The Big Blue Cafe

Sarah Young

If I could give this place 10 stars I would. Hands down best breakfast place I had. I got the Karen potatoes with no cheese. The potatoes where crispy, eggs were perfect, staff was friendly and attentive (even though it was super busy). The ice tea was so good too. Anyone who knows me knows I'm picky on ice tea and this one was fantastic. It tasted like maybe a chi tea. Very good. If I lived by here, I would be there every weekend.

Mitch K

I enjoyed everything here. Aubrey was a really nice server. The food was great and they put walnuts in the pancake upon request which was great. Best of all they offer real maple syrup if you ask for it and real butter, two things I really appreciate.

Alex G.

Great little Cafe, with great service and food. Ordered the two egg breakfast with bacon, country fried steak, and Karen's potatos. Service was quick and very kind. Overall, it was great and clean. Would recommend stopping by for a good cup of coffee and a meal.

Wendy Armstrong

Dinner here late until 10 on a Saturday excellent! Was surprised to find this open and empty after being turned away at Mazzoti’s at 835 we arrived here thankful it was open and quiet. Wine was excellent as was the food. Spinach salad, breakfast sandwich, kid friendly hamburger, and amazing French dip. Fries and sweet potatoes fries were perfection! Always thought this was breakfast lunch only but it’s been open 9 months at night on weekends. Hot chocolate with whipped cream also excellent.

Tom Harms

Friends have recommended this cafe, so I decided to try for breakfast. Ordered cheddar cheese omelette with country-fried potatoes and sourdough toast. The omelette tasted buttery, had a fluffy texture, and had a generous amount of cheese. The potatoes were cooked to perfection, crunchy on the outside and soft in middle. The only fail was the toast that was underdone and the butter never melted. House coffee was excellent and served in large ceramic mug. Very good service as well.

Robert Castillo

Super good food, I had the big blue sampler. Updated menu prices!

Timoteo Boldton

Big blue is super unrated. Huge portions inexpensive and good quality food. Great location right on the plazza. The Benedict is served with a massive portion of potatoes and their huavos rancheros never fails to satisfy.

Ask Miss Patience

This is the only restaurant at 10am we found with options friendly to my nephew’s food choices. Shannon sat us. Parker was a wonderful server toward my little buddy. Parker helped us know about the children’s menu options had all my nephews requests on one choice. The regular menu didn’t. Plus, Parker added even grownups can order items on the children’s if they like. He said the cafe likes to make things affordable for people so age is no barrier to choice or affordability 😁 The food is very good. Everything was made the way we asked.

R A

I have been in Humboldt County for over 5 years now, and I never visited here not until recently, about a year ago when my husband moved up here. I would say this visit was our 10th time together at this place and we never were disappointed. Staff members are always nice, has smile on their faces and very attentive to customers. The food is really great. I love the flavors and freshness of their dishes. My husband and I sometimes would get the same plate because we really enjoy it - the Huevos rancheros 👍🏼. The orange juice is a must. We only go here for breakfast but my friends really love the lunch menu. One thing I would suggest, the sweet dish’s like pancakes or French toast aren’t the to choices her from my experience, but still yummy. Give them a try you would love it.

Fantastic breakfast! Was more food than we could finish really. My husband got a burrito and I got the Big Blue Breakfast and skillet potatoes. The service was great too and as a constantly dehydrated pregnant woman I greatly appreciated that the hostess immediately sat us with waters. We will definitely be returning!

Tasty food, great service. Nice to have the option of beans and tortillas with your eggs instead of potatoes and toast. If we lived in Arcata we'd probably come here all the time!

Ethan Espie

Tasty food, great service. Nice to have the option of beans and tortillas with your eggs instead of potatoes and toast. If we lived in Arcata we'd probably come here all the time!

Kayan D.

Fantastic breakfast! Was more food than we could finish really. My husband got a burrito and I got the Big Blue Breakfast and skillet potatoes. The service was great too and as a constantly dehydrated pregnant woman I greatly appreciated that the hostess immediately sat us with waters. We will definitely be returning!

Mel Helt

Everything was amazing!! I had their croissant breakfast sandwich andI think it was the best croissant I have ever had! Others had biscuits and gravy and traditional breakfasts and they were also perfectly delicious! Fast service, super friendly, great atmosphere!

Super cute and (surprise) blue spot with decent food. Ordered Eggs Benedict which comes with home fries. The Benny was good, but the home fries were definitely frozen at some point and pretty lacking. Staff was super friendly and on their game. Will definitely come back and try something else.

Danielle Gloystein

Super cute and (surprise) blue spot with decent food. Ordered Eggs Benedict which comes with home fries. The Benny was good, but the home fries were definitely frozen at some point and pretty lacking. Staff was super friendly and on their game. Will definitely come back and try something else.

Food was great. Would definitely be back for that aspect alone. However; service was super slow/ a lot of open/empty seats yet we stood in the door for 10 minutes, then waited another 5 to be sat. Another 15 minutes for them to take our order. After we ate, it took another 30 minutes after they cleared our table to get our check… 2 male servers were standing around while the lady busted her behind doing everything..

David A

Food was great. Would definitely be back for that aspect alone. However; service was super slow/ a lot of open/empty seats yet we stood in the door for 10 minutes, then waited another 5 to be sat. Another 15 minutes for them to take our order. After we ate, it took another 30 minutes after they cleared our table to get our check… 2 male servers were standing around while the lady busted her behind doing everything..

OK, but not as great as the reviews suggest. I got an omelette, home fries, and a buttermilk pancake. I had to pay extra for the pancake. You couldn't add it as a side. The waiter was good, but when I asked him which was better here, pancakes or french toast he didn't have an opinion. The omelette was OK, but only so. The home fries where very basic and bland. They weren't crunchy at all. Cooked but kind of mushy. The pancake was good but overcooked a little. The hot chocolate was watery. Nice atmosphere. Next time I'll go somewhere else that has better food.

Ehhh. Wasnt that good. Chicken fried steak was very bland, eggs were undercooked even for sunny side up. Decently long wait, really nice server though. Was surprised since this place seems so highly rated.

Shannon Bradford

OK, but not as great as the reviews suggest. I got an omelette, home fries, and a buttermilk pancake. I had to pay extra for the pancake. You couldn't add it as a side. The waiter was good, but when I asked him which was better here, pancakes or french toast he didn't have an opinion. The omelette was OK, but only so. The home fries where very basic and bland. They weren't crunchy at all. Cooked but kind of mushy. The pancake was good but overcooked a little. The hot chocolate was watery. Nice atmosphere. Next time I'll go somewhere else that has better food.

Layla Beck

Ehhh. Wasnt that good. Chicken fried steak was very bland, eggs were undercooked even for sunny side up. Decently long wait, really nice server though. Was surprised since this place seems so highly rated.

Some of the nicest decor I have seen in a place. Bright, colorful, and calm vibes. Our server was friendly. Everything felt like it took three times longer than usual— clearing a table for us, taking our menus, bringing our food, and especially taking payment— although the staff didn’t seem busy or rushed until the end of our visit when more people began coming in. I got two eggs, a biscuit, and home fries for $12, and it was a reasonable amount of food. The eggs were cooked perfectly, the biscuit was pretty good, and the potatoes were a bit crunchy in a way that didn’t seem freshly made. In my subjective experience this is a nice place to sit a while but not an experience I would seek out or recommend for its breakfast.

Love this place, love the menu. The entitled server I encountered could use a reality check. If waters or coffees never get filled and there is no check back check down to make sure breakfast was OK then what kind of server are you? Additionally, when something is actually wrong with breakfast and this happens, now it turns a 30-45 minute breakfast into an hour and a half and NO ONE appreciates being charged for that inconvenience. Please consider hiring more experienced staff it was clear this was an entitled college student. It takes eggs a minute and 30 seconds to die in the window. So if something was wrong with the order to begin with, and then it takes you 20 minutes and a physical cue for me to flag you(the server) down to correct it, how do you think breakfast went??? And why would you expect me to pay for YOUR mistake????? Not okay.

B S

Love this place, love the menu. The entitled server I encountered could use a reality check. If waters or coffees never get filled and there is no check back check down to make sure breakfast was OK then what kind of server are you? Additionally, when something is actually wrong with breakfast and this happens, now it turns a 30-45 minute breakfast into an hour and a half and NO ONE appreciates being charged for that inconvenience. Please consider hiring more experienced staff it was clear this was an entitled college student. It takes eggs a minute and 30 seconds to die in the window. So if something was wrong with the order to begin with, and then it takes you 20 minutes and a physical cue for me to flag you(the server) down to correct it, how do you think breakfast went??? And why would you expect me to pay for YOUR mistake????? Not okay.

Braven Ponder

Some of the nicest decor I have seen in a place. Bright, colorful, and calm vibes. Our server was friendly. Everything felt like it took three times longer than usual— clearing a table for us, taking our menus, bringing our food, and especially taking payment— although the staff didn’t seem busy or rushed until the end of our visit when more people began coming in. I got two eggs, a biscuit, and home fries for $12, and it was a reasonable amount of food. The eggs were cooked perfectly, the biscuit was pretty good, and the potatoes were a bit crunchy in a way that didn’t seem freshly made. In my subjective experience this is a nice place to sit a while but not an experience I would seek out or recommend for its breakfast.

Ran in to grab anything to go, got 2 of the ‘grab & go’ sandwiches. Got back to the car and took a bite 🤢. DO NOT buy the grab & go without tasting it in store before you leave. The service was poor, the individual working the register was not well trained. This is literally my first sub 4 star review, I usually give an establishment a chance to make it better without posting a review (this is why I don’t usually post bad reviews) but even the way the refund was handled was poor. To the management/ownership - train your staff better and until they are trained have them working on a buddy system. It’s simply not worth it for a customer experience like this.

Kyle Thomas (KyleConnect)

Ran in to grab anything to go, got 2 of the ‘grab & go’ sandwiches. Got back to the car and took a bite 🤢. DO NOT buy the grab & go without tasting it in store before you leave. The service was poor, the individual working the register was not well trained. This is literally my first sub 4 star review, I usually give an establishment a chance to make it better without posting a review (this is why I don’t usually post bad reviews) but even the way the refund was handled was poor. To the management/ownership - train your staff better and until they are trained have them working on a buddy system. It’s simply not worth it for a customer experience like this.

First time diner, the food was good, no complaints, the service was very slow, place wasn't busy at all, half the tables were empty. From the time we were seated til we got our food was an hour and 17 minutes. Like I said food was good, but not good enough to justify the wait.

steve thomas

First time diner, the food was good, no complaints, the service was very slow, place wasn't busy at all, half the tables were empty. From the time we were seated til we got our food was an hour and 17 minutes. Like I said food was good, but not good enough to justify the wait.