Cynthia’s

If your looking for «fast food», I don’t recommend this place. But if you enjoy a relaxing breakfast/​brunch without rush, this is a great place. Friendly service and good food!

The food is pretty mediocre or below here — I had an omelet one morning. There were four women plus Cynthia working as far as I could tell — so that’s five — and perhaps people at 3 – 4 tables. Not super busy. The service attitude I’d described as forced, reluctant, perfunctory semi-​friendly. And if you have any dietary restrictions, maybe don’t come here because it seemed difficult to get that across. Cynthia also seemed to be in a bad mood that day, as she coldly corrected one of the servers on how the server noted the bill. So, I would have preferred to have skipped this establishment during my first time on San Juan Island.

We stumbled onto this quaint restaurant while we were staying in Friday Harbor for New Year’s Day. We did not know this was here and only found it by just happening to park near it on our way to the Market Chef (which was closed). We are certainly glad we did!
We had breakfast (which was still available at 11am) that was very tasty. The server and owner were very polite. I had the Omelet du Jour which was a spinach, cheese, and mushroom omelet. I had a side of bacon with it that was probably one of the best pieces of bacon I’ve had in a long time; it was thick, chewy, and tasted like it was cooked in maple syrup (an interesting flavor combo). The omelet was good and the breakfast salad (mixed greens w/​strawberries) made it perfectly light.
My husband had the baked eggs on avocado topped with smoked salmon. He liked it so much he tried to duplicate it at home with mild success. Would definitely recommend this little café and keep it in mind for our next visit to Friday Harbor. It is conveniently located a short walk up the hill from the ferry lines.
Thanks, Cynthia, for being open on New Year’s Day!

They are open Tuesday, Wednesday too. The french toast reminded me of bread pudding. It was quite delicious. This is the only place my wife and I could find that served fresh fruit for breakfast too.

Cynthia’s has a friendly and cozy atmosphere, perfect for brunch! I had the avocado/​egg boats while my husband had the pumpkin pancakes. Both were delicious and I, as a someone with a gluten free diet, truly appreciated the options — even within the bakery. I will make sure to stop here again on our next trip to the island. Everyone is friendly and the food is fresh, innovative and delicious!

I stopped by here for a late breakfast on Saturday morning. Ordered a 12 oz vanilla latte & the cinnamon custard French toast with a side of bacon. My latte was the wrong size, a 16 oz, which I couldn’t finish, and I was charged for it, even though I didn’t order that size. The French toast was good, perfect portion. Service was a bit slow, waited a bit after I was done for my check. They have great menu options/​specials for breakfast, I’d recommend them!

Slowest service ever!!! We arrived at Cynthia’s at 8:45 and we didn’t get our food until 10. I get that you are small but if you only have 8 tables (3 open) I wouldn’t think it would take over an hour to get our food. The quality of the food doesn’t even matter at this point. I could have been gold covered filet mignon it would have still left a bad taste in my mouth.

Eh this place was overall ok. I didnt think the food was good. Sort of thought it was flavorless. The restaurant itself is cute and cozy. The service was good although they were understaffed and a little slow. We paid $ 40 for two breakfasts a latte and orange juice. I think thats just how Friday Harbor is. The food is so so and its expensive but the town and restaurants are cute.

Arrived at Cynthia’s at 7:30 to be greeted by Cynthia herself. She was very cordial and informative. Quite an interesting and imaginative menu. The food was well-​prepared and really excellent! Everyone in our group of 9 was pleased with their breakfast. It’s one of those cafes in which I could randomly choose anything from the menu and be very happy with what I was served.
Relaxed ambiance. Highly recommended.

The savory Dutch Baby (a skillet breakfast) was perfectly prepared, as was a fluffy poached egg. The dining room is warm and homey. There is also inviting deck space. The staff is very friendly and attentive. This is a can’t miss for breakfast, brunch or morning coffee and pastry!

I had high hopes for Cynthia’s but unfortunately I was let down. It’s a cute little house with a few outdoor tables. We grabbed an outdoor table and were greeted by a friendly server (daughter of the owner). We asked some questions about the menu and them ordered. It took about 25 minutes to get our food, which was okay because it was nice sitting outside and people watching. We ordered the daily special, which was the seared ahi tuna, which was fabulous. It came on a bed of greens, more like a salad, but without any dressing. We tried to get dressing but it we weren’t able to get anyone’s attention after our food was delivered. When we ordered we were told the meal would come with rice but it didn’t. After a moment we were able to get the servers attention. She said she forgot it and brought it out. We also ordered the coconut salmon chowder. Besides the tuna everything else was mediocre. The soup/​rice lacked taste and flavor. My friend ordered the lamb ciabatta sandwich which was also very lacking in flavor. When I tried it I also found the meat was very dry and not tender at all. This sandwich was very disappointing.
While the service was friendly it was a little slow and the place was too busy for the amount of servers so it impacted service.
Inside they have a really cute seating area and a case full of gluten free bakery items which look good. We didn’t try any.
Overall, not so impressed and I won’t be back.

Owner walked right past me multiple times, no smile and did not speak to me. I had to stop her to ask how long the wait was, and she kind of brushed me off. Food looked delicious, but the rude staff put a bad taste in my mouth, so I left. Disappointing!

Breakfast was amazing! Clair’s French toast and the Dutch babies were the big winners today. Staff was friendly and attentive. Super cute place to eat, there were 5 in our party and it took almost 30 minutes to get our food, but it was worth the wait. We will be back on our next trip!

Cynthia’s is a must-​do for breakfast while on San Juan island! Everything was extremely fresh and delicious, and the service was amazing!
We split a sweet and savory breakfast– French toast (which was almost like bread pudding) and avocado/​egg boats with salmon and were thrilled with our choices! When we return to Friday Harbor, we will definitely be returning to Cynthia’s!

Amazing breakfast! Best bacon I’ve ever had and the breakfast sandwich with salmon was delicious as well. Cynthia (the owner) was there and made sure to stop by our table to chat. She was nice and gave some great advise on what to do while here on the island.

Delicious lunch and excellent service! My gluten free husband loved the gluten free bread. The flavors of our food were fresh and delicious!

Slow slow service. The staff seemed super disorganized. Had to ask to be seated, ask for a menu, ask for water, ask to have our order taken. Essentially ignored the entire time we were there. Good thing we weren’t in a rush!

Fantastic and original new restaurant with great friendly service. We had a 4 year old with us and they treated him great with toys and a treat. They had gluten free for two of us and creative meals. Thanks for a great experience.

Awesome food! Worth every penny. And Cynthia is super nice. I Highly recommend a try. Had the avocado boat and it was perfect!

We had the croissant, bacon, egg, avocado with hollandaise like sauce. Yummy! The Pesto goat cheese dutch baby skillet was so scrumptious! They also have custard French Toast that is to die for! Highly recommend this sleeper off the main drag in Friday Harbor.