Huckleberry Bakery & Cafe — Restaurant in Santa Monica

Can we take a second to talk about the importance of a food allergy?

My boyfriend and I came to Huckleberry for brunch. We got there about 5 minutes after it opened so there was no line, but by the time we had gotten a chance to take a look at the menu, a line of about 10-15 people had formed behind us. I went with the country breakfast and my boyfriend wanted the granola bowl, but as he has an ALMOND ALLERGY, he said if the granola was made with almonds he would go with the Huevos Rancheros.

Now.. He's lived with this almond allergy his whole life so he's very aware that most granola is made with almonds, but he thought he would ask anyway. I should also mention that this was one of the only healthier options on the menu.

We approach the order counter and he says, "Is the granola made with almonds?" To which the cashier says, "It's made with walnuts " He then reiterates, due to her vague answer, "So, no almonds?" And she says "No."

Okay great! Walnuts are great! I've never seen walnuts in granola. Awesome. So he orders his granola and we go sit down.

A few minutes later we're brought our food, and I of course had to take a photo for Insagram before we dug in.

He takes a few bites and is enjoying it before I notice THERE ARE ALMONDS in the granola.

I immediately get up and ask a server if there are almonds in the granola and explain that we asked and we're told they were walnuts. She looks perplexed. She says she's going to go ask someone in the kitchen. The barista next to her asks what was wrong and after explaining she says "Uh, yeah there are definitely almonds in that".

THE BARISTA KNEW. Why doesn't everyone who comes in contact with customers know about an allergen in the food? This is something that needs to be taught in training in the food industry.

I worked in the service industry for the better part of 10 years and allergens have NEVER been overlooked in training. As a server, you type it in CAPS on the ticket to the kitchen. You go talk to the chef. Nobody is served something they are allergic to.

The server ended up asking him what else he wants and they brought out an order of Huevos Rancheros rather quickly. A few minutes after he started eating they also brought a copy of the check which reflected that they refunded us for the granola dish.

The refund was nice, but $12 doesn't cover the possibility of a trip to the ER.

As a whole, in the service industry WE NEED TO BE BETTER. I think a lot of times if someone asks for a gluten free bun or if there's dairy in a dish the person working should either know the answer or be willing to seek out the correct answer. Often times, people aren't being picky or doing it because of a new trend. Allergies still exist and it should be a priority to not send someone into anaphylactic shock because you don't...

Maybe I ordered the wrong things. Maybe it was an off day for the team. Maybe it's just not all it's hyped up to be. I'm an Easy Coast brunch fanatic, so I was thrilled to finally try Huckleberry for Sunday Brunch.

It was an incredibly underwhelming experience for several reasons:

Overpriced and basic egg dishes: the brown rice bowl with two eggs, simple vegetables and chicken came out to $18 including tax and their 3% healthcare surcharge. This is without tip. I ordered the scrambled version but received the sunny side-up. I didn't tell the server because he rushed in to drop it off and rushed back out. He wasn't even sure which order number belonged to us, which is disconcerting when you're someone with a serious allergy.

Eh Coffee: two self-serve coffees came out to $8. It's plain black coffee that I filled up myself like I do at the gas station. Come on though. $8?

Flustered Counter Service: not really my thing considering the price point. I have to go find my coffee, silverware, napkins, etc. and I'm paying $25 for a dish with ingredients that don't warrant that. Staff seemed to be in a bad mood. It felt very rushed and impersonal considering the chilled out, chalkboard vibe they present.

Not great for Gluten Free: my husband has celiac's disease and the cashier said that the quinoa was the only GF item on the menu. Even the tostada wasn't GF.

Left us feeling sick: my husband and I both came home sick from Huckleberry and have had gurgled stomachs since eating here. I got very sick.

Trash all over Bathroom: women's restroom had paper towels and trash all over the floor that I picked up.

Disappointing for sure considering it's overwhelmingly positive local reputation, however, I would never recommend Huckleberry to someone looking for an excellent or even average...

I am deeply sad to write this review, as I have been baking from this cookbook and following the cafe story on Instagram for years, keenly happy such a lovely place was surviving in Santa Monica. I came today so eager, spent money on the salmon hollandaise. When our food came out my husbands dish was cold (he saw it sitting for over 5 minutes) and my eggs were poached hard with no run. When I brought it back to the woman behind the bar she told me I had ordered it that way. When I assured her I hadn’t and I’d like the eggs redone, she was stiff. When she brought out my new dish the eggs were so underdone that the whites ran all over the hash browns. While I was shocked, she proceeded to again tell me that my idea of poached eggs was wrong. My husband got quite heated as he works at a cafe in West Hollywood. I’ve never ordered eggs Benedict and had either a hard yolk nor an egg so under I can’t stomach the white. The woman still defended the eggs as though “that’s how they come” until we really put our foot down and then they sent us a third try. I did not expect anything more but the third try still had membrane like whites. A different person came with that and checked in with us but I told him bluntly “someone back there should not be poaching eggs.” I don’t know if I’ve ever had to be so blunt but after 20-some years of ordering a dish to be gaslit by everyone at a cafe I have venerated has been a really sad experience. The one takeaway is that their hot sauce is fantastic. The downside is the service and hot meals...