the egg & i

great place to have your breakfast. i love this place not just because of the quality of food but also the interiors and the portions which are just right for a great breakfast.

food:

we ordered a veggie benedict and a berry cheesecake stuffed french toast (from the summer specials) along withcoffeeand kale cooler. veggie benedict was pretty cooked. egg yolk was closer to boiled than runny but the overall taste was brilliant. ranch potatoes, served along with the benedict, was perfectly seasoned and complemented the benedict very well. berry cheesecake stuffed french toast was good. what i loved was that it wasn't overly sweet, unlike other places there it stuffs your mouth with a handful of sugar.coffeewas great and i had almost three mugs of it. kale cooler is a must try - extremely refreshing. overall, what i also loved was that the portions were not overwhelming and just right for a great breakfast. while you want a heavy breakfast but not a one that will make you fall asleep again.

ambiance:

i loved the ambiance of the restaurant. while it is a nice and quiet place with a patio option, the interiors are amazing too. inside, on one of the walls, there is one large message board that said, "mother always told you to eat good breakfast!", and how true is that!! very good ambiance.

service:

the lady attending us, lexus, was quite polite and friendly. the food arrived just in time. service was good and quick.

i am a sucker for breakfast places. for some reason i give all of them a pass on the quality of food. i'll visit waffle house cracker boxes with crapy food because i love the interaction with the cook. i love havingcoffeeand watching breakfast "stuff" being made.

the egg & i does a good job with the decor and making it feel homey. the patio area is a nice touch. they have traditional wood chairs with spindle backs like you would see in a country home. it's inviting.

the servers are polite and prompt. i do wish they would hang onto the check until the very end. they bring it soon after the food arrives. it sends the message of hurry up and don't plan to order dessert. it's not true. they do not push, and they will redo the ticket if you keep adding items. but still, when you have such a homey atmosphere, you want to relax over lunch. by the way, you pay by walking up to the same host station that seats you on the way in. at least that is how it works during the work week. i have never been for sunday crazy time when the area churches let out.

the food is decent. i have had good and bad dishes over the years. the oatmeal was good one visit and bad another. the same is true of the hash browns. overall, it lacks consistency of good food. still, i do not care. i love breakfast places. today's dish was a green chille chicken hash. it fell on the side of good. i love the fire in the sauce. my over easy eggs came perfect. when i popped the yoke, it mixed wonderfully with the hash. love it.

not what it used to be...... over the past year our visits have become less and less pleasant. long waits when there are open and unbussed tables, open tables and yet a wait because the kitchen is behind, etc. the quality of service as well as cleanliness overall is not what it once was. condiments such as syrup for pancakes and waffles forgotten and no check in by the waitstaff until halfway through the meal to rectify. half empty carafes of oldcoffeebrought to the table. dirty silverware.

very disappointing and the way the restaurant is run needs to be addressed. i no longer recommend the egg & i to others nor will we bring guests.

perhaps the current management would benefit by visiting magnolia pancake haus and observing how they manage a busy operation where customers will gladly wait up to an hour for great food and service.

9/3/12 edit - attempted to go to magnolia pancake haus & found they are were closed today for labor day (pretty cool they gave the staff the day off, but i digress). we then went to egg & i at 281 and thousand oaks. this location had none of the issues we've been experiencing at the sonterra location. the key learning experience is that the management and staff at sonterra needs some remedial training. if you want to experience the egg & i, make the short drive over to 281 & thousand oaks.

another great meal!. this is my 3rd time having breakfast at the egg & i in stone oak, and i had another great meal. although they do seem a bit high priced for breakfast, servings are plentiful and the hazelnutcoffeeis great!
my first visit i had the parisian benedict, and it was very good. the second visit i had the corned beef hash. it was a big helping and i had to take a doggie bag home. this past visit i had the cambridge skillet. this meal by far was my favorite. lots of bacon and diced ham over their wonderful ranch potatoes. again, a whole mess of food, and i took home a doggie bag.
overall, a nice alternative to ihop, jim's, and denny's for breakfast.

great food but. way to pricey for what i got. cordon bleu skillet with all you can drinkcoffeewith tax is 12 dollars! that's not even including tip! although what i ate was delicious and i probably will be back. if you want something absolutely delicious, try the cordon bleu skillet!

not so much . . .. why don't they serve egg salad? $2.28 is too much for a cup-o-coffee. they bring you a pitcher to refill yourself, but only enough for a 2nd cup per person. need to bring the cream withcoffee- not later. 1st visit had to ask twice - 2nd visit faster, but still not same time as coffee. biscuits & gravy was not hot & not good - way too much sage. asked for dry toast - it was buttered. when they brought dry, it was burned around edges.