Boulevard Cafe & Grill — Restaurant in Petaluma

Update: I originally wrote this review 2 weeks after moving to California from Colorado. Since then, my opinions about breakfast menu pricing in Cali have changed a bit (I would call this a better buy than I previously thought), but my initial thoughts about the warmth and welcome that this place provides have only intensified. Let me explain - when we moved to CA, we had spent our entire savings, layoff compensation and most of our meager retirement savings to have a home ready for us when we got here and to cover the costs of moving and travel not included in my wonderful job offer. We got up the morning after we arrived in our beautiful home in Petaluma with $150, enough gas for a couple of weeks, and nothing to sit or lay our heads on for at least 5 days until our furniture was scheduled to arrive. We were exhausted from 4 days of travel with horses and two pets, fast food, and nothing left to sleep in but our sleeping bags - nowhere to sit but carpet. We were pretty sure of having another paycheck later that day, but not guaranteed - so we took a huge chance on giving ourselves a break with breakfast at Cafe Boulevard because we loved the menu. The food was AMAZING - I've never ordered steak at breakfast, but I've always loved chilaquiles, and the owner recommended that over something else because of the steak that came with it. IT WAS SO FREAKING GOOD! I expected not to be able to eat the steak (at $11-12, how could a steak meal with everything else be good?), but I scarfed that perfectly seasoned and cooked steak down with my meal (at least the bites I got after my daughter tasted it) savoring every single bit. My daughter (I'm a single mom) loved her meal too (pancakes or crepes, I can't remember, but her favorite now are the crepes), but what really touched us, and has kept us coming back ever since that day almost 5 months ago, was the warmth and friendliness and care for our comfort. It's impossible to describe how wonderful this owner really is - the look on his face; you can tell he's not faking it and that he really cares about you. Like I said we have gone back many times, and while I thought that was just a one-off because maybe we looked so lost, he REMEMBERED us from that very first visit - and still gives us his best attention! Today I took a guest to Sax's Joint because they wanted to try the chicken and waffles - let me just say, I have a review for that visit too, and we'll never go back. Not only is the food better at Cafe Boulevard, but after paying $75 for a meal that wasn't as good, and having problems with the service, I felt like I'd betrayed Cafe Boulevard by not being there in a while (we haven't gone for breakfast in a couple of months, I hope he remembers us), but also that we'd betrayed ourselves. Totally, wholeheartedly, 100% recommend - and it definitely reflects the wonderful welcome and hometown feel of Petaluma overall that we've fallen in love with since we got here. For sure, we're hitting up Cafe Boulevard for breakfast next paycheck.

Original review: A little pricey for breakfast, but we're still getting used to CA and I did after all have steak with my chilaquiles (that my daughter half scarfed down). The menu is AWESOME - where else can you get really great crepes with decent chilaquiles on the same menu? We definitely plan to go back - many times. Over the top service absolutely made the day. The only reason I rated it four stars was the decor and...

The staff was friendly enough but there was other issues. I had two eggs fried over medium, hash browns(extra crispy), bacon, English muffin, coffee. Three strips of nicely prepared bacon were the highlight of the meal. The hash browns were lightly browned and drenched in grease. I sent the hash browns back to be browned further. One of my egg yolks was broken, cooked and hidden under the bacon. Butter wasn't available nor offered for the English muffin (English muffin was discreetly buttered). Additional napkins unavailable. I'm sure I could have gotten butter and napkins had I just asked but I didn't want to keep asking staff for items that should have been available or offered. This is my first visit and I'm really disappointed. I was hoping for a good place I could get...

We went as a group of 9 on a Sunday morning. Time from ordering to get food was a little long but completely expected. They did forget to bring a couple extra waters and we did have to ask a couple times for a side of fruit, but otherwise the staff is really nice and seemed to be on top of things. The man who helped seemed very genuine. I didn't catch his name. Good variety of food on menu, the menu itself was really nicely printed and easy to understand. Portions aren't huge like at some places but I left completely satisfied and the flavors of mine were great. I got the crab Benedict, it was delicious! My husband got green chilaquiles, and he enjoyed it. My husband really enjoyed the "Energizer" drink. We plan to return when...