Rooster’s Breakfast Club

does anyone know what happen to this place? looks like its been closed for months now

It’s not sad that Rooster’s is gone, in fact, it’s past time. Sure, the food was good, occasionally. But the truth is, the owner stole from everyone around him and was shut down due to not paying his bills. As one review notes, the petitioning waitress complaining about not getting paid was the only one who really took a stand against it. I’ve heard so many stories from people who worked there. Hopefully an honest business will replace it. Good riddance to the cock.

We miss you! Hope you’re opening again soon. This is a classic diner breakfast experience with possibly the best waitress in the city. June is a true professional waitress, who is a total character and adds soul to the Rooster’s experience … Enjoy!

For rizz? I work in Phinney Ridge, like… I can walk here from my office, and I do every couple of weeks to get myself my once a week allowed lunch that I didn’t bring from home.
Lets get real. The inside, a little ghetto-​looking, but not dirty or anything, and while the waitstaff seems to be pretty much ever-​changing, the food is really good. I like to get a chicken gyro or the bbq sandwich. Yea, it’s a breakfast joint, but the lunch isn’t half bad, and the prices are pretty easy on the pocketbook for how much you get. It’s usually served pretty quickly and comes out hot and plentiful.
Phinney Ridge needs a few more good little places like this. Hopefully this building sticks around and doesn’t get replaced by condos like the contractor is trying to do, because I’d really miss Rooster’s!

A couple of friends checked Rooster’s out for us a few weeks ago, checking on wheelchair access. One of those friends joined my partner and me this past Sunday.
I like all forms of brunch food and went for the obvious (the «test»), which for me is French Toast. The handwritten menu offered «hazlenut french toast» and while I think of hazlenut as a trendy northwest flavor that is mostly too nuanced to taste, what the heck. That made two of us. It came with eggs any style and bacon or sausage (and the waitress made sure we knew they had good ham as well.)
The eggs were cooked properly (and I’m fussy — not a big egg fan), the French toast almost too big a serving and yum, the sausage was good (though his bacon was better — and thank you for asking how you want your bacon cooked) The coffee was fine (I missed having an espresso machine, poor me, but I survived), and the service was terrific. We sat and sat talking and they kept offering coffee and water long after we were done (we checked to be sure we weren’t holding a table for too long, We even asked and were waved off.)
During the couple hours we were there, it seemed busy but service kept up. Yeah, maybe it is like Pete’s but it’s a little farther down the street, the service just as fast and the menu is large and inviting. No, I didn’t really taste the hazlenut in the French toast but assume it’s me. Everyone who served us was nice, fast and good. The prices are very reasonable. We’ll be back.

It’s like Pete’s Egg Nest, only further down Greenwood/​Phinney Ave. Both places are fine. I don’t know what all the ruckus is about.

I would never return to this place. Service was horrible. We were seated promptly, but waited at least 20 minutes before our order was taken. We waited about half that time for our food, and it took a while to get our bill delivered and paid for. The waitress has got to be related to the owner, or I do not know why they would keep her at all. Do not go here if you are actually hungry.

Egads!
We were hungry and not about to head to the Fremont solstice fair without food in our belly. So we remembered that place called Rooster’s and thought, let’s give it a shot. We drove by and it was pretty busy so we figured it couldn’t be that bad. We stepped inside and we should have gone with our gut and left. Creepy, old… something seemed wrong.
We were told we could sit at a particular table and I grabbed the menus and we sat with hesitation.
The menu looked great with all the possibilities you’d want for a breakfast place, so we went for it. A busser came to us sporting a black eye and bought us our waters. We ordered our beverages which he returned promptly with.
Our server then came to see if we were ready and when we ordered she had to look at the menu to make sure she knew what else to ask regarding the eggs or sides. Sure, maybe she was new, but it seemed more like she was just frazzled.
The meal came quite quick and by the looks of it, well… we knew it was going to be just OK. My veggie scramble was very wet and the hash browns were oily but not crisp. My mate had the pancakes which were barely done in the middle with very dry scrambled eggs.
The coffee was bad. My mate put sugar and tons of cream into his cup to mask the burnt taste, I’ve known him for 14 years and he’s always a black coffee kind of guy.
The only thing good? The fresh brewed iced tea and the English muffin.
Enough said.

I heard this place was started by the guy who was the chef at Pete’s Eggnest. We went last weekend, and the menu is EXACTLY the same. I ordered my Ham & Avocado omlette, as I was pretty sure what to expect (have been to Pete’s many times).
Overall, the food is good, but it’s like the sequel to Pete’s. It’s a good breakfast place, but not the greatest. Good for a weekend breakfast. I’d prefer to start at Pete’s, if it’s too busy, I’ll head down to Rooster’s.

I imagine the reason this place is in business is because of the overflow they must get from Mae’s Phinney Ridge Café.
Located a block or two south on Phinney, the Rooster Breakfast Club is nothing short of mediocre. I ordered the three eggs and hash brown plate and guess what I got. I got a plate with three eggs and some hash browns. Promises were made and kept. No disasters, nothing special.
The best thing was when the waitress walked away from our table after one visit, the girl I was with snapped her fingers at me and said «Hey, she’s wearing the same pants she was a few minutes ago».
So if you are in the area and can’t get into Mae’s or you don’t want to wait and just want standard breakfast food, there’s always the Rooster Club. And don’t look at waitresses walking away from the table. Apparently that is frowned upon.

Breakfast is so-​so. Fairly good-​sized portions, but nothing special. One of the former waitstaff was picketing outside the other day and I stopped to talk to her. She claims she and two others have not been paid for several weeks of work and one of the others was fired for asking for her check. There’s probably more to it, but the manager/​owner refused to talk to me about it. Judging by all the hollering in the kitchen, it sounds like a lousy place to work. I’ll go eat somewhere else, thanks.

If Pete’s gets 4 stars, this place gets 3. Why? The owner needs to take a course on operations. Basically, tables were sitting empty, while the queue of people waiting was getting longer. They could easily have increased throughput and decreased cycle time if they had just been more efficient with seating customers.
There were 10 people waiting and at least 5 empty tables when we got there. I’m not sure if the hostess was trying to alleviate the burden on the two waitresses, but it was frustrating as a customer to stand there for 10 minutes even though we could see there were so many unoccupied tables.
We were finally seated, after which it took another 10 minutes for the waitress to take our order. It seemed she was a very friendly gal who paused to carry on entire conversations with her customers. It’s awesome that she was so social, but not so awesome that we were hungry and in a hurry.
I ordered the «Special French Toast» (a Rooster specialty) with bacon and hash browns while my companion opted for their daily special breakfast scramble which was an assortment of sausages scrambled with cheese and onions. When our food arrived, I couldn’t figure out what was so special about the french toast, but it was still very tasty. The hash browns were just slightly less buttery and crispy than Pete’s. Bacon was thick-​cut and very crispy. My companion’s dish was very tasty, containing at least 3 different types of sausage.
Portions seem to be a teensy bit smaller than Pete’s or maybe I was a tiny bit hungrier, but I managed to finish all my food. Good enough to come again if we’re too lazy to drive the extra mile to Pete’s.

Yes: Rooster’s is not your go-​to vegan or vegetarian joint (its all in the name, y’all)
Yes: Roosters does not have fancy coffee (but how about a refill every ten minutes at 1.50 a mug? Yes please)
And yes: Rooster’s is the best breakfast place i have been to in seattle hands down. Here’s why:
Cheap, unpretentious, huge portions, quick service, sit where you want, awesome staff. What more could you want in a breakfast diner joint?
The staff at Rooster’s are really friendly in a totally un-​forced way. They’re your usual young n’ hip greasy spoon wait staff (that sounded terrible), but without the attitude. They actually seem as if they like their jobs! Wow, what a concept. Is it just me or do most staff working at trendy places act like they’re above general customer service courtesy? Its amazing how much more comfortable i feel in a business with staff that smile.
The prices are amazing. Part of the appeal to breakfast diner food in the first place is you pay for what you get: eggs toast and bacon aren’t exactly rare and pricey commodities at the supermaket. But Rooster’s manages to turn these cheap items into something greater than their value: delicious, and oh so filling. My boyfriend and i decided to share a scramble (its the economy, man) and when we got our order it came on not one, but TWO large plates, completely filled food. I was sure they misheard us and served two meals, but when we got the check they had indeed billed us for one. When you share a dish, they seriously seem to double your order free of charge. incredible. I’ve heard that you can add three bucks on your bill and quadruple the size. Bring your friends!
So yeah, the place is cheap and will fill you up. But its also really tasty. I am so over Beth’s (that other greasy spoon diner) because number one, they’re not that cheap, and number two: every last thing is cooked in the same neon yellow grease, so your hashbrowns taste exactly like your eggs which taste exactly like whatever sludge is all over your toast. At Rooster’s your plate actually looks appetizing as they put in in front of you (so you don’t have to be drunk or hungover to muster eating it) Even kind of beautiful: Three eggs so white and ready to have their orange yokes spill out, a gigantic serving of hash browns, so fluffy and crisp, the four huge bacon strips dominating the plate cooked just the way you like em (no seriously, they ask how you like your bacon) and the side of toast, in all its two slice glory.
Oh yeah, and the coffee ain’t no espresso but we’re not just in Seattle, land of coffee snobs, we’re in America people. Land of the refillable coffee mug.
Get over it and get into Rooster’s!

The Wife and I visited this Sunday morning at around 10:30 for the first time. We got very lucky in getting the last 2 top in the place. It was hopping in there! We were greeted right away and served coffee and water while we looked over the menu.
I was in the mood for pancakes so I ordered the «Pan-​San» which was two large pancakes, eggs any style and a choice of bacon or sausage. The waitress even asked how I would like my bacon! (very limp please) The Wife went with a special of Dutch Apple French Toast which also came with eggs any style and the same choice of meats. Even though the place was slamming our order came up quite quickly. My pancakes were tender and fluffy even if they weren’t the most flavorful I’ve had. The scrambled eggs were a bit more done than I like but I have had worst. Both the bacon and the sausage were very good. The Wife’s French Toast (I got a bite) was good but had a custard like consistency. Odd.
The good? The price for one. My pancake/​egg/​bacon meal was $ 6.95! Outstanding value. The Wife’s meal was $ 8.95. With coffee, tax and tip our meal was $ 25. The service was very good considering how busy this place was.
The bad? The coffee sucked for one. If you are doing breakfast in Seattle at least offer a decent coffee. We aren’t afraid to pay extra for good joe. The sheer volume of people coming through the place was frantic. I can’t blame the restaurant for being popular but it does make we think twice about coming again on a weekend morning. It didn’t help that our table was right in front of the door so people were waiting for a table to empty right in front of us. The pressure!
Not bad food and the price is right. If you don’t mind crowds or have a weekday morning off you can expect a good value.

I’ve been back a few times since my original review and the experience has been consistently as good. I’ve never heard «yelling coming from the kitchen» or had anything but friendly service, even when they were busy.
A couple of these reviews seem like they have sour grapes over the fact that the owner of Rooster’s is giving his former employer, Pete’s, some competition. Nice to have loyalists, eh Pete?

The one thing that will keep me from going back is the heavy salting of the food. The portions are ample, the service is nice… Just get the cook to ease up on the salt shaker!

I have never been a Pete’s Eggnest devotee, mostly because as a near Vegan the choices for me were few, but I know it’s beloved by it’s patrons and their former head cook is now slinging hash at Rooster’s Breakfast Club to the sure delight of his many fans.
Now, I’ve got nothing really bad to say about Rooster’s, other than it’s pretty unimaginative, straightforward breakfast fare that doesn’t really take chances. The group I was with had omelets which were ok and pancake platters that were pretty much what you’d expect. The bacon strips were huge and a big hit. The service was efficient and friendly.
The thing that I found disappointing was the ad they put in the Phinney Ridge Community center newspaper that indicated they had «Vegetarian» and «Vegan» options available which is the ONLY reason I tried this place. However, upon looking at the menu there were clearly no vegan selections. I inquired about this and the waitress was perplexed, and when I asked if they had something like a tofu scrambler she said «Yeah, we won’t be having tofu in here» and then offered to have the cook «prepare something special» for me. When I asked what that would entail she tried to invent something based on one of the specials, but not wanting the cook to experiment I decided to go with one of the lunch items, a vegetarian Gyro, minus the cheese, which I had served with hash-​browns. The sandwich looked good and the pita bread was a nice soft whole-​wheat, but overall without cheese it’s just sort of bland. The hash-​browns were fine, but again nothing special.
Look, I understand that not every breakfast place serves a tofu option, in fact it’s pretty rare, but with Mae’s up the street serving one of the best vegan breakfasts around I don’t see any reason to wander further down to Rooster’s. To be fair, vegetarians who eat eggs and cheese are going to do just fine here
Traditional breakfast seekers will love this place, non-​traditional seekers look elsewhere.

Have already reviewed this place and it’s elsewhere on Unilocal.This weekend it was packed with slavering folk busily chomping thru a ton of good food. Didn’t see a line out the door but that was mainly due to nimble wait staff and a tasmanian devel in the kitchen. I’ll match this place with any in the quality and quanity department. The places’ daily breakfast and lunch specials are a wonder. I’m going back (agin’) — See you there!

If you like Pete’s Eggnest, you’ll love Rooster’s Breakfast Club. Large portions, cheap prices, friendly staff, and my lady and I enjoyed some really good diner food. Our avocado and 4-​cheese (!) omelette was gooey and delicious and served atop salty hash-​browns crispy in all the right spots. And our pumpkin french toast was pumpkiny-​delicious without being too sweet, so it was stunning in its syrup-​hat.
I can’t wait to go back to try their biscuits and gravy.