It's the weekend. Whether you tend to sleep in extra late or consider yourself an early bird, breakfast is often the first priority of the morning and picking the best place to satisfy your empty stomach is essential. Looking for the right place to please those hungry taste buds? Here are some of the best breakfast places in Marin rated by atmosphere, best dishes, service and affordability.
WOODLANDS CAFE: Open for breakfast from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Woodlands Cafe in Kentfield provides fresh and locally produced meals. With considerable indoor booths and table seating, Woodlands Cafe also features a large outdoor seating area with heaters available. The open atmosphere of the cafe allows the customer to feel comfortable and invites conversation into morning breakfast time. In addition to their organic menu, Woodlands offers customers gluten-free options for a small surcharge of 50 cents. They also provide coffee and drinks from Equator Coffee, a perfect way to start your day with a kick. Each meal is served with toast and choice of potatoes, fruit or greens. The plates are covered with the right amount of food, not too much to leave you in a food coma, nor too little where you're still hungry. Highly recommended dishes include the signature Woodlands breakfast (two cage-free eggs, choice of meat and french toast filled with vanilla bean mascarpone, strawberries and maple syrup) and the open-face omelet (eggs, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, avocado, tortilla strips, zucchini and cheese). The high price range for breakfast dish averages at $13, so make sure to bring extra cash. Being a popular breakfast joint, the cafe can sometimes be overcrowded and the service is inconsistent, making breakfast time extremely slow with an average 20 minute waiting time and delayed table service. Despite this inconvenience, the spacious eating area is very lovely and the ingredients are top notch, sure to fulfill your morning cravings.
LIGHTHOUSE CAFE: Perfectly located within a five minute drive from Redwood, the Corte Madera Lighthouse Cafe provides their customers with a cozy and quaint atmosphere as well as a quality breakfast. The seating is indoors only and customers have the option of sitting at the bar or at the regular tables. The warm hospitality of the hostesses and waiters contributes to the homey feeling of the cafe. The joint is quite casual and one may feel no rush to leave the cafe. Open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends, Lighthouse Cafe offers an immense menu consisting of the chef’s special breakfast combos, egg signatures and lunch meals including sandwiches, soups and salads. However, the dishes are on the expensive side, ranging from $11.95-$15.75. Fortunately, the portion size is very large, so if you aren't able to finish it all, you can take your leftovers home. Bigger than the plate, Lighthouse’s delicious thin and sweet pancakes are a must-try dish. The addition of fruits such as bananas, raspberries and blueberries into the cakes enriches the pancake flavor. As a local cafe, Lighthouse adds to the small Corte Madera town charm with its friendly environment.
NEW MORNING CAFE: This breakfast joint, although small, is efficiently run. New Morning Cafe is located in downtown Tiburon. With a handful of tables inside and umbrella shaded seating outside, the place is usually bathed in sunlight during the mornings, making it perfect for a get-out-of-bed-and-go kind of breakfast. Serving breakfast all day and open early from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends, New Morning will always please the extreme breakfast addicts with waiters who make sure the service is quick and the food is up to par. The local cafe offers your typical American breakfast options with an average price of $11.95. Their menu contains an abundance of different breakfast options, making it easy for everyone to find something to their liking. Additionally, they also provide rich and sweet hot chocolate drinks and creamy lattes for $3-$4. Something that stands out in their dense menu are the pastries and bread, which are all baked in-house. Some recommended dishes include the huevos rancheros (two eggs over easy on corn tortillas, ranchero sauce, cheese, black beans and sour cream) and the eggs benedict (house-made hollandaise, served with home fries and two soft poached eggs on an English muffin). The bright and favorable cafe is a go-to for locals and perfect for an early morning bite.
HALF DAY CAFE: With their wonderful ambiance and excellent servers, Half Day Cafe will always satisfy their hungry customers. Located across the street from College of Marin in Kentfield, this first rate cafe is open for the first half of the day from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The open skylights and plant decor attract in plenty of local breakfast enthusiasts. A back side wall painted with a variety of fruits and vegetables is an attractive addition to the decor that gives the space a friendly vibe. The service is excellent, as waiters will consistently check on each customer, making sure the food is just right. The cafe’s menu presents a variety of comfort dishes including breakfast panini (eggs on top of grilled sourdough with choice of meat, spinach or melted swiss cheese), belgian waffle (topped with orange butter) and Wake-Up! Scramble (spicy chorizo, red onions, avocado, corn and cheese). The dishes are all very tasty and the portions consist of a vast amount of food, sure to fill up empty stomachs. The cafe also serves fresh baked pastries, which come out warm and fluffy and are a perfect starter to anyone’s main dish. The food always comes out quick and hot, ensuring the freshness and satisfaction one looks for with their early morning meal. The pricing is average, ranging from $9-$13. Although the cafe is very crowded on weekends, it is very understandable since Half Day Cafe will not leave you disappointed.
Credits:
Sachi Nahas