Brea Lu Cafe

Yummy Food and Great Staff! Super family friendly.

Once again the Brea Lu Café was on point!
The eggs were perfect the pancakes were yummy! The coffee warmed my bones, Green Mountain!
The breakfast sandwich was Awesome!!!
Thanks again for the Good Service and Great Service!

Well I have been here before in my college years and thought I loved it. That may be because I wasn’t as much of a foodie as I am now. The service was friendly and the best part was, they had a table immediately available for Sunday at breakfast time (which is hard to come by in Portland). I might give 3.5 if I could, but it definitely wasn’t 4 or 5 star quality food. I had the eggs benedict and my english muffin was pretty dry and overall the plate lacked flavor. The egg was a little too runny as well. My friend got a pancake which was huge. She said it was average tasting, but the size was surprising and impressive. Blueberry muffin was very good and my home fries were well seasoned and crispy. I would come back to avoid another breakfast spot where there might be a long wait if I am in a rush, but this would not be my first choice.

Food is pretty good and is generally prepared quickly. The service is spotty. The head server can either be on her game or distracted. If you get cold easily, sit in the front of the restaurant.

Nice atmosphere, friendly waitress, reasonable wait, but the food– not so good. I ordered an omelet and the amount of food on the plate was absurdly large (felt full before even starting). The eggs were heavy and bland, the spinach frozen, I found only two mushrooms in it (which I’d paid extra for) and the tomatoes were pale. The potatoes, although with the skins on which I like, were hard and tasteless. The bread was fine, as was the coffee. Mediocre all around.

This place is awesome! A friend and I went in around 8:30 AM and we beat the rush. We were the first group to be placed in the back room. The waitress was very kind and attentive. Once we ordered the food came in 5 minutes or less!
The portions as huge! I got scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and broccoli, home fries, and toast. It was all so great. My friend got a hash omelet and was so impressed with their homemade hash.
The food here is just really great! You must try it if you are in the area, but it does fill up on the busy days. I live very close by, and I often see people waiting outside on the weekends.

I give this a 3, but I’d probably go for 3.5 if I could. It’s a little hard to screw up breakfast, so with that being said, I thought the food was pretty decent. Eggs were cooked properly (sometimes «medium» can quite literally be hard at many restaurants).
Perks: The food came out faster than any breakfast I’ve ever had before (I swear, 5 minutes only). Also, the dungeon-​like back room had a cozy feel.
Cons: The waitress seemed a little inattentive, perhaps a little shorthanded. She did not come back to the table for butter, sweetener/​sugar, or ongoing coffee refills. The breakfast potatoes were the downfall to the meal itself. Mine were rather dull, dry, and with minimal seasoning.
The menu looked like it had some interesting items. Omelet with peanut butter, mushroom, and cheese? I wasn’t feeling adventurous, but it certainly caught my attention. Overall, average. Not bad. Not great.

Food is just OK. Service is friendly but not very attentive. The disappear and will walk by your table without checking on things (with a coffee pot in hand). The bills are handwritten and cyrptic with some item prices listed and a total. They could improve on these areas.

We went in at 1:27pm on a Saturday and were turned away. This is a beakfast and lunch restaurant open until 2pm. Unless they feel like closing 33 minutes early.

Probably one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in a while in a small restaurant setting. Standard options include omlettes, ENORMOUS pancakes, amongst others. We had an interesting omlette with turkey sausage and pineapple which completely rocked as well as eggs benedict with a little extra Italian meat on top. Definitely delicious, although hard to spot with the little storefront.
Definitely go.

I go to BreaLu a lot, since I sometimes work across the street. I have never been disappointed. The food is delicious and there are always creative and interesting specials. Try the incredible homemade corned beef hash! My only small complaint would be that the back room, ironically because of the gorgeous brick walls, can get very loud, as the sound bounces around, and the front entrance room tends to be cramped. The place is often crowded because of the great and inexpensive food (sometimes with a line outside the door!), so it is often noticeable. But it wouldn’t (and doesn’t) stop me from going back.

They made everything fresh to order and we absolutely loved it! The pancakes are right out of a movie! The blueberries and other fruits are cooked into the pancakes and of course the maple syrup is real. The Cajun hash omelette with extra cheese is amazing. We loved the hospitality and we would highly suggest anyone that craves a great breakfast go there.

Best brunch ever!!! Every item on the menu was unbelievable! Great service very friendly staff. The portions are huge, fresh ingredients. Little gem best kept secret in the area! Oh and the prices are very affordable! Forget chain breakfast spots this is the place to go if your in the area. I highly recomend the freshly made cornbeef hash… the fruit waffles… the blueberry pancakes and eggs benedict. Enjoy!

Service was nice. Full was excellent. I built my own burrito, and it was phenomenal. Corned beef, onions, tomatoes and garlic. Yummy! There are plenty of options to build with. My buddy got the peanut butter omelette, which sounded odd at first, but was delicious. It comes with mushrooms, but he made some substitutions and it was still great! Can’t wait to come back and try something new!

It was good. Cute little place to have breakfast, first omelette came out wrong but once I got the servers attention second omelette came up quickly and was correct. All the items our table ordered were yummy and fresh. Solid choice.

Great place to grab a filling tasty breakfast/​brunch!
You definitely won’t leave hungry!

This place is my go to breakfast place. Love the staff & specials. Very affordable and fast service. One of waitstaff makes her own cool jewelry. I have a few pieces.

It’s always nice to come back to Maine and be able to find places like this that are still around. I would come here often, back in the day, the morning after a night out in the Old Port.
The food is always good and they usually have interesting specials.
It’s a small place so get here early! It fills up quick.

I absolutely loved this little place. The staff was very friendly, the prices were reasonable (I don’t think anything was over $ 10), and the food was delicious! I got the infamous Peanut Butter, Mushroom, and Cheese Omelette, and it was excellent. Along with their fantastic regular menu, Brea Lu has different daily specials, so you never know what kind of specials they have cooking up until you get there. I would definitely come back to this place.

Brea Lu is one of my favorite Portland diners, and seems a little overlooked. It’s easy to miss on Forest Ave, across from Burger King and adjacent to a credit union. You walk inside and write your party name in a notebook while you help yourself to free coffee. When your name is called, you are seated in either the front main room (not the best choice) or back room (much more spacious).
This is your stereotypical Maine diner with better quality food. Service is fast with instant coffee refills (and the unusual choice of regular or dark roast). Portions are huge and greasy, and you leave one step closer to that heart attack but ready for more.
Brea Lu specializes in omelettes and scrambles, of which there are at least a dozen. They try more adventurous fare in the daily specials. Ghost chile sausage with gouda, spinach and red eye gravy was different and delicious, if not unexpected for a diner.
Of the inexpensive area breakfast places (Maeily & Ryleigh’s, Samuels, Steve and Renees, Sianos) this is my favorite. Highly recommend.