The Brunch Apothecary — Restaurant in Lawrenceville

The wonderful thing about dining at this spot is that you could come here 100x and never have the same thing twice. The rotation and variety of the specials, grounded on a foundation of an exceptional menu, makes eating here a real treat. It’s so refreshing to see a brunch spot that stays away from gimmicks and sticks to what is important: incredibly delicious food paired with attentive and friendly service. There are few places like this that still exist.

Today I had the Waffle Special which is their Cornbread Waffle topped with Green Tomato Chow Chow. It’s pairedd with a white BBQ sauce and buttermilk fried chicken (tenders 2x).

I’ve never had a less than stellar experience with the fried chicken tenders. They know what they’re doing because they are never over nor under cooked, literally perfect every time I’ve had them.

With this dish in particular, though I loved the friendliness of my server, she didn’t accurately describe to me what chow chow is. I truly had no idea what it was, but it’s actually like a pickled relish. She described it as a slaw and the two are fundamentally very different. I found that the amount of chow chow served on my portion made the dish unbalanced due to the intensity of the relish. I love a great pickled accruement (I’ve had their pickled red onions many times over), but even looking at the pictures attached, you can see that it definitely was quite a lot on the dish. I also didn’t get server enough white BBQ sauce and the server kind of took notice and asked if I desired more. It could be my portion was misfired today, but I needed to start with the negatives before I lord on the positives.

The white BBQ sauce was out of this world. I couldn’t believe how nuanced it was in its tanginess and its subtle sweetness. The composition is complex - something that A LOT of BBQ sauce (white or not) completely miss. The consistency is more along the lines of a vinegar-based sauce but it IS creamy, so maybe like a blue cheese dressing but just the perfect consistency.

I wish the way the dish was presented was more balanced, because each component on their own was actually really awesome. The cornbread waffle… just WOW. It was LIGHT, FLUFFY, and FLAVORFUL! I don’t know how many could tell, but they treated their cornbread waffle with as much love as you would any Belgian style waffle, with the waves of vanilla that coated every bite. It provided a subtle sweetness that was the perfect pair to the acid of the chow chow and the heaviness of the chicken. I would say this CORNBREAD waffle was LIGHTER than their Belgian. Just.. wow…..

Overall, TODAY was a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2 star experience, but The Brunch Apothecary is my overall 5 start brunch go-to because of just how high they raise the bar. Their specials are always creative and usually hit every single mark. Thank you to my wonderful server Izzy for being so awesome. In the past I’ve also enjoyed being greeter by Lily and Breanna (sp on both, please, haha). Anyway, much love to this gem of an...

Really I’d give this restaurant 2.5 stars but that’s not an option on google and I’m not rounding up.

Food Review

The Cure All: 4/5 -We got 2 eggs fried well, a biscuit, city ham, and the fruit and honey yogurt. the biscuit is large and fluffy and the ham was good. Decided to split the biscuit and make a sandwich out of the sides and it was good, but nothing amazing. We would’ve liked the option to add other toppings like tomato, avocado, spinach, cheese, sauce, etc.

Cajun Shrimp and Grits: 1/5 -Don’t get it lol. Truly the worst shrimp and grits we’ve ever tasted. They were extremely watery and my mother had to slurp it like soup. There was no flavor in the grits, shrimp, or gravy; though the gravy just mixed with the rest of the watery concoction so I can’t say what it tasted like. Just a flavorless, liquidy mess. Didn’t even taste salt. The shrimp was well-cooked.

Chicken and Churro Waffle: 4/5 -This was my meal and I enjoyed it. The chicken was well seasoned and tasty. The waffle surprisingly tasted just like a churro and was not too sweet. The guava butter was also good. Not very sweet but still flavorful.

Biscuit and Gravy: 1/5 -The gravy is completely flavorless, which makes me wonder what all the specks in it were because surely it was not seasoning. It genuinely tasted like nothing. Even the sausage tasted like nothing.

We also received a random piece of toast that we didn’t order.

We really wanted to like this restaurant considering how busy it was, but the food here is truly nothing special. It didn’t meet our expectations and we won’t be back.

Customer service Review: 3/5

We arrived at 1 PM on a Saturday and the parking lot was packed, so I called the restaurant from my car and asked what the wait time would be for 3 people. I was told 50 minutes, so my family and I decided to order our food to go. It was ready in 25 minutes. When I entered the restaurant, there was a group of white middle-aged women standing by the register chatting. I assumed they were also customers because they all simply looked at me, then continued their conversation. I waited at the register for 3 minutes and it wasn’t until a young black girl (who was walking by as she swept) stopped and asked me if I’d been helped, that one of the women chatting in the group greeted me and asked if I was picking up a to go order. I assume she is a manager because she looked much older than the other employees. I found it very impolite that this woman disregarded me when I initially walked in, seeing as she also works at the restaurant. Poor manners. However the young girl who was sweeping and the young freckled girl who helped me at the...

We gathered here to celebrate a birthday, and we couldn’t have found a more amazing place for brunch! It was our first time to visit this quaint restaurant in a beautiful old home that’s been converted into a wonderful place to eat. Our first indication that this is a special place was the line that was already formed at the door prior to their 9am opening. If people arrive early and are willing to stand in line just to get in, then you know you’re in the right place. We were ushered to a nice table in a pretty dining area that must have been the original family’s living room with a fireplace. Brianna was our server and she took fantastic care of us! She helped us with the daily specials and knew the menu and food prep backwards and forwards so she was able to help with some dietary restrictions and substitutions. All the dishes we ordered were sizable portions and so very tasty. Regrettably, I neglected to take any photos of our food because as soon as the dishes were presented they were so beautiful and appetizing that we dug in immediately. I can say that 2 of us had the Fried green tomatoes that were the best we’d ever had. 2 of us had the seasonal pumpkin waffles and they were delicious. One of the Build-A-Biscuit feature was served with cheddar grits, 2 eggs over medium, Gouda cheese, and country fried steak. Quite impressive and it was devoured in its entirety. Another Build-A-Biscuit saw one fried egg and bacon. It was wiped out as well. The Steak and Eggs entree was prepared perfectly and was so very good. The Biscuit Casserole special had a Southwest flair that made it special and super filling. We threw in some eggs and mixed fruit on the side just to keep the feasting going. And at the end of the meal Brianna brought out a 1/4 waffle birthday surprise with a candle so we could all sing and embarrass the birthday girl. All in all, this was one of the best total dining experiences we’ve had. We...