Breakfast at Voula’s Offshore Café

 

 

 

 

 

As you might notice I’m finally getting caught up on lots of things I’ve been wanting to post about.  And in case you were wondering I really have not been dining out non-stop for the last few days! 

 

It was a month or  more ago that I met M at Voula’s Offshore Café for breakfast.  We’d first thought about going on the first weekend of May, then realized that with Opening Day of Boating Season being the same day and Voula’s location on Northlake that probably wasn’t the smartest idea.  So we delayed a few weeks.  Near the end of June we made our way to the north shore of Lake Union for a Saturday morning breakfast prior to shopping the University District Farmers’ Market, which is just about a mile north. 

 

I’d heard good things about Voula’s for some time but until I checked their website did not know they’d been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  Once I arrived I could see exactly why it was chosen.  Voula’s is in an older but well-maintained building in a row of older buildings.  In the front room there’s a big wrap around dining bar and several smaller wood-grained laminated tables.  The back room, complete with sloping floor, is filled with more tables that can be pulled together to seat larger groups.  In fact, that morning one corner was filled with eight or ten cronies who were most certainly regulars. 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the kind of place that still serves generic drip coffee with free refills and Lipton’s tea.  There is nothing fussy or pretentious here. 

 

The servers were mostly older women and I suspect many of them had worked at Voula’s for years.  They had that confidence and efficiency that comes from lots of practice dealing with all sorts of folks, sometimes under pressure, on a regular basis.  Our server was very friendly and helpful. 

 

The menus are laminated plastic and listed the basic breakfast offerings and sandwiches you expect at a diner but also included a couple of interesting options.  One was the Piñata Benedict with smoked pork and chipotle hollandaise sauce in place of the usual ingredients.  That’s what I ordered.  M chose one of the omelets but asked for it to be prepared as a scramble instead and they happily obliged.  I was exhilarated to see that they actually served hash browns with breakfast!  So many places seem to have replaced hash browns with country-fried potatoes of some sort.  I like potatoes of all kinds but love hash browns and miss having them on a more regular basis. 

 

 

 

 

Our orders arrived and we were both happy campers.  The smoked pork was tender and, well, smoky.  The chipotle hollandaise had a nice kick to it.  And the hash browns were great!  Maybe the best I’ve ever had.  M’s scramble was just what she asked for and she loved the hash browns, too!  Good solid fare.  Nothing super fancy and often that is exactly what I’m looking for when enjoying a breakfast out.  Breakfasts aren’t cheap – most run $9 or $10 – but they are certainly not expensive. 

 

This is definitely a place to add to the regular repertoire.