coffee everything else was the Omelette - each add on was 90 cents apart from the sausage which was $2.50 when I spoke to her about the bill she said “well you built your own and we charge for each item therefore it’s more” - when I asked her that knowing that I’m a customer of many years and you realised that I hadn’t ordered my usual menu item she agreed and said yes “ you normally order the Strada’ - I then said well knowing that and as you already mentioned as a ‘valued customer’ why didn’t you let me know this was not the way to order my omelette as it would certainly cost more. I then asked if I ordered the Feta Cheese omelette with avocado, tomato, spinach & onions instead and just said no cheese would you have removed $1.00 from my bill she said no and proceeded to show me the menu with the build your own Omelette with costs not listed as line items but placed inside a small printed paragraph - I asked her, why she hadn’t pointed this out to me and as a valued customer didn’t just put it down as a Feta cheese omelette minus the cheese and she said she wasn’t prepared to do that because her stock wouldn’t be right I asked if I had asked for the Feta Californian omelette without cheese how she would have written this on the invoice she said she would charge the same just no cheese - I asked how that would be any different. Suffice to say that kind of upset my very logical but fair perspective and if customer service was something that was suggested then it was an experience that I no longer wish to enjoy. Well she kept her extra $5.00 in charges and her tip - though she has lost both my family and my business a new adventure to a new location is on the horizon for my Sunday or off week breakfast schedule - I feel that she was a little shortsighted and it was an immoral way to gain additional revenue from a very...

After it being closed for so long, I had to come in and see if they'd lost anything in the meantime.

I ordered the Chicken Fried Steak, eggs over medium, rye toast and coffee. The coffee was Farmer Bros (which in the Seattle area is definitely sub-par, but many restaurants still haven't upped their coffee game despite the market for it) which wasn't bad, but it was Farmer Bros. They were using the FB fresh ground coffee machine to freshly grind their beans, so maybe this is the coffee story being "upped". I've never had a complaint about FB coffee as long as they don't skimp on the grounds.

I sat at the counter which is a great way to see what happens with the employees. A couple of things I would suggest they stop/start:

Never eat/drink on the floor. I watched toast being consumed. Never groom on the floor. Lint rollers were deployed. That stuff needs to happen out of sight of customers. Speaking in other languages. When an employee can clearly speak English, they should speak to each other in English too. Giving work directions or idle chit chat in other languages in front of customers is considered rude by some if they don't also speak it. Refilling coffee without asking is a big no-no in my book. I have a certain ratio of coffee to creamer that I prefer and when new coffee is added before I've finished, it throws off my ratio. It's a personal pet peeve, but servers should be aware of that with folks who take cream or sugar. Do answer the phone within three rings.

Now, to the breakfast: The browns were perfect and I can't fault them: crispy on the edges, soft and pillowy but firm inside. Seasoned nicely with what looked like Lawry's Season Salt. The CFS was nice and meaty. The breading was a little salty and thick for my taste. The gravy was also a bit salty, but generally pleasant. I didn't detect any sausage or bacon in it, but I figure it had at least bacon grease and onions in it. Again, pleasant if not a bit salty. This can happen when it sits and concentrates on the stove.

One of my over-medium eggs was broken (which for a line cook is a cardinal sin). I personally don't mind it but I know people that would send it back for that reason. You don't order them OM to have them hard cooked and broken.

Overall, the breakfast was very good. There is room for improvement, but there usually is. I'm very glad to see them back in business. 3.5 years without the Egg & Us was way too long. I wish them well and hope they can get a better score from me...

Remember, remember the 12th of November. Unfortunately, I'll remember November 12th as the day I went without drink refills until my meal was over. My coffee mug and water glass sat empty for my entire meal and I had not seen the server since the obligatory "2 Minute Check-Back". Poor service is something I don't understand, having been a server for 9 years myself, I always strived to make sure I was attentive and friendly as my income relied heavily on gratuities. Only when they left the check on the table did they ask me if I wanted more to drink.

The food was...good enough. I had the corned beef and hash which was averagde, but the star was the handmade jam. This otherwise ordinary meal that failed to wow really fell short without any beverage to wash it down. As this is the second visit I have made to Egg & Us, the first being with my parents where we waited over an hour for our food and I received a cold waffle with still hard butter, I will not be returning for a third.

Updated due to response: ownership has responded below stating that the restaurant was busy and I should have asked someone. I should have stated in the review that there were six servers on staff the day of my meal and each section had 2-3 tables at 11am on a Tuesday. If this is busy, I shudder to think what a Sunday morning would look like where service is concerned with a full house. I find this response to be a copout, clearly defensive, and lacking in sincerity. Blame the customer for not asking? Not all customers want to stop random people and ask for a refill, especially when they have a laptop and are more focused on their work than doing a server's job for them. If your servers cannot anticipate a single diner's needs based on an empty mug and glass sitting on their table, then some serious training is needed. If you blame your customers for not asking, you're going...