Runcible Spoon Cafe & Restaurant

We loved Runcible Spoon — very charming ambiance, interesting decorations, small, but cozy even with a large group of people. The service was very friendly and prompt, the food was delicious as well as the desert. Would recommend and will definitely return.

Great spot for breakfast, lunch, or dinner with a cozy atmosphere. The service is a little up and down depending on which waiter you get, but overall one of my favorite spots in Bloomington with great food and even better coffee.

Fun Fact: The worst time to go to this breakfast joint is at breakfast! It’s more expensive and you have fewer options.
Here are some highlights:
I give 1 star for each time the waitress filled our drinks.
Runcible says: «Breakfast served all day.»
Honesty says: «We serve a one page menu of expensive specials, but once lunch time starts, we serve lunch AND we expand our breakfast menu.»
I’ve gone here a lot during my time in B-​town. Today when I got my menu, I asked if the menu had changed because normally I just order their 3 pancakes, but now this menu had a short list of breakfast specials. The waitress acted like I was crazy and said that was the only menu and it hasn’t changed for a long time. So we ordered and I just figured the prices had gone up in the last few months.
Then tables next to us were seated and they were given the exact menu I was familiar with in addition to the tiny menu I had. So I looked at one of the other menus and saw the exact menu item that I had asked about. Also, the meals we ordered were cheaper on this expanded menu.
Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky tactics to try to extort more money from us.

They do offer something enjoyable to explore. A place good for chatting in the morning.

Nice change of pace from other «fast casual» places. Kids 3 and under eat free, and the wine is inexpensive. Variety of vegetables and sauces, but I wish they had brown rice. Nowhere near as good as the ethnic restaurants, but did you really expect that?! We’ll be back, even with all the choices Bloomington offers.

Love this restaurant! One of the best breakfast/​brunch places in town, and it has a lovely ambiance. Would definitely recommend for all.

The capacity and cleanliness both seem to have increased a little bit in the many years since I last had brunch at the Runcible Spoon. The food is still a throwback, but in a nice way — if you pay a dollar extra for vegetables on your home fries you get tons of sauteed dark green vegetables like broccoli and zucchini, all quite substantial and seemingly fresh rather than frozen. Bound together with a little cheddar cheese and covered with a couple runny eggs it feels satisfying and yet like a pleasant beginning of the post-​Christmas detox.
Also I can’t complete review without noting that the servers were unusually cheerful and elfin — so much so that I felt a little guilty about the amount of emotional labor apparently required of them.

Adorable atmosphere and incredibly kind employees. They are a cute little establishment located in a house in downtown bloomington. They have excellent food and they offer many healthier options. They aren’t very accessible for those with mobility issues but, there is an area outside for warmer days.

Excellent location and patio. On a sunny day nothing beats a brunch there. On chilly days I also enjoy having breakfast there. Nothing stands out but everything I have tried is quite reasonable.

I absolutely love the Spoon, and it’s my favorite placed to take my beau on a Saturday morning before perusing Kirkwood or setting out on another kind of adventure.
The atmosphere is nice – very cozy and homey, with lots of unique nooks and crannies, multiple rooms for seating, and a nice outdoor/​patio seating option for those lovely sunny Bloomington mornings. It’s a very welcoming place that always has a pleasant atmosphere, full of people and conversation nearly all the time. However, because so many people are fond of the Spoon, during busy times (game days, when students get back into town, parent’s weekend, etc) there may be a wait and service may not be as quick as some wish it could be.
I do believe the food is worth the wait, though. It’s all very comforting and filling, and for a local restaurant, I believe you get a good value. I love their omelets, pancakes, and French toast, and can’t get enough of their teas and coffee drinks, with occasional specialty drinks.
The service is usually very fast and friendly, with a variety of servers around who seem to help each other/​watch each others tables. As I said before, sometimes service is a little slower during busy times of the year, but that’s to be expected.
I would recommend this adorable little house turned restaurant to anyone wanting an intimate breakfast/​brunch setting with some friends, family, or someone special. Go Spoon!

Sure does take an eternity to get a coffee around here. There’s always 10 staff running around th restaurant and NONE of them are your server.
The atmosphere certainly has improved tho.

Large servings, pretty lackluster food.
Runcible Spoon doesn’t have the best location, or the best food, but it also has a calm, homey atmosphere that’s a Bloomington classic.
There are some problems that pop up though. It’s hard for breakfast to really stand out, but Runcible Spoon pretty much takes that to the extreme. I would say it’s the most average restaurant I’ve eaten at in these two and a half years, which isn’t really a huge issue, but as an independent restaurant it does mean you won’t get your money’s worth, however little you spend.
This is a place thats nice to come to when you live nearby, but to avoid at all costs if you’re coming from out of town.

I’m a regular to Runcible Spoon. It’s a usually a good place for a weekend brunch with friends or a first date.
However, my last visit was far from this description. After waiting for 30 minutes to be seated, my party of three was placed in a small corner where my grandfather was sat in a busy doorway. Seating aside, we waited for a further 10 minutes before getting any drinks or even talking to our waitress.
After ordering we waited a further 45 minutes before being served our food. In that time, a table sitting next to us, a party of six, was seated, served and finished eating before we were. After talking to the waitress and manager, we were informed our check had been misplaced.
I was very disappointed in my experience and the food I was served was spoiled because of my frustration due to the wait. I doubt I will visit again for a long time to come.

Runcibile Spoon is on my «must visit» list when I’m in Bloomington. The coffee is great, and the breakfast food it top notch. This time I had the egg white omelette with spinach and provolone. I ordered two blueberry pancakes to share with my baby. She wasn’t a huge fan of the pancakes’ flavor, but I liked them just fine.

My friends and I went on a Sunday and it was really busy for brunch but we were quickly seated which was nice!
The wait for our food wasn’t too bad, however our server wasn’t the best at checking up on us. She showed up to our table a total of three times while others servers showed up to our table to make sure we had enough water and asked if everything was alright. So not impressed with our waitress.
I got the chef’s choice omelet which was only ok. Too much onions, not enough meat. Oh, and it wasn’t all that flavorful. I’ve had better.
The strawberry pancake is the best of the three flavors we ordered. Chocolate was good I heard but the blueberry was just bland even with syrup. :/​
My first time here and im a tad disappointed considering I was hoping it’d be amazing from the reviews. BUT I’ll give this place another try sometime later and update my review if anything changes.

The homey atmosphere of Runcible reminds me of a cozy hipster cabin in the woods that serves really really really good homemade food.
Their hollandaise sauce is homemade and to die for, especially on the veggie eggs benedict.
The portion sizes are huge — I had trouble finishing two strawberry pancakes!
As for drinks, the spiced coffee has an excellent tasting foam. The hot cocoa is also delicious, with the perfect amount of chocolate and whipped cream.
Service can be spotty when the crowds are large (i.e. Sunday brunch) but otherwise it’s really fast!

Great little quirky place to go for breakfast that won’t break the bank. They usually get pretty busy and the service is hit or miss, but the atmosphere is fun and has made it a Bloomington staple.
As far as food goes, they have a pretty big selection. Personally, I’m a huge fan of getting a chocolate chip pancake with peanut butter & syrup (basically a glorified dessert). As an avid tea drinker, I was also very impressed by the amazing variety they offer. Overall, not the best brunch spot in Bloomington (I prefer Feast or Uptown) but still a great option if you’re looking for something cheaper.

When scouting out places to eat, I came across this place. I thought it sounded pretty cool. Once we got in, there was someone by the door who promptly opened it for us and then we were immediately greeted by a guy armed with menus. Outside or inside? Inside, please. We had finished walking around the entirety of Downtown Bloomington (or at least a good amount of it) and needed to be in the shade and cooled down.
He swiftly led us downstairs to a booth.
It was a little past 11 am on a Saturday and the place was busy. No waiting yet, but still packed. We sat down and I got my wish. I was showered with cold water quite literally. A waitress was clearing the table behind ours and one of the cups of ice water toppled over, the contents hitting my entire left side, effectively soaking my shorts, the seat, and splashing everywhere. Interestingly enough, I didn’t mind it. Sure, half of my top, underwear, and a part of my left shoe were wet, but it was welcome. I was given an ample amount of paper napkins to soak up as much excess liquid as possible. The mornings in Bloomington may be nice, but it was nearing noon and I was feeling the heat. In short: my 3 star rating was not because I had cold water spontaneously splashed on me. Either way, she was really nice and quite apologetic/​embarrassed about the entire ordeal. I used to work as a waitress at one point and I know you will have one of those days and, apparently, today was hers.
Our actual waitress came by within 4 minutes of being seated, halfway through the cleaning up process of the spill. She was pretty helpful with our needs. Although they don’t do substitutions, they will adjust things on the menu if needed. I found out that we could have the veggie scrambled egg combo and the vegetarian eggs benedict. We could also have the pancakes and desserts as well as the make your own omelette. I was interested in the home fries since I believe in spuds if I eat out for breakfast, but they sadly add garlic powder in the seasoning blend they use. (Note: we’re vegetarian but don’t eat onion and garlic, which puts a damper on things and we normally don’t eat out because of this, but we were in town for business so it was needed.)
We ended up getting the scrambled egg combo and the veggie eggs benedict along with black coffee for him and an iced chai tea for me. We also had iced water (in cups, this time) as well. The scrambled egg combo was pretty standard fare. Scrambled eggs with two 1-​centimeter-​long cubes of feta, 2 slices of tomatoes, fresh spinach (slightly wilted from the heat of the eggs), toast, and a cup of fruit (strawberries, pineapples, cantaloupe, and grapes). There were also some containers of jam and butter for the toast. It was decent but nothing great, but I was hungry and it was something I could eat. The eggs benedict was better, but also not the best. The eggs were good and so were the English muffins they came on and the sautéed spinach was good. However, I felt like their hollandaise sauce could have more of a hint of lemon and the sauce is what makes eggs Benedict so eggs Benedict.
Hubby’s coffee was black and hot so he liked it fine. My chai tea seemed to be made of more milk than chai (on the plus side, it wasn’t too sweet because of this) and the longer it sat there, the chai taste just got more diluted from the ice. This isn’t their fault since I asked for it to be iced, but it didn’t help since it wasn’t that strong to begin with.
All in all, pretty good and friendly service (even the surprise shower was nice, especially on the walk back) in a cozy building full of character complete with nooks and crannies. It pretty much reminded us of the Hobbit Café back in Houston — and they even serve similar fare! However, the food was just okay.

Very impressed. The vibe is cool. We sat on the patio and didn’t see the inside. We went for breakfast and beer — unusual combination.
I had the smoked omelette… It was very delicious. I upgraded it to essentially be a «lox and bagels» without the bagels. I had them put onions and capers inside, along with the smoked salmon and cream cheese that was listed on the menu. I was hesitant about the cream cheese inside, but I’m glad I left it as is because it was delicious.
That’s all I ate and it was plenty. The service was great too. I never had a glass half empty (or half full), which was nice. There were always servers and bussers walking around, so it was nice to see a restaurant staffed well.
Enjoyed it very much and recommend it.

Crème brûlée, my all time favorite with free styles, and grilled salmon with mashed potato and veggie^^