That Breakfast Place — Restaurant in Windham

That Breakfast Place in Willimantic, CT specializes in cooking up a massively hearty breakfast platter consisting of a monstrous 16 inch pancake topped with a pound of home fries, the four horsemen of breakfast meats (bacon, sausage, ham, and kielbasa), 2 orders of toast, and naturally an entire DOZEN of eggs. To earn a spot on their coveted wall of fame, a free t-shirt and free meal, one must complete this mini mountain of food in under 30 mins. Failure to finish within the time constraint costs $70 and a devastating blow to your pride.

For almost 10 years, I have jealously watched YouTuber after YouTuber complete this challenge and silently yearned to one day complete it myself and join their skilled and victorious ranks.

Well last week, my time finally arrived when I took the trip out to Willimantic with my sister and my dad! It felt surreal entering the establishment and standing in the location where each competitive eater recorded their YouTube videos.

Excitement bubbled across my skin as I placed my order for the breakfast challenge. I had my choice of toast as well as egg style. I opted for the visually aesthetic sunny side up egg as well as their sweetly spiraled cinnamon raisin bread which I even requested them slather with peanut butter to appease my inner pb loving child.

When my gargantuan feast arrived, I made sure to snap a few pics quickly so I could dig into my food while it was still delectably hot! Armed with a brand new bottle of sugar free maple syrup and a big trusty spoon, I dove in full force and cleared the entire plate in 11:45 absolutely shattering my personal expectations and placing myself as the second fasted time in the restaurant’s history!

As I waited for my dad to finish his meal, I treated myself to some celebratory dessert in the form of their rotating housemate breads which happened to be Pumpkin Strudel. Its warm spices hit the spot on such a cool and windy Connecticut morning.

The hugest and warmest of thank yous to That Breakfast Place for bringing my decade’s long breakfast challenge dreams to life. It exceeded my minds wildest and loftiest expectations satiating me at a deep soul level.

Despite tragically losing a critically beloved member of their staff and family just last week, the team at That Breakfast Place still supported me 100% with cheerful and diligent camaraderie. Their strong resolve in the face of horrendous loss moved me beyond words. Thank you, That Breakfast...

We visited That Breakfast Place for a nice Sunday brunch around 10am. The restaurant has its own parking lot which was nice.

The restaurant was quite busy when we arrived and we were put on a waitlist for about 15-20 minutes. No big deal as we were not in a hurry. If you're uncomfortable with crowds though this place would not be recommended as every table was full.

We were greeted by the nicest waiter who kept apologizing for any wait time, etc. No big deal he was super nice, attentive, and was working really hard at maintaining all his tables.

Our group ordered a variety of items off the menu and everyone loved their entrees. I ordered the egg platter that came with choice of eggs, bread, potatoes, breakfast meat, and choice of pancakes/french toast. I couldn't decided between French toast or pancakes and the waiter was kind enough to tell me I could have one of each. The waiter recommended the French toast over the pancake and I'll confirm that he was right! The French toast was really good and I'd definitely order it again. The pancake was a bit dry in texture and I would not recommend it nor would I order it again. My eggs were prepared correctly as ordered (over easy) and the plate came with two large crispy hash browns! My entree also came with a very large side of bacon which was four big strips. I had to share with the table or else I could not finish!

Our bill was $45+ for 4 people total which was a great price for the quantity and value of our entrees. I could see why this place was so busy.

I'd definitely recommend a visit here if you're looking for a hefty and...

tasty food + interesting specials! however, the checkout process needs to change because it's inconvenient for all involved and feels like a poor customer service experience. they have you stand in line in the middle of the restaurant at the register at the counter, right where servers are exiting/entering the kitchen with food and plates. this feels really weird and uncomfortable because it puts customers directly in the way of servers trying to safely carry things to/from tables. simply bringing the bill right to your table would greatly reduce the crowding and feels more comfortable, as a customer. also, Styrofoam boxes are used for take-home leftovers. Styrofoam is non-biodegradable and non-recylable, estimated to take 500 years to break down, which is terrible for the environment. I request that That Breakfast Place switch to food grade cardboard boxes that can biodegrade or be composted. lastly, please consider changing the payment structure so that servers can be paid a living wage by including a gratuity percentage in the full bill automatically. then, there could be an option to tip extra for service that goes above + beyond. Stone Row implements a similar structure and, as a customer, I appreciate not having to feel any anxiety about calculating tips and I know that the staff is being paid fairly, rather than being reliant on customers to tip to pay...