Starting Gate Restaurant

Rainbow Cafe has that old school diner feel that is harder to fake than people realize. Nothing…read morefancy, and honestly that is part of the whole appeal. You walk in, sit down, and the place seems to understand exactly what it is there to do. The food is good, the portions are solid, and it is the kind of spot where you can actually relax for a minute instead of feeling like the table is on a timer. It feels like somewhere your coffee might get refilled before you even realize it is low, which is a very specific comfort. I love a polished brunch place as much as the next person, but sometimes you just want breakfast that tastes like breakfast and not like a chef had a branding meeting about it. This hits that lane perfectly. The room has that familiar diner rhythm too, where there is a little movement, a little clatter, and somehow it all still feels calm. my mom would love this place, which may be the highest compliment I can give any breakfast spot in Auburn. Go when you want good comfort food and zero nonsense, especially for breakfast.

Looks like the local spot has changed management/ownership. Wouldn't really mind so much except…read morethey replaced their menu with breakfast only items and close at 2 pm because they've changed over a bunch of staff. Ordered steak and eggs which was described as chuck steak. They mean ground hamburger meat but when the waitress asked if that's what I meant, i responded by pointing at the menu item and saying "the steak?" $17 for a big hamburger patty, burned inedible hashbrowns, and burned toast. My mother asked not to include certain ingredients and they came out anyway too. Took a long time which I would expect for how I order it thinking it was a steak but pretty egregious for a hamburger patty. They've recently painted but took down all their personal effects so it looks very clinical and awkward. Does not help they are having a severe small fly infestation so not comfortable ambiance to sit in for chatting, like their lunch lulls used to be good for. Sounds like they're asking for some leniency in transition but they might as well close. I won't be coming back until I hear from someone else it's worth my time an

Pass on the fries.

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Tomato basil soup

Oddfellas Pub & Eatery

3.6(494 reviews)

0.4 mi

Been in here a few times... and they find a way to make something wrong or otherwise provide an…read moreantagonizing service. Dont order online for takeout either, their web service will screw it up. And they wont refund you either I learned. Auburn kinda sucks for restaurant selection, with that said, keep looking past this joint...

Not great but not bad. Food was decent and it's what you…read morewould expect for a pub downtown Auburn. I enjoyed the service, she was friendly and funny.

My husband fell in with this chili bowl! He ate it faster than I am.

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PNW Coffee Co

4.3(95 reviews)

0.5 mi

I've been going to the Auburn transit center for many years, and I've never found a coffee shop…read morethat I can stop in before I start my morning commute. Thanks to my fellow Yelpers, I stumbled across this location and I was extremely pleased. I had to exercise extreme restraint not to get any of the goodies in the dessert case. I saw pineapple upside down cake bars and berry cobbler bars that looked delicious. I settled on the iced almond milk latte and it was completely delicious. Definitely recommend visiting if you're near for some coffee. A treat for those who live nearby.

Val went above and beyond made my coffee perfect little hot ooo yeah and another little cold same…read moredrink I call it a blonde white chocolate and Carmel with oat milk !!!!! Hell to yeah!!!!

Northwest Breakfast Sandwich

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White Chocolate Mocha

Zola's Cafe

4.2(272 reviews)

0.3 mi

Very kind and helpful customer service. We have a few allergy and they were very helpful about that…read moreas well. The ambience is friendly, welcoming, and very cute! The breakfast sandwiches and ham and cheese bagel were worth it and the Caramel Latte was so delicious!

Stopped by for a Sunday lunch. We liked the mains and the cookies. There are some decent vegan…read moreoptions. Place makes a decent coffee and during weekends parking on the streets is plenty. The cafe has a old school vibe which I loved. The service was friendly. Would recommend.

Inside area

Salmon bagel

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Sam's Kitchen

4.4(23 reviews)

1.8 mi

I just love this little place! I don't get to come here often as they are only open during the…read moreweek. Every time I have been here they are so incredibly nice and the food has always been some of the best diner style food. It's like a guilty pleasure food, hangover style food you know what I mean. It may be a little off the beaten path but give Sam a try and you won't regret it.

Korean family owned restaurant! Good food and decent location nearby auto dealerships, Arco gas…read morestation, and business park. First time coming over here. Good customer service greeted by the Korean Owner (man). Would come here again!

Simple setup

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Who sells teriyaki chicken without teriyaki sauce. This is why they only got one star.

Sweet Notes Cafe

3.9(250 reviews)

4.3 mi

What a cute little place that is located right inside of a complex and is bordered up next to…read moreTrader Joe's. Once you walk inside that a decor is pretty cute and very stylish. This place has great breakfast and looks like awesome pastries and has a bunch of people coming to in and out, so you know it was actually very well like spot. You don't need a code to get into the bathrooms at all. They are free access to customers. As well as the place looks very clean and organized. Once you order, you can then pick out a table and sit down and they bring out the drinks and the food to the table. We ordered a bacon avocado Benny and my sister ordered a croissant Benny and we decided to share the Madrid crêpe. Pictures are attached and they look like pieces of art and tasted spectacular. I'm giving four stars due to some of the noise of the blenders and the pounding of something in the kitchen made it very hard to talk at times with my sister. But if there was no super loud noises and I couldn't hear my sister talk from across the table. It would've got five stars all day. Other than that great service great food. I'll definitely highly recommend coming back out and checking out.

I'm surprised by my order this time. We come here at least…read moreonce a week. My husband picked up my order to take home. We live around the corner. I ordered egg benny avocado toast, and looks like avocado toast with half a scrambled egg. Are you guys going down hill on us? He gave you guys a really good tip too since he paid a head of time.

11/18/25

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Pink Dream Smoothie

Lezzet Brunch

4.6(135 reviews)

2.6 mi

One of my favorite places for a Turkish Breakfast in South King County. I have taken a several of…read moremy friends there and they all liked it as well. The place gets busy with customers and other Turkish families, which is a good sign. You order up at the counter when you walk in, then you pay and they give you a number to take to your table. They will then bring over the food to your table. Don't expect for personalized service/hospitality from the staff. It's cashier style and then drop off food, they they buss the table. Favorite to order are: Menemen, Beef Manti, Chicken Bowl, Avocado Toast, (kids love the mini pancakes), Pide Flatbreads Parking: Parking lot (Store is in a building of apartments/condos)

It's always nice to try something new with food. While visiting Tacoma, I was taken to this Turkish…read morerestaurant which my sister and her husband enjoy a lot. I was always thought all mediterranean restaurants are the same, but this one is a little different for me. Everything has yogurt in it and I'm not too crazy about sour yogurt. The restaurant is in a little shopping center, there are actually quite a few places to park. The restaurant is very nice, clean and airy. It's a self order, and they bring the food to your table. The prices are around $20 a dish. My sister ordered all the dishes, pizza, chicken, wontons, they all looked delicious but the tastes are so different for me. The wontons are not as tasty as Chinese wontons and they're not soft. The chicken is tasty but not very flavorful. The yogurt is very sour and rich. I had some slices of pizza, but nothing to rave about. Anyhow, at least I know what Turkish food is like. This one is supposed to be the best one in Tacoma and my sister family love it. Like they say, it's not my cup of tea.

Inside seating

Beyti Kebab

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Beef dumplings

West Hill Deli

4.3(317 reviews)

2.3 mi

First, I'd like to apologize for my initial review 4 years ago, because I've been recently going…read morehere and the food and experience has definitely changed! The Longonisa burger and homemade chips is my favorite, and my kids love their tasty pansit. Everything tastes fresh and authentic. I've also taken many of my Caucasian business partners here and they also love their authentic Filipino food and ube cookies. I highly recommend this place for the value you get for the prices you pay.

West Hill deli is a casual spot where you order at the counter and grab a seat. They have a lot of…read moreitems on their menu and it took me soooo long to decide. I want to come back to try more! Ube waffles and fried chicken tenders: chicken was super crispy and the waffles were good with the ube sauce that it comes with. Super filling meal! I enjoyed it and finished it all. Heh I want to come back to try some classic filipino dishes!

Ube desserts!

Ube Chicken and Waffles

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Ube Chicken and Waffles

Biscuits Cafe

3.5(532 reviews)

4.5 mi

So wanted to love this place. Come on with a name like Biscuits it's going to be good right…read more Well not really. We decided on breakfast for lunch. I got the Biscuits and Gravy with bacon. Asked for crisp but not overcooked bacon and 2 biscuits. We also orders an omelette with gravy and biscuits and a cinnamon roll to start. 1) The cinnamon roll was barely warm. It was good but could have been hotter. 2) The omelet was good but the potatoes were burnt bits and the biscuits were very dry and not soft at all like over baked or sat in the heating drawer way past their due date. 3) The sausage gravy and biscuits meal with bacon was not good. Burnt bacon, hockey pucks for biscuits that no amount of gravy could save and potato's were burnt bits. I guess you need to come for breakfast early to get some quality breakfast foods. Service was very good and the place is very casual and clean. On the fence with this place as this was our very first time eating here.

Late review. My daughter brought me here on 5/13/22 for breakfast. The restaurant was newly…read morerenovated and clean. I recall that I ordered some kind of omelette with a side of pancakes. I honestly did not like the omelette. It lacked flavor and was not tasty unfortunately. The pancake was the only item had I enjoyed. My daughter ordered a classic American breakfast with bacon, eggs with a side of pancakes. She enjoyed her meal. Service was great. Our waitress was nice and attentive.

5/13/22

South West Scramble

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Coffee flight

The New Local

4.3(61 reviews)

4.3 mi

Came back to review a year later. Food is even better…read more Drinks are strong. The nicest and most attentive service. Clean place. Came on a Friday to sing karaoke and everyone is so friendly and welcoming. My family and I felt like we were at home. For food, we had the burritos, calamari and fajitas. All delicious. I recommend this place!

We stopped by New Local in Kent for a later dinner around 7 PM we usually only come for lunch, so…read morewe wanted to finally see what dinner was like here. I ordered the three tacos, my husband got the Umai Burger, and we added fish tacos plus wings and garlic fries to share. Everything hit the spot! The fish tacos were perfectly battered, and the garlic fries were giving full-on stadium/baseball vibes crispy, garlicky, addicting. Drinks were solid too. The space looks small from the outside, but once you're in, it's actually pretty spacious. The vibe is super fun they host cool evening events like Latin nights and other themed nights, so it's definitely more than just a restaurant. Great food, great energy, and happy hour is worth coming back for. I'm already planning to return soon to finally try their breakfast!

Mex Benedict: Soft english muffin topped w/chorizo, avocado, spinach, covered w/our asiago cheese sauce

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Our beer pretzel are served with our famous cheese Fondue Dip, yumm!!

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4 reviews that are not currently recommended

The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.

Kristina G.

12 years ago

I would like to say the food was just "okay" and while the service was amazing, the hygiene factor is just not there. I took my 3 year old son to the bathroom and just with a quick glance I could tell you it needed a healthy dose of some good old fashion elbow grease. As I walked past the kitchen on the way back to my table it was seriously just as dirty. Wont be back. read more

Carlie P.

10 years ago

My best friend and I have been coming here for years. Great customer service, great food, and great prices too! Love this place!

Chris M.

5 years ago

Great Food Great Service! I came in here expecting what I got! I received welcoming friendly service. Keep it up.

Joe L.

11 years ago

This was a great place to have breakfast. I would choose this over Denny's or Villiage Inn.

Starting Gate Restaurant - diners - Updated September 2026

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Trotter's Family Restaurant

3.7

(144 reviews)

We've driven by here any number of times and finally decided to give it a try since its difficult…read moreto find breakfast places. We were greeted by a nice young man who was going to take us up some stairs, my husband uses a walker and the server noticed it immediately and had him take us to a different booth which I appreciated. they have a very extensive menu for breakfast lots of choices. My husband got the farmers breakfast and substituted the biscuits and gravy for the pancakes. He said the gravy was very good and ate most of that leaving the biscuits which he said were too many. I had a Yukon omelette which was absolutely huge and I brought plenty home to have later. It was pretty good but that was the extent of being good. The hash browns were not only over done so they were far to crispy, but so much salt I couldn't eat them. the server brought my toast which was burned and I had to ask for a new piece, she should never have even brought that to the table. Service was fine, they kept our beverage glasses full but the food was just so so. Not sure its worth at trip back.

Disgusting customer service Don't care about others…read more Do not lie to customers When it takes time tell them it takes time not a minute!!

Hungry Dawg's Diner

3.7

(165 reviews)

Great local find while in town. Would definitely go back again. Food was good, service was over…read morethe top and the restaurant had a great feel

I love diners. The yummy food, the reasonable prices, and the friendly staff make diners some of…read morethe best places to eat and Hungry Dawg's Diner is definitely one of the best. Service is always fast and the food is piping hot. The menu is vast too so you'll be able to find whatever delicious diner dish you're craving. My current favorite for breakfast is the German sausage and eggs. I'm a huge fan of this dish, so much that I ordered it the last few times I've been in for breakfast. Worth trying if you're in the mood for a hearty breakfast! I love the cute decor in this diner too-framed dog photos all over the walls and dog murals on the windows. It gives the perfect diner feel for young and old guests to enjoy.

Krain Corner Inn

3.6

(148 reviews)

We had a mixed experience during our visit but in the end it all worked out. Plenty of parking in…read moretheir private dirt and gravel lot. During our visit it was 'seat yourself' and a waitress came right over with menus and took our drink order. As it was early, we ordered coffee and water. Coffee is good and hot. Cream on table with salt, pepper, hot sauce and ketchup. Our beverages were brought over by another staff member, Paula, who told us our waitress would be right with us. Except she wasn't. After ten minutes I was worried. After 20 minutes I was getting concerned. Our waitress showed up shortly there after and we placed our order. Paula came around a few times refilling coffees, clearing tables and bringing checks. I wandered into their bakery area while waiting for our food, took photos, read the info there and then out to the historic bar area to check it out. You can order cakes and cheese cakes from their bakery as well as take a slice to-go, or enjoy a slice in house. Our waitress saw me there on her way into the kitchen and asked if I needed something. "No, just looking". OK then. We think our waitress was working both the kitchen and the dining room which is why she was often out of sight. So two staff in FOH with one of them helping BOH. That's a lot. She brought our food when ready plus a selectiin of jams for our english muffin. We asked for silverware which she promotly brought. The marionberry jam, a hybrid blackberry from Oregon, is excellent. The food is quite good. Corned beef hash is without a doubt made fresh. Big pieces of shredded beef with potatoes and lots of fresh spices. This hash has a zing to it. We both ordered the small portion of their corned beef so it came with one egg (instead of two) and we chose english muffin (instead of toast) and got half each (vs. a whole each). With a side of their potatoes, which were also good and plentiful, we had enough left overs for breakfast the next day. Which we also enjoyed. All told, we were in and out in one hour. Food was very good. We always had coffee. We thought our waitress was unfriendly, but she's just super busy. So five stars for holding down the dining rooms with two staff members and serving tasty, well prepared food. Paula processed our card payment. Forgot to check out the restrooms. I think they are in the last dining area (where a big business meeting of some company was going on at the time) behind the bar room.

This is a really nice place for lunch when exploring the area. The interior design is rustic with…read morelots of period bar art. The staff are very friendly and seated me right away. They also easily accommodated a table change due the air conditioner blowing directly on me. I ordered an omelette with sausage, spinach and cheese. Comes with toast and hash browns. Everything was excellent. Also picked up a few chocolate chip cookies on my way out that were equally as good.

Browns Point Diner

3.6

(253 reviews)

I have to add that I am not a big fan of breakfast joints but once in a while I would make an…read moreexception since my sister loves breakfast diner. She recently discovered this place and has been complimenting on how good this place was so I had to check it out. It sits in a very nice neighborhood, in a plaza with other establishment, so there's ample parking spaces. Upon entering the restaurant, you seat yourself to any available tables or booth. The waitress was so nice and extremely efficient, she definitely got it down. I ordered the chicken fried steak to see what the hype was all about from my sister. I have to say that it was probably the best chicken fried steak that I've eaten before. It was crispy, hot and not salty at all. It was perfect. Portions were decent and the price was reasonable. The French toast was sooooo good, it had the right amount of fluff and powdered sugar, it was so good. I would come back here again and totally recommend this place.

Excellent stop. Comfort food, breakfast, dinner entrees. Quality, tasty food well prepared. Good…read moreportion size. Located at the end of a strip mall, the lot is shared with other businesses. Seat yourself in a booth or table. Walls are decorated in historic photos from the area. Everything was clean and tidy. The waitress brought waters, menus, silverware and napkins. She was very bubbly and quiye capable. The diner offers coke products. The Philly cheese steak was very tasty. I am told "there are a lot of flavors going on in there." The broccoli cheddar soup was tasty, creamy and not salty. The vegetable omlette is fluffy and stuffed with veg. Not seasoned, salt & pepper are on the table along with ketchup, jelly and creamer. The potatoes were grilled crisp and the english muffin was also grilled. Newer restrooms are at the back past the seating. They are clean and there is no diaper station. An open doorway connects the diner to the restaurant next door. Good choice for breakfast, a salad, soup, sandwich or dinner entree.

Dixie's Home Cookin'

3.4

(251 reviews)

Good diner food with exceptionally pleasant staff. I love mom and pop diners and Dixie's is a good…read moreone! The ambience is definitely small town diner decor and that just adds to their comfort food appeal. One of these days I really need to try a cinamon roll - they look great.

Some of the best breakfast you can find. Their California Benny blew my mind. Was not expecting to…read morehave one of the best breakfasts I've had in a decade in sumner. Just wow.

Las Margs Cafe

4.2

(23 reviews)

Only place in Washington where you can get great food while watching race horses go to and from the…read morerace track for their morning exercise.

The food (breakfast) was good. The hot chocolate was very water down. The service was good too.read more

Leaf's Deli

4.4

(37 reviews)

Absolutely perfect. Colleague and I out. Neither familiar with this place. Decided to give it a…read moretry. From the warm greeting coming in the door to the easy to navigate menu and order, we enjoyed every part of our first visit. We both got sandwiches. One with fries and one with chips. Like a sandwich you'd made at home, but better. And for a pretty fair price. This is one I'll return to. I could even see it being my "go-to" spot.

I got the Italian sandwich, it was OK. They put mayonnaise on the sandwich along with oil and…read morevinegar so it made the sandwich very greasy. I've never had an Italian sandwich with mayonnaise if there's oil and vinegar.

Hometown Charm Cafe

3.9

(184 reviews)

From the service to the food, everything was absolutely wonderful! We only waited about 5 or so…read moreminutes before we were seated, but we got a booth table which was awesome especially with us having a toddler. The staff was so patient with my daughter despite her having a complete meltdown because she was hungry. The food was delicious, fresh and hot. Our daughter's food was amazing as well and the berries she got were fresh! Wonderful atmosphere and place overall. Highly recommend.

I ordered the salmon Benedict. The menu says it's made with smoked salmon. It did not have smoked…read moresalmon on it, it was canned salmon. It looked like cat food. I ate the perfectly cooked poached eggs that came with it and some of the slightly mushy hashbrowns. Others in the group had meals that looked great and they seemed to enjoy them. The staff were nice but the inaccurate info on the menu was very disappointing not to mention pretty expensive for what it actually was. That's why I selected "maybe" recommend. it depends on what you order.

The Buttered Biscuit

3.5

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