Big Bad Breakfast - Tuscaloosa — Restaurant in Tuscaloosa

Great ambiance, host, waitress and the food was good! A bit pricey but food cost went up as well so. The conflict: I don't eat meat, I haven't for well over a year. I'm primarily pescatarian but I slip in vegan and vegetarian meals as well. This was our first visit to the restaurant so we waited about 30 min to get seated. We ordered the big bad skillet: 3 eggs, 3 meats (bacon, sausage and ham), grilled onions, potatoes and cheese--sounds great right? It was!! I seen they had veggie sausage for $5 on the sides list, so I asked what kind and our waitress Maddie kindly went downstairs to find out--it was Impossible. I thought perfect, it's not my fav but I've tried it before (Beyond has better breakfast meat in my opinion), nonetheless I was ecstatic I could still eat the skillet without eating pig. Maddie was writing as I said I wanted to sub the meat for veggie meat and no onion. My friend order the same meal as is and we both had Manmosa's. It took a while to come out but also they were very busy. We were pleased with our food, I mixed it up and began eating and chatting.

About have way through I tasted a smokey or hickory flavor and I paused. At that moment Maddie was refilling our glasses and recognized something was wrong. I told her I think I just ate bacon and she seemed as mortified as I was. My friend tried it and confirmed it was indeed pork--I was shocked and livid and became visibly upset. She immediately sprung into action to remove my plate, by this time I'm halfway through my meal. She went and got the manager named Stacy. She came over and said sorry...a lot. She pissed me off and I started crying profusely because she excused it stating it was because the meat is mixed with the onions and that they were busy. That's problem number two because I said without onion and again there was no onion in my food and she argued it was as if I wouldn't see shiny pieces of sautéed onions or taste them--my friends had plenty of them in her skillet. I explained that was a concerning excuse because you're going to always be busy as a new restaurant. If this was a life threatening allergy I'd be messed up because you're too busy to honor the customers request.

She realized the error and said sorry a lot more...Our meal was comped and she said I would offer you a gift card but I'm sure you aren't going to come back. She offered me the owners contact info and eventually took mine. One of the owners, April, called and by the time the call ended I wasn't sure why she called me. She began as if she wanted to know every detail "so that she can help to rectify" and mid convo as I was explaining how I felt violated the tables turned and she was being obtuse defending her staff because of her ignorance. I told her I felt violated which clearly was triggering and she started over talking me telling me the my word choice "violate" meant her staff was malicious and intentionally prepared me meat. I was immediately confused on what dictionary she retrieved that definition from. She stood 10 toes on it until I was able to interject and educate on what violate actually means: to break or fail to comply, failure to respect--that was a valid feeling for me and she didn't have an empathetic bone in her body and further pissed me off but I remained poised as I possibly could.

She asked me did I have an itemized receipt which made me think she was trying to place blame on Maddie our waitress, to see if it was "a ring in error". She said I won't make any excuses, she knows how things can happen in a restaurant. I am so sorry you feel that way but nobody in my restaurant had malicious intent. I still don't know why she's hung up on this fake definition so I defined violate again to her; she said ok, I'm so sorry that this happened to you today. I hope that doesn't happen to you anywhere else and I said it hasn't until today but thank you for being sorry. She again went into defense. April needs active listening & empathy training--she's tone deaf & it could change the trajectory of a conversation from bad to bare...

We had a party of 10 to celebrate our Sister on Mother’s Day! Her kids had made the arrangements and they drove into town to surprise & celebrate her day! Big Bad Breakfast needless to say had a terrible long wait time, 45 minutes. However, it gave all of us time to gather together to laugh and talk outside. They, finally paged us that our table was ready, and we traveled into the entrance of the restaurant. We were met by young ladies handing out a long stem Carnation flower to all Mothers. It was so sweet & such a lovely thought! Our table was near the front along the wall. Across from the bar area. It was in a nice place. Everyone was seated & talking around the table at intervals. Our waiter was a young man who was very friendly and took our drinks orders immediately. He returned in a timely manner and was very nice. He wanted to make sure everyone was pleased, before he began to take our entrées. Everyone was happy and really ready to eat bc it was really lunchtime now! Lol! The music was soft and not to loud that you couldn’t hear your company voice. The atmosphere was nice and cozy. The waiter finally returned and began serving us our food. And it looked good too! Delicious and smelled good! Well maybe, I’m just hungry my now. Lol! So, I’ll let you know in a minute! Ookkkay! I ordered The Shrimp & Grits platter. And it really good! The grits are cheesy underneath the large juicy Shrimp s, the sauce on it is what really makes this dish taste so good! It was hot, fresh and smelled great. Everyone seemed to enjoy their choice in what they selected bc it wasn’t a lot of talking, but a lot of chewing and eating! Lol! To name a few of the plates ordered was, The BLT sandwich platter, The Chicken & Waffle platter, The Steak platter, The Hamburger Sandwich platter,etc. I ordered the Caramel latte and a water. Beware, the coffee they use is for REAL, it’s is strong! Our waiter bought me over the water immediately to help flush some of the strong coffee out of the drink. I really enjoyed everything and everyone else seemed to like it too. We gathered our to go boxes, left our wonderful waiter a hefty tip and begin to depart from the table. When the waiter rushed back over to us and thanked us for such a kind and generous tip he received. We told him it was bc of his hospitality & attitude in attending to us. We Thank Him! It was a great day at the Big Bad Breakfast In Tuscaloosa, AL. We really enjoyed the company, conversations and atmosphere there! And when you visit I hope you have the same experience! “HAPPY...

I’ve had a lot of meals in a lot of restaurants—but never have I had service like I did at Big Bad Breakfast in Tuscaloosa, thanks to one person: Shane.

Our group of ten came in for a weekend brunch, and you’d think managing a large, talkative table would be overwhelming. Not for Shane. From the moment we sat down, he was on it—friendly, composed, hilarious, and somehow juggling ten different personalities, preferences, and orders like it was second nature.

Shane didn’t just take our orders—he connected with us. He remembered every little detail, cracked jokes at the perfect moments, refilled drinks without ever being asked, and made each person at the table feel like they were his only customer. That’s a rare skill. We weren’t just impressed—we were genuinely in awe. Several people at our table literally said, “That’s the best server I’ve ever had.” And I agree.

Now, don’t get me wrong—the food was incredible too. I had the huevos rancheros, and it was one of the best breakfast dishes I’ve had in Tuscaloosa. Perfectly cooked eggs, flavorful toppings, and hearty enough to soak up a couple of outstanding Bloody Marys (which were dangerously good, by the way). Everyone at our table was thrilled with their meal. But honestly, Shane elevated the entire experience.

If Big Bad Breakfast is reading this: hold on to Shane. Give him a raise. Promote him. Whatever you need to do. He’s the kind of person who makes people come back—not just for the food, but for the atmosphere he creates. Hospitality like his is hard to find.

We left full, happy, and already planning to return—and Shane is the...