The Breakfast Club at Midtown — Restaurant in San Jose

We stopped by on a Monday at noon since we were in the area. It wasn't too busy, and we got seated right away. The host didn't do a good job welcoming us in. She walked to our table where we were going to be seated but never mentioned "this way, please" so we were confused if we should follow or not. The table was very petite; we were a party of 2 and got sat at a small table. A woman who came in after ate alone and got a big table. The small table was very cramped, and it was cluttered with all the condiments, so we had no arm space.

We ordered our food and drinks. Our coffee arrived extremely cold, as if it was just sitting in the pot for a while. We asked for warm coffee, and the servers said, "There's a Starbucks next door. You could go there for warm coffee." 40 mins later our food arrives. The server delivers the food and says, "Oh my, will there be enough space to fit all this food here?" There clearly wasn't enough space, but she left one of our plates sticking out to the walkway. A bunch of people were walking by and weren't paying attention to the plate sticking out, which I don't blame them since it shouldn't be sticking out, and nearly dropped it. We ended up having to move all the condiments on the floor to create space since no one offered us a bigger table, and when requested a bigger table, we were told they couldn't do that (there were a lot of tables available) or asked if we wanted the condiments removed.

I ordered the steak and eggs and requested a medium rare steak. The steak arrived super well done. My girlfriend ordered carnitas egg Benedict and her food arrived cold as if it had been sitting for a while. We attempted to notify our server, but she didn't come by at all. We tried getting her attention multiple times, but it was like she was ignoring us. We waited 15 mins and nothing and ended up eating a little. I ended up not eating the steak. The pancakes were very bland, yes, they looked appealing, but the taste wasn't there.

Once our server returned, it was to give us the check. We attempted to pay right away, but she walked away, and we were forced to wait an additional 10 mins. My girlfriend mentioned requesting boxes to go, but we were at the point where we didn't want to wait any longer since we were there for nearly 2 hours having a bad experience. We didn't eat all our food, just mainly nibbled on it since we were disappointed with its delivery and couldn't get it corrected.

The bussers there did an outstanding job! As soon as a table cleared, they cleaned it and got it ready all within a minute. The bussers should be getting paid more since they're the ones ensuring there are tables available for customers. I could only imagine how hard they work on the weekends.

The food presentation is there and looks delicious, but it lacks quality in taste. I could understand the service on a busy weekend; however, that wasn't the case for a Monday. They were probably at 40% compacity, and customer service was lacking tremendously. We went to Starbucks next door after to get a fresh warm coffee since the one we had was extremely cold. The baristas at Starbucks told us how the experience at the breakfast club was terrible, and they ended up pointing out everything wrong without us having to give them our opinion. The fact that we had the same experience as them isn't a coincidence. I wouldn't recommend going here if you're in the area; it's probably best to go to a cafe that serves breakfast. Those spots usually deliver delicious breakfasts. Overall, I would rate my experience at the breakfast...

I love going out for brunch on weekends, but most popular spots in the area tend to get really packed—and The Breakfast Club at Midtown is no exception. I went on a Saturday around 11 AM and the wait was about 45 minutes. Just a heads-up: they don’t have a call-ahead or waitlist app system. Everything is done the old-fashioned way. You have to show up in person, have the host write your name down, and wait for them to call your name out. Since there's no designated waiting area, you'll likely have to wait outside on the street. Plus, the restaurant was packed. I really wish they had more servers for better service—it felt like the staff was stretched a bit thin during peak hours. So if you’re coming with family, especially parents or elders, I’d recommend either going at a non-peak time or trying somewhere else that’s more accommodating.

On the plus side, there’s a parking garage directly behind the restaurant, which made parking super convenient.

Since we had already planned to grab coffee at Chromatic Coffee, the timing worked out perfectly. We put our name down, drove over for coffee, and returned just in time-only had to wait about 5 more minutes before being seated. Chromatic is a well-known local roastery and cafe, so if you're a coffee enthusiast or need a caffeine fix, it's a great option just a 2-minute drive away.

Now on to the food!

We ordered the shrimp and crab omelette, which comes with herb potatoes or hash browns, plus toast or coffee cake. We picked hash browns and coffee cake—but just realized as I’m writing this that we never actually received the coffee cake. A bit of a bummer.

As an Asian diner, I usually skip seafood dishes at non-seafood restaurants. But I’d recently had an amazing seafood omelet in Hawaii, so I gave this one a try—and it did not disappoint. Both the shrimp and crab tasted fresh, perfectly cooked, and moist. There was a generous amount of seafood, and the hollandaise sauce on top tied it all together beautifully.

We also ordered the Midtown Trio, which lets you choose any three items from their sweet pancake/French toast menu. We got the blueberry lemon ricotta pancakes, peach cobbler pancakes, and brioche French toast.

I enjoyed the pancakes much more than the French toast. The blueberry lemon ricotta pancakes were lightly sweet with a refreshing touch, and the fresh blueberries on top were a nice bonus. However, I wasn’t a fan of the drizzle on top—it’s supposed to be a cream cheese drizzle, but it tasted more like tahini and didn’t really pair well.

The peach cobbler pancakes were excellent. The peaches were fresh and perfectly caramelized with just the right amount of sweetness.

The French toast, on the other hand, was pretty average—not bad, but nothing memorable.

Overall, it's a great casual brunch spot where you don't need to dress up-I loved it and would definitely go back. Just plan ahead for the wait, and don’t forget to double-check your order if you’re expecting that...

The reviews are true - the wait is an hour on the weekends. BE PREPARED TO WAIT

Came here at exactly 9:30 am on a Saturday to get brunch with a friend, party of 2. When I arrived, it looked like 10 parties were already waiting right up at front. We didn't get seated until 10:23 am, and waitress was so busy she didn't get to take our orders until 10:31 am.

Not going to lie, the wait sucked. Luckily I was in good company because I was meeting up with my friend and we had a lot to catch up on. But if I was waiting with someone who was not good company, it would have been a rough and never-ending wait. The hostess gives you their menu right when you are seated (greatly appreciated--seems like a given but it's not based on my experience eating at brunch places elsewhere)!

The Menu: LOTS of options. Literally something for everyone--vegan, vegetarian, meat-eaters, etc. As a vegetarian myself it was nice to see so many choices!

What we ordered: Strawberry Waffle ($13) Chocolate Chip Pancakes ($11) Gorgonzola Scramble with Hash Brown and Coffee Cake ($15) Note--this dish came with a free cup of coffee! Fresh squeeze orange juice ($4)

The food was delicious! 5/5. HUGE portions, really fresh and yummy. The waitress seemed very nice, too. They input your orders via a tablet/iPad? I wasn't paying too much attention exactly what form of electronic device it was. We paid via credit card.

Strawberry waffle - a lot more strawberry glaze than I anticipated... but I enjoyed the maple syrup, whipped cream and slice of watermelon it was served with.

Orange juice - REALLY fresh (it truly did taste freshly squeezed!) What a great price--a large glass for only $4!

My friend ordered the chocolate chip pancakes and gorgonzola scramble. She enjoyed it! Of course, she couldn't finish it and had to take it all home haha. Our waitress was so kind to get us to-go boxes right away! (Some places take a while, but not here!!)

Really enjoyed the food! The wait just was long. Overall, it did feel like the hostess was very organized. Perhaps in the future this restaurant should implement electronic text messaging wait lists or phone calls so that customers can leave/do other activities while waiting. If you miss hearing your name being called... I mean, that's it. We stood right up at the front of the restaurant the entire hour like everyone else and waited for our turn to be seated.

Oh...one last thing... parking was a struggle. I did, however, get SUPER lucky with neighborhood street parking. My friend parked in the garage--it happened to be free. If you want to avoid the crowd, perhaps arrive right when they open or be prepared to wait!

In conclusion 5/5 for the food 3/5 for the wait--it felt...