the bro'kin yolk

a couple of months ago we decided we wanted to have a nice breakfast out.  after looking through reviews and seeing how much others enjoyed this restaurant we thought we'd give it a try.  upon arrival we found it to be jam-packed to overflowing which was a good sign, with a 20 min wait for the bar or a 1hr wait for a table.  we chose the bar, which gave us a good view of the cooks.

the atmosphere was a bit chaotic but it was busy so that's no surprise.  the wall nearest the entrance had writing all over it and some of it was hard to read, but the place overall looked very clean.  our seats were announced via text which was great because we wouldn't have heard our names called over the din.

after perusing the menu we ordered chocolate milks (because we saw someone else's and they're huge).  derek had the upstream benny and i got a house curedbaconbreakfast poutine with the eggs scrambled because i don't like poached (runny) eggs...

it was a little bit of a wait, so we were halfway done our delicious, enormous chocolate milks by the time the food arrived but i'd noticed something interesting.  the first time the eggs were done and put on top of the hasbrowns, he spied something that he took out of the dish, along with the eggs, and had them re-fired.  i really appreciate that he caught whatever it was and replaced the ingredients before it could be brought to me.

now the dish itself...  the duck fat hash on the bottom was divine...honestly anything cooked in duck fat has such rich amazing flavour that it just made the potatoes perfect.  the eggs were well-done just the way i like them with a dusting of something i think might have been paprika...the roasted garlic hollandaise was really creamy and blended great with the eggs and giant chunks of bacon.  part of me wanted more sauce, and part of me kept saying "no way, this is rich enough!"

it was so delicious i can't wait to go have it again, when i'm hungry enough to handle it.  the portion sizing had us leaving full, without any need for extra sides.

as we were paying the bill the waitress let us know that their text-based table notification doesn't just work when you get to the restaurant, you can call in advance and they'll let you know in time to drive over.  that's so fantastic i wish more restaurants offered that kind of notification service.

we will definitely be going back.

this small restaurant has a brilliant system for their wait list which is great because the restaurant is small and always crowded. as mentioned in other reviews the service was extremely friendly and efficient. once we finished eating however, they were clearly anxious for us to leave, repeatedly checking in on is and bringing the bill right away. i understand this (again: small restaurant, long wait list) but i enjoy visiting with friends over coffee after breakfast and dislike feeling rushed out. i ordered thebaconbenny which was delicious. theirbaconhas a sweetness to it that was a happy surprise for me but my friend didn’t like it so that’s just a matter of preference. everyone raves about their duck fat breakfast potatoes... i thought they were good but certainly nothing that stood out over something similar i’ve had at other restaurants or even made myself. or perhaps i just don’t appreciate the nuances of duck fat flavour. this was an enjoyable breakfast to be sure, it just didn’t stand out to me as being head and shoulders above other breakfast places in town (which admittedly are few and far between outside of downtown!) i would happily try it again but have others on my list i might choose first. (i would give it 3.5 if i could)

i go here almost every weekend. it’s a quaint place with great food and friendly staff. the food is fresh, local and delicious! open face avocado sandwich is my go to but i also recommend the chicken and waffles and thebaconbenny.

everyone is extremely friendly and it's always a pleasure to eat here. i always suggest to use their wait list system as the wait can be quite long especially during the weekend!baconis different than usual but it's sooooo good!

i'm not sure what kind of crack all the bad reviewers are smoking but this is, and continues to be, one of the best breakfast and brunch places in calgary. the food is fantastic, the service is amazing, and (although a bit loud at times) the atmosphere is great as well.

their duck fat hash is to-die for and those that found the house-curedbaconto be too sweet are seriously crazy. the sweetness of thebaconis meant to cut through the salt of the hash and it does so wonderfully..

i would absolutely recommend checking this place out and ignoring the nay-sayers. it gets a ton of business so obviously these reviews are only showing the people that choose to pick and complain.

if your going here it's all about farm fresh to your table.


thebaconbreakfast poutine was not the best. be warnedbaconis very sweet! the double fried duck fat hash browns is nothing to wright home about. the holidays sauce on the other hand was done quite well.
the chicken breakfast poutine, had over cooked dry chicken, not enough chicken gravy. real cheese curds, but they were melted (not a good thing) potatoes where bland and very dry. poached eggs were cooked perfectly.
side order of in house made sausages were the the star of my meal, two little tiny flat sausages perfectly cooked with a juicy savoury flavour.
i think this places over all rating is right this place is about a 3.5
great attractive service staff, very attentive. place is too noisy to hold any real conversations with the kitchen being so loud.
place could use a bit more variety for lunch.
save your money and time, just go to local breakfast place. it may not be farm to table fresh but you'll have much more choice and an overall better chatting experience.

someone recommended this restaurant to us, and saying we were underwhelmed with our experience is an understatement. the service and environment was great, but the food was just plain terrible. my burger patty was bland and not only was the bun too small so all the inside fell out as i ate it, but as soon as i picked it up, it was soggy! the duck fat fries were incredibly overcooked (i thought they would be similar to oeb and was disappointed). thebacontasted like overly sweet beef jerky. i'm glad to see other reviews also mention they would prefer an option forbaconthat isn't super sweet. the "scrambled" eggs was just a big chunk with uncooked and overcooked parts throughout. the worst part was, it came to $60 for two people for a meal we wish we made at home. i don't write reviews often, but it was bad enough for me to log into my account after years just to try to steer people away from this place. if you like outstanding food for a little extra price, please avoid this restaurant!

was listed on dailyhive as one of yyc's breakfast places that uses locally sourced ingredients so i went to check it out. nice bright cute little space. breakfast poutine came out fairly quick but it was waaaaaaaay too sweet. i ordered it expecting a savoury dish; however the honey curedbacontotally overpowered the dish. it resulted in a very strange sweet egg hash taste. eggs were also poached medium instead of soft as ordered. won't be back. going to stick with oeb and my other 'go to' breakfast spots.

i wanted to give this place another try. my first experience was very disappointing- i like basic breakfast so can't speak to the bennies, waffles etc that some people gave high praise for. first visit, the eggs were over cooked so i sent them back. took awhile for replacements to come, so the rest of my food was stone cold. today, the lovely waitress suggested i order the children's breakfast as i don't ever eat 3 eggs in one sitting. the portion was generous, the latte i ordered was delicious... but unfortunately i was let down again by the quality of food. the sweetbaconwas limp and cold and not even that good; the hash browns were lukewarm at best and nothing special. i'm sure those two items sit under a warming lamp for who knows how long - but you would think they would get over-easy eggs right. they were cooked properly this time, but were barely lukewarm when i got them; cook or waitress? not sure. so i will stick with my other favourites-- oeb is head and shoulders better than this... although bro'kin yolk makes a better latte.

good place to eat fresh home style breakfast.
theirbaconis to die for i can eat their breakfast everyday.too bad its so busy all the time one time when i went their i waited for 30 minutes but it's worth the wait.will keep comments back.

came here for brunch on valentine's day, and much to our surprise there wasn't much of a wait. partly because of their smart waiting list, calling in to reserve a table is so much easier!

my boyfriend had the farmer's breakfast, and he absolutely loved it! thebaconwas juicy, the homemade sausages were yummy and the hashbrowns were unlike the ones we've had at other breakfast places.
i got the upstream benny. which was very good, the eggs were deliciously poached, and there was a lot of salmon, so the benny itself was already filling!

overall, great place for breakfast/brunch! we enjoyed it thoroughly!

walked in at 10:00am and it was very crowded, busy, and loud. to increase business, bro'kin yolk has placed too many tables next to each other, in a extremely small space. a table of two is more like a table for one. you are sitting right next to strangers at less then an "arms length". the atmosphere is very lively and decor is nice. i ordered the framers breakfast, i paid 15.00 and received 3 free range eggs, hash, sausage, and bacon. the food tasted great, eggs were cooked excellent, however, thebaconwas horrible. if you want sweet and candied bacon, then bro'kin yolk is the place to go. if they can give you a choice of bread, spread, condiments, etc. i think regular cooked, unsweetenedbaconshould be an option too. from the many breakfast joints i have tried, sweetbaconis not on the menu, i would not expect all customers to enjoy it. aside from the sweet bacon, the service, ambiance, and food was great.

shocked at the high scores. ordered the chorizo & mushroom frittata and a simple breakfast dish (poached eggs,baconand toast) -- best way to gauge a place is how they handle the basics. being cute and putting your benny on waffles is fun but that's not the measure of a good restaurant.

poached eggs came back hard and sulphurous. by the time the next ones came out (took a while) the toast was cold. thebacondidn't come out fresh even initially; just lukewarm, floppy grocery store bacon. the hash browns are the same cafeteria ones you'd get from anywhere. if you're a serious breakfast restaurant you need to do the basics better. nothing was comp'ed as an apology.

the frittata was fine; not poor, not great. the sausage was good on both quality and quantity, and the eggs were fluffy. but nor was there anything above-average going on here in terms of taste and preparation and as stated above, it came with cafeteria hashbrowns.

the upsides: service was attentive and friendly. the coffee is excellent, both a regular dark roast and a latte. atmosphere is bright but basic.

overall, an extremely disappointing experience and not worth the drive. there are so many amazing breakfast restaurants in the city and this just didn't compete today.

heard about this place for a while now,my wife had been a couple of times ,but this was my first visit ,liked the feel of the place right from the start,clean and welcoming nice colours and décor,for a small place it was spacious and not crowded like a lot of the popular breakfast places around town,i ordered thebaconbenny while my table mates both had frittata,s it was all good i would not say spectacular but good,service was good and friendly,the duck fat hash didn't do a thing for me and i wasn't to hot on the waffle instead of english muffin on the benny ,just was very flat and tasteless,but it was worth a try,they are trying to be unique and i would say they are, i would go back and try something else in the future.

my second time coming here, it's pretty good. there bottomless coffee is always delicious. the menu is good. i had the chicken and waffles, it was delicious. the last time i came i had a generic breakfast plate. eggs,baconblah blah blah. it was ok. nothing different. i would come back here when i'm craving those chicken and waffles. too bad the location is so small. your pretty much sitting right next to the table next to you.