The Red Umbrella cafe is one of those neighborhood greasy spoons that specialize in all day breakfasts and it just so happens that the Red Umbrella is that place in my neighborhood.
I can remember it being packed with weekend bruncher’s in the late 90′s till right before I moved down to the neighborhood in 2006, then it changed ownership but kept the name still but that’s about it. I say this because back then the owners had some awesome cooks and the new owners tried to keep up that same menu but it hasn’t quite worked out that way. The menu consists now of a full list of specialty coffees, a sheet of your typical greasy spoon breakfast plates and omelets, some burgers and a sandwich sheet as well as some pastas~I’ve tried the pasta when they were launching it and lets just say that pasta isn’t their strong suit, other than that its a solid choice if you’re looking for no frills and good quality eats.
The room is bright and very homey, there some outdoor seating available on nice days and in the summer everyday. Just off to the left in this picture is a sofa if you want to relax with a coffee and your food and they also have one of those artificial fireplaces to throw some nice heat on those cold rainy Vancouver days.
The coffee is good and they are attentive on free refills, it’s also cheap at under $2.
As for the egg dishes I went with one of their omelets, they call this one the works. It had ham, cheddar cheese, mixed veggies including eggplant, mushrooms, peppers and onions, also it comes with your choice of toast~rye in my case and for $10 it’s an OK deal. I will say that my eggs were well come and kind of tough but they were well seasoned, the veggie mix I think was a frozen mix (Mediterranean type) that I’ve bought before for pasta sauce~it’s a quality product but I’d prefer fresh veggies.
I’ve had this here since the first time I came here, the quality of the bread has changed~they used to have homemade whole grain bread before but the amount of nice turkey made up for this.
For $10 it’s a moderately priced sandwich for just coming by its self, some fires would have been nice but I don’t think they have a deep fryer here and only offer pan fries for $2.50 extra and the some of the day is only one choice so your outta luck if you don’t like it. At the end of the day it was a solid turkey club and the bacon was cooked perfectly crisp without being cremated.
The Red Umbrella is a decent choice for food in the area if you’re looking for a basic no frills meal, They are open 6 days a week till roughly 5pm and are closed on Mondays.
