French toast was good but everything else was just alright. Pretty pricy as well. Service is a bit jarring. We had just sat down and needed time to look over the menu but we were interrupted four times by the different people working. We couldn't figure out who our actual server was. read more

Service (**) respectful but very slow. Ambiance (****) small town cafe restaurant, clean, large windows facing the park. Coffee / drink (*) watered down, below the quality of gas station coffee. Surely their espresso drinks are good... Food (*****) biscuits and gravy absolutely delicious. Be sure to order a side of breakfast potatoes to mix in with the gravy. Even though the scrambled eggs look dry in the pic they were moist and not over cooked. The French toast was moist but next time I would order maple syrup. The average comes to about *** 1/2 stars rounding to 4 read more

The Big Blue Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Arcata, California

Great food and service for a good price. Best breakfast in town, great drinks and kind service. read more

The Big Blue Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Arcata, California

We went here for a early lunch and to our surprise the place was busy with most tables taken, but the host was able to sit our party of 2 on a 6 person table. this is my first time eating here and not sure why there are so many tables for 5 or more people, but all we saw were couples as customers. Our waitress was very kind, but the wait for our food was long for a couple of sandwiches and fries. Possibly short staffed in the kitchen that day. When the food arrived it was hot and tasty. The parking is street only so you may have to drive around, but when walking on the Plaza sidewalk be concerned for dog feces (disgusting). read more

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We are a 6 hour drive from this place. Brunch has been forever ruined in our hometown. We only want the big blue cafe. Order anything. It's delicious. read more

Good service even when busy. Good food and coffee. Pleasant atmosphere. I like to admire the lovely wood work was done by a local artisan. read more

Their tofu "scramble" is not a scramble at all, it's literally just cubes of plain tofu fried in oil. No added spices or veggies or anything. The rest of the food was average, but the tofu really brought the meal down. It's not hard to add some flavor while cooking tofu! No sure what's going on with that. They offer this tofu "scramble" as a substitute for eggs, so if you don't eat eggs then a lot of your options are going to be veeeery bland. I should have taken a picture but I forgot - just imagine white cubes of tofu that are slightly yellow from being fried in oil. Giving two stars because the restaurant and the people were nice. read more

We had the best BLT sandwiches and Clam Chowder for lunch. Highly recommend this restaurant. Staff is very friendly.

Really enjoyed the Siciliana Salad and the S&M pizza rocked! We just got back from Sicily a few weeks ago and we were happy with what we found here. The only bummer was they were out of the cannoli read more

Looks decent enough but I was disappointed because my potatoes are not cooked all the way through.... And I ordered it to go so I can't ask for them to remake it. My boyfriend and I got out booster shots so we wanted something that would make us feel better and this was definitely not it. He got a breakfast burrito which is $15 and his potatoes were also not cooked :/ I hate wasting money and I just wasted $30 on this. The only redeeming quality was that the service was nice. read more

The Big Blue Cafe - Two egg breakfast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Arcata, California

OK, but not as great as the reviews suggest. I got an omelette, home fries, and a buttermilk pancake. I had to pay extra for the pancake. You couldn't add it as a side. The waiter was good, but when I asked him which was better here, pancakes or french toast he didn't have an opinion. The omelette was OK, but only so. The home fries where very basic and bland. They weren't crunchy at all. Cooked but kind of mushy. The pancake was good but overcooked a little. Hot chocolate was watery. Nice atmosphere. Next time I'll go somewhere else that has better food. read more

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Excellent food and service. Small cafe in downtown. The gravy on any dish is the best I've ever had!

A perfect example of bad service..no exaggeration but simply 50 minutes of wait after you order food. Their explanation was that our chef was busy with online orders..like really is that my problem? The food was pretty average. Do yourself a favor and go someplace else. The food and specially service is not worth your time. Our food was still on our plate when the guy came to clear our table. There are better options around! read more

Cute/funky breakfast spot in the heart of Arcata! I had the job of choosing what we all ate for breakfast, and the sausage and gravy pictures caught my eye. Not really knowing what we were getting ourselves into, we walked into a pretty packed dining room! (good sign right?) While waiting for a table, we looked over the menu and were all between everything because it looks so good! I opted for the chicken fried steak, boyfriend ordered the butler, and his sister ordered the Breakfast Slam. We were all verrrry satisfied with our food! The service was on point too. The only thing we were iffy about were the drinks; I ordered a mocha which was pretty watery and same for the hot chocolate. We added cream which made it a little better but I suggest sticking with a coffee! read more

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Great restaurant! Loved the French dip and coffee. My kids enjoyed having the ramen. It's just the cheap ramen but my kids have missed the simple snacks from home on our road-trip. Totally worth the $3! read more

We were seated immediately and the place is super adorable inside. The waiter was quick to take orders and did such a wonderful job with two people with separate allergies. They made one order dairy free and even made the eggs separate from any butter. They suggested several options for a black pepper allergy too. This experience was wonderful! Thank you! The food was delicious all around! read more

Bring back the corned beef hash special!!! This is our go to breakfast place on the weekend. We'd go have breakfast then hit the farmers market on Saturdays. The service is always good and consistent. Sometimes there is a crowd and wait but we'd just walk around the farmers market first. The food comes quickly and it's fresh and tasty. I always get the cappuccino..they have good expresso and coffee which is always a plus! read more

Other than the name and the storefront nothing inside follows the theme of Big Blue. The name and logo makes you think of the Pacific ocean. But when you go inside it is puke green and covered in zebra pictures. Luckily the food was great and so was the service! read more

Delicious food. Friendly folks. We had the breakfast sandwich and the Butler. Coffee was fine.

Stopped by last week for lunch. My wife has a certified guide dog for the blind that's identified on the dog's harness. The hostess said she couldn't seat us inside. When informed by us that state & federal law forbid discrimination of qualified guide dogs accompanied with authorizing documentation, she asked us to wait. Presumably to check with management. The hostess returned, asked us to follow her to the furthest table in the restaurant, near the rest rooms. There were many empty tables in the main section. Too bad. The food was good. read more

This place made me SO happy. Clean, courteous, large Vegetarian selection. Great music and everything was fresh and oh so tasty. Mimosas and a Farmer's Market across the lane. read more

The Big Blue Cafe - Pitchers of mimosa!! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Arcata, California

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Somethings are meant to be. Rolled into Arcata, found parking out front. pet friendly table opened up just as we walked in. Breakfast was delicious and filling. continue to be impressed on the biscuits & gravy, pancakes, eggs and bacon tour . big blue S lam is $9.99. Coffee hot, strong & fresh! read more

The Big Blue Cafe - Pet friendly table! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Arcata, California

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Wanted to find a 'local' breakfast place and found it on the main square in downtown Arcata. My wife had the standard 2 egg breakfast and it was served fairly fast and was quite tasty, it came with a generous serving of the potatoes and very good whole wheat bread. I had the sampler of 2 eggs, potato with sausage gravy, beans and toast. It came with a very small side of a very good salsa and when I requested another portion of it I was charged $1.49 for that.. I was disappointed that they would charge a customer for that and it caused me to drop down 1 star for my review. I think for the prices paid for the breakfast they could have thrown in another side of salsa. I would come back here again if ever in the area for another breakfast. read more

Definitely one of the better places to eat in arcata. It was pretty packed when I went, but they were able to seat us right away. Would have given more stars if I didn't find a long hair in my eggs. Knew it wasn't mine when I saw one of the cooks had a really long beard with no net over it. But they were nice and just removed the meal, no questions asked. read more

Great food, better service! Parker was the friendliest server. Chili cheese omelette with cheddar cheese and red onions was beyond delicious but the country potatoes were best I have had in years! Definitely a must visit. read more

I was very sad that my old Arcata standby was closed for vacation as I was desperately looking forward to vegan biscuits & gravy with locally made vegan breakfast sausage ...so drifted back toward the town square and ended up at Big Blue. I was surprised to learn that they had a vegan option -- "Karen's Potatoes" -- offered to make it vegan with avocado and tofu scramble, so I tried it out. It was DELICIOUS. I was very happy with my coffee drink and my breakfast and the price was very reasonable. Service was good and the cafe wasn't too crowded for a Friday morning. I'll definitely consider The Big Blue next time I am in Arcata - thanks for an awesome breakfast! read more

Cute Arcata spot, good Humboldt vibes. Tiny shop, can get busy but that's cus they are great! I love the biscuits and gravy probably best in town. Also get the club sandwich with a side of clam chowder for dipping, try it out super good combo. read more

The Big Blue Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Arcata, California

So amazing!!! Wife and I destroyed an entire breakfast including the blue slam , French toast, croissant sandwich and the quiche of the day! Top that off with coffee and a mimosa and my wife and I will be back for sure! Side note--- if you are a biscuits and gravy person it's a MUST ORDER!!!! Soooo good :) read more

The Big Blue Cafe - Phenomenal !!!! That's the quiche of the day , blue slam breakfast , croissant sandwich and French toast! Amazing - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Arcata, California

We are visiting our son and ended up having dinner at this quaint cafe. My son had the duck breast, my husband the ribeye, and I had the salmon dinner. According to my husband the mash potatoes were to die for, my son loved the duck breast, and the salmon I had was very well prepared! We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner. Looking forward to our next visit! read more

Came here after reading reviews and ended up eating breakfast here twice while on vacation in this area. First off, our service both times was fabulous but Sam stuck out as a very personable, accommodating and most helpful waiter. There was also a barista there (who's name I cannot remember) who was also very helpful and accommodating with my boyfriends Americano order. The food was brought to us in a timely manor and everything was fresh and great tasting. My vegan boyfriend had no problem finding something to order nor did our omnivore friend. Great location right in the town center. We will be back again when we get up here next. read more

The Big Blue Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Arcata, California

I have come here for breakfast or lunch many times! Because it is so good! I love the breakfast sandwiches, on a croissant or bagel. My husband always gets the ginger garlic roast beef sandwich with cream cheese. Kind of odd that they use plastic chairs, but nothing wrong with that I guess, just different. Service can be a little slow. I walked in and was the only one waiting, 3 employees walked past me and back without acknowledging I was there. No biggie though, I was immediately seated after. read more

The Big Blue Cafe - Bagel sandwich, egg cheese avocado - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Arcata, California

I recently ate here after years of not going because I felt like it was slightly over priced for what the food is. Maybe other people thought the same way that I do because things have changed. The coffee is still ridiculously priced. Almost $4 for a cup, just because they say it's organic. Really? Show me some hard proof that it is and maybe I'd be open to paying that price for a frickin cup of coffee again. The food prices have become better, I had a decent sandwich that came with a salad that was more than enough to share with another person. So all in all, I will probably go back again. read more

Four stars for making everything from scratch! As for the food, my Sweethearts Huevos Rancheros was wonderful and he was very happy! For myself, I was happy to order the Chicken Fried Steak, as I can usually never order it due to unknown origins of the gravy. Knowing this was housemade gravy from scratch allowed me to order it with no concerns, and the gravy was delicious! However, I'd forgotten how bland that breakfast could be, which was my own fault. It was very tasty and tender, our eggs were a little less done than I would want for over easy medium, but again, tasty. The English Muffin was perfectly toasted and buttered and made me happy. The only thing I did not like was the plastic chairs. I kept waiting for it to buckle under me. It was nerve wracking. The little downtown area is quite charming. The crowd in the restaurant was rather trendy/hipster, which was fine with us. Apparently we were lucky to come in early on a weekday and find parking on the street. If we're back in this area again we'd happily return for another quality meal. read more

Great little restaurant, the service was great. The special was French toast with fruit. It was wonderful. The pricing was fair.

Used to be our favorite breakfast place, but the last two times have been abysmal. Ordered a pitcher of mimosas - did not arrive until our breakfast was done. We were told twice, after asking where the mimosas were, "She's working on it". How hard is it to pour wine and orange juice into a pitcher? Place was maybe half-full. Had a biscuit and gravy - tasteless glop and a biscuit like a hockey puck, only harder and dryer. Never again. read more

Kudos to the waitress dealing with bizarre and rude patrons. Loud family discussions, complaining because an item wasn't made the way you thought it would be and worst of all, people talking on their cellphone in the restaurant! The food and service were both very good. Thank you! read more

Nice cozy restaurant with tasty organic and cleaner eats. Good simplistic menu with tasty sweet potato fries. We went here for brunch and I actually got a Patty Melt that was on their Specials menu for the day. My daughter has whole wheat pancakes with chocolate chips added to them- this was yummy! Nice, helpful staff constantly refilling drinks and asking if you need anything. Be prepared to wait a bit BUT it's certainly worth it. The prices are good. The food is good and the vibe is nice in the place in general. read more

Great staff, good food, delicious lattes! Kind, attentive employees and large portions for the price. I haven't been back since they reopened & wasnt sure what to expect but it was as good as ever! read more

I would agree with other comments that wait staff is strange. When I asked for a recommendation ( because not from here ) I was lectured as to why I should never ask a waiter for their advice. It was strange enough to draw comments from another table. I ordered the quiche which came with no crust and pretty runny. The potatoes served with it were Luke warm. Also agree that coffee was grossly over priced! I may try this place again but not for breakfast. read more

The Big Blue Cafe - Quiche with no crust and potatoes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Arcata, California

Came here on road trip. Seriously this place is f&@#$ng DELISCIOUS!!!! My friends got a pitcher of Mimosas which was pretty cheap. They loved it. I ordered steak sandwhich came with there fries which were so good omg. I would love to comme back here again they had so many things on there menu i want to try. ***Everything taste super fresh and homemade here.*** read more

The Big Blue Cafe - Pitcher `o mimosas lol my friends were stoked about the price and the taste. Coffee was good too - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Arcata, California

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