The Good Egg – Carefree

Big upgrade since they changed to a new format several months ago. The food is fresh and healthy and the atmosphere is much nicer than it used to be. Now one of our «go to» places for breakfast and lunch.

It’s lost most of its charm. Food was fine. Service was fine. The changes to the interior look fantastic.

Such a great little breakfast spot! We were in town for the weekend and came here both Saturday and Sunday! The food was excellent and the entire staff was friendly!

Excellent meal; prompt service and lovely patio to dine on. My husband had a hearty breakfast of two fried eggs, bacon, home fries and English muffin. His meal, though standard fare, was delicious! It arrived hot, with crisp bacon and non-​soggy muffins. My granola pancakes came with fresh strawberries and what appeared to be Maine wild blueberries– small, tender and flavorful. I opted out of the «vanilla cheesecake» topping, but paid extra ($ 1.28) for real maple syrup. Worth the price! I would highly recommend this breakfast spot!

Two stars because it was good three years ago and now it is 1 star. 15 minutes for waiter to get to our table. Asked for water– 10 minutes. Food came 30 minutes after we ordered. Order was screwed up with– one side was missing, easy over eggs were hard. We didn’t have time to wait. They gave us a discount but the service was just unacceptable. New décor is nice though.

This used to be our favorite breakfast place. However, since the change over the food quality has declined. What used to be the best bacon around is now no better than the rest. Sad. However there is the new Kale juice which is awesome!

This is the best breakfast spot in Carefree. Two words: breakfast tacos. Love love love all the friendly staff and vast menu offerings. Mel is a gem and I always leave here with a smile on my face. The new facelift to the brand is fresh and modern. Now if only they would complete the update with the ceilings.

One would consider me a regular, frequented 6 – 8 times per month for the past 15 years. Change is probably the most common denominator in the restaurant business and this is apparent at the First Watch/​Good Egg. I waited this morning for 15 minutes at my booth, extremely slow service, rude server, and if that is not enough, I asked the manager to follow up on my long ago ordered ice tea, she never pursued same. Staff turnover is one thing but training is the solution. It should be noted this is one of several occurrences over the past year of poor service, this has become an exercise in food futility. The manager regrettably, does not manage. Adiós, Poor Egg.

I stopped here on a whim as I am in town for a few days visiting and I was looking for a quick breakfast… Ya, I’ll be back tomorrow.
The manager who sat me down actually took into account my view while eating… That impressed me right from the get-​go. The restaurant has a very clean feel and a positive morning vibe.
The food — I ordered Steak and Eggs, (medium — minimum and over easy). The steak was cooked perfectly, and the eggs and country potatoes accompanied it well. It was so dang good that I ate all my food like a good boy (which rarely happens).

Good Egg has gone «corporate «and they have lost me… probably permanently. Whenever the bean counters take over, the customer (BTW we pay the bills!) loses.
A less than complete list of disappointments would include :
1. hard to read menu
2. most menu items are overpriced
3. Have ro ask for ice when ordering water.
4. butter provided with pancakes very inadequate
5. high turnover in servers. Their longest time server, left recently. She was the best and probably tossed her hands in the air after all the «improvements «
6. less than friendly environment.
7. to go cups about 50% smaller than they used to be.
Are the bean counters responsible for all this? This surely would be the case directly for many of the above; their «desires «probably has had an effect on the rest.
Although the business deserves a 2 in my mind, there are two mitigating things that got me to a reluctant 3. They have remodeled the inside so it looks a lot nicer and more contemporary.
Saddest thing of all is that this used to be one of my favorite restaurants. Gave them high marks on Unilocal and used to direct and/​or take people here. No mo!
There are many far better places near here. Check them out.

This used to be a go to for weekend quick breakfast. The service was awful, took forever, food was not correct, unhappy staff and not dog friendly anymore.

This is a nice, local restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch. The servings are large with enough to take home. You are greeted by friendly staff and treated very well.

I come here every Tuesday when I work in cave creek. Love the lunch special soup, salad and sandwich for $ 6.99. The only thing that bothers me is that I come here every Tuesday for lunch by myself and the staff is always different except the manager… Who doesn’t remember me

Very nice breakfast place. All the food was delicious, simply a great place for breakfast! :)

Awesome service, super kind waiters, although we had to wait a little longer for our drinks then usual. The kids menu has a large variety of meals while on the regular menu, I want everything!!! The food was awesome, the «berry a more» was dessert for breakfast, and the French toast and breakfast sandwich was awesome. Reasonably priced and freshly squeezed orange juice. Definitely a great place.

Awesome food! I love their four peaks French toast but all their omelets are also really good! The servers and nice and attentive and the strawberry lemonade is not only pretty but pretty tasty.

Great place for breakfast or lunch. Reasonably priced, good service, fresh well made food. What more could you want.

Stopped here on our vacation to grab breakfast. Delicious food. I recommend the bacato. Table behind us just got comped their plate because of a small mess up and forgetting havarti cheese. Great customer service and very kind staff.

Danger, Will Robinson! The Good Egg does not at all serve *good* eggs … they are PROCESSED!
When the bill for our food arrived, the restaurant charged a dollar extra for an omelette to be prepared only with egg whites. I asked why. «Because it’s more expensive for us,» said the server.
«How can removing the yolk be more expensive? Aren’t you paying for the same egg either way?»
«Unless you order an actual fried egg, all of our egg dishes are prepared with a mix.»
«What do you mean, ‘a mix?’»
«We buy pre-​mixed eggs in a carton.»
What in the WORLD?!
It turns out that even if my aunt had ordered her omelette with the yolks (read: normally) it still would have been made from a processed egg product, manufactured in some unknown location by an unknown corporate agri-​business conglomerate.
The menu does not disclose any of this. If it did, business would drop like a rock.
The manager corroborated the server, that egg-​whites only actually cost their company MORE money than if they cracked open fresh eggs themselves.
First, why would a company named The *Good* Egg use anything but actual and real eggs in ANY dish? (Whatever processed egg-​ish product they are using certainly includes preservatives and God knows what else.) Second, if their processed egg product is indeed more costly, why is it their preference? As a business person, I will say out loud right here and now that the people in the restaurant are mistaken … if the oh-​so-​important egg-​ish stuff The Not-​So-​Good Egg pours on a fry griddle is so damned excellent then, well, the truth is that the only reason for this strictly business decision is that the product costs less, not more.
My family has been a customer of this chain — and this specific restaurant — for 15 years, and this not-​fresh egg issue came as news to us.
We were not offered a discount when paying for our four meals. The server and manager both told us that next time we are in we will know to ask for our dishes to be prepared with actual eggs. There will not be a next time.

What can I say? They are very reasonably priced and the service fast and efficient. I was suffering a particularly painful hangover after a long night of drinking and revelry. A quick brekky here put me on the road to recovery.
Truth be told, the quality falls below iHop and is more on the level of Denny’s but on the morning of my visit I can honestly say that I don’t think I would have made it back to CenPho if I hadn’t stopped here.