Lovely relaxed atmosphere, warm and kind servers, just about decent food. The food is good but doesn't really stand out. I am probably spoiled by all the stupendous breakfast/brunch places in Seattle and Portland. However, this is the market they are competing in, so I expect nothing but the best. We tried the pancakes, eggs and the breakfast platter and of course lots of coffee. Pancakes were good, eggs well cooked and well seasoned. Coffee was fresh and strong. Very warm and welcoming place, decent food , has lots of promise. I hope they can take it to the next level. Will give them another shot soon and update the review accordingly. read more

It was super packed when my husband and I got here, but we didn't have to wait more than 15 min. My breakfast was pretty meh overall. The bacon was a bit too crispy, and the potatoes were too soggy for us. We were accidentally overcharged on our bill (which we caught, and our waitress was very quick to fix it for us). Overall, it wasn't the best or worst breakfast experience we have ever had, but we probably won't return. read more

Not the greatest strip mall atmosphere, but friendly staff, the omelets are fantastic, and the mimosas don't disappoint. A small outdoor seating area is nice as well. read more

Approachable breakfast and lunch place with A friendly staff and food that is a cut above most breakfast places. Try their corned beef hash. So good read more

OMG you need to try the Jake's burrito. I can't remember the last time I had such a satisfying breakfast

For all the years of living on the eastside I never knew that this place even existed! Always looking for great breakfast spots to add to my arsenal and this one just makes it :-) read more

Very solid breakfast fare in Bellevue and reasonable to boot! I had the small breakfast sandwich which consisted of an english muffin, bacon, egg, a little cheese, and some mayo. It was exactly how I like it. Not too much, just right. it came with the choice of fruit or potatoes. I went with fruit, opting out of the gut bomb option. The service was great and while there was a little bit of a wait for our food, this was fine by me. Bellevue's got a real deal diner... highly recommend if you're in the 'hood and just want standard good food, served up with a smile. read more

I don't understand the 3 star overall review. We have eaten here for the last 5 days and will eat there again tomorrow morning, our last day in town. The food has been exceptional with very large portions. When I asked for soft scrambled eggs, that's what I got. My husband said that their corn beef hash was the best that he had ever had. He also liked their biscuits and gravy. Service has always been prompt and cheerful. Coffee refills are frequent. read more

Breakfast is my most favorite meal of all time, period. I love breakfast, all kinds of breakfast, except for the breakfast at Brief Encounter. If you are looking for basic and bland bacon and eggs, you found your place. For a place that is only open until 2 PM and specializes in breakfast, Brief Encounter fails at meeting my basic expectations. I ordered the "Jake's Burrito" which is not a burrito at all. The burrito is some scrambled eggs with cheese and about two tablespoons of "homemade" chili, the chili seems more like a sauce that comes out of a can. The contents are placed inside of a tortilla that is folded in half and topped with a tablespoon of sour cream and once super thin slice of avocado. The tortilla is pretty thin, so the empty sides were not edible as it was dried out when the food was sitting under the heat lamp. (If it wasn't under a heat lamp, I'm not sure what happened) The burrito did not come with anything else, so I also ordered a side of 1 biscuit and gravy. The biscuit tasted like the type that comes from a can and the gravy does not taste house made and was not very flavorful. I make biscuits and gravy at home often, and the biscuits and gravy at Brief Encounter is pretty sad in comparison. When I go out to eat, I expect for the food to be much better than what I have received at Brief Encounter, sadly, that is not the case. The price of my burrito was $11.99 and the single biscuit with gravy was $5.99, plus the price of a drink tax/tip was over $25, I expect a great deal more for $25. I have visited the Brief Encounter six times in the last few years and am writing this review to remind myself not to go again. read more

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This is a fair place to get some food. It gets pretty busy during brunch hours and there is no host. I wish there was signage indicating where to put your name down for a table. The employees seem to be trying their very best and the food is decent but nothing overly impressive. read more

Been here numerous times for breakfast with my boyfriend and we really like it! good place if you're in the mood for a hearty breakfast . It is casual and comfortable, the coffee is good and service is usually pretty quick and always friendly. I like the eggs benedict (they are sometimes out) and breakfast sandwiches. I recently ordered the huevos rancheros and it was good but I wasn't crazy about all the black beans on it. Over all good little cafe, I still have yet to try anything other than breakfast! read more

This place is called Brief Encounter for a reason. It's an encounter I never want to have again. The boyfriend and I came in here and driving around town trying to find a good breakfast spot. I just recently moved to Bellevue, and we were just so hungry that we went to the closest place we could find, and this place looked really good...ONLINE. We pull up and its in a strip mall, and I'm all like "Oh it looks so cute, and there's no line...I'm sure its going to be a cozy little place with great food!" Boy, was I in for a shock. I've had better food AND service at a truck stop. We got seated and the waitress grabbed our drinks. My boyfriend ordered an orange juice and it was $3.50, and he said it tasted like orange juice he could've had at home. It came in a tiny cup too. The server wasn't very friendly at all, and took our orders. Our food finally came out. I got the Carnitas Scramble and it was very bland. For $12 I would've expected a lot more. It didn't even come with has browns or toast. Just eggs and shredded beef...with a folded stale tortilla. The food had no flavor whatsoever. I don't know what it needed, but I have a huge appetite so for me to say I didn't want to eat something is saying a lot! He got the Jake's Burrito and he said it was pretty good. We've had way better though. I tried it and I definitely wasn't impressed. His burrito wasn't even rolled up like a REAL burrito...it was just food shoved into a tortilla that was falling apart. Like, come on, if your'e going to have a burrito on the menu, at least learn how to roll a burrito right!! If the food wasn't bad enough, the service was even worse. I'm a server so I'm pretty patient, and can understand when people are busy. However, it's not that hard to come by and refill someone's water at least once during their meal. Especially if you're going to give them small kiddy cups. I even placed my empty glass on the edge of the table to give her a hint and she just ignored me. My bf even mentioned the fact that she never came back to check on how the food was tasting, until his plate was completely empty. If you're busy, you can at least ask a table if they're doing okay while you're walking by, but once she took our order, she pretty much didn't care about us. The bill finally comes and its *** *** $31?! I seriously could have made this breakfast at home. We're definitely going to be going back to Pancake Corral again next weekend, or eating at home. I'm in shock at how terrible the service was here, and the food was something we could have made at home. If you're going to charge outrageous prices, you better have some bomb food. Skip this place, for real, you'll thank me later and so will your pockets. One star because Yelp won't let me give a half a star. read more

Pretty good. Gets super packed all the time, best to show up a few minutes before noon on a weekday. Cozy, good sound acoustics, fake plants. The fries are crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and they snap a little when you bite into them. They use Hunts ketchup, which is a close second to Heinz, a little too sweet but has no high fructose corn syrup. I had a Reuben, which tasted okay but the bread was too squishy and it wasn't holding together. The chicken rice soup had potatoes in it, and some kind of spice I didn't like, but it was acceptable. The service was amazing - I swear that girl is psychic. I will return and try some of the other menu items. read more

Named after a 80's porno, this place is yummy. Upon walking in the joint is small and sunday mornings it is extremely busy. I would suggest eating at the bar if there is a line. The waitresses are friendly, and try to service you as quickly as possible. Although I've never been there for anything other then breakfast, there lunch menu looks pretty tasty.. Pretty much all american, with nice size portions.. Not too big, not too small. If you are looking for something lighter this place has it, as well as something richer... they even serve wine in the morning... that can cause a little bit of havoc if you ask me read more

As terrible as I think my relationship with East side is, my relationship with Brief Encounter couldn't even start because first trial was so bad. I live about 5 minutes from this restaurant, so I decided to give it a try for my brunch on Sunday since I no longer live near my beloved Easy Street Record cafe. It was semi-crowded but we didn't have to wait long to get a table, which was good. After some waiting time, the waitress asked what we would like for drink. I asked for some cappuccino and my boyfriend wanted some OJ. She got him the OJ almost immediately and get me a glass of water while waiting for my cappuccino. We surfed through the menu. Let me tell you, it is overpriced and the portion is fairly small for what you pay. All i'm looking for was straightly English style breakfast: egg, English muffin and bacon. It took a while to find something like that and I personally think the menu was confusing. Well, back to the service: it was a mess. During the entire brunch, we were approached by 3 different waitresses and none of them knew what the other has asked. So another waitress came and asked what i'd like to drink. I politely told her I was waiting for my cappuccino. Well, that cappuccino took a very long to arrive and it was served in a paper cup with foam overload. I was pretty unhappy already. My boyfriend asked the 2nd waitress for a cup of black coffee and water since he has finished his OJ. We ordered as well. The waitress took off and the cup of black coffee never came. Even after the brunches were brought out, coffee and water were nowhere to be seen. We managed to catch another waitress on her way around and asked again. She said she would be right back. Well, only with a glass of water. I really thought their coffee machine was broken or they were out of coffee, so we kept on waiting. NO, IT WAS NOT THAT AT ALL. They were just absent minded and did not care. We finally asked ANOTHER waitress for the third time and she managed to bring us a cup of black coffee. The service alone costed this place all the stars and not to mention the bacon was so thin and oily. The entire time i was wondering how could this place stay in business? The best part was the paying part. This brunch costed $30 for nothing-special food and worst service. I asked for the bill and put my card almost immediately. The waitress came right away to take it (?!?!?!). um...WE WAITED A VERY LONG TIME and no one brought back my card. I caught the waitress and asked. She was like "there were about 10 people paying at the same time so yours should come right out". Then she grabbed another waitress and I could hear their conversation behind me very clearly. She asked if the other waitress was still running any credit card and that girl said "no, not doing any credit card". I almost laughed out loud, really. So thank god, they "managed" to find out where my credit card went. Bottom line is: whatever this business is doing, they should really close because they're hurting this neighborhood's reputation and should really do everyone a favor. I have never been more pissed off. NEVER COME BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

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It's a cafe. Don't expect the metro grill. Tried them twice now. You're not gonna get a traditional philly cheese steak, but we ain't in philly...son. Had the reuben as well with side salad. Food is above average for a cafe. Portion size is acceptable. Maybe most importantly, the fries are good and cooked to perfection. No sloppy mess of cruddy fries in 2 month oil. I'll be back. read more

If you need a decent breakfast, don't hesitate to go here. The main courses are good and the service is consistently excellent. While this place is not in our top five breakfast joints, we go here occasionally to break things up. My two star rating is because this place has the potential to be one of those great breakfast joints. Unfortunately, the food lacks excitement, hence my "Meh" vote. Their potatoes (hash browns and french fries) are the cheap, boring, mass-produced in a factory, frozen blandness variety. How about putting some fresh potatoes into a grinder or fry tool, adding some of your own spices and kicking it up a notch? And in Seattle, if you're serving coffee it better not be the same stuff served at the gas station next door. This is one of those places that has the potential to be amazing...someone just needs to kick it in the butt. read more

The bad news is, it takes FOREVER to get your food. That has to do with the kitchen though, and not the wait staff. They always have plenty of waitresses that stay pretty busy, since this place is usually stays pretty full. They also happen to be some of the friendliest waitresses I've been served by. Very casual atmosphere, and despite how busy they are, they don't ever appear flustered or annoyed, and you never feel rushed. I love that they serve breakfast all day, so that's all I've ever eaten here, regardless of what time I go. I highly recommend the corn beef hash, as it's probably the second best I've had around here. Lots of long, thin slices of onion throughout, and cooked so that one side is cripsy, just like when you order a side of hashbrowns anywhere. It's the perfect portion, too. After eating every bite, I leave very satisfied, without feeling bloated! read more

My fruit side had the correct color and texture but somehow they managed to find fruit that was impressively tasteless. My cheese omelet was cold and unremarkable enough to call for not only salt and pepper but ketchup. The service was okay, but nothing to write home about. The coffee -- well. I've had worse, but in the Seattle area, we ought to expect better than "not awful". Look, I know there isn't much in the way of breakfast choices out there in Bellevue, but c'mon guys -- surely we can do better than this. This is one of the top-rated breakfast places in the area, and I don't want to be mean, Bellevue, but -- really? Seriously: eggs and cheese and fruit -- not that challenging, even in the burbs. Get a grip. read more

I just moved here and was not expecting there to be a good breakfast place right near my home. What a wonderful surprise. Good food - stick with the sweet items. The other items need to be improved. read more

Brief Encounter - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

3.5 stars Hubby bought a groupon to this joint and we went yesterday for some brunch. I, to my & hubby's surprise, didn't get the eggs benedict but instead opted for a mixed berry pancake, two poached eggs and a side of hash browns with a cup of joe. Everything was good! Mmm, mmm good! The pancake tasted like it had some cake batter or lemon zest (or both) in it, making it taste sweet & slightly different than every other diner pancake I've had. The poached eggs came in a small bowl that had a little too much egg juice on the bottom of it but all was fine when I scooped the eggs out onto my plate and left the juice in the bowl. The hash browns were greasy, crispy and delicious. I would've preferred free form, not patty form, but I'm just being picky. Coffee was strong and hot = awesome. Menu prices seemed 10-15% higher than I would've expected, but I guess it is located in Bellevue. I'll probably be back since it's a local restaurant that serves good food with friendly service. Check it out for yourself soon! read more

Not a fan. I did not like this place at all. The server was very slow in taking our orders. Since there were only 3 of us, it seemed she didn't even want to be a part of the team. I ordered the chicken salad, and when I received it.. they put so much dressing on it, where it was disgusting. I took a few bites then refused to eat the salad. The server comes over and asks why i didn't like the salad. I told her that it had too much dressing, and that it was just gross. She just goes ok, I'll get you, your check. Yep had to pay for a 13.00 salad that I didn't even touch. I don't recommend this to anyone... you're just wasting time and money. read more

Bellevue needs more of these places, but this is the only one I can think of in the city limits. It is a solid diner type breakfast which can be worth its weight in gold some weekends. I got an omelet which was about 7.5-8/10ish. Maybe too much eggs and not enough delicious inners, but pretty solid nonetheless. Breakfast potatoes were pretty good and crispy with soft center. Coffee was refilled on the regular. Service was good. The place itself is in the strip mall neighboring the QFC and a little hard to see from street. Parking is ample, since QFC and other businesses next door. They have some outdoor seating for nice days. But, those spots are against the parking lot which make them a bit less sexy. read more

Have come to this restaurant for years, even before the present owner, who has had it for years. Husband And i stopped by this past Thursday for breakfast. Waited forever to be seated, and took menus with us when we were pointed in the direction of a table. There were a few open tables all along. After waiting again at our table with no service, we left. We probably spent 20 minutes there in total. The waitresses were very busy. I think there were three of them. I just don't think they could keep up. It was 10 in the morning. Don't know if they were unusually busy. Went to a different spot and probably won't be returning. Makes me sad. read more

This is me & my girlfriends new breakfast place twice a week. It's not the most spacious, but it works. We have tried the breakfast sandwiches, and the french toast. I prefer the bacon &fried egg sandwich that comes with the best homestyle potatoes I have ever had! So yummy! My girlfriend loves the Ham & egg sandwich. I myself like my ham cut thinly. They cut it thick here but next time I'm going to ask them to cut it thin. We always get coffee here-so much better and cheaper than Starbucks. This is real coffee here! No burned beans! The french toast is really the best menu item we enjoyed the most so far. The main daily waitress is always smiling, friendly, and busting her butt to get everyone their food and drinks on time. I believe her name is Tana. The only flaw I see at this place is the ice cold bathrooms. They need some insulation in the walls or they need to fix whatever draft is in that back area. read more

Ok food, nothing too special that I tried. Even the potatoes were pretty bland. Had to add salt sour cream and salsa to give it flavor.

I read the review about them ignoring the paper list and giggled thinking, what a bad day, that can't happen.... and it happened to me! Someone just walked in and got seated while we waited with our name on the list, but we did get seated right after them. Compared to other resturants that specialze in breakfast they weren't very attentive. The menu wasn't attractive, everything on the breakfast menu was in my fridge. I got the breakfast special which was your choice of french toast or pancake, 2 eggs, and your choice of bacon, sausage, or ham. Everything was thrown on one plate, so crowded that when I put syrup on my french toast it spilled off the side. I also hated that my over easy egg yoak got all over my french toast, there was no way getting away from it on that plate. I also had a tad bit of uncooked white in my egg. To sum it up: service was friendly, but not great. Food was nothing to talk about. read more

3 Stars = A-OK according to Yelp, itself. And that is exactly what Brief Encounter was. I wrote on the receipt that I would be back so I will update when that happens. But as of now, they can only get three stars and that's being pretty generous. The home-fries were the absolute worst. Poorly seasoned, soft and boring. Then my Orange-Cinnamon french toast - pretty decent - but throughout the entire meal I got this weird chemical-laden taste. I asked for fruit on my french toast that I never received, I never got my butter, the coffee was poor and the waitresses seemed irritated with each other - maybe because it was family owned? AWKWARD. I didn't give a tip and wrote that I've be back to review again but as of right now - only "Meh". read more

Went on Saturday Feb 9 to check this place out. They were really busy. We waited about 15 or 20 minutes to be seated at a table. The food did not take long to get either. The server was definitely busy and it took a long while to get our check. However, once we asked for it, it was already prepared and immediately brought to us. I ordered the biscuits and gravy. Definitely delicious. The biscuits and gravy came with an option of breakfast potatoes for hashbrowns. I'm a hashbrowns kind of girl and they were tasty but was the shape and texture of McD's hashbrowns, although twice the size. I'm from the Midwest, so I'm a hard judge on biscuits and gravy. My friend ordered the Bear Scramble - amazing. Would definitely go back, but looking to pick a less-busy time. They simply need a manager/host to keep things in order and to greet guests as they enter so the servers can do their job of serving their guests. I am very likely to return because everybody has a bad day every once in a while and when understaffed for an unusual amount of business then the best you can do sometimes is be pleasant and smile (which all of the staff did). And because the food was delicious. read more

If you like traditional American breakfast food, this place is reasonably priced and consistently good. Service is friendly, and the atmosphere lively and unpretentious. read more

No pretenses, just consistently good food! I've eaten both breakfast and lunch here DOZENS of times, and they always deliver good food with friendly service! I've got some specific recommendations for what to order below... This is a traditional small-town-cafe-style breakfast and lunch diner like you would find in little towns all over America (that have been there for 50 years - you know the type). It is family owned and run, and Melanie and/or her daughter Amanda are likely to be waiting tables on any given day, with a long-time wait-staff that seems to have very little turnover (so they must be treating them well). Atmosphere is VERY casual, and you can tell that most patrons are return locals with family/friends. For breakfast, they have numerous great omelets (named for things like Melanie's dogs), but I usually get Eggs Benedict when it's on the special board (which it often is on weekends). And if you have a gluten intolerance or celiac (or other dietary restrictions), just say so; they go out of their way to accomodate, e.g., they'll make your eggs and hash browns in a separate, clean pan! For lunch, they have excellent homemade-tasting soups (ask the waitress for a rec.), but frankly, the one thing you CAN'T go wrong with is the French Dip (slathered with sauteed onions), which is as good as I've ever had anywhere! I often meet friends or take relatives here for breakfast, and meet business associates here for lunch. Be aware that on Saturday and Sunday mornings at peak times (e.g., 9-11AM), there is likely to be a 10-20 minute wait with 5-10 people ahead of you. But that's a GOOD thing - it means they consistently pack the place with repeat customers (like me). Other than that, you're likely to get a seat quickly, and can either take your time eating/chatting, or order and eat quickly (e.g., a half-hour lunch). Prices are certainly higher than Denny's, but I think that's a reflection of the broader-than-usual menu and experienced, friendly staff! read more

I met a friend from out of town here for breakfast today after reading the reviews on yelp. I am happy to report that this place lived up to its reputation. The waitress was attentive from the moment we walked in. Once seated she brought us coffee right away and kept bringing it. This seems to rarely happen to me. Most places bring you coffee and fill it up once maybe twice. Not this place. The service was top notch! I ordered the special, a meat lover's omelet. I honestly thought it would be a greasy mess since it contained a lot of meat and cheese but to my surprise it wasn't. Instead it was one of the best omelet's I have ever eaten. The home-style hash browns were yummy as well. I will go back and eat here again. read more

This is a small breakfast place on the west side of Bellevue. The King County health inspection rating was excellent. The bathrooms were clean but the dining area was quite shabby. The food was good quality and well cooked. Service was excellent. I would have rated it higher but the room was showing a lot of wear and tear and my "German" sausage was more like a Costco polish sausage than anything German. read more

Can someone please tell me why this place is named "Brief Encounter"? Breakfast definitely does not come to my mind! Once you get your mind out of the gutter, you'll realize how cute this place is. It's located in a small strip mall (if you can even call it that) on Bellevue Way. The great thing about this place is that it's far enough away from downtown Bellevue that you avoid all the yuppies that tend to roam the area. I ordered the biscuits and gravy combo with eggs, bacon, and hash browns. I was expecting one split biscuit with gravy on top but what I got instead was an entire plate of biscuits with tons of gravy! I think it was two split biscuits but it was hard to tell because their biscuits are big to begin with. I ended up taking half home with me and eating it the next day. Overall, this is a solid breakfast place and I will definitely be back for more. read more

I heard great things about this place, and decided to give it a try: after encountering my small yet expensive breakfast, i finished it off in just a few brief minutes. rarely do breakfast places leave me feeling hungry for more -- unfortunately, 'twas the case here. the bacon was exceptionally crisp, the eggs were decent and the hash browns were pretty good. the best thing about breakfast was the OJ, which was nearly but not quite fresh squeezed and evidently is locally made each week. my coffee was frequently refilled, with a decent brew. kirkland is admittedly no ballard when it comes to breakfasts, so Brief Encounter is still one of the better choices for a good breakfast in the area. I can recommend it for those who can't quite make the drive over to better options on the west side, or don't want to go all the way down into bellevue. I'll be back, when I'm in kirkland for breakfast. read more

Had great service and great food for a small cafe. I like the mixture of breakfast American food with Hispanic style. It was delicious and I would say get the "Bear special." Although WAY overpriced for the food. I mean $7 for two cups of orange juice?!? The service was really good as well the waitress wasn't around all of the time breathing over our necks but was attentive enough to satisfy our needs. read more

Great local breakfast place in Bellevue. Fairly small diner with some outdoor seating on nice days. It's not a very big place, and it fills up pretty easily. I've had to wait a little bit every time I have been, but they get people seated quickly when a spot opens up. There are local posters of events and stuff on one corner wall which is a really nice local touch. It's got a small diner feel. Service has always been friendly, even with a smile on their faces usually. The coffee stayed filled and it was easy to ask for service. You are served fairly quickly as well. Food is a good size, and I typically eat a lot. The price is fair for what you get. The food tastes as good as a small diner breakfast food can taste. If you're in the mood for this type of breakfast food, it's great. It's not fancy breakfast dining at all. Overall, it's a good value - quantity, price, and taste. I'd recommend this place, and I probably plan on making it my go to local destination spot for breakfast. read more

I am a huge fan of breakfast, but I don't always want to go someplace fancy when I just rolled out of bed. When I first read about brief encounters I was unsure.. who doesn't have a website nowadays? but I wanted to give it a try nonetheless. The place is small and in a strip mall of all places. The servers are nice but are very busy most of the time and sometimes need a friendly reminder. The menu seemed to have mostly standard breakfast fare, but a stood out to me for must trys, mainly the Carnitas breakfast. Wow.. was I happy with my choice! I have been back a few times since my first visit and each time I struggle to get something new. The carnitas are cooked perfectly and served with a delicious sauce that tastes perfect with the eggs and tortillas served with it. My dad had the corned beef hash which he was really impressed with. This last visit I ventured from my favorite with the Bear Scramble, vanilla latte and a side of biscuits and gravy to split at the table. The Bear scramble was good, but I still liked my regular carnitas better. The biscuits and gravy were some of the best I had ever had. Light, melt in your mouth goodness! And surprisingly the coffee drink was great as well (I don't usually expect good coffee from outside of coffee bars) Anyway i hesitate to recommend because it is a small place and I want to keep my wait to a minimum, but I probably shouldn't be selfish and share my opinion in case you want to give it a try! read more

This place is part of Delta Skymiles dining. For dollars spent airline miles delivered. But needs a update to interior design and polish the menu items. Pancakes are not very engaged. Service though polite lacks professionalism. I am trying to understand if I need to revisit. The seat cushions are tired. read more

I just started a new job and ran into the dilemma of where to eat lunch. So I used my trusted Yelp app and found this place. This café is definitely homey and at the time when I visited it, they put up Halloween decorations. I always picture eating at a diner like setting similar to the ones in the movies and this place definitely fits with that. However, the food was only so-so and left me with that greasy and unhealthy feeling. The place was packed with regulars who frequent this place, sadly I will not be joining them any time soon. read more