The Broken Yolk

I last had breakfast here about just over a year ago with my Mrs. The owner was a very pleasant guy, and what I would describe as an OK Breakfast/​short order cook. Our breakfast was decent, nothing extraordinary, but very reasonably priced and fairly tasty, except for the hash brown potatos which were rather bland. Coffee was OK, but not good enough for me to want a second cup, something I ALWAYS do. Nothing like used to be, which was a very fabulous, albeit small, place for breakfast.
This place was was open, oh, roughly a week or ten days ago, but this morning (October 21^st), it’s CLOSED! There’s a sign over the awning saying that a Mediterraean dining place is going in there. Hopefully, it will take it a step or three up from The Broken Yolk.

Closed for good, nothing to see here. Unilocal won’t update it so I’ve got to warn you otherwise.

I ordered a BLT here and it wasn’t bad, just nothing special and very small. I think they really need to improve the atmosphere and inside of this place. It is so outdated and when I first walked in I almost walked right back out because it seemed so messy and kind of dirty looking. My co-​worker wanted to eat here so I had no choice. The owner/​server/​cook seemed sweet but not sure if he is experienced in owning a restaurant/​cooking. My BLT wasn’t bad but that’s also a pretty hard thing to mess up.
I probably wouldn’t come back here unless they changed the inside and made the food a little more interesting and not so basic.

Skip the lines at Sound Bites/​Ball Sq. Café and eat here. The food is just as good but the place is infinitely more laid back — cozy, quiet, and you’ll always find a seat. The sausage breakfast burrito was one of the best I’ve had, and the owner Tony is super friendly. This is where I’ll continue to bring my friends for brunch when they’re visiting Somerville.

There is no reason to go here, this place vaguely qualifies as a restaurant.
If I were to rate this as an actual restaurant, this place would be torn to shreds. It’s not particularly good, and there are no redeeming features to this place.
When I went, the place was pretty grimy, and not in a cute way, the cook (owner?) was also serving. The food was lackluster to say the least, but edible.
I hate to knock a small business, so I will put it in the nicest way that I can, the owner (cook?) is in the wrong line of business.
Instead of going here, I should have gone the grocery store/​a convenience store and bought food, it would have been better and faster, and less expensive, even though this place is cheap-​ish.
After some research, it seems that several years ago, this was a quaint breakfast joint. Now it seems that it is just a grimy eatery.
To sum things up, there is simply no reason to go here.

We ended up here because the line at Sound Bites was around the block– we should’ve just waited.
When we arrived we were immediately notified that drinks are self serve– not a big deal, we just decided not to get any drinks. It was easier than trying to wedge myself out of the back to back seats. There was only one harried waitress and while she was friendly, naturally it made for extremely slow service– still not a huge deal, we weren’t in a rush. Though the service may have been quicker if the place didn’t double as a daycare– one of the employees had their kid sitting up front playing DS the whole time.
Despite the above, this place didn’t completely fail until we got the food. The eggs were really the only edible part of the meal but unfortunately it seemed like less than the two scrambled that I ordered. The pancakes were thick and rubbery with raw batter in the middle. The sausages were filled with gristle and the hash with little burnt bits. The toast was cold and covered in a blob of unmelted margarine instead of butter. For the prices I expected a bit better and I didn’t remember seeing anywhere before the meal that they only accept cash, maybe I didn’t notice. Luckily the person I was with was able to pay (I almost never carry cash), but I doubt we’ll be returning.

Back in the day, this place was, well, at least the breakie sammies were full-​force and full yum. The service was always just short of wanting to punch someone full in the throat by the time it was ready to go (having written at least three complaint letters to the original owner, once upon having waited over 45 minutes standing for a take away order because the order taker and manager had reported my (soprano) voice as a clearly male name, which the staff never clarified, despite, again, me standing in the ordering area next to the recycyling for nearly an hour. At that point, the «manager» allowed me to pay full freight for my order (despite the fact that both the food and I had been standing in the lobby for nearly an hour). The other two complaints (none of which were responded to in any way) resulted from both times I watched staff ding my car and drive away without even stopping, while I was waiting for take-​away. Awesome!
That said, when they were good, they were awesome (as long as driving wasn’t involved). They used to make this «burrito» of toasted egg for my best friends shaved ham & swiss cheese and put it on a toasted fresh croissant (yes, format matters). And not a Sysco /​Sams Club frozen croissant. Bakery. Nomnomnomnomnomnom. Was amazing.
Definitely no longer be the case w/​new ownership. Food was. Well. Forget-​able. Inedible (and when I say inedible, I mean they serve items that are cooked beyond the point that they remain food. Blah times a thousand. That’s too bad. It was once a great take-​away breakfast joint. No more. Their whole wheat french toast and sausage and biscuits (along with aforementioned breakfast sammies) once made me a happy, happy woman. Too bad.
This place is (present incarnation) awful. For real

Food wasn’t terrible, but it was certainly overpriced for what it was

I used to come here sometimes in high school and the place wasn’t so bad I usually got an omelette and got take out. It was meh and there is better. Dunkin Donuts is better compared to them. hate the no card policy though.

It wasn’t terrible.
I feel like that could be the motto of this place. The service… wasn’t terrible. The food… wasn’t terrible. The price… wasn’t terrible.
Overall, it was just an A-​OK experience. I would go again if someone invited me, but not really otherwise. There are so many other great brunch places in Boston.

More than the yolk is broken at this place.
The food isn’t good and the prices are too high. I’ve had too many friends say that this is their go to place for a «decent, cheap meal.» C’mon, people! Raise your standards a bit more, shovel out an extra 2 – 3 dollars and eat better quality food. So many good breakfast places around here.
Terrible eggs and coffee.
Recipe for crispy eggs at home:
–Use room temperature eggs.
–Use EVOO in the frying pan.
–Flick a bit of water to make sure the EVOO is popping.
–Crack the egg (s) on the skillet and wait.
Thanks, Alton Brown. No thanks, Broken Yolk!

I would argue against this place being cheap… I got 1 egg 1 sausage patty on wonder bread sandwich and a 12 oz OJ for $ 8.00. That’s not cheap.
The people are really nice the food is good home-​cooked. Not gourmet but still tasty.
And I blame the prices on the economy.

It pains me to have to write this review but I simply cannot in good conscience stay silent out of respect for what the Broken Yolk USED to be.
In 2005 when I first moved out here the Broken Yolk was THE breakfast spot. Tasty, inexpensive, clean, good music playing in the background – a local greasy spoon. For several years there was nothing better than showing up to the Yolk, slightly hungover, to enjoy an unbelievable breakfast sandwich or a great pile of pancakes. The place was an institution.
Unfortunately, about a year and a half ago, maybe two years ago now, ownership changed hands. I happen to have heard the story direct from the new owner. He seemed like a real nice guy, but even with that first breakfast sandwich under new ownership some 2 years ago, I knew something had gone awry. Every time since has been supremely mediocre.
Today the Broken Yolk is a crumbling, sad excuse for a local breakfast joint. Besides taking a nose dive in quality and cleanliness and a huge leap in price the place is identical to the way it looked in 2005 – a clear indicator of how minimally invested (even if nice) the people running this place seem to be.
After spending $ 2.50 on ATM fees to take out cash at the in-​store ATM (still, after all these years, they don’t take debit/​credit cards – seriously, just say that you don’t want to report all your income) my breakfast mate and I ordered 2 Broken Yolk Clubs, purportedly filled to the brim with «double meat, double egg, double cheese on three thick slices of toast» and a cup of coffee each.
The coffee tasted like it came from a hotel room. I drank it out of a random chipped mug that didn’t match any of the other mugs (would have been charming if it wasn’t so clear that the real reason was spentness) and was questionably clean at best.
While waiting for our food (which took a really long time even though we were the only people in there) I peered around and noticed how grungy the place had become, how sad it felt to be there. It was also funny when the cook shouted over to the owner, some ten minutes after we made our order, «Is there double meat on the club? Double everything?».
Finally the food arrived, and I honestly felt like an asshole for not being able to hide my expression of immense disappointment. There, in front of me, sat the saddest and most haggard excuse for an $ 8 breakfast sandwich that I had every seen. The bacon (I think I found a strip or two) was all fat. The eggs (I’m not even sure if plural applies here) were poorly cooked (how do you screw up eggs?), the cheese – not very cheesy. And the bread, my god the bread, it looked, felt, and tasted like it had been sucked of all it’s moisture (perhaps it was a week old or previously frozen) then toasted haphazardly and thrown together.
Now, I am easily pleased, will eat just about anything, and refuse to ever act like my Grandmother (god bless ‘er) at a restaurant. I am always, «Just fine thank you». So, I ate my sandwich, wolfed it down in a matter of seconds, finished my mud water, asked for the bill, forked out $ 20 plus a $ 4 tip, and with a thanks and a wave got the hell out of there. But I was so frustrated that I had to write this.
Here’s quick calculation: an entire loaf of organic wheat bread at whole foods: $ 3.99, one dozen cage-​free organic eggs $ 2, 20 slices of American Cheese: $ 2. So, for about the price of what I paid for one sandwich at the Yolk I could have made 6 far better organic and delicious sandwiches.
Bottom line: If you want a great and cheap breakfast sandwich, the place to go is Magnificent Muffin and Bagel in Teele Square. If you want a small local diner type feel then go to Rene’s Café (Between Teele and Davis) or Rosebud (Davis). If you want one of the best tasting and most reasonably priced breakfasts in town visit Ball Square Café, or the slightly lesser awesome Sound Bites right next door. I could keep going – for sure there are no fewer than a dozen other places within a 5 minute radius of the Yolk that outperform it in every way.
To the current owner of the Yolk: I’m sorry I’m such an asshole but please, step up your game.

I’ll make this as short and sweet… as possible…
1. Walked inside expecting that wonderful breakfast aroma to hit me, but instead nearly passed out when the overwhelming stench of FEET and filth hit me like a ton of bricks.
2. I placed an order for pick up. The woman over the phone was trying to be pleasant. but couldn’t seem to hold back that Somerville attitude when I attempted to pay with a credit card. «UM IT’S CASH ONLY… LUCKILY I HAVE AN ATM OVER THERE.» «Over there» meant using an ATM machine poorly placed between a table (where 2 people were eating) and the drink fridge. I felt as though I was bothering the 2 people eating, as I was literally right next to them trying to take cash out! A $ 2.75 fee later, I paid for my food, and got the fuck outta that place.
3. The food was equally as disappointing. I remember the home-​fries being some of the best around. I don’t understand what happened. I thought I was going to drop dead from a heart attack after the second bite… SO SALTY! I couldn’t eat anymore, so I moved on to my egg whites. They were absolutely repulsive, were a hint of green, and tasted gooey, like they weren’t cooked. Took 2 bites and was done with those too. My toast was extremely soggy — but I’ll give them a break on that one because it was afterall in a take-​out container for about 15 minutes.
I am not a picky eater, and really really used to love this place so it pains me to write such an awful review!

this place came highly recommended to me, and i think it is very popular with tufts undergrads… but i was less than impressed. i didnt love the options – they were pretty basic – and the prices were a little too expensive for what was offered.
the place itself wasnt very original and for the quality of the food, i thought i overpaid. when i go out, i like to get food that i coudlnt make easily at home, but everything here was so basic.
i didnt have a bad experience here, but considering that there are a few other excellent brunch places just a few blocks away, i dont think ill be going back here anytime soon.

So, my boyfriend & I woke up late and really wanted some breakfast. Figuring the lines everywhere else would be insane, we opted for Broken Yolk. Bad idea. The coffee was terribly weak, the water glasses all had a greasy film, and when my cheese omelette finally came it had a large chunk of mysterious brown inside. Being a vegetarian, this was highly troublesome. I finally decided to say something & got yelled at by both waitresses, & then the chef. I don’t care how your grill is set up, you have to have a plan for food allergies; apparently they don’t.
So if you are allergic to something, or a vegetarian like me, don’t go here.

There’s so much negativity about the little joint and I am not quite sure why. If you’re looking for stuffed French toast, go to Soundbites or any one of the other «fancy» breakfast places. The broken Yolk is a bacon and eggs, diner-​style breakfast shop. Yes, its serve yourself coffee and drinks, yes the seating is cramped, but if you want a delicious ham and cheese omelet, you can’t do any better.
The home fries are crispy with salt, pepper and paprika. Food comes out quickly and they have biscuits and sausage gravy. In fact, this may be the only place in all of Boston to have the balls to serve such a southern concotion (yes, I know Redbones has biscuits and gravy but its not sausage gravy). The sausage gravy and biscuits are served in a quantity that makes ordering the full order almost too much, particularly if you add eggs. The Denver omelet is excellent. The sausage egg and cheese on a croissant is melty awesome. Today, one of their specials was a chicken fried steak with eggs, hopefully on the specials to be ordered next time.

Upon entering, I was a little sketched out. It is very small, and very outdated. The menu is basic omelets, sandwiches, pancakes, and plates. BUT they do have breakfast burritos which seems to encompass a good portion of their menu. They also have hash and biscuits and gravy (which I love).
I ordered a «skillet». Which had eggs, potatoes, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and cheese. What no meat? I added ham. I also wanted biscuits and gravy but they were out of gravy. Apparently, they buy it premade, store bought stuff, and they didn’t buy any last time they went shopping.
The skillet was delicious. I am a big fan of the all in one breakfast scramble. The homefries were damn tasty. They were cooked just right and not greasy or salty at all.
The drinks are serve your self kinda thing. They have a wide selection of New England coffee available to choose from.
Silverware is plastic… really annoying. You give me real plates, you cant give me real silverware? ggrrrrrr And no spoons? What if I want to shovel this heep of eggs and potatoes into my mouth. A spoon is much more efficient at that.
Service: Meh. I’ve experienced better. She wasn’t a ray of sunshine but she got the job done.
Overall A-​OK. Would I go back? possibly, but only if the other local breakfast places have a huge wait.

A perfectly adequate breakfast place, though easily outclassed by Kelly’s Diner, the Rosebud, and Tavern Porter and Orleans when they do brunch.
The omelette was unspectacular yet inexpensive. The tables were cramped, but not horribly so. The service was rushed but not rude.
Based on the appearance of unshaven pajama wearing 20 year olds midway through the meal, I’m guessing it’s a favorite for the Tufts kids. I say let them have it. Go further into Davis Square and eat with adults.

Come in with realistic expectations and you won’t be disappointed. Standard service, nothing above and beyond and I didn’t expect it to be at 9:30AM on a Saturday morning. Dine in is decent but you’re getting a dilapidated metal chair and table to sit at. The inside is small so don’t sit near the door if you don’t want to be bothered by the five thousand people whipping in and out for coffee.
Good prices, food is tasty, restaurant is clean. No complaints.