Sandpiper Cafe — Restaurant in Juneau

The food here is good. I'd give it 4.5 stars. It is pricey, but you get a lot of food for the cost. The portions are large enough for 2-3 meals if you can contain your gluttony for how delicious it is.

The service, though, is what drops my rating from a 5 to a 3. It just downright sucks. There have been times I have had a good experience with the service, but 80% of the time it's a giant turd sandwich. What you can expect when you walk in is someone to let you know they'll be right with you, then disappear for 10 minutes. Eventually people will continue to file in, and the small waiting area will become very crowded. You'll look around and see plenty of tables available and set, and wonder how come the hoard that is now clogging the waiting area and breeze way hasn't been sat yet. Eventually someone will come to the podium, and begin seating people. It doesn't matter if you're there first or last, because the waiting area is so packed, whoever is right in front of the podium is seated first.

Table service is 50/50. Sometimes you'll get good service, other times they'll forget to fill your drinks, bring the check, or there will be confusion about which table they are waiting on.

I came here one morning, and had my food within ten minutes. The next day I waited 45 minutes to get my food. Half that wait time was for someone to take the order.

I imagine the only reason the place is still in business is because the food is some of the...

I asked the bartender at the Red Dog Saloon, "Where can I get a good breakfast tomorrow?" Without hesitation she said the Sandpiper Cafe.

This place is the absolute perfect example of classic American breakfast. The omelet was so good I couldn't slow myself from eating it real fast. Then breakfast potatoes were something a little different than I've had before, but loved them. The toast was delicious.

I also tried the pancake with ricotta and it was perfect. The French toast looked amazing on other peoples' table. The biscuits and gravy looked amazing. The Benedict was delicious, my friend said. Her latte was also excellent.

We went up on the tram and at the restaurant we stopped for a drink. They asked if we needed a menu and we said we just ate at Sandpiper. The guy was jealous.

Note that their logo has the bird wearing those cool boots everyone has. I wanted to buy a t-shirt, but they didn't have my size.

Just a heads up: the staff shortage also hit here, and we had a bit of a wait for our food. The waitress was super kind and kept us informed and happy. Honestly, I would've waited hours to get their food. It was just one of the best breakfasts I've ever had in my life. I'm thinking about moving...

Thursday breakfast at 9:30 was hopping, and staff struggled to keep up. The setup is to order and pay before you sit down, so if you know what you're ordering ahead of time, that will help you.

The good: we ordered a baked--the daily special with a combo of eggs, vegetables, and potatoes. It was big enough we split it between two of us, and the food quality was top notch. The vibe is interesting--lawmakers discussing politics, tour operators meeting clients, and others going out just because.

The bad: I felt bad for people who came behind us as they waited in line and our food took 18 minutes to arrive. 5 minutes later, we were able to ask for jelly, ketchup, and about the status of our coffee. Our coffee didn't arrive until a few minutes before we were finished. (Reason given was that cups were being sanitized, but there were racks of clean coffee cups in the kitchen.) The promised extra plate never did arrive.

I emphasize with businesses because I know staffing is short everywhere. The staff here was working hard, but didn't appear to be trained to be very efficient with keeping up on customers and...