I'm sorry to write this review as I've been a fan for years and have appreciated how hard Dee and crew have worked to stay open during the pandemic for the community. And they've done a good job. I've had a couple of bumpy experiences with takeout but generally it's all gone well. The bacon is not the quality is used to be, but that's all I've noticed. Yesterday I picked up bacon and eggs hash browns and toast - didn't even look in the bag until I got home. Surprise surprise the bacon the scrambled eggs and the hash browns were all burned. Literally burned. The toast was edible. How do you do that? What bothers me the most is that I know the cook(s) and whomever bagged the order would have seen this - the top of the container is clear plastic - yet they let it go out. No one would have put this in front of an in person diner or if they did it would have been sent back. At least 2 sets of eyes saw this. Cost me $12 something, a 20% tip and aside from a piece of toast it went in the trash. I'm feeling pretty burned myself. Giving 3 stars for my past experiences - this one was zero stars. read more

Love this place! Who knew...wasn't crowded on Easter; people, wake-up...this is a great breakfast place.

You can never complain with the mammoth sized food. It is always amazing each time I go. This is the breakfast spot for Chico. No breakfast joint is better in this town! The size of the food actually matches the size of the price. You get the bang for your buck. Want breakfast? Go here. You won't regret it and neither will your taste buds or stomach. read more

Really great bagel breakfast sandwiches, a lot of food for a good price! Can get pretty busy, but you still receive the food pretty quickly.

We come here twice a month for breakfast. My husband loves the Denver Omelet with the country fried potatoes. If you like your potatoes a bit more on the crunchy side, ask them to be " golden" that's the secret to crispy country fried potatoes. I have ordered several different items and they are always good. They have a special always on their board by the door. Whenever I see the eggs Benedict I order it. Very good and the sauce they put on it has a bit of lime in it and it is sooo good. I love the never empty cup of French roast coffee. They are constantly refilling the cups. They also have regular brew if you don't like French roast. I have never had a bad experience with any of the wait staff. They are all friendly. The place can get a bit loud at times. And you may have to wait for a table at times. But the wait is never over 15 minutes and is rare. read more

There's nothing like Veggie-taters to cure what ails you, their service and coffee can't be beat.

My boyfriend and I came here for a late breakfast and we were not disappointed! There was a little bit of a wait time but that was to be expected given it was a Sunday. The staff was very friendly and attentive even with a packed house. My boyfriend ordered an omelet with potatoes and a bagel. The omelet filled half the plate and the potatoes were cooked just right, no hard pieces at all. I ordered the huevos rancheros, the first time ever, and it did not disappoint! The portion was HUGE. I opted to add chorizo for an extra charge but the portion size was more than enough for the price. We were both very satisfied with the service and food. Will definitely return in the future! read more

Hands down favorite breakfast place to eat. Only complaint is the noise inside as its small and voices echo so it gets a bit loud. Out side area is reccomended. Manager is awesome and staff very friendly read more

Breakfast in October. Worst omelette in my life. Said it was three eggs, look like two and a slab of cheese, however it was stuffed with an edible broccoli. Maybe a week or two old. Couldn't even get down a nibble. The only other thing in there was burned carrots. Completely u edible. When I try to be constructive and complain to the waiter, the owner came back and offered no substitute for me. Nor, did he discount the bill even though the entire plate was unedible except for the egg and a slab of cheese.. This is not the kind of ownership any customer should support in my opinion, even if the pancakes are good as a high school kid told me which is why I went there. It should be a negative rating because I got virtually no food and a $14 bill. The pricing is on the high end for any Omlette on the West Coast also. Yuck. The waitresses were young and kind though. The football head can pineapple and was not good either. I did eat them 1/3 of a banana, but I'm starving and headed out to another place read more

That place is good. Big panckes.. But very expensive food. Plus it's a small small place.. long wait

Had a Denver omelette with hash browns and it barely fit on the plate!!! Great food and service!

Great BLT and great start to my Australian ketchup addiction (just ask them about it) Watching the guys in the back cooking is like watching the most elegant ballet. Graceful and perfect. read more

Definitely one of the better places to eat breakfast here in Chico, especially if you're looking for a local diner opposed to a large chain restaurant. You will be surprised when they bring you giant pancakes and biscuits, and I do mean GIANT. Me and my friends were very impressed and had a fun time. The environment is retro, and the service is great! Definitely earned my recommendation. read more

This place is very popular with the locals but you will wait a long time for large portions of mediocre food. It was better when I was a kid. read more

Ok...bland....something my six year old would have made me....it was fresh and friendly people....just not what we remember from our college days. read more

Service has always been amazing. Walk in and order to go almost every time due to time restraints on my end. Always order the bacon avocado burger which is to die for. So good. They load that guy up with lots of bacon and avocado. You will not be disappointed. read more

Cheap, yummy, and inexpensive. A bit laid back, only time I wouldn't recommend is if you are in a rush.

Great food...generous portions...decent prices...attentive service...no complaints here.

Small older restaurant but kinda cute. The waiting area is tiny, and cramped on a rainy day. But figured it's busy so the food must be good! The waitress was some what friendly. We ordered and got our mochas right away, over flowing with whipped cream. Yum. The portions are huge and so are the prices. The food is a bit bland but pepper and tabasco helped some. The muffins are good and the thick bacon was yummy but cold. read more

Great food!!!!! It's worth the wait, just make sure you have time to wait. They were real busy so the service was a little weak but the food and portions made up for it. read more

Morning Thunder is in a great spot and it is a really good restaurant. Their Java Shakes are especially delicious I highly recommend them. Every time I have been eaten at Morning Thunder it has been delicious and fun. read more

A nice, retro feeling to this place with friendly employees and great food. By far the best breakfast in Chico.

Food is always good and the service is great. The only bad breakfest I had at morning thunder was because an ex girlfriend's mother is crazy. They treated her crazy complaints well and took care of the "issue". It was nice to see them take care of the customer even if the customer was dead wrong. read more

Good food. Little bit of a wait. Better suited for those having a calm relaxing morning. Hit the spot taste is great. Generous portions. Fair prices. read more

Morning Thunder Cafe - Outside - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chico, California

My potatoes tasted moldy, and as I sat there not eating them the waitress not once asked me how I was doing. This place is a trendy dive where the middle class go to feel pretentious. A better breakfast is just down the street at Denny's. read more

This is a Great place to eat in Chico for either breakfast or lunch. The food and service is always outstanding.

Do NOT get their sourdough bread and stick with hash browns over their country potatoes. They have great stuff but if you order the wrong thing you are honestly just throwing $20 away on a very mediocre breakfast. Stick to their "favorites". read more

So this woulda been a 3 star review but service made up for the issues. Came in on a Saturday late morning. Usually the place is packed but it was pretty mellow, had a table in about 5 min. Ordered an egg sandwich and my friend had a gluten free waffle. Idk if the tag got dropped but started to get a little frustrated when another table of two that arrived about 5-10 min after us received their order and we were still waiting 20 min after ordering. Asked for an ETA and was told we were one tag back. By the time the food arrived, the table that came after us was boxing up their food. My friend's waffle was a little soggy and they forgot the avo she added for the scramble, but my order came out fine. Our server, Emily, was very apologetic, explained they have some new staff in the kitchen and are running a little behind and comped the waffle off of my friend's meal mostly for the long wait. The service and acknowledgement of the long wait time made up for the issues, and it doesn't hurt that every other time I've come in I've had spectacular service and great food. Makes up for the misfire today, thanks Emily! read more

The food was wonderful and the service was on point, never ran out of coffee and the portions were amazing. Would definitely go back!

We are sooooooo glad that we skipped the free breakfast at our hotel and came to Morning Thunder! We ordered the St. Thomas omelette and the 2-2-2 with poppyseed french toast. I have very high standards when it comes to french toast and this one hit the mark. Husband said the fresh salsa was a delicious compliment to the omelette. read more

This is the BEST place in Chico. I come here almost every weekend because they are consistent and NEVER disappoint. They offer gluten free options and I always get the french toast, which is simply to die for. The coffee is great also and I guarantee you will never have a chance to finish your cup, they are trained well to refill. The prices are very fair and the portion sizes are perfect. I RECOMMEND HIGHLY. read more

My wife and I went on 7/3/15 for breakfast at 9am and will never go again. It was pretty busy, so understandably there was a wait of about 15 minutes for a table. Once inside, we sat and waited about 5 minutes before the folks at the next table who had been seated after us got to order their drinks. After the hostess had delivered their drinks we finally got to order our drinks. The hostess then brought our coffee and water to the table at the same exact time as our waitress showed up to take our order. We then watched the two employees battle for priority at the table with the waitress refusing to move out of the way of the gal delivering the drinks and the drinks having to be eased around her and onto the table. Simultaneously, the waitress is brusquely asking us what we want. No hello, how are you, nicety, just "what can I get you?" We both ordered the special for the day: the "Chico Scramble" then sat and waited. Both of us finished our coffees while waiting and then we waited some more. No coffee refills ever appeared, though we were waiting for at least 20 minutes and had placed our cups at the edge of the table to indicate their emptiness, as if that mattered, as no waitress was even seen in our section of the restaurant to notice. When our food finally showed up the waitress dropped the plates on the table and halfheartedly asked if we needed anything else. I asked politely for a coffee refill and she said that she'd send someone. That someone finally showed up as we were finishing our meal, and only after the waitress had returned to drop off our check and saw that we still didn't have any coffee. There was no visit in the meantime to check on how our meal was or if we needed anything. I'm usually a very generous tipper, but I actually stiffed the waitress and left no tip. I don't recall ever not tipping a waitress in all my years of eating out, but the service was truly that bad. Now, onto the food we were served: Not great. The scramble was eggs, a bland sausage and some tomatoes. Dull and uninspired, with very little flavor and no seasoning. We had both ordered the home fries and that turned out to be a mistake, as instead of receiving fried potatoes as one would expect, they were simply boiled red potato chunks that looked to never have seen the inside of a skillet. However, our neighboring table received their potatoes fried, so I guess we just got unlucky. This was my second visit in 8 years and the first visit wasn't much better. Between the atrocious service and bland food I see no reason to ever return to Morning Thunder. There are plenty of other breakfast places in this town. read more

My friends and I decided to go out to breakfast and celebrate our birthdays. Since we all are recently retired (ages 55 - 69), we jumped at the chance to go the Morning Thunder Cafe on a weekday morning as opposed to a weekend when the line goes out the door. I arrived first, and the waitress allowed me to choose of the many tables that were vacant. My friends arrived shortly. We placed our drink orders while we looked over the menu. My pot of tea was 1/2 filled with lukewarm water, and the tea was poor quality (boiling water would not have helped). My friends had to ask twice for their original drink orders to be brought to them. We noticed the waitresses were very young looking, like they weren't in their high school classes. We placed our food orders and started to chat. When the food was brought to us by a woman in her 40's, she didn't place my order in front of me, but rather dumped it next to me. The scrambled eggs were good, but the waffle was not. It was apparent that it was made several days ago and chilled in the cold case. No attempt was made to warm it up. The soft butter was warmer than the waffle I couldn't cut with knife provided. The syrup was hot, but could not have revived the tough, cold waffle. No one asked to refresh our drinks or how our food was; I called the older woman over to send the waffle back. She said she removed it from the ticket, but I had to point out the error of her math when I paid the bill. Fortunately my other two friends said their breakfast's were good (who would want to treat friends to a bad meal?) This place had won awards for being the Best of Chico, but I don't think it's been lately. Usually I give places three tries before I say no more, but this was so grossly unpleasant with bad service AND bad food I don't think I'll go back Cozy Diner on Mangrove and Country Waffle on Rio Lindo are better and serve tea the way you'd make it at home! You can also get a true small breakfast if that's what you want -- and the waitresses there hustle -- I always leave them a nice tip read more

All food is good, but best biscuits and gravy n town! Wish they had a bigger location, its busy and seating arrangements are close and cramped. read more

This is my favorite place to get breakfast in town. It gets real busy on weekends. Love to go in on a weekday when I get a chance to.

I love his place. Everyone is so sweet. I love the family vibe that you feel right when you walk in the door. My favorite is the biscuits and gravy, you won't be disappointed. If you come here when the weather is nice, you can enjoy the beautiful outdoor patio. read more

I don't know why I found their waffle so particularly delicious...it didn't seem to have any fancy ingredients...but it was the best waffle ever. Also, the iced coffee was excellent. Location is very convenient for breakfast before hitting the road back to Hwy 5. read more

Been our family's favorite for years they have a family type atmosphere and the food is great there's nothing you can order the taste bad or even average everything is delicious and cut perfectly every time I would highly recommend read more

This place is so Chico- awesome local place- I have been here probably 20 times and every time has been great!

One of my local go-to breakfast spots. Love the omelettes and scrambles. The bagel sandwiches are super popular. Always a compelling special. I always get a Mexican scramble and potatoes with a biscuit and side of gravy. Bam! read more