Simple Café on Farwell Proves to be Worth a First, or a Second, Try [REVIEW]

Simple Café

Address: 2124 North Farwell Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53202

Phone Number: (414) 271-2124

Hours: Monday-Friday: 6 AM-3 PM, Saturday: 7 AM-3 PM, Sunday: 8 Am-3 PM

Price per Entrée: $7.95-$10.95

Attire: casual

Reservations: No; however, you can schedule private events and/or catering.

Payment: cash or cards accepted

As classes come to a close and students’ mornings and afternoons open up, they may be looking for new brunch spots to try. I know my mornings, as well as many busy students’, have been spent rushing out the door with an empty stomach, only sometimes taking the time to eat a bagel, a clementine or some other on-the-go “breakfast”. I also know what a real breakfast consists of, considering I have a job as a server at a popular East Side pancake house. However, despite how good the food at my job is—and I have to say, it’s good—I’m excited to finally have the time to try other Milwaukee treasures to start my summer days off on a delicious note.

During the last week of classes, I got my first taste of an unoccupied morning and decided to take the 30 line the opposite way of my usual route toward campus. Only eight blocks south and I met my destination: Simple Café. Let me say this right away: after one visit, I’m on the fence.

Sharing the same building as Farwell Avenue restaurants Fushimi and Good City Brewing, you might miss Simple Café’s simple outdoor décor. Honestly, the outdoor décor might be too simple. With a blank brick wall, a plain glass door and a small green sign displaying just the name of the restaurant, I wouldn’t be surprised if most people passing by completely missed it despite its great location.

Walking in, I was surprised at how big the café was for a café. At the entrance is the hosts’ counter with Simple Café merchandise to buy if a guest’s experience is especially outstanding. On both walls are long booths stretching the entire restaurant. Running down the center, in between those booths, are tables that can seat up to four guests. In the back lies a coffee and tea bar where guests can choose to sit. On a busy day, the restaurant could surely serve a lot of guests. However, on that Wednesday early-afternoon, I was one of only four tables being served.

Aside from the size of the place, the interior décor is simple, like the namesake, yet stands out with bright colors. The green, periwinkle and yellow walls immediately catch the eye and the bright orange chairs scattered throughout showcase a bold yet uncomplicated design choice. What also caught my eye were the many interesting light fixtures, including ones hanging above the bar that seemed to be made of kitchenware. It was a subtle, unique and fitting addition to the overall straightforward look.

After being sat in a timely matter, I was handed their two-sided menu and asked what I wanted to drink. I ordered the orange juice and gave the menu a look. The juice was brought to me, also in a timely manner, as I continued to look over their breakfast and lunch options. If planning a visit to Simple Café, you should expect a variety of egg-based dishes, vegetable dishes, two types of hash, two types of pancakes, one kind of French toast, a granola bowl, some sandwiches and burgers, soups and salads, and an offbeat inclusion of one ramen dish. In total, they serve 32 different meals, most of which come with a side of their “Simple” potatoes.

While I’ve seen both better and worse menus, whether they be with too few or too many options, I think Simple Café’s was fairly fitting for their vibe: simple with a focus on good, stand-out and, overall, healthy food (at least healthier than most brunch spots). Also, they make it known that they’re committed to utilizing locally-grown ingredients, which is clear in their interesting spin on classic meals. I probably should note that the orange juice was delicious (although, I expect it was Tropicana or a similar grocery brand rather than freshly squeezed).

Besides the strange addition of one ramen dish, the one area of their menu that seemed to be lacking was the sweets section. While this may go against the overall healthy theme, having only two options of pancakes and one option of French toast as guests’ only choices for sweet and solid treats is kind of disappointing. It’s especially disappointing knowing that a part of the Simple franchise is a Simple Bakery and Market located in Lake Geneva. I guess us Milwaukeeans will have to miss out on the sweet side of Simple. Alas, there are many other places with many more options to satisfy one’s sweet tooth. I would just warn potential guests that if they want sweet, they should stop somewhere else in the area after getting their savory fix at Simple Café.

Nonetheless, I found some balance by ordering their garden egg-white omelet (which includes egg whites, baby spinach, mixed mushrooms, roasted red pepper, overnight oven-roasted tomatoes and low-fat mozzarella) with a short-stack of two regular pancakes for a total of $14.21.

As I waited, I nearly started drooling at just the scent of the food two tables down from mine. Thankfully, my meal seemed to come out in no time at all, which made up for the fact that I had sat there for a while waiting for my waitress to notice I was ready to order in the first place.

While my food looked very appealing, the presentation was kind of off. The average-sized omelet was placed on the edge of a plate three times its size. I should note the garden egg-white omelet usually comes with a side of seasonal fruit that I swapped for the pancakes. So, I’m guessing that the other side of the plate would normally be occupied by a bowl. Still, I think the employees could’ve adapted better to the new side by placing the omelet on a smaller plate. It’s a small detail, but a detail that would’ve been appreciated.

Small details aside, the most important aspect of any restaurant I try is the taste of the food; the center of every dining establishment. So, how did my taste buds react to Simple Café? Honestly, they were underwhelmed. Whereas the recipes themselves have elements that I could clearly see combining nicely, the taste was, perhaps, too on par with the simple theme.

While I typically think of an omelet as a mixture of eggs and toppings, Simple Café arranges their omelets by wrapping the sautéed toppings in the cooked egg, more so resembling an egg-and-toppings taco. Neither the egg nor the vegetables had much flavor besides the oil they were cooked in and the salt, pepper and Cholula I covered them with. What stood out the most to me were the oven-roasted tomatoes; as they should have if they, reportedly, took a whole night to prepare. The pancakes were fine. They were good, in fact. But not much better than what I could make at home with one of those boxed pancake mixes.

The truth is I ate every bite to get my money’s worth. However, the truth is also that if I were to go back…I would order something else.

Here is the point in this not-so-great restaurant review, and probably every not-so-great restaurant review, where I should make a disclaimer. While the meal I had was not something I’ll dream about, I cannot properly judge Simple Café as a whole having only had that one meal. I do plan on going back someday and trying something else and, hopefully, enjoying it more than I enjoyed my first meal. But until then, I think I’d rather take the two-minute walk up Farwell to Ma Fischer’s, a 24-hour breakfast, lunch, and dinner spot that, interestingly, has lower reviews. Or, even, have a 50 percent off breakfast at my job.

Let me end by saying that what I just said doesn’t necessarily mean I wouldn’t recommend Simple Café. It’s a restaurant that’s a 10-minute bus ride from campus with food options that seem like they would please and comparable prices to other local spots. As I mentioned, I’ve only had one experience there; one experience that I would rate a 3.5 out of 5, overall. However, that’s quite lower than the 4.5 Google review that led me to go there in the first place. Hopefully with another visit I can provide a more well-rounded review and recommendation.

Rating System: 1-5 eggs

Service: 3

Setting: 4.5

Food: 3

Overall: 3.5 eggs