Brunch Milwaukee Misses the Mark [REVIEW]

Restaurant name: Brunch
Restaurant address: 714 N Milwaukee St., Milwaukee, WI 53202
Phone Number: 414-210-5381
Business Hours: M-F: 7am-3pm, Sat & Sun: 8am-3pm
Cuisine type: American, Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free
Price per entrée: $2-$18
Attire: Casual
Reservations: No
Payment: Credit Card, Cash

Service: 4 munchies
Setting: 6 munchies
Food: 5 munchies
Value: 7 munchies
Overall: 6 munchies

One chilly Sunday morning, my boyfriend and I decided to trade in our usual at-home breakfast for a fun brunch date. I had remembered Brunch from a previous “restaurants near me” search back in early September, but at the time the restaurant was in the midst of moving from one location to another and was unfortunately closed at the time. I remembered being really excited about trying it one day. I mean, hey, a restaurant that is so about brunch it’s actually named Brunch? It sounded right up my alley.

On the company’s website, Brunch is described as “a modern café offering a classic and inventive food menu amid cheery, colorful décor,” and claims to offer the best breakfast and lunch all week long. The website also boasts photos of colorful, neatly presented dishes that will make your mouth water. Online, it seems like the perfect setting for a Sunday brunch date. My boyfriend, hungry and annoyed by my indecisiveness, readily agreed to check it out.

While approaching the restaurant, I thought it was an odd location for a brunch spot. On the corner of Milwaukee and Wisconsin, Brunch is located in downtown Milwaukee, which is almost always eerily quiet on the weekends. With the building situated between two others and staring right into the Wells Building, Brunch just seemed out of place. The restaurant was surprisingly already full of diners when we arrived at 9:30am. We checked in with the hostess and took a visual tour while we waited to be seated. Besides one wall being painted egg yolk yellow and one long booth running along the opposite wall, nothing about the space screamed “colorful” or “modern” like the website had suggested. In fact, the inside looked like it was still being remodeled almost two months later. We were also surprised to see a long, steep staircase leading up to a second level. We watched as servers bravely ran, and I mean really ran, up the stairs with trays full of food.

When it was our turn to be seated, we followed the hostess up to the second level where we were given a lovely window seat looking out into the offices across the street. We looked over the menu, figuring out who would order what and if we could have a bite of whatever the other ordered. Our server came over to deliver some glasses of water and punched our orders into a tablet, the only truly modern aspect about the restaurant compared to the drab decor. I, being the caffeine addict that I am, ordered a cup of Valentine’s coffee ($2.75) to go with the sweet and savory route I took with the Basic Brunch ($10) with over-easy eggs, turkey sausage and a lemonberry pancake in lieu of toast (+$4). My boyfriend, enticed by the cheese curds that came in it, opted for the Breakfast Sandwich ($12).

After about 20-minutes of waiting, a food runner hastily served us our food and walked away just as quickly without asking if we needed anything else. Our server was nowhere in sight and not once did he check up on us to make sure everything was ok or to refill our drinks, which ran dry halfway through our meal. At one point, my boyfriend actually had to go looking for a bottle of ketchup, helping himself at the service stations where the condiments are stocked. Neither of our dishes looked even as half as good as the menu made them sound. Although I did order the “Basic Brunch,” I was expecting a more aesthetically appealing dish. I especially expected a little more finesse with the presentation of the lemonberry pancake, which is highlighted as a “favorite” on the menu but was actually the most visually disappointing. Much like the Breakfast Sandwich my boyfriend was served, the pancake was flat and lemon curd and blueberry syrup were drizzled in a pattern that ironically resembled a frowny face. If you’re going to highlight a dish on you menu as a staple, shouldn’t the real thing reflect it?

In terms of flavor, the Basic Brunch was quite that – basic. Everything on the plate was bland while the pancake was way too sweet after my taste buds made it through the sourness of the lemon curd. On the other hand, my boyfriend nodded his head in delight after the first bite of his Breakfast Sandwich, “it doesn’t look it, but it’s actually tasty.” Unsure of his judgment, I took a bite and was pleasantly surprised by how well the chorizo was cooked. The sandwich brought back fond memories I had as a child growing up in a Hispanic household and eating chorizo con huevos (spicy sausage with eggs) for breakfast almost every day before school. Unfortunately, the Breakfast Sandwich was the only upside to our brunch outing that day.

Our server finally came back around 45 minutes after our food was delivered just to collect our payment. I left Brunch that day thoroughly disappointed. Disappointed in the ambience, the food and the service. For an establishment that exclusively serves brunch foods, and claims to serve the best brunch foods, I expected more finesse. Although the menu was affordable, the food and the service weren’t worth the $30 bill. I guess it’s true what they say: don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.