The Ridgeback Cafe

I find it very conflicting to write this review because while the food is delicious the lack of service is a turn off. After a horrible first experience (i.e. wait time, coffee never arrived, food arrived later than guests who ordered after us, lost order and when we finally received our food it was the wrong one but we ate it anyways, received our dessert crepes first then waited another 50 min for our savory crepes, lost our bill, had to go up and request for our check, ignored by all servers, water never refilled, manager proclaiming «hey guys you know this wasn’t my fault lol» etc… pretty much every worst case scenario that could happen during a dining experience. The only thing that didn’t happen was getting something spilled on us). I absolutely HATE whining about stuff on Unilocal because I work in the customer service industry myself, and a consumer’s review is sometimes biased because you don’t get the whole story from the third perspective, but trust me, I was understanding enough to give them a second chance. I decided to go back on a weekday during downtime (after the breakfast rush and before the lunch rush). There were literally 3 other tables and the service was still meh and I still had to go up to the counter to request for my bill. Onto the good part, the manager did write me a note of apology via Unilocal,so I respect him immensely for taking the time to do that. And the food was very delicious. I think if they worked out staffing issues and hired servers who could multitask a little more efficiently I think this place could be very successful. It’s quite unfortunate they closed because I would’ve given them a third chance!

Used to be one of our favorite spots… sadly, the service is getting worse with each visit. There is this resigned demeanor to the staff as if management sucks to work for.
We asked to slide two tables together last time we went in for my sister’s birthday. There were only two other customers there and the other four person table had been reserved. The server coldly told us we couldn’t slide the table together and close the three foot gap and we asked to talk to the manager who was even less accomodating. There was no clear explanation other than the owners didn’t like it. So instead of having an akward conversation, we left.
Judging by other reviews, seems like the comical bad service is a staple here. For now, we’re going elsewhere for brunch. Hope they can turn it around since the crepes are delicious.

Excellent meal, and wonderful service!!! I had the «65^th» crepes, and they were really excellent! If you’re nearby, or not, you’ve got to try this! You’ll be glad you did!

The service was excellent as was the food.
Our last meal in Ballard, thank you!
An overall wonderful experience.

Amazing, local brunch spot in East Ballard. The staff are friendly, service is good and the food is delicious. Definitely worth the stop over.
They serve crepes as their speciality, but have scrambles, too. Coffee is good, too!

It had Lots of crepes selection. But I tried their marionne berry waffle it was good and filling. I’m not a fan of stump town coffee if you do then you’ll like the coffee. I can’t really vouch for service. I went when it was really dead. But ppl began coming in he was attentive to me and was prompt very friendly service. So I thought it was good. I’ll try the crepes next time.

Friendly staff (I don’t know what the negative reviewers are talking about), great coffee and oh so tasty food! We had the Turkey and Bacon crêpe, which was fantastic, and the French toast, which was one of the weekend specials. We’ll come back the next time we’re in the neighbourhood!

A great find! I was down the road waiting for my laundry to dry so I roamed the street and came across this gem! I love crepes, which they have savory and sweet alike. I had the turkey bacon savory crêpe. It has brie cheese and a raspberry drizzle. The serving was huge and the potatoes were just right. I sat up at the bar so it was interesting to see how much work goes into preparing the food. They have about 8 crêpe makers going at once with only 2 people creating these masterpieces! The staff worked well together and I enjoyed my time here. It was slightly busy during the brunch hour, but it is Sunday after all.

This has been my favorite place so far on my trip to Seattle! In walking distance from several other bars and restaurants, it’s practically hidden — we didn’t know where it was until we passed the door! The mango mimosas were made special by our waitress, and just one packed a solid punch (I guess I should mention it was served in a mason jar, not one of those stinkin champagne flutes). I had the bread pudding style French toast and if I could’ve finished it, I would have licked the plate clean. Super cheap too! Great atmosphere, great service, very cute style. I’d love to go here again, but I saw it was closed Mon-​Wed.

TL;DR version:
Amazing food, horrifyingly bad service. Owner Justin and GM Sarah are apathetic towards customer feedback.
Long version:
My first negative experience was on Valentine’s Day, when my friend and I walked to this café to treat our single selves to a delicious brunch. We were seated inside, where we ordered our favorite dishes and mimosas, and waited. Our drinks came quickly, but our food did not. In fact, our food never came at all. And neither did the waitresses — who were busy serving everyone else in the place. After an hour of hungry waiting, I insisted on saying something (we waited wayyy too long, I know).
We finally got up and asked the cooks behind the counter if there was something wrong with our order. Come to find out, it was never put into the register and thus was never made. There were apologies and offers to make the order, but I was extremely frustrated («hangry», if you will) and decided I would rather take an Über to Hattie’s Hat than give my money to Ridgeback — and that’s precisely what we did.
It took me until last month to go back and give the waitstaff another chance. After all, mistakes happen and it’s not the end of the world when they do. So my same friend and I went back for brunch. We sat outside, since the weather was nice and all the indoor seats were full. The waitress forgot our coffee and had to return to our table multiple times to confirm what we ordered (because she forgot), but otherwise everything went decently smooth.
Then there was our most recent visit… my same friend and I came back, and sat at the same table outside. We had the same waitress, who yet again forgot our coffee and sugar, and again forgot our orders and had to come back ten minutes later to ask again what it was we wanted. A bit later, she brought my friend a dish — the wrong one. When my friend said it wasn’t what she ordered, the waitress went back inside and reemerged a moment later with the same plate to say the dish was correct, but the ticket just had the wrong name on it (???).
All the while, my dish never came; I never got my Triple B. And after three bites, my friend realized that she didn’t get her 65^th crêpe — she got a crêpe with just cheese, mushrooms, and spinach (something that is not even on the menu). The waitress came out yet again with a random crêpe (that I assumed they had made by mistake and wanted to get rid of) and asked if we wanted «a complimentary crêpe with fruit, cream, and powdered sugar» — we accepted (though she didn’t say why we were being offered this). However, it was a crêpe with hot raspberries in it and nothing else. At this point, 55 minutes had gone by and I could sense that we were having yet another crappy experience — and I knew yet again that I did not want to give my money to Ridgeback. So I went inside to ask for the check; the waitress didn’t recognize me and asked me to put my name on the list for a seat. I said that I was already sitting outside and wanted to cancel my order and pay for my existing bill. One of the waitresses asked what I ordered and when I told her, she said «did your server tell you we ran out of bacon for a minute?» I said «no, I would like to cancel my order. It has been an hour, my friend is already finished and I would like to leave.» I paid our $ 11.22 bill, left, and later emailed management — who replied with excuses for the poor service and a stock «we hope you give us another chance».
No thanks! The food is amazing, but not worth the trip.

We went to the ridgeback today for the second time and for sure last.
The first time the service was so bad that we decided not to go there again.
Now, the food was delicious and this morning we decided to give it another try.
The food again delicious but the service is so bad that will put you in a bad mood.
We came in and get seated right away, but after 10 minutes still no water and no menu. We had to flag a waitress down for the menus. Please note the place was half empty.
We ordered 2 crepes and the waitress seemed not able to manage to remember our order and came back twice to ask us what we ordered.
After that, the waitress came to the table and removed the cup of coffee out of my husband’s hand as he was drinking it to refill it without even asking.
The crepes arrived after a long wait, please again note the restaurant was half full.
As she brought the crepes we were informed the potatoes will be right out.
We finished our meal and still no potatoes despite seeing them in other people dishes.
When we asked for the potatoes our waitress was completely dumbfounded and look at us like she didn’t know what we were talking about.
The potatoes arrived and they tasted terrible.
Despite the good crepes, the service is so bad that we can’t justify spending our money there. It is ridiculous, we though it maybe was us, but after reading the other reviews we realized we are not the only ones that experienced the poor service.

Delicious crepes and a relaxed atmosphere. I love the mix of salty and sweet in the Turkey-​Bacon crêpe. It’s filled with turkey slices, bacon, brie, and caramelized onions, and then topped with raspberry jam and herb crème fraîche. Very delicious and super filling. The roast potato’s are excellent, too.
My only complaint is that they always have the back doors wide open. Even in winter! It’s always freezing!

5 stars for the Crepes. They are so amazingly delicious. I almost want to say they are worth the weirdly bad service? Idk. I think our waitress was having an off day.
When my boyfriend and I arrived there was one table for 2 people available. Perfect! Or so we thought… We were the only ones waiting to be seated and when the waitress greeted us she had us put our names on a waiting list. Okay. kind of odd considering she could seat us in the one empty table for two but whatever.
So we wait. and wait and wait. and please keep in mind I am visibly 7 months pregnant so mama kinda wants to sit at this point. We watch our waitress do other things, like serve food, get checks for customers, take orders, meanwhile we are still standing there waiting to be seated at the one clean and available table.
FINALLY my boyfriend gets frustrated and has us just walk over to the table and seat ourselves. SO awkward but it was seriously so unnecessary to keep us waiting for nothing.
Other then that, and a few other weird random mistakes she was really nice! Just not all there that day.

My cousins and I visited The Ridgeback for the first time last month. We spent more than an hour researching local brunch spots and this is where we wound up. We definitely were not disappointed, and agreed to take our families there one day, but I have some critiques for the restaurant.
Upon our arrival, there were 3 open tables… covered with dirty plates. This restaurant was a seat-​yourself joint, but we couldn’t seat ourselves until the 1 waitress on staff cleaned everything up.
Each of us ordered a delicious savory crêpe — they were huge, perfectly cooked, and stuffed with ingredients. The crème fraîche and pesto vinaigrette on top was a nice addition. However, each crêpe was advertised to be accompanied by a side of home fries… but I was served literally 7 TINY chunks of potato. The side of home fries is easily one of my favorite additions to any breakfast, so I was severely disappointed by this portion. I thought it was a joke.
We ordered fresh mango juices and orange juices, but to our dismay the «juice guy» was out back sleeping in his car at the time. This was funny and gave the place a very small-​business charm. Later towards the end of our meal, we were given replacement mango juice on the house.

Two stars for the delicious food. Minus three stars for the comically terrible service. Worth a trip if you really love crepes, but expect to have bad service.
Also, the wait is terrible because they took out half the tables to set up a little store (?) inside the restaurant.
Just…only go if you REALLY LOVE CREPES. It’s not worth it otherwise.

Oh Ridgeback, I wanted to love you but instead I think I just kinda like you. I’ve visited several times since our first encounter but never really got the level of service that I feel you should provide for the area and price point.
Their interior is inviting with that whole calculated upscale thrift store vibe. I like the long bench seating on one side of the wall in addition to repurposed school chairs. Tables have kitschy salt and pepper shakers. If you are waiting for a table, there’s various community posters behind door. Fellow Filipinos should note the oversized forks and spoons, decorating the kitchen area.
I cannot complain about the quality of the items or how they were prepared. In fact, the foodstuffs were fresh and tasty. Crêpes and Belgian waffles were beautifully made with various sweet or savoury options. They also have several cold or hot grilled sandwiches, if that’s your preference instead.
I couldn’t give a higher rating because during more than half of my visits, I had to flag down a server for a coffee refill. During my first visit for brunch, the place was hopping and I never had to ask for a coffee infusion or a water refill. On subsequent visits when they were less busy, I had to crane my neck around to lock eyes with someone or actually walk to the counter and ask.
Do not get that extra side of bacon. It’s not worth the $ 3.50 cost for smallish, thin-​sliced pieces (photo provided). Also, forgo the salsa that accompanies the breakfast burrito. As salsas go, I found it to be watery and lacked heat. Spinach and pear salad was excellent but hard to manage with its small plating. I don’t mind assembling my own salad but please give me tools with which to accomplish this without knocking my food onto the table :(
I have not checked out their market inside despite the fact that it’s half of the entire business in the back. One of my friends stayed behind to check it out once and told me they sell things like olive oils, greeting cards, and local dairy products. «Impulse gifting items» I think was her phrasing. They also sell some of the ingredients that they use in their menu items plus takeaway snacks.
Street parking only but I’ve never had an issue finding something within a block. I’ve also not visited during peak times though.

The unfortunate issue with The Ridgeback is the service. Or lack thereof. We regularly brunch at the Ridgeback because their food is decent and they are nearby. Two bad service experiences were excusable, but a third means that we will unfortunately not be returning. Today we selected a table and waited more than 10 minutes to be acknowledged. A regular came in and sat at the bar and was served coffee and given menus immediately. We got up and left, which didn’t seem to phase the 3 servers in a half empty restaurant.
If you have two hours, get a crêpe. If not, hit up one of the hundred other scrumptious breakfast joints in the neighborhood.

The good: The crepes are tasty.
The bad:
Man has this place gone downhill.
Holy crapola, that’s the worst service I have ever seen in any restaurant, ever. My wife summarized the situation the best — «Is this place *trying* to get on Restaurant Impossible or Kitchen Nightmares?» It’s almost like they’re doing things super poorly on purpose.
We get there at 12:30 on a Sunday. There are 3 tables open, 1 of which is clean, 2 of which have not yet been cleaned. We stand around for a good 5 minutes before being greeted, then another 5 minutes while the waitress inexplicably decides that we should sit at one of the dirty tables instead of the clean one, so she has to clean it first. After about 5 minutes of cleaning, one of the other servers points out to her that there’s a table that’s already clean, and she seats us there.
We order food and coffee, and our wait begins.
After about 30 minutes of waiting for our food, we run out of coffee and water. My coffee cup remains empty for the next hour. Biggest facepalm moment of the day happens after my cup is empty for 45 minutes, the waitress brings by a big thermos of coffee and refills the table next to ours, but doesn’t give our table a glance.
The service was just laughably bad for all the tables. I’d excuse the lack of attentiveness if the server had to attend to a bunch of tables with food coming out constantly, but food was slow, and the waitress just wasn’t coming around to check on anyone. Instead of doing normal things like refilling water, she was picking up signed checks from empty tables.
Other awesome things that happened —
They stopped taking new tables at 1:30 on a Sunday. At least 4 groups of people came through and were turned away. It’s a brunch place. How do you turn away people who want to pay you money?
Guy who we assumed must have been the manager (because he was the only employee not actually doing anything useful) was focused on closing the restaurant down (again, at like 1:30, when there are still plenty of tables waiting for food).
They were out of roasted potatoes, which are the side dish they serve with every crêpe. How do you run out of something that everyone gets?
Plating was really sloppy. Soup was dripping all over the sides of the bowl. Side of bacon came on a plate with grease all over it and gunk on the bottom.
Women’s restroom was out of toilet paper while the guys’ restroom had 5 extra rolls.
Half of the restaurant is occupied by a «market» filled with stuff you can buy at your local grocery store. Not a single person ventured inside to even browse it.

The reviews of this place are spot-​on. Great food! Cute atmosphere! Friendly servers, but loooooong wait!
We happened to be in loungey mood on a playing-​hooky kind of Friday, so we didn’t mind too much when the (very harried!) server told us it’d be at least a 35 – 45 min wait for food to be prepared. The look he gave when I shrugged my shoulders, and nodded hopefully towards a sunny outside table, suggested he’d rather we have heeded this warning than accept the challenge. But, we just sipped water in the sun and waited for our lunch. Turns out, everyone survived the wait… and the food was delish!
I live a few blocks away, so I’ll be back. I hope they figure out whatever the hold up is, cause I kinda dig this place!
(3 stars because, although we were warned, and the server was nice, and checked in with us, and did everything he could… this is no way to run a business! Buy some more panini machines, or something, folks!)

I had no idea there were so many woundup-​uptight Unilocalers in Phinney Ridge. The blowback about Ridgeback should be thrown back. This place is fantastic.
The summer rental has no washer/​dryer and we ended up at Luna Laundry. While waiting for the wash cycle we walked around and found this fabulous gem.
French toast was imaginative and perfect. Savory crêpe special topped with poblano that just may end up for sale as bottled selection? I’m in.
The coffee/​cappuccino keeps it real.
Breathe. Life is too short to worry about an extra five minutes to acknowledge you are the only one in Seattle who matters.