Brunches Randall — Restaurant in Wilmington

Brunches has quickly become one of my go-to spots in the Wilmington area for a breakfast / brunch. Their chefs' creations are innovative and offer up a unique flair to the classic, American breakfast or brunch. I have dined at the Mayfaire Town Center location on a few separate occasions, have thoroughly enjoyed each meal I have eaten and offered up 5-Star reviews. Then...recently I noticed signage popping up on Randall Parkway, advertising Brunches' new location, just around the corner from me. This was a no-brainer since it was a Sunday during stay-at-home order and I simply didn't feel like leaving the house. :)

FOOD: Shrimp & Grits. If you know me, or even think that you know me, then you know that one of my favorite things to eat is Shrimp & Grits. However, I had yet to try Brunches' take on a dish that triggers inner cravings often and I thought that, based on everything else I have tasted from Brunches, there was no way this would be a miss. After receiving the delivered order, the first thing I noticed was the presentation inside of a takeout, circular piece of hard plastic. It was beautiful. The chef's presentation had the creamy and delicious grits tap-dancing against the edges of the foil. This was visual art...not just food. The shrimp was plump, tender, fresh, flavorful and an adequate amount resting on top of the smooth bed of grits. The grits were like a savory, pureed corn pudding with a buttery touch. It was nice. Brunches' flair comes in with the cajun tomato sauce, centered amongst the grits. This is where I noticed the area of opportunity. The cajun sauce had more of a Latin-Italian infusion taste...like a blend of mild salsa and marinara sauce together. Maybe I need to polish up on my cajun palate, but it just didn't resonate a bayou flavor. Once I began to blend the cajun sauce in with the grits, it transformed the overall flavor similar to a liquified veggie lasagna. It was a bit odd. I believe if the execution of this sauce was on-point according to Brunches, I may make the recommendation of reducing the amount of the cajun / tomato sauce by 75% and it may work well together. With the amount of sauce included, it just overpowered the delicious grits and beautiful shrimp. The grits were a homerun and the Shrimp were also delish so I ommitted as much of the cajun sauce from the remainder of my meal that I could. But still, it's still worth ordering, especially if you enjoy an abundance of tomatoes! SCORE: 2.7 STARS!!

SERVICE: The Brunches driver was very friendly, food arrived on time and hot, making the entire process seamless. SCORE: 5 STARS!!

OVERALL SCORE: Although the shrimp and grits were not my favorite, please do not let this specific review about 1 dish, deter you away from Brunches at Randall. They still have amazing food and I look forward to enjoying another, new creation of theirs soon. But, for this...

BRUNCHES CAFE

Several times, I have attempted to dine at Brunches without much success. I’m not one to wait to get a table in any restaurant. I decided to try Friday lunch and was successful getting seated right away. Just by chance, my server, Jill, happened to be the General Manager of the restaurant. She is a great server and a wonderful representative for Brunches. The ambiance of the restaurant was unique. It took me several minutes to decide whether I liked the décor and layout. The restaurant is functional and well designed with one notable exception. The doors are positioned in such a way that whenever they are opened a blast of air washes over all the tables in front of the bar and the bar area itself. During the cold months, this can make dining uncomfortable. The owners could easily remedy this situation. It was the only distraction I found. The menu offers wonderful variety and the food was excellent. I focused on the breakfast items and was not disappointed. The omelet and the Eggs Benedict were terrific. The eggs were poached and cooked well and the plate presentation was attractive. The variety of breakfast items was impressive. The lunch items featured a variety of interesting plates that guarantee my return visit very soon. The Mac and Cheese certainly caught my eye. The team in the restaurant are still refining their service skills. The one-on-one interactions were good. However, the servers could have moved a little faster. The station assignments for the servers appeared to be missing. With some minor adjustments, the service can be improved and guests can be seated faster. Brunches offers a full bar. I was not able to evaluate any of their bar items as I had afternoon meeting to attend. The drinks I saw were well prepared and attractively presented. The Bloody Mary’s here seem to be a specialty and will be on my list to try on future visits. This is a new restaurant concept. There are only two stores in the system. There is a store on Racine and one in Mayfaire. The store on Racine is open from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM daily. This is a hidden gem of a breakfast and lunch restaurant. The menu variety and the food make this a restaurant worth visiting. Just be prepared for a little wait, a worthwhile wait indeed!

Dennis Matthews The...

I visited here on a Sunday afternoon with my son and friends. We checked in at 1:19pm. There was a wait. We were told the wait shouldn’t be too long because there was only 1 large party ahead of us. There was 5 of us in my party. We were told we would get a text when our table was ready… It ended up being a long wait… Around 1:55pm, we went inside to check on the table. We were told that we were next and waiting for a table to be ready…. This was a bit frustrating as I had been watching people go in and out for the past 35 minutes. We were notified that the table was ready at 2:02pm.

Ariel was out waitress and came over promptly. After introducing herself, she went to get a kids menu for my son. We ordered drinks and continued looking at the menu. The table next to be had the Easter Sampler Platter looked really delicious but a lot of food also. We ordered about 2:12pm. I ordered the loaded flight (mimosas) to drink. I got the All American Breakfast with the Cinn a bun, scrambled eggs, and home fries. My son got the Kid American but substituted the pancake for French toast. He got a chocolate milk to drink and it was REALLY small…

The Drinks arrived at 2:23pm. The food arrived around at 2:45pm. I enjoyed my food. One of my friends who got regular pancakes didn’t like the taste of it. One of my friend ordered 3 chicken and waffle shots and they were DELICIOUS! The long wait was horrible, especially as we were very hungry. For us, I think the drinks were better than the food. I would return again, if I’m ever in town. Hopefully on a...