Joe Brown’s Cafe

Old downtown diner to the core. 60’s décor, limited seating, huge heaping breakfasts for a very reasonable price. Very friendly!

It’s downtown Vancouver! It’s been around forever! Heaping plates with to-​go boxes! And not a cube of tofu in the place!

Service was great and so was the food! You get plenty of food for your money and it is great home cooking.

Got here after the morning rush. Loving this hole in the wall place ! Good Food, fast & friendly service!

The biscuits, gravy, and sausage patty is why I would return — and if the experience was that alone it would have been a five star breakfast. The knocked off stars is about the rest of the food and the timing. Hubby got his breakfast minus the toast, then a few minutes later half of mine came and it was cold, then a couple of minutes later, the other half, then a few minutes later half of hubby’s toast came… and the other half never arrived.

I’m very open-​minded to diners and cheap’n’easy breakfasts… just as another reviewer recently said they had an urge for a good-​olé greasy breakfast. I was, too, upon going into Joe Brown’s, but I was not impressed. It had the potential to be like Carol’s Corner, but ended up being somewhere we won’t go back. No charm, not friendly service. In fact, we sat at the barstool type seating until a table opened up and the server was clearly annoyed we wanted to move away from the smelly loud kitchen. Heaven-​forbid…
We got a corned beef and hash with some eggs and bacon, which I know covers a good range from their menu. No substitutions for toast (which I can’t eat). Aside from the not-​so-​great atmosphere, the food was overly salty and just wasn’t anything worth going back for. They must have some regulars/​locals that are keeping it in business, because even as open minded as I am, don’t seem to get it.

Nearly perfect greasy spoon, with a real history. Loved the biscuits and gravy.

This is the best country breakfast in the area. I highly recommend the biscuits and gravy. Service was fast and the food was hot and fresh. My daughter’s bacon was over cooked, but everything else was so amazing that that will not stop us from going back again and again.

One of the reasons I came here was because it was open on a Sunday morning at 7 a.m. Large portions is promised on the menu, and it sure was spot on. I ordered a half order of biscuits and gravy, which came out on its own plate. The hash browns and eggs were what I’d expect from a diner, but the bacon was really great. I think two people could have eaten the breakfast I ordered. It was pretty good, fast service, and decent prices.

Great place been coming for years. A perfect breakfest every time .
My daughter and I have loved this place for a long long time
Cooks are fantastic
Waitresses are so so friendly
We have never had a bad meal yet in the last 15 years
Best place in town

Nothing special. Good sized servings of average diner style food. Parking can be a little difficult.
I wish I had more to say, but I just don’t for this place. I won’t go out of my way to go back.

The service was very very slow. Food was over all good but don’t order poached eggs unless you want microwaved soft boiled eggs. The second one was even worse

I had been having an urge to have a good olé’ greasy breakfast for the last few days. I was getting a little tired of eating healthy and exercising all the time and I felt that it was time that I splurged on some good old comfort food, so I started doing my homework from yesterday morning. I read the reviews of all old fashioned diners in the area, decided on Joe Brown’s because of the many good reviews and the fact that it has been around for a long time, and I even looked at the menu on their website, and I knew exactly what I was going to order. I was a man with a mission and I had a strategy, folks!
I woke up early this morning and ran 4 miles in preparation for it! Just before I left home, I had a cup of baked beans. Trust me folks, the beans help your body eliminate a lot of the cholesterol and fat without it getting absorbed by your body!
I knew the portions were going to be generous from all the reviews, but when my plates arrived, I was jumping for joy at the huge portions. Great breakfast items. I had the country fried steak with hash browns, country gravy and 2 eggs over easy, and a side of biscuits and gravy. The gravy is very generous on the sausage! Did I already say that the portions were generous?
Folks, if you are on a diet or are watching your cholesterol, this is not your place, but if you are looking for good, home-​style food cooked with no artsy frills, this is where you want to go. They make their biscuits and gravy from scratch. The place is always crowded which is a good sign. Some reviewers griped about the long wait, but folks, many of the things are made from scratch here and that takes time.
There is a reason this place has been around for over 30 years.
A big thumbs up for me!

Not a bad or great experience. I mean it’s diner food so… Food served its purpose (was just ok) but service was slow. To their defense there was only one waitress. She was friendlg but we kept getting odd looks from the cook and honestly weren’t sure if it was a race thing or not. This spot does feel like we stepped into the 50s so I wouldn’t be surprised lol. Oh and no public bathroom #fail

Hole in the wall. Crowded. Price is good. Service was friendly. However order took 30+min, very slow in making your orders.

I have mixed feelings about Joe Brown’s Café.
Pros:
Hearty portions
Friendly service and patrons
Pretty tasty food
Down-​home ambiance
Cons:
Our food took FOREVER — I mean like just skirting an hour to arrive. I think our ticket got lost.
Very small inside
Not sure if I’d be back.

I loved Joe Brown’s! There are no uppity people working there, and the other patrons are just there to eat good, home style food! We came after brunch, so it was pretty slow. We got seated in one of a few available seats. It definitely is small though so you should expect to wait if you show up in the morning.
The pancakes are HUGE and AMAZING. My dad made the mistake of thinking they’d be small, so he ordered two. All four of us, including my dad, had to work on the two pancakes. I honestly mean it when I say these pancakes are up there with The Hotcake House cakes. So fluffy and delicious. My food — the BLT — seems pretty basic but it was actually delicious. Lots of places burn the bacon and it’s awful, but Joe Brown’s cooked a good sammich!
I plan on coming back pretty soon — you can’t be the price or the food here. I don’t think I saw anything over $ 10-​$ 11 dollars.

My boyfriend and I came here for a late-​ish breakfast and both walked away satisfied and with full stomachs. I ordered the cheese and egg omelet with pancakes (instead of the hash browns/​toast) and my boyfriend ordered the JB omelet (with hash browns/​toast). The reason why I chose the pancakes instead of my usual salty and hearty addition is because I was craving something sweet, but if I had known the pancakes were THAT HUGE, I would have only asked for one pancake (or a half of one, to be honest). =]
Fun side note — Before we arrived, I called in around 10:00 a.m. to make sure they were still serving breakfast. The waitress working responded with a, «Breakfast? We serve that all day!»

This is very much a super relaxed diner. The food is pretty basic but done well. It took us quite a while to get our food but it felt like a lazy Sunday where no one was in a big rush and we really didn’t mind.
Notes of possible interest:
–They have a breakfast menu that is served all day, as well as a lunch menu
–The omelets and scrambles are 4-​egg; I think most restaurants are 3-​egg so stomachs beware
–They have a restroom in the back (ask the waitress on how to get back there, it’s a little confusing!)

An unusual errand sent me to the coov. I saw this place on the way back to my car2go and decided since I was already into it for an hour I may as well check the place out.
So glad I did.
It’s a lunch counter with the griddle et al behind it. Crock pots and waffle irons on a counter. Not a whiff of hipster BS.
They do breakfast all day so I got the corned beef and hash and decided to risk eggs over medium instead of scrambled. It paid off. So, so good. It’s so, so good.
The staff T-​shirts said the place was founded in 1932 and you can kinda tell although everything’s clean and well cared for. On my way out I even saw a temperature gun behind the cash register. That’s taking care of business.
Still. Coov. Hrm.