Bragg’s Factory Diner

Bragg’s has closed? No! It was my favorite place in Phoenix. I feel like I’ve lost a good friend.

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to review this place!
Bragg’s has literally all the things I look for/​love in a restaurant, so for me it’s one of the best spots in Phoenix. This pie factory-​cum-​diner now boasts an all-​vegan menu laden with hearty comfort foods. Vegan comfort foods, you ask? How can this be, you ask?
You’re covered here whether you like sweet or savory noms. They’ve got banana pancakes with walnuts, nachos, egg-​like things that are very egg like, and sandwiches that stand proud and say «I am not meat. I am delicious.» The great thing is they’re not «good vegan food.» It’s just good food that happens to be vegan.
My personal favorite is the Nopales Like Home because of my favorite thing they make at Braggs: jackfruit barbacoa. Jackfruit is the fruit of a plant that when cooked under low heat with marinade soaks up its flavor and can be shredded, taking on a very pork-​y texture. I get this every time, and every once in a while I’ll see one of the massive salads and get a little jealous, which is how I know it’s time for an extra side of jackfruit.
A favorite-​non-​food thing about this place for me is the diverse collection of mugs and the way-​more-​diverse and impressive collection of salt and pepper shakers.
tl;dr There’s coffee. There’s pie. There’s delicious comfort food. It’s a cozy establishment with great food and lots of personality.

The pancakes were amazing! Aside from that, we didn’t particularly care for the eggplant bacon or the nachos… the cheeze still had bits of carrots in it. The staff was nice and so was their selection of deserts.
I would say it’s a «meh». Would be willing to go again but definitely wouldn’t be my first choice.
However, as it is 100% vegan. it gets 4 stars for going the extra mile and not just staying vegetarian. So, thank you for that!

Finally checked this place out! Not once, but twice!
Yeah, it was THAT good. And I’d go back!
Super cute and quaint with a homey and cozy atmosphere in the heart of the Grand Ave art district.
They recently switched from vegetarian to 100% vegan! There’s lots of gluten free options as well!
On my first visit, we ordered the Nopales Like Home with coleslaw (because they were out of their awesome potato salad) and the Jake the Snack nachos. The jackfruit barbacoa in the Nopales Like Home was delicious and the nopales were cooked to perfection. The nacho «cheese» on the nachos was so yummy and flavorful. Everything was perfect.
During my second visit, we ordered the Avo Sando and the Secret Wonder Bat, both with potato salad. The pesto on the Avo Sando is out of this world. I need the recipe! The Secret Wonder Bat is probably the closest thing you’ll ever get to a Reuben. I was so surprised by how much it actually tasted like a Reuben! SO GOOD! Oh, and the potato salad… amazing!
Groupon has a good deal for Bragg’s too, which was nice!
Service wasn’t anything special. but who likes to be bothered every 5 minutes when you’re trying to enjoy a meal out? Honestly, I can’t wait to go back and try more of their sammies and breakfast stuffs! It’s worth it for the food, especially for the quality/​freshness of it.

This was such a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT!!! We came here for breakfast on a Sunday morning. We decided to try a variety of items.
I ordered the «Freedom Toast» with «Spiced and Sliced» — it was just okay. Definitely nothing to «bragg» about.
My husband ordered the «Frank Lloyd Bite». His pancakes were very tasty — by far the best of all the food we tried. The hash browns were strange — how do you mess up hash browns? The biscuit and gravy was not very good at all as they were dry and not very flavorful. The eggplant bacon was absolutely horrible!!!
We also ordered the vegan sausage patties and the jackfruit barbacoa — AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL!!! My husband takes one bite and says «Yuck. Here you try this! You can’t believe how bad this is!» So I take a bite of each and he is not exaggerating, they are so disgusting.
As we are sitting there, we look up and notice the air intake for the A/​C unit is covered in at least 1″ of dirt/​dust. Ewwww!!! The rest of the restaurant is «decorated» and I use that word loosely in funky décor; especially the bathroom with the plastic/​yarn items.
We both had upset stomachs after we left. We will not be back. I would give this place 0 stars if I could.

Not sure how I feel about this place after 3 visits.
My first time trying was my bachelorette party dinner last year. Service and food were phenominal! I was so happy about this place and told my husband all about it!
When we returned we got a sassy server who was hard to find… even though there was only one other table in the place eating as well. I was accidenally served something non– vegan and the server didn’t seem to care. I told her I was vegan, how could you not take care of this as a server? Anyway, I returned again with a friend and it was the same server who clearly didn’t care. I’m a waitress as well, its not hard to fake a smile.
Will I return? Maybe. Its an hour drive from my house so maybe not. Even with a groupon i’m not sure it was worth it.
I’ve read about the owners and I know they mean well, I just think they could staff better. Get servers who care! I would have loved to talk to a manager about this experience but none were found each visit. :/

We totally lucked out finding a vegan diner just minutes from our hotel in Phoenix. It was a $ 4 über ride up Grand Ave. to this little gem and after eating there on our last day in town, both me and the BF thought we should have made it a point to get here every day!
The things I crave since giving up meat and dairy (most of the time) – a good biscuit with a yummy, flavorful gravy, a reuben, BBQ of any kind, and pie with a good flaky crust – were all right there on their menu and in their bakery case, taunting me. We ordered the Frank Lloyd Bite, the Nopales like Home and a slice of the cherry pie. All of it was super yummy and we had clean plates in minutes. The service was attentive and friendly and we liked learning a little about the area and the Bragg name, too.
For vegans and vegs, this place is great. But, even if you’re a carnivore, there are so many tasty options, I’m sure everyone can find something that suits their tastebuds!

My lovely friend did some mosaics on Grand Avenue, so we toured the street to ooh and aah until the temperatures hit 114 degrees and these tourists were about to flat line on the streets, so we popped in here for lunch and to cool down. I love all things quirky, and this little place was full of quirky.
We got a round of Arnold Palmers to start with. The server was very patient with us, as 3 of us hadn’t seen each other in 10 years and there was a lot of girly gabbing going on. I ended up with a sandwich that had avocados in it, lots and lots of avocados, and it was GUD. Too bad we had no room for pie!

We got the Gluten-​Free Your Mind Waffle (banabread waffle with walnuts and chocolate chips) with the eggplant bacon and jackfruit barbacoa, and the Early Birdrito (burrito with quinoa amd hempseed chorizo) with rosemary potatoes, along with coffee and an iced toddy. Being out of tortillas, they were able to scramble the Birdrito and offered us a piece of pie to make up for it! Everything here is fantastic, from the coffee to the ketchup, the waffle to the REAL MAPLE SYRUP (only place I’ve found south of Minnesota to have it on our trip from NY). Do not pass up the Jackfruit Barbacoa; it’s very savory and rounds out just about anything it’s paired with. We also had some AMAZING blackberry nectarine pie — do not skip the pie.
The décor of the place is wonderful, with a cozy and chill atmosphere. Definitely not too trucker, nor too hipster. The auto place across the street has a pack of chihuahuas as guard dogs, so that’s cute, too.
The server is fantastic, the food is fantastic, the place is accessible, and the atmosphere is great. Five stars, without a question.

I came here because my sister told me that she had the best pancakes of here life here. So obviously I had to check it out…
She was RIGHT.
I don’t know what’s up with Phoenix but they have so many restaurants with such interesting ATMOSPHERES. Bragg’s was no different. It is the quirky corner shaped restaurant that is also unassuming and causal. Saw a couple families with babies here as well as young couples and middle aged people… good mix!
I ORDERED the koo-​koo banana pancakes (flax pancakes with brown sugar and rum caramelized bananas) with the rosemary potatoes. The short stack comes with two pancakes and they were PERFECT… beautifully crisp on the outside and just amazingly doughy on the inside. The bananas were beautiful and went well with the rum sauce. Unfortunately I found the sauce to be too sweet and was scraping some of it off the pancake so I could enjoy how perfect the pancakes were on their own. The potatoes were just right. infused and cooked with rosemary.
The SERVICE was ok. When they are at your table, taking your order, or bringing you food they were so sweet and helpful. However, after that they were kind of negligent… and we were sad.

The food is pretty good. I’m not vegan and no longer vegetarian but live very close. The service seems to take a pretty long time regardless if anyone else is in there with you or not. One time there was only two other tables and we waited an hour for our food (there was only two of us.) The waitress, however was very polite and apologized. I still give it 3 stars because the food is always good even though it takes longer than I think it should and the girls are always very friendly.
I love the décor. It’s so kitchy and fun. All the mugs are different and they have a jackalope hanging over the entry way. I also just love the story of Braggs in general and love to support local business.

My favorite vegan veggie burger in town is their beet burger. It is a little bit on the mushy side but with the poblano «cheese» and sesame toasted bun, it’s insanely delicious.
I’ve also had their vegan biscuits and gravy. Don’t expect any fake sausage in these. Their eggplant bacon is pretty good as well.
Overall this place has an amazing concept for healthy alternatives to typical diner food. Great for non-​vegans/​vegetarians/​omnomnomnivores as well!

OF COURSE, when I said I was done w/​this place because of the hours mixup, I wasn’t done. I just cannot get enough of the best burger, oh my goodness, to so delicious. I recently discovered their IG and if you follow them, you will see their weekly specials. I went for brunch a couple of weeks ago, and the pancake special was amazing. I went for dinner tonight and, yum, everything was excellent. Back to being a regular now. Now that I discovered them on IG, I will have a heads up whenever there may be a temporary hour change. I love Braggs!

I’m not going to lie. I’m really digging this place. Very hipster like. Great atmosphere! This might be my new brunch place! whoooooooo.
I came here and got the citrus pancakes and fruits on the side. It was delicious. No syrup needed. It was delightful. :D
I shall be back!

Whoa, the Gluten-​Free Your Mind Waffle was quite amazing. Not just for being a vegan and gluten-​free waffle, but for ANY waffle, period! It was lightly sweet as it was a banana bread/​walnut/​chocolate chip waffle batter, fluffy on the inside and a bit crisp on the outside, dusted with cinnamon and sugar on top. Did not need any syrup at all! I also got the Rosemary Potatoes as the side, and while they were fairly good (despite being slightly undercooked), I opted to leave most of it and opted for polishing off the waffle. Best decision ever.
The coffee was fairly decent, too, and my server refilled my cup even though I was getting ready to get up to pay and leave. So I appreciated that.

I was in AZ for business and luckily had a few hours of down time to go exploring. Unilocal is the best tool for anyone to have when you aren’t sure of specific spots to go, and it came in handy yet again. I found a whole street (Roosevelt) filled with coffee shops, markets, and art. Bragg’s was close by, and the reviews and their menu looked awesome. so that was my destination for lunch.
I could feel the vibe from this spot at first glance. This building itself is a piece of art. The decorated planters, the hanging art… the vibe is so awesome. The establishment sits on a triangular corner, and the interior space is minimal, but you are surrounded on both sides by full windows that fill the dining area with light in the daytime. There are a few tables lined up on the sidewalk outside as well. very cool setup altogether.
I saw so many items on the menu that I wanted to try, but I was still in a breakfast mode so I went with the scrambled tofu with a side of eggplant bacon. The waitress was very helpful. The service kind of an extension of the building itself. very cheerful and welcoming!
The tofu scramble was very well done. Mixed with grilled onions and peppers… it was the perfect dish to fill up on. The eggplant bacon was real good too. It didn’t really have a bacon taste, but the texture was similar to a well done piece of bacon. It wasn’t crisp, but it had that chewy texture to it. A perfect side dish for the tofu.
I was talked into trying a piece of pie (OK, it wasn’t hard to convince me) and the triple berry was suggested… I went with it! It was soooo good. The tartness of the berries mixed with the flakiness of the crust was awesome! I couldn’t believe that they got a vegan crust to be this flaky!!! This was definitely the best part of my meal… and it was all good!
Bragg’s is definitely on my list of places to stop by whenever I’m in Phoenix.

Stopped by for lunch during off peak time, party of five. We had to wait quite a while to get acknowledged with a «be with you in a sec» and it’s a tiny place. Good looking menu, everything sounded delicious. We ordered and one person in our party is allergic to one ingredient on every menu item so she asks to substitute because of her food allergies and they said they couldn’t change any of the meals in anyway. By this point we had been there for a long while and it wasn’t practical to leave so she opted not to eat and we’d grab her something once we left. So sad she had to watch us eat when the food came.
Everyone loved their meal the food was delicious but we waited so long for everything. Service is the pits.

Came here today for lunch when visiting from Tucson and it was great! Unlike most vegan/​vegetarian restaurants, this one really has a diner style. The menu is limited, the dining room is small, but it’s in a funky location with a unique feel. I had the «ELT» which was eggplant «bacon» with lettuce and tomato on toasted sourdough — the eggplant wasn’t crispy, but it was smokey and delicious.
Overall, I thought it was a nice turn off the beaten path of super trendy vegan restaurants.

I’ve been frequenting Bragg’s for over a year now. I love their vegan pancakes, especially the almond pancakes, which are made with almond milk (they do not contain actual almonds), which makes them sweeter. (Vegans should order them without the goat cheese topping.) Those banana pancakes aren’t half-​stepping either! I’m also a big fan of their biscuits and gravy. Large southern-​style biscuits, topped with a savory, corn-​filled gravy. So good!
What I do not like are their sides. The hashbrowns are really stringy and I can’t taste any potato in them. It’s weird. But my DD loves them, so maybe it’s just me. I’m not a fan of the eggplant bacon, which lacks flavor. Maybe if they fried them to a crisp and added some seasoning? Rosemary potatoes are decent, but bland as well. On my last visit, I tried the Jackfruit Barbacoa. It was ok, but the tabasco sauce (or whatever hot sauce they dosed it in) drowned out any real flavor, so all I tasted was heat. I love spicy thangs, but only when they’re equally flavorful. The potato salad is probably my favorite side item, but it contains peas, which I do not like, so… But hey, there’s always fresh fruit. Can’t go wrong with that!
This IS a pie factory, so can we talk about the desserts?! YASSSSS! Where to start? Cookies, pies, donuts, whoopie-​pies, brownies, cakes, etc. I’ve loved every thing I’ve ever tried in that dessert case! They had vegan lemon bars the last time I went, and OMG — it was amazing! I need to ask about ordering a batch of those just on GP. You can order affordable whole cakes and pies for the holidays, or just because!
It’s a funky/​hip little veg*n diner. They do serve animal-​eggs and cheeses, and the menu isn’t marked vegan vs vegetarian, so if you have questions just ask. I’m 99% positive that I was told that ALL of the desserts are vegan though.
They had really cool activities like karaōke nights, game nights, and other events this past summer, and food specials were available during those times.
Prices are already reasonable, but you can also find Groupon deals quite frequently. They have a private parking lot across the street, so there’s no stress in trying to find a parking spot. Open late.

Inside each of us the Inner Vegan prowls.
If vegan is a word making you laugh hard or run screaming from your inner vegan like the crazed living run screaming from zombie attacks; if you’re hungry for delicious food, if you’re a fan of good pie.
Stop by Bragg’s pie and put the Inner Vegan to rest. You won’t think of vegetarian or vegan the same way after dining at this excellent establishment full of Phoenix nostalgia.
Some people I know come from families who believe chicken is not meat, and fish is what you serve vegetarians when then stop by for a meal. When some people sat down with me for lunch at Bragg’s, they finished everything on their plate and were ready to return.
I had the jackfruit and nopales barbacoa sandwich. That spicy collection of bites looked like pulled pork or beef and was very filling.
I committed the sin of industrialization by asking for an artificial sweetener for my subtly delicious iced tea. They’ve got agave and honey to sweeten your life.
They run out of choice vegetarian main courses early in the day. It’s best to stop by as early as possible.
The apple blueberry pie had a very creative crust that melted in my mouth and flavors that will make serious bakers jealous.