The Shanty Cafe

Had breakfast here today. The service was speedy and efficient (albeit lacking friendliness) and the food was good. I thought the mashed potatoes were a little bland but the poached eggs and bread was yummy. Would come back.

What a cute place!!! The service was phenomenal… right when we walked in the door. They even brought our daughter’s drink in a sippy cup (nice touch). The mimosas are generous with the champagne, the corned beef hash was exceptional and fresh. A must try in Seattle.

Always seems to have a line in the morning when I drove to work, so I decided to stop by at a less busier time, around 2pm (they close at 3pm)
I ordered the Florentine egg benedict and a coffee. The lady lady is very attentive, keeping my coffee refilled. The egg Benedict cooked just right, lots of egg yolk floating out like lave :) I finished the whole plate without anything left XD
It’s a nice little cozy family restaurant that’s worth a try and worth to come back!

Small, cheap, fun.
I’m surprised how many people come through this place. We were originally seated right up beside the door, but asked to move the instant we saw something open up because it got such a breeze by the people coming in and out! There was a line out the door, I’m glad we missed it.
Staff is great, food is great. My french toast was a bit overpriced, but overall alright. Parking is scarce in the area, so watch out for that!
Surprised how much I enjoyed the chicken fried steak haha! Love it!

I love it here. My boyfriend and I live so close that it has become our go to brunch spot when we are just too lazy to cook for ourselves. They have a very homey feel to the café. I have yet to be disappointed with every special I’ve tried. And try as I may, I always walk away with leftovers. They are small so be prepared for a line, but trust me, they are well worth it.

In from out of town, Just had breakfast, the hash is homemade, it’s perfect!!! Wish I went here Sunday, you will not be disappointed, when I am back in town you will see me here.

My favorite breakfast/​brunch place in Seattle! Reasonable, homey, unique and great service with a fun environment!

This little place is a nice find, especially for breakfast. It’s not fancy but has a quaint, nostalgic atmosphere complete with excellent service and fantastic food. Great location too!

We LOVED this place!
My boyfriend and I shared the waffle combo with strawberries and whipped cream and added a side of hash browns and sourdough toast. Perfect amount of food :)
The services was fast, friendly and the food was great!

This place is awesome; the staff is friendly and the food is delicious. The mimosas are served in cute boot glasses and the orange juice is fresh squeezed in house. I had the biscuits and gravy — easily the best I’ve ever had. If you’re out of town visiting you don’t want to pass this place up.

Last I visited there were two other patrons, sharing three eyes between them. There was an eye patch. The coffee was both acidic and aromatic. I was in love.
Brunch was invented in the year 2011, and 5 years later we’re now living in a post-​Yeezus world with more happy hours than people in the United States.
But none of that matters at Shanty.
Because you simply shan’t find an egg in this hemisphere cooked more perfectly than the ones in their benedicts.

I think this is the best breakfast experience I’ve ever had in Seattle, and I’ve spent about 15 years here. I always thought this place was a tavern, but really it’s a comfortable café with fantastic food and very good service. Expansive Benedict menu — we got the classic and the farmer, and both were excellent with good hollandaise and good gravy, respectively. Crispy hash browns. Comfortable booth, reasonable price, great coffee, interesting specials menu. Go here.

Came here for breakfast while on vacation. The service is quick and friendly, food was delicious, and coffee was flowing. Great variety on the menu. Hubby had the Northwest Omelette (shrimp, hollandaise, Swiss, onion) with a side of hashbrowns and toast. He said it was delicious. I had the big breakfast (eggs, toast, hashbrowns, bacon). Yum!
Great traditional diner feeling, perfect leisurely breakfast place. The lunch menu looks equally delicious. Comfort food!

Seattle Magazine had written about The Shanty Café and their chicken fried steak and eggs. So when I was in town last I needed to check it out. This place is amazing and exactly what you imagine in a small town diner. The waitress was friendly and the food was delicious.
Definitely get the chicken fried steak and enjoy being taken back to another era.

Yup; loved it.
had the waffle combo that came with 4 sausage links, two eggs and a sizable waffle at $ 10. They serve really good coffee here with as many refills as you like. Service was super attentive, the moment you walk in they bring you water and ask if you want coffee or juice. This place gets packed fast though as it’s not very big, but it’s worth the wait. Glad I had Unilocal to find this place because looking from the outside you wouldn’t think they do breakfast.

I love this place. It is everything I want in a breakfast spot keeping in mind that I also love a Waffle House when I get the chance.
It is small, dingy, crowded and fantastic. The food is always spot on and oh so good. The specials are often amazing as well.
I highly recommend The Shanty. The Supreme Hash browns are my favorite with ‘blinded’ eggs which you have to always follow with a short order of pancakes.
This food feeds your soul.

Nice little spot to stop into for breakfast. Our friend who showed us around took us here for breakfast. It was so very good. I’m a creature of habit. I ordered eggs over easy, bacon, and hash browns. The bacon was SO good. Eggs fresh. Hash browns perfect. The coffee was great! Duh, it’s seattle. Hope to be back soon!

The prices are surprisingly high for a place with «Shanty» in the name and the food is JUST OK. I’ve gone twice. Last time, I got a waffle. It came with no butter, just 2 packages of Smuckers syrup. All that — $ 10. I LOOOOOVE me some waffles, but it wasn’t even good enough to justify $ 7. Save your money.

Okay, if you’re looking for the Portage Bay, organic and Instgram-​worthy style of breakfast — this isn’t it.
If you’re looking for a hangover cure, a perfect portion of grease, or a salute to the all American diner breakfast… This it it!
This is a solid place for typical breakfast and lunch, diner style, very American food — and it does it well! I have had the Supreme Hasbrowns — lots of flavor, and a surprisingly perfect portion. The same goes for their Eggs Benedict — the hollandaise even tastes homemade! I’ve never left here feeling gross and greasy — just full of delicious (and yes, fatty) foods.
I do think their breakfast is better than their lunch (but it’s served all day,) and if you get heartburn easily — bring some Tums. But if you’re just looking for simple, well priced breakfast, this place has got it!

It’s a cute little corner Diner. It’s called the Shanty so truth in advertising! If some well worn upholstery and dated ambiance is a problem… Well don’t go to a quaint little place like this.
We love it! It’s casual. The food is good and well prepared. No complaints about service, my Coffee stayed full. Let me give you an idea of what’s on the menu.
Omelettes, eggs Benedict, eggs every other way, bacon, toast, hash browns (shredded), waffles, pancakes, french toast, grits etc. Y’know breakfast.
Hot sauce is Cholula or Tapatio
Jam is Smucker’s strawberry, grape, raspberry.
Coffee is good
If you want vegan buckwheat, quinoa tofu pancakes then look elsewhere. If you want blueberries in your pancakes then you might be in luck.
It gets five stars for being exactly what it’s supposed to be. You can eat for less than a ten or eat blueberry pancakes, eggs, bacon coffee and spend $ 15
Enjoy! Wherever you decide to go.

The outside appearance lives up to the name, but don’t let that scare you away!
Great tasting, home made food with generous portions of the good ingredients at very reasonable prices!

I liked the hole in the wall atmosphere and had high expectation going in. I had seafood frittata. Hashbrown was excellent — very crispy but not too oily. English muffin was a bit dry. The frittata was pretty good but shrimp was a little too salty and old (frozen too long may be). I liked the cheese and spinach combo. It could have used a little more egg I thought. The service was good but the food overall was just fair.

After our disastrous attempt a brunch elsewhere, we looked online to find a better place. I couldn’t be happier we did! Somehow I’d NEVER noticed this place, but The Shanty Café is really the perfect name; it’s definitely a shanty. It’s a super dive-​y place, very unpretentious and not fancy. But if that’s what you’re looking for, this is your place.
I decided to try the Mexicali frittata. I never order frittatas, but this one was delicious. Eggs, cheese, tomato, olives, with salsa & sour cream on the the side. Normally, there is beef as well, but I asked to avoid that part. It came with hash browns & toast (I had the English muffin) and everything was great. The hash browns weren’t too soft or too crispy, but just right — and the ketchup dispenser actually dispensed the ketchup easily!
My coffee was good & kept refilled as needed. One of our friends ordered a mimosa which was fairly big and came with blueberries & grapefruit. I didn’t have any but she and her husband seemed to like it.
All of us were really happy with our food; the only (minor) issue is that we had a baby with us and because of how small the place is, we couldn’t use a high chair & had to leave the (folded up) stroller outside to save space. They did give us a booster seat for her, which worked just fine, but it was rather cramped overall which could get annoying with a big party.

A solid four stars for a great simple breakfast! Visited Seattle for the weekend so wanted to eat breakfast at a local establishment with no frills. Shanty Café is a quant restaurant with simple décor. But clean and welcoming.
Servers are attentive w filling up coffee and water. Ordered the Elliott Frittata which came in a huge portion with side of harsh Browns and toast. Flavors were solid. Fresh and hot.
I was contemplating to order eggs Benedict but decided to keep the order simple. Glad I did — I don’t think shanty would do justice on making a more complex breakfast.
Come here for quick and yummy basic breakfast.

One word: Dissapointed.
I came here expecting this to be the best breakfast in the NW, at least from what I was reading on the reviews, but I feel like we all need to expand our breakfast horizons just a little further because this was NOT okay.
I had French Toast Combo and it just looked like soggy bread. My hubby had the blueberry (extra $ 2) (one) waffle combo and the blueberries looked like they came straight from the can and the waffle was so soggy. On top of that, he took one bite and couldn’t eat anymore because he said it was so bland and just straight watery.
The waitress was really nice though so that was a positive aspect.

How I heard of this place: For the past decade, I have driven by this shanty, a stand-​alone establishment serving diner-​style cuisine dozens of times. Never had the draw been greater to enter its doors. After a full morning of moving, with the help of our amazing families and friends, we treated everyone to brunch!
Type of cuisine: «We serve delicious breakfast and lunch and we are open at 6:00 and close at 3:00. We have a great menu, and innovative weekend specials!» A diner in every sense of the word, the Shanty offers American style breakfasts, sandwiches, burgers and salads sure to provide a days worth of calories and more — in just one meal.
Ambiance: A little shack of an establishment on the outside, the wood paneled interior walls say it all! Dingy, drab, mismatched, yet full of simple diner pleasures from the 1950s make the Shanty a place to which locals return, a place where everybody really does know your name.
What I ordered: For me, the Supreme Hash Browns ($ 10.25) with bacon, cheese, onions & peppers served with toast (English muffins) and eggs, two over-​medium. For my husband the Chicken Fried Steak ($ 10.25) served with eggs, country gravy, hash browns and toast (rye), as well as a side of two slices of French Toast ($ 4.25 per slice). My two cousins each enjoyed an Old Fashioned Hamburger with cheese ($ 7.75 each) made with mayo, lettuce, tomato, relish & onion and served with fries. The last two in our party, selected the Grilled Ham & Cheese ($ 7.50) with potato salad, and the Popeye Fritata ($ 9.75) with bacon, fresh spinach, eggs & swiss with hash browns and toast (English muffin).
What I loved: Fries. French Toast. Buttered, toasty English muffins.
Why I loved it: Diner food. Salt, grease, carb load to last the rest of the day.
Cost: Low to average ($ 7.25 — $ 11.25 per breakfast/​lunch entrée)

HIGHLIGHTS: friendly service, simple menu
The Shanty Café is a little local divey-​diner. I ordered a simple breakfast of eggs, hash browns, and toast. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything to note either. You really can’t mess that up. My husband ordered the Monday special: Smoked sausage and eggs. He thought the sausage was essentially just a hot dog fried in a pan, which is what it looked like, but I could taste the subtle polish-​like flavor.
We both also ordered a hot chocolate based on other Unilocaler photos, and were disappointed when they came out. They had a little whipped cream, and a few mini marshmallows. They did NOT come out piled high with marshmallows and whipped cream, drizzled in chocolate sauce. Not that we needed it, but those pictures made them look pretty tasty. Did we order the wrong ones?
The service was great though, everyone was friendly and treated us like we were locals.