First Awakenings

Visiting Monterey with family but stayed in Salinas. Found this gem on Unilocal!Decided to give it a try, and oh my goodness, am I glad! My husband had the banana, walnut, peanut butter chip pancake, which was as big as the plate, with a side of eggs and sausage. I had the burrito. It was so yummy. Service was great, our waitress was attentive, and everyone seemed pleasant. Definitely a place I’d recommend and return to next time we are anywhere nearby.

Came in this morning with my friends for breakfast, service was friendly and prompt.
Two of us ordered the Belgian waffle and the other a mixed breakfast platter. The waffles, according to their menu a mix of their own had a nice flavor to them and were textured nicely. Could have been a little more crispy. The breakfast platter, which came with a biscuit, a jalapeño and cheese stuffed omelette and diced potatoes came aesthetically pleasing as well to the taste. Again, like the waffles the potatoes could have been crispier but they were seasoned nicely and provided tobacco on the table to spice them up.
Overall a cute, tasty breakfast spot, if I lived in the area I’d come back for sure!

Passing through town, we visited this restaurant based on the amazing Unilocal reviews. I was not impressed with the service or food. I don’t understand the hype. I ordered an omelet which was «ok», but the potatoes on the side were burnt along with the toast. My wife ordered their eggs benedict because a sign she saw exclaiming award winning hollandaise sauce. She gave up after a few bites. I tried it as well and found it to be really bland. It seemed as though they use a generic hollandaise that comes in bulk. If we were ever to head back, I think we would try their pancakes.
The good thing going for this place is their draw. People clearly love this place. It was filled up at 1:30 in the afternoon on a weekday. It wasn’t the worst place I’ve been, but it wasn’t anything to write home about. Maybe just enough to write Unilocal about.

Their German pancake was amazing! I have never had something like this. I think I would drive 30 minutes more just for this pancake when I’m in the palm string area! Thinking about it right now makes my mouth water~~~ and service was good! We walked in with a line of 4−5tables ahead of us and we sat down within 5 minutes!

Great food, good staff.
Wish they were open longer, but I get it, its a breakfast place. REALLY wish they’d just take reservation so ya dont have to do ‘the list’

An omelet with sausage, cheese, bell peppers, a side of hash browns and bacon with a side of biscuits and gravy is my go to meal when I eat here! Just super good food, way filling and affordable!

Absolutely love this place! No other place competes with their breakfast and I’ve lived he most my life prior to the military. Everytime I’m home on leave a stop here is a must before going back to San Diego.

I wasn’t impress with the food or service. My toast was burnt and omelette was dry. Had to always flag down waitress for items needed, (utensils, straw, extra napkins, etc.). Will not be going back.

We had breakfast this morning & were served by Heather. She and her associates were awesome.
Polite on taking the order, attentive to our environment, removing dishes as we completed portions it was a nice awakening experience.
Thank you Heather for your super service.
Hope to see you soon again.

Consistently delicious!
The food has been delicious each time we’ve been here. Pancakes, omelettes, breakfast burrito, Day Starter Skillet — no matter what our order, it’s gonna be yummy! Served by some of the friendliest crew too.
Definitely stop for breakfast! Locals love this place and First Awakenings is well known to travelers. Convenient parking in the multi-​story structure nearby. Limited on-​street parking.

Best Breakfast place in Salinas hands down! My favorite is the Biscuits with Gravy, I highly recommend you give this place a try you will looove it :)

Great service. Nice location. Decent but not great food. Pancakes were under cooked. Eggs were over cooked.

Great breakfast joint, as far as what i ordered it was good, i got the beef encounter which is roast beef on a roll with mushrooms and cheese it came with a side of potatoes, fruit and house made salad with suquini, salary, onions and vinegar and oil. The service was great and the wait was not long for a party of 5.

Order the pancakes and don’t expect much in the service department, then you might enjoy it. When we sat at the bar, 5 employees literally all walked by us and ignored us. The place was NOT crowded by any means, so im not sure what was going on with them. We walked out to the front to place a to-​go order instead, where 3 employees were manning the hostess table to the non-​existent line of incoming customers. Makes perfect sense. We ordered the pumpkin pancakes for my BF and cheese omelette for me. Avoid the omelettes – mine was a blob of browned unfluffy eggs and way too much congealed cheese. The pancakes were delicious and huge though. You could probably do with just ordering one.
Personally, I wouldn’t come back but if you have a pancake craving and an hour to wait for service, it’s a good stop for breakfast.

Amazing pancakes but they are huge, played sized. The prices listed are for three pancakes which is way too much portion size for regular hungry folks. Gf ate like ¾ of her pancake and I ate light 1 and a half and We shared side of a bacon
Whetgerm pancakes and all that razz were amazing! Five star quality food, great service and super reasonable prices.

What a killer brunch spot in downtown Salinas! It’s the only spot crowded on a Sunday morning, and you can see why. There’s free coffee outside for people waiting, as the waits can get up to 40 minutes. Once you’re inside, everyone is friendlier than your grandma, welcoming you in. It feels like a country cottage, and the food is just as good as home-​cooking.
I had the green chili carnitas omelette with sour cream, avocado, and melted cheese. It was phenomenal. Carnitas stewed with green chilis is out of this world, and served with english muffins and hashbrowns, was easily enough for 2.5 meals. Pro tip, sandwich some omelette between the two english muffins for a killer breakfast sandwich, and add cheese to the top of the hashbrowns for an out of this world combo.
The pancakes are also out of this world. The berry with granola, and with a blueberry substitute for the raspberry, had one of the most interesting and delicious textures of any pancake I’ve ever had. Hearty, but still fluffy, and not too heavy, it was bomb!
Everyone else at the table also really enjoyed their meals — from eggs benedict to calamari steak (really cool texture to the deep fry) to the corned beef hash, everyone was satisfied and full!
Can’t wait to come back!

First Awakenings has a menu with many choices for breakfast+brunch and lunch. We arrived on a Thursday morning and were seated after a 5 minute wait. Seating is ample, with large booths and tables. On the far left hand side of the menu, a healthy section was featured, with a variety of healthier choices like oatmeal and granola. Omelettes were chosen by table mates and they said they were great! I selected the Chilled Fruit Crepes. Strawberries, peaches, and bananas were inside of delicate crepes. Yogurt was spooned on top, and a whole wheat English muffin joined my amazing plate. I scraped this bad boy down. The meal was satisfying:) our service was quick and the portions were LARGE. Prices were a bit steep, but I do recommend First Awakenings and looks forward to another visit:)

My parents recently moved down to Salinas from the Bay Area and I wanted to take them to brunch before I left. We came here based on the positive Unilocal reviews and we weren’t disappointed! A lot better than settling for Denny’s that’s for sure.
We got the country fried steak, portofino pesto omelette, and eggs benedict with ham & tomato. I admit I wasn’t a big fan of hollandaise sauce, tasted too cheesy, but that’s because I compare all eggs benny to the one at my favorite place back in San Jose. All in all it was very satisfying! Extra points for attentive and friendly service!

In the middle of Old town Salinas you will find this place. I have to say this was just an OK place to have quick bite. I am not a fan of this place at all.
PARKING:
There is street parking but not plenty of spaces. There is public parking structure near by.
AMBIANCE:
The minutes we walked in I was ready to leave. I smelled something bad, like mildew coming out of the carpet. Two of my friends did not smell it, only me and another person were able to. Oh well, my friends wanted to eat here so I kept my mouth shut. Tables, booths and chairs with plenty of pictures of Italy on the wall.
SERVICE:
It was friendly.
FOOD:
I ordered Daily starter skillet===Two cooked eggs of your choice, over potatoes, ham, mushrooms, onions and cheese in a skillet. Served with split English muffin. I ordered eggs over easy and they came dry. The entire meal itself was dry and tasteless. Had to add some hot sauce to bring out the taste, but still.
Side order of Home cooked corned beef hash===Oh, the potatoes were burnt, the corned beef was tasteless. This was a bad choice.
Two of my friends thought their food was just OK. One did not like his food at all. He thought it was dry and no taste.
I will eat here again if I have no other choices.

They deserve five stars for the breakfast. The pancakes were just right and huge. The French toast was thick. The eggs cooked as ordered. The bacon thick and heavenly.
They miss the stars with the lack of updating. They have 80’s décor and the booths are tight.
But that doesn’t stop the food from being awesome.